Episode 156 Eggheads

These people are amongst the greatest quiz players in Britain.

Together they make up the Eggheads,

arguably the most formidable quiz team in the country.

The question is, can they be beaten?

Welcome to Eggheads, the show where a team of five quiz challengers

attempt to beat possibly the greatest quiz team in Britain.

Their quiz pedigree is well-known as they have won some of the country's

toughest quiz shows. They are, of course, the Eggheads.

And taking on our awesome quiz champions today are Lethal Quizzle.

Now, this team of friends are all

third-year dentistry students at Bristol University.

Let's meet them.

Hi, I'm Mike, I'm 21, and I'm a dental student.

Hi, I'm Ross, I'm 21, and I'm a dental student.

Hi, I'm Paul, I'm 20, and I'm a dental student.

Hi, I'm Saqib, I'm 21, and I'm a dental student.

Hi, I'm Lee, I'm 21, and I'm also a dental student.

-So, Mike and team, great to have you. Welcome.

-Thank you.

-And you're all studying to be dentists?

-Yes, that's correct.

-OK, so you're how far, roughly, down the course?

-We're about halfway now.

Halfway through third year in a five-year course.

So you've done all the drilling and the filling, have you?

Sort of started doing that at the start of this year.

There was a lot of pre-clinical stuff beforehand, and now we're treating people, so it's good going.

Has anyone on the course decided "This is not for me because it is all just a bit too painful?"

There's been a few.

About three or four people dropped out for whatever reason,

but most people doing it are still going.

-Your team name is Lethal Quizzle.

-Yes.

-Now what's that's to do with?

Well, we wanted a funny name, so we picked a name based on this

hip-hop artist who is fairly new on the scene.

He's called Lethal Bizzle, and we've actually informed him via Twitter

that he will be representing us, sort of.

-So, he knows we're on.

-Has he got a Bristol connection then?

Not that I'm aware of.

It's more in connection to the name, Quiz, that we went with.

Cos people in Bristol, locals, do call it Brizzle,

-so there's a bit of that as well?

-We could have gone with that.

-That's probably a better answer!

-The Quizzles from Brizzle.

-Absolutely.

Good luck. Every day there is £1,000 worth of cash up-for-grabs

for our challengers, however, if they fail to defeat the Eggheads,

the prize money rolls over to the next show.

So, Lethal Quizzle, I can tell you the Eggheads

have won the last six games,

which means £7,000 says you can't beat them today.

-Do you want to have a go?

-Absolutely.

-We'll try.

-All right.

The first head-to-head battle is on the subject of Arts & Books.

Which dentist wants this?

-OK, guys.

-Paul, are you strong at Arts & Books?

It's not my strongest subject, Lee.

I would say go with Paul.

-I thought you read quite a lot of books.

-OK, we can go with it.

All right, Paul, we're sensing you have been press-ganged into this.

-THEY LAUGH

-I think that's pretty clear.

Which Egghead would you like to take on?

Who looks weak? Who looks as if they don't read very much?

I think I'm going to try against Daphne.

Right, Paul from Lethal Quizzle against our Daphne

from the Eggheads on Arts & Books.

And to ensure there's no conferring,

would you please take your positions in the Question Room?

OK, so Paul, it's three questions on Arts & Books.

We do appreciate you are a reluctant contestant in this round,

but you can choose the first or the second set.

I'll go first, please.

Your question. To which seaside town, home to his Great-aunt Betsy,

does David Copperfield run when he leaves London?

My mind's drawn a blank here, I'm afraid.

I'm not too familiar with it.

I'm going to take a guess at Dover.

Is he right, Daphne?

-Yes.

-You are right, Paul. It's a good start.

Nothing wrong with luck!

Daphne, which English comedic actor

wrote the 2010 autobiography Nerd Do Well?

Nerd is N-E-R-D.

Oh, crumbs!

Well, it's not Russell Brand.

I haven't heard it.

Um...

I would say out of the other two, Simon Pegg.

