Episode 158 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've won some of the country's toughest quiz shows.

They are the Eggheads.

And taking on the resident quiz champions today

are the Slann-Clan Plus One,

from the village of Chinley in Derbyshire.

Mum and dad Angie and Nigel, along with two of their sons,

Greg and Laurence, make up the Slanns,

just leaving Laurence's friend Taha to complete the quintet.

Let's meet them.

Hi, I'm Angie, I'm 56, and I'm an assistant lecturer.

Hi, I'm Nigel, I'm 53, and I'm a current operations manager.

Hi, I'm Greg, I'm 19, and I'm a mechanical engineering student.

Hi, I'm Laurence, I'm 21, and I'm a materials engineering student.

Hi, I'm Taha, I'm 21, and I'm an economics student.

-Angie and team, welcome.

-Thank you.

So, the Slann-Clan is the family,

and Taha, you're the additional one on the end?

Friend of the family.

You had a vehicle that used to take the family round?

Yes, when they were youngsters at the primary school in Chinley,

we had a car that was white, and it was one of the big, six-seater cars.

And people would say, "Look, the Slann-Clan Van!"

That's how we ended up being the Slann-Clan,

purely because of the car.

OK, so you rolled into the studio to beat these Eggheads here.

-And good luck to you.

-Thank you.

Every day, there is £1,000 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 Slann-Clan Plus One, the Eggheads have won the last eight games,

which means £9,000 says you can't beat them today.

Are you ready to try?

-ALL: Yes.

-Here we go.

The first head-to-head battle is on the subject of Music.

-Do we have a plan for Music?

-PARENTS: Music, guys?

I can do it, if you want.

-I don't know any music.

-NIGEL:

-OK. Go on, Taha.

-Give it a go.

-ANGIE: Be brave.

-Against which Eggheads?

-NIGEL:

-Judith?

-Yeah, I'll play Judith, please.

-Judith on Music.

-That's good news for you, Judith!

-Not terribly.

Means you can't have Sport!

It means I can't have Sport, but Music might be... I'm not sure.

-LAUGHTER

-OK.

Taha from the Slann-Clan Plus One

versus Judith from the Eggheads. To ensure no conferring,

would you please take your positions in the question room.

-So, Taha, you were volunteered Music, then?

-I was, yeah.

-But you like music yourself?

-I do. I'm a keen music fan.

Have you got a band?

My favourite band is the Red Hot Chilli Peppers,

but my music taste varies quite a lot, so it's all right.

It's multiple-choice questions, and you can choose

-the first or second set.

-I'll go first please, Jeremy.

Here we go. Good luck.

"I'm nothing special - in fact, I'm a bit of bore" are the opening words

of which Abba song?

Ooh, Abba's not my strong point.

I think my mum was a big fan, so I know most of their songs.

Based on the line, I think I'll have to go for

Lay All Your Love On Me.

Yeah, it's just based on what the first line is, I'm not sure.

That's the wrong answer.

Thank You For The Music is the right answer, Taha.

OK, Judith, your question.

Who wrote the lyrics for the musical

Joseph And The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat?

That was one of the very first Lloyd Webber-Tim Rice

collaborations, wasn't it?

I think it's Tim Rice.

Tim Rice is the right answer. Well done.

Back to you, Taha.

Which group had nine UK Top 40 singles in the 1990s,

including the songs Zombie, Linger and Salvation?

I've not heard of Black Grape.

Lemonheads, not entirely sure whether they were big enough to have nine.

So I think I'm going to go for The Cranberries.

The Cranberries is the right answer, well done.

First point to the challengers.

OK, Judith, your question. To take the lead.

Which artist's solo albums include Wild Wood, Stanley Road

and Wake Up The Nation?

Um...

I don't know.

Sting.

No.

-You know, Taha?

-I don't, actually.

-OK. Paul Weller.

-I nearly said that.

-If you're 45 years old,

you know that straightaway.

-I'm only 29(!)

-I know. I'm 45.

I wasn't suggesting you were for a second!

OK, so that's quite handy. One point each, Taha.

If you get this one right, Judith may panic.

Which American composer won the Pulitzer Prize for music

in 1958 for his opera Vanessa

and again in 1963 for his piano concerto?

Ooh.

No, it's not my forte, this topic,

but I've picked up some names.

So, I think I'm going to go for Samuel Barber.

-OK. What about Eggheads?

-ALL: Barber.

Barber is the right answer.

-APPLAUSE

-Well done. OK.

JEREMY LAUGHS

There we are, very good strategy to play Taha in this round. OK.

Judith, if you get this one wrong, we know what happens.

Who had UK number-one singles in the 1950s with the songs

Finger Of Suspicion and Christmas Alphabet?

Well, I haven't heard of two and three,

but I have heard of number one, so Dickie Valentine.