You've got it right. Simon Pegg it is.

1-1. Back to you, Paul.

The twins Pat and Isabel O'Sullivan are central characters

in a series of books by Enid Blyton featuring which boarding school?

Again, not too familiar.

I'm not too familiar with Enid Blyton's books.

I'm sure my grandparents are, and they'll be watching this.

And shouting the answer at the TV, I'm sure.

But I'm going to take another punt at St Bernadette's.

I was certain you were going to get that right, but it's St Clare's.

Daphne, which Shakespeare play features foolish servants

called Speed and Launce?

Um...

Ah! The Two Gentlemen Of Verona.

The Two Gentlemen Of Verona is the right answer.

-Back we go to you, Paul. You need to get this one right, OK?

-Yeah.

Which artist won the 2010 Turner Prize

for a sound installation that featured her own voice?

Well, there's a reason I didn't take Books & Arts.

Again, no idea.

I'm going to take a complete guess at Angela de la Cruz.

Let's see if anyone on your team knows.

Is it maybe Gillian Wearing, no?

-I think it's Susan Philipsz.

-Eggheads?

It is. Very good. Yeah, they've got it here.

Susan Philipsz it is, Paul, so there's no way back for you

after three questions.

You've been beaten by Daphne. Doesn't need a third question.

Daphne, you will be in the final, Paul, you've been knocked out.

Please, both of you, rejoin your teams.

Early days, but the challengers have lost one brain

from the final round. The Eggheads have not lost a brain so far.

-The next subject is Geography. How's this?

-Yeah, it's better.

-Got a contingency plan here.

-Ross.

-I'm up.

Ross is up, yeah? Looking eager, good. Against which Egghead?

Can't be Daphne.

-Why don't we go for Pat?

-You think Pat?

-Yeah.

-Go for Pat.

Pat? Pat, please.

I can tell you that Pat recently revealed

he had never travelled outside Europe.

Has that changed since you said that a couple of days ago?

No, I'm afraid I'm still trapped, trapped in Europe.

OK, so it's Ross from Lethal Quizzle against Pat from the Eggheads on Geography.

Please go to the Question Room now.

Ross, you came out confidently there with Geography.

I wouldn't say confidently. It was just part of the contingency plan.

But you picked Pat just because you think you've got the measure of him?

Well, you know, out of the remaining Eggheads,

I thought, you know, that's who I wanted to go for.

He likes to hide his light under a bushel.

He has played Geography, I think, 19 times, Pat, in the main games.

You played Matthew Pinsent once in the celebrity.

Lost to him in the celebrity one, but the 19, you've won all of them.

-Well, that's good!

-It is.

-That sounds good. None in 19.

I'll ask each of you three questions on Geography in turn.

Ross, you can choose to go first or second.

-Which do you want?

-Can I go first, please?

Good luck. Kandahar is a city and region in which Asian country?

Now...

I'm going on a little drive over summer,

passing through a few countries on the way to Mongolia

and Tajikistan's one of them.

Now, I'm trying to think when I've been looking at a map

if I've remembered that being a city or if I can eliminate it?

I think it's in Tajikistan, Jeremy.

I'm afraid the answer is Afghanistan.

It's been in the news a bit with the war and so on. OK, Pat, over to you.

Bikini Atoll is located in which ocean?

Well, the various powers developing their atomic devices

weren't entirely stupid when they did the tests and they did them

as far away as they could possibly manage.

So, it's in the Pacific.

Pacific is the right answer. Is it near Hawaii, then?

It's further south, I think.

It's in that vast scattering of archipelagos in the South Pacific.

Bikini Atoll, Pacific, correct. Well done. Back to you, Ross.

The island of Falster in the Baltic Sea is part of which country?

Well, its location would lead me to say Estonia.

So that's what I'm going to go for.

Help us out here, Eggheads.

-Denmark.

-Denmark.

-But is he right that Estonia and the Baltic sea...?

-Yes.

-Same neighbourhood.

-They all have borders on the Baltic Sea.

-They all do?

-Yes, it's right down in the southern end of Denmark.

Daphne says it's the southern end of Denmark, Ross,

and maybe why you had missed it.

OK, Pat, you're up against the dentist.

If you get this one right, he's going to produce his drill.

California has borders with Arizona, Nevada and which other US state?

I think, going down the West Coast north to south,

I think it's Washington, Oregon, California.

Yes, Washington's at the top with Seattle and below it is Oregon

with a northern border with California, so it's Oregon.

And where's Idaho?

Idaho is to the east of Washington State.

Oregon is the right answer, Pat. Well done.

Sorry, Ross. What can I say?

Oh, well. I wish I'd gone for the second questions,

cos I knew both of those.

That's good, that's good. I'm sorry. You've been knocked out by Pat.

He swings a heavy punch, I'm afraid.

You won't be in the final round and he will,

and please, both of you, rejoin us here in the studio.

As it stands, the challengers lost two brains from the final round,

and the Eggheads have lost no brains.

The next subject is Film & Television.

Is that better for you?

Do you want to have a go, Lee?

I'll try it. It's probably not my strongest.

You're a fan of Colin Firth.

Am I? I thought we weren't bringing that up?!

-THEY LAUGH

-I didn't even hear it!

Lee against who?

-Who should I go against?

-Chris, CJ or Barry.

-What do you think, guys?

Who should I be challenging?

-Go for Barry, I think.

-Barry?

-Yeah.

All right, then. I will choose Barry, please.

OK, so Lee from Lethal Quizzle against Barry from the Eggheads.

And to ensure there's no conferring,

please take your positions in the Question Room.

All right, Film & Television is the round

and you can choose the first or the second set of questions, Lee.

It's not worked that well so far but I am going to stick with first.

Here we go, all the best to you.

Hope you can start turning it around for your team.

Which 2010 film directed by Danny Boyle is based on the true story

of an American climber who's forced to take drastic action

after becoming trapped in a canyon in Utah?

OK, it's not a film that I've seen but I do know the answer.

It's 127 Hours.

127 Hours is the right answer! Well done, Lee.

There was a wonderful thing about this film. In all the posters,

it said, "This film contains one scene of extreme, gory violence,"

and you wonder, "Hmm, I wonder what scene that could be?"

Barry, your question.

Which actor played the character Goose in the film Top Gun

and Dr Greene in the hospital drama ER?

Ah, George Clooney, to the best of my knowledge, wasn't in Top Gun,

but I believe Anthony Edwards was in both so that's my answer.

Anthony Edwards is quite right, Barry. Back to you, Lee.

Let's keep the momentum here.

What was the name of the character played by Judi Dench

in the TV drama series Cranford?

Again it's not something I've seen,

so it's hard for me to know the character.

I'm going to have to take a guess,

and there's two that I'm kind of more keen on going for than the other.

I'm going to go for...

..Miss...

Octavia Pole.

Let's have a look. Daphne, you will know this.

Yeah, it's Miss Matty.

Miss Matty Jenkyns is the answer. Lee, sorry.

What took you to Octavia Pole?

-I'm not sure, really.

-It's a good name.

The name kind of stood out. It's a name that I've heard.

I don't know if it's from another programme or...

Anyone help us with Octavia Pole? Made-up name?

-No, it is from something.

-From something?

I was thinking I have heard it before, but I can't place it.

She's in the same programme, I think. So, it was tough, Lee.

You were very warm.

Barry, who played the title role in the 2001 comedy film

Mike Bassett: England Manager?

Ooh, this was one of those films that I meant to see

and I never got around to seeing.

All fine comedic actors, but I just have a feeling it was Warren Clarke.

-You've got it wrong.

-Oh!

-It was Ricky Tomlinson.

Ah! Should have gone with my first thought.

So we go back to you, Lee.

Now, this is a chance for you to take the lead here, Lee.

-Yeah, hopefully.

-So, it's a big moment for the dentists.