Dickie Valentine is the right answer.

So, two points each after three questions.

They were multiple-choice, we go to sudden death, Taha.

-It's harder, I don't give you alternatives. Are you ready?

-Yeah.

Like I Love You, released in 2002,

was which US singer's first solo UK Top 10 hit single?

No-one is springing to mind, unfortunately. Um...

I'm going to take a complete stab at this.

I may be going back, or going a bit too late,

but I'm going to say Christina Aguilera.

-No, it's a bloke, actually, Justin Timberlake.

-Ah!

Judith, if you get this right, you are in the final round.

The Heather On The Hill is a song from which musical,

by Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe?

Um, it must be Scottish.

Er, Brigadoon.

Brigadoon is the right answer, Judith, you've taken the round.

Sorry, Taha. It can happen against these Eggheads.

They look as if they're on the ropes and, bang, they just hit you.

Judith, you're in the final round, Taha you've been knocked out.

Please both of you come back and rejoin your team-mates.

As it stands, the Slann-Clan Plus One are minus a brain

from the final round.

The Eggheads have still got all their brains.

The next subject is Sport.

-Who is the Sport person?

-When you're ready, Laurence!

ANGIE: I think we know that.

Laurence, OK. Which Egghead on Sport? Can't be Judith.

THEY CONFER

-NIGEL:

-Chris?

-Yeah, I think I'll play Chris, please.

Oh, that's made him really happy(!) Look at that.

ANGIE: Come on, Chris, a smile!

Yeah, all right.

So Laurence from the Slann-Clan Plus One versus Chris from the Eggheads.

To ensure there's no conferring, please take your positions.

Laurence, it was your idea to put the family forward for the quiz?

It was, yes. Just sitting at home one day, saying, "We could do that."

You are the one they went to on Sport as soon as I said the word.

-Yeah, it should be my thing, hopefully.

-OK.

Good luck in this round. Sport against Chris.

Three questions, multiple-choice,

you can choose the first or second set.

I'll go first, please.

Here we go. Good luck.

Who was the British referee at the 2010 football World Cup final?

I actually do know this one.

Obviously, I watched the World Cup final. It was Howard Webb.

It was Howard Webb, yeah. Very good.

OK, Chris, Roehampton in London

is the location of which sporting centre of excellence?

Now, Roehampton is not too far away from Wimbledon, is it?

Up by Putney Heath there.

I know the Froebel Institute is up there.

The National Rugby Centre would be

somewhere in South Wales, I would think.

National Snooker Centre, no.

It's National Tennis Centre at Roehampton.

National Tennis Centre is correct. One point each. Back to Laurence.

The Tigers is the nickname of which international cricket team?

I actually know this one as well, I think. It's not West Indies,

and it's not Australia. I think it's Bangladesh.

Bangladesh is correct.

Here we go, Chris, to keep up.

Traditionally, at which racecourse is

the Irish Grand National annually staged?

Ooh-hoo.

The Curragh, I don't think so.

It's either Leopardstown or Fairyhouse.

I'll go with Leopardstown.

-Let's see if Laurence knows. Is he right?

-I don't know that.

-Horse racing isn't my thing, so I'm lucky.

-Pat will know. Pat?

-Fairyhouse, I think.

-Fairyhouse is

the right answer, so you're wrong, Chris.

OK, Laurence, if you get this right,

you've taken the round and you're in the final.

In 2010, the Korean Jiyai Shin

became the world's number-one sportswoman in which sport?

Um...

Not my stuff. I don't think it's golf.

Um...

I'm torn between squash and table tennis.

I think I'll take a...

I'm going to say squash.

-No, it's golf, actually.

-Is it?

-Yeah.

Number one golfing woman in the world.

Jiyai Shin.

Chris, if you get this wrong, you're out.

Which American football quarterback's record

of 297 consecutive starts

came to an end in 2010 due to a shoulder injury?

HE WHISTLES

Now, Brett Favre has been the answer to a question

once before on Eggheads.

Er...

Because he's already broken cover on Eggheads,

I'll go with Brett Favre.

What sort of logic is that?!

He's been the answer to a question in the past on this programme,

-so he must be the right answer?

-Yeah.

-Desperate stuff.

-Yeah.

Brett Favre is the right answer.

That does not seem fair, does it?

So, two points each after three questions,

and it goes to Sudden Death.

Keep up the pressure here.

Which British Formula One driver attempted,

but narrowly failed, to win a place on the British trap shooting team

for the 1960 Summer Olympics?

I don't know.

Um...

I'm going to say Eddie Jordan.

No, it was Jackie Stewart. Jackie Stewart.

Chris has the chance to take the round on Sport of all things.

-How about that?

-How about that?

Which English golfer won the 1969 Open and the 1970 US Open?

English golfer.

Er...