Which Scottish actor who co-created the sitcom The High Life

in the 1990s appeared in Stanley Kubrick's Eyes Wide Shut

as well as one of the X-Men series of films?

HE SIGHS

I'm possibly too young to know the answer to this.

HE MOUTHS

I think I'm going to go for Peter Capaldi.

Let's see if your team-mates know.

I think the Scottish name is John Gordon. The Scottish actor.

Yeah, it's not Peter Capaldi, it's not John Gordon Sinclair.

Alan Cumming is the answer.

Barry has a chance to take the round

now with his third question. Here we go, Barry.

Who was nominated for an Oscar for his direction of the 1953

Western film Shane, starring Alan Ladd?

Oh, this is a classic Western.

I think it features the famous line,

"A man's got to do what a man's got to do."

But who was the director?

I really, really should know this.

I'll just tell you. Was it Fred Zinnemann or George Stevens?

I have a feeling...

My feelings haven't been helping me much in this game,

but I'm going to go for George Stevens.

Why did you go for George?

As Daphne would put it, I have an inkle.

It's one step below an inkling, is an inkle.

They specialise in them.

Your inkle served you well - George Stevens is the correct answer.

Sorry, Lee, you've been knocked out by Barry on Film & TV.

And if you both come back to us, we will play the next round.

So, as it stands, the challengers have now lost three brains

from the final round whilst the Eggheads still haven't lost a brain.

The last subject is History.

Is this going to turn things around?

-What do you think, Saqib?

-Do you want me to take History?

Well, he's got a better general knowledge.

-Your general knowledge is probably better, so I'll go for History.

-OK.

I'll go for history.

Mike on History. OK. Which Egghead? You've got CJ or Chris.

I can see he's been raring to go all day, so I'll go for CJ.

He loves being chosen, don't you?

-I do like playing.

-Yeah, of course. Cos you like to sit in a small room and look at a camera.

-Yes! Which is what the general public want as well.

-It is indeed.

Of course, of course it is!

So, Mike from Lethal Quizzle against CJ the legendary Egghead.

Please go to the Question Room now.

-So, Mike, another dentist in waiting?

-Yep, that's true.

But you want to be a golfer?

I'd love to be a golfer but I'm not quite good enough.

Do you just keep practising in between your dentistry classes?

Yeah, evenings and weekends, maybe. I'll keep going, you never know.

Is that one of your sports, CJ? You seem to know a lot about the US Open and things like that.

As far as I'm concerned, Mark Twain had the right idea.

-"Good walk spoiled."

-Yep.

He's in a good mood, isn't he?

-Absolutely!

-Going to enjoy watching you take CJ apart now, OK?

This has to be where Lethal Quizzle come back.

-That's the plan.

-OK, and you're the team captain,

so it's a vital moment in the contest, this.

Would you like the first or the second set of questions on History?

I'll go first as well, please.

Here is your question.

In what year did the United States enter World War II?

OK, well, my World War II knowledge isn't fantastic but, um...

..yeah, I'll just have a think.

I'm going to go straight down the middle and go for '42.

'42. CJ, do you know this?

I'm not absolutely sure.

Pearl Harbor was bombed on 7 December 1941

and I assume war was declared straight after that, so I'd try '41.

Yeah, he's right as well.

-'41 is the answer, Mike.

-OK.

So, CJ, you can take the lead if you get this first question right.

Prince Albert, the husband of Queen Victoria, was born in which year?

A-ha!

Not 1789, that's too early.

Now when did they marry?

I can't remember what year they got married in.

1819's surely too late.

I'm not absolutely sure but I think it's got to be 1809.

1809 is the wrong answer, CJ.

-It's 1819.

-Oh! That late?

So, let's have a go

with this one then, Mike.

At a battle near Chalons in 451 AD,

whose army opposed the Roman general Aetius?

OK, um...

Again, my knowledge is pretty limited.

I've only actually heard of one of them.

I'm sure they're all real but I've only heard of one of them,

so I'll go with that one and I'll go with Attila.

Attila is the right answer.

-OK.

-Well done.

He's ahead of you, CJ! Here we are, your question.

Which piece of standard equipment for millions of British troops

during the First World War was designed by John Leopold Brodie?

Now, you said designed. To me, that doesn't strike as a rifle.

But the steel helmet worn in the First World War did have

a very distinctive shape,

so I just wonder if that was what was specifically designed.

I don't recognise Brodie's name, unfortunately.

Simply because I can't see a rifle being designed as such

and boots were fairly standard, I'd have thought, I'll try steel helmet.

Steel helmet is the right answer. Chris, do you know about this one?

Yeah, well, for the first few months of World War I, of course,

they went into battle in their ordinary sort of soft peak caps.

And the tin hat steel helmet was designed in a hurry

to rectify this situation because we were getting a lot of head wounds.

And the British one was symmetrical?

Yeah, the British one is a pudding basin, basically.

The French had their own pattern, the so-called Adrian pattern.

And of course, the Germans had the coal scuttle.

Although, originally they had the Pickelhaube with the spike on top

which they wore with a cloth cover.

Then the 1916 German pattern helmet was the coal scuttle

which is slightly bigger than the familiar Nazi pattern

and the two lugs on the side for the visor.

Yeah, you could tell a soldier by the shape of his helmet, basically.

All right. Mike, your question now.

You get this right, you go into the lead.

Maybe you can dislodge him,

-maybe things start to turn and the next thing you know, you've won.

-Let's hope so.

Parliament asserted its supremacy over the monarch

by passing the Bill Of Rights during which reign?

I think I remember roughly covering this in a history class once before,

but I'm afraid I'm not sure of the answer. Erm...

Again, I'm going to have a guess, I'm going to go with Henry VIII.

No, it's not Henry VIII. Anyone here?

-EGGHEADS:

-William and Mary.

-William and Mary.

-So William and Mary is the right answer, Mike.

-OK.

CJ, your question.

Around the time of the 23rd century BC,

the ruler Sargon The Great governed which ancient empire?

This is one of the very early chapters

in the history of the world book I've read.

I don't think Sargon was the Harappan.

I don't know anything about the Kushites

but I know a little about the Akkadians.

I'm not at all sure but I'll try the Akkadians.

Barry knows this.

Yes, he was definitely the Akkadian.

It was the first empire ever founded in the world.

Akkadian is the right answer, CJ, so you have two points, Mike has one.

CJ, you're in the final, and Mike, I'm sorry to say you're not.

Please come back to us and we will play the final round.

So, here we are. This is what we have been playing towards.

It is time for the final round, as always, General Knowledge.

But I'm afraid those of you who lost your head-to-heads

won't be allowed to take part in this round,

so Mike, Ross, Paul and Lee from Lethal Quizzle,

would you please leave the studio?

-Well, Saqib, here we are.

-Yeah.

-How are you feeling about it?

Still quietly confident, I'm not going to lie. Yeah.

-It's been done before and I think I can do it again.

-Good, excellent.

-You're playing to win Lethal Quizzle £7,000.

-Yeah.

Back there, they're going to be very grateful to you if you win it.

I'm sure there will, yeah.

CJ, Daphne, Chris, Barry and Pat, you're playing for something that money can't buy -

the Eggheads' reputation.

As usual, I will ask each team three questions in turn.

The questions are all General Knowledge

and I usually say you are allowed to confer,

-but obviously it's difficult in the situation that you're in.

-Yeah.

So the question here is, is your one brain, Saqib, better

than the Eggheads' five brains? Do you want to go first or second?

I think we'll go for a change of plan and I'll go second, please.

Here we go, Eggheads, with your first question.

Which pop star made headlines in 2010

when she wore a dress purportedly made out of raw meat?

-Sounds like Lady Gaga.

-I thought that was Daphne!

-Yeah.

-Lady Gaga.

Yes, it was.

-Looked disgusting.

-Yeah.

Got to be a joke there about Bad Romance and bad meat,

but it would be too laboured to get there, so it's Lady Gaga.

Lady Gaga is the right answer.

And obviously, Daphne, you won't be, as you say,

-trying that any time soon.

-No!

Not at all enjoyable.

Right, your question, Saqib.

What is the title of the studio album by Lou Reed that contains

the songs Perfect Day, Walk On The Wild Side and Satellite Of Love?

Um, I've heard the song.

Obviously, Perfect Day's a really, really famous song.

I don't know the album name, but just looking at it,

what just looks right is Transformer for some reason,

so I'll go with that.

You've got it right. Transformer is the right answer. Well done.

Eggheads, Filton Airport serves which English city?

I think that might be Bristol.

Filton's where the Bristol aircraft factory used to be,

so it's got to be Bristol, hasn't it?

-Filton's definitely in Bristol.

-Not going to argue on this one.

Brabazon and all that.

-Oh, the Brabazon?

-Yes.

-Don't get me started! Yeah, it's Bristol, Jeremy.

It is Bristol, yeah. THEY LAUGH

It's where you're studying!

-Bristol is the right answer. Oh, that's a shame.

-Yeah.

That would have been almost a freebie that question for you.

Here's your second question.

Who's most likely to use a Snellen chart in their place of work?

Could you spell Snellen for me, please, Jeremy?

Snellen is capital S-N-E-L-L-E-N. Snellen chart.

In my head, possibly a Snellen chart is the thing you go to

when you get your eyes checked. Possibly.

So, therefore, for that reason I'm going to go for an optometrist.

Optometrist is the right answer.

Very, very confident play

by young Saqib here.

Could we be in for an upset? I wonder, I wonder!

OK, third question to Eggheads. Let's see.

George Raynor managed which football team to the final

of the 1958 World Cup?

Sweden got to the final of the 1958 World Cup.

Brazil won it.

-CJ:

-Yeah, in '58.

I'm fairly certain they beat Sweden in the final. It wasn't Uruguay.

Uruguay and Italy, I don't think, were in the final.

We're fairly sure it's not Uruguay.

-I think they'd finished by then, hadn't they?

-Yeah.

-Barry?

-I'm pretty certain Sweden had an English manager at the time.

-OK.

Right, OK.

Well, you know my opinion of 22 overpaid buffoons

punting a pig's bladder about a field,

but the consensus of opinion over here is that it was Sweden.

Sweden is the right answer. Well done. Three out of three for you.

They haven't made it easy for you, Saqib,

but you're playing well. You've got two right.

If you get one more right, you'll have scored as many in the final

as the entire team did in their individual rounds put together.

So, here's your third question to take them to Sudden Death.

If you get this wrong, the contest is over.

Which American entertainer was UNICEF's first

Goodwill Ambassador, appointed in 1954?

-1954 was the year?

-Yep.

The only one out of them three that I've heard of is Bob Hope.

And...

Danny Kaye?

Doesn't ring a bell. 1952 did you say?

-Let me read it again.

-OK.

Which American entertainer was UNICEF's first Goodwill Ambassador,

appointed in 1954?

I'm going to go for the one that came into my head first

and that's Bob Hope.

Bob Hope is your answer.

Eggheads, do you know?

-EGGHEADS:

-Danny Kaye.

-Danny Kaye is the right answer.

So, bad luck.

Valiant attempt at the end to turn things around

but congratulations, Eggheads, you have won.

I thought you were just going to go bang, bang, bang.

-Yeah, that was the plan in my head, yeah.

-Completely wipe them out there.

-You had the look of determination.

-Yeah, I did.

Commiserations. The Eggheads have done what comes naturally and their winning streak continues.

I'm afraid it does mean that Lethal Quizzle won't go home with £7,000,

so the money rolls over to our next show.

Eggheads, congratulations. Who will beat you?

Join us next time to see if a new team of challengers have the brains

to defeat the Eggheads.

£8,000 says they don't. Till then, goodbye.

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