Tony Jacklin?

Tony Jacklin is the right answer.

You've done it on Sport.

Laurence, sorry, he's knocked you out.

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

A bit of a setback there, Angie.

Yes, disappointing, but never mind, we'll keep going.

I see Laurence knows his Sport.

He knows his Sport. He plays it and he knows it.

The Eggheads have lost no brains,

you've lost two, and the next subject is Arts & Books.

-Who would like this?

-Don't look at me!

Me, I suppose.

-NIGEL:

-Yes, it is.

-Good luck.

-Thank you. It looks like it's me.

-OK. Against which Egghead?

-Um, I'll take Kevin, please.

-Kevin on Arts & Books.

When did you last do this, Kevin?

-I have done it comparatively recently.

-All right.

Good luck to you, Angie.

You have taken on the main man over there.

Angie from Slann-Clan Plus One versus Kevin from the Eggheads.

Please take your positions in the question room.

Well, Angie, good luck in this round.

-Thank you. I think I might need it.

-You work for the Open University?

Yes, I do, I'm a part-time lecturer for the Open University.

Does that mean you lecture in a virtual way?

Yes, I'm online most of the time.

I teach foundation design courses in the engineering programme,

and, yes, my students have never seen me until now, I suppose.

-Arts and books come into this?

-Not at all, I'm afraid.

Did you say design?

-Yes, design and materials in technology.

-OK.

All right, good luck against Kevin. He is quite a mean player.

I don't think he's mean, just good.

I'll come back to you in five minutes on that, OK?

So, three questions, multiple-choice,

Angie, you can choose the first or second set.

I'll go for the first set, please.

Here we go. Your first question.

Olga, Masha and Irina are the names of the sisters in which play?

SHE SIGHS

I'm afraid it's not one

that I can straightaway give an answer to.

I have a feeling it will be Three Sisters.

-Who's Three Sisters by, Eggheads?

-ALL: Chekhov.

-Chekhov. And it's the right answer.

-APPLAUSE

Three Sisters it is. Kevin, your question.

Who wrote the 2010 novel A Tiny Bit Marvellous?

A Tiny Bit Marvellous. I'm not aware of it.

I know Dawn French has done a couple.

I think it's her, but I'm just having...

I'm just trying to rule out the other two.

I'm not aware of the other two having had books out.

Yes. Dawn French.

Dawn French is the right answer.

Angie,

who wrote the 1920s novel All Quiet On The Western Front?

I know the story, I just don't know who wrote it!

Um... SHE SIGHS

I can't put a context around any of the authors there.

I'm going to go for Erich Maria Remarque.

100% spot on. Well done.

Erich Maria Remarque.

OK. Your question.

According to the poem The Green Eye Of The Little Yellow God,

by J Milton Hayes,

there's a one-eyed yellow idol to the north of which city?

There's a one-eyed idol... Yes, I think it's... OK. Um...

I'm just making sure, because there are also poems involving Mandalay.

But I think the one-eyed idol is to the north of Khatmandu.

Khatmandu is the right answer, well done. Two points each.

Angie, fend him off.

I'll try.

Who wrote the 1909 futuristic short story

The Machine Stops, in which civilisation grinds to a halt

when the giant machine that controls it breaks down?

Er, EM Forster's Passage To India. Doesn't sound his sort of thing.

Sounds very HG Wells to me, so I will make the answer HG Wells.

-Chris? Anyone know this?

-I'd go with Wells, yeah.

-It's not Wells. EM Forster is the right answer.

-Ah, OK.

OK, your chance to take the round, Kevin, if you get this right.

Winter, Fifth Avenue is a famous photograph

from the 1890s by which photographer?

Right, it doesn't ring any bells immediately. From the 1890s?

Well, the real wild card is Clarence Hudson White.

I just don't know... I don't know him.

I think it's unlikely to be Edward Steichen,

because he was born in 1876,

which means in the 1890s...

He could have been in his early 20s by the end of the decade.

Alfred Stieglitz...was at the height of his powers then.

And that's quite close to the point at which

he set up the Photo-Secession Movement.

I think, with the proviso that the wild card is Clarence Hudson White,

who I just don't know, I would go for our Alfred Stieglitz

on the basis of him being at the height of his powers at that time

and probably the most prominent photographer in the States

at that point. So I'll go for Stieglitz.

It is Stieglitz, well done. You've taken that question,

and he is a mean player, isn't he, Angie?

He gives so little away. Kevin, well done. You've taken the round.

Angie, sorry, you've been knocked out, as well. Please come back

and rejoin your teams.

As it stands, the challengers have lost three brains

from the final round, while the Eggheads

have lost no brains, and our last subject before the final is Science.

-OK.

-That answers all questions!

-ANGIE: I would've liked it!

Yes, it's me, then.

-Greg?

-We will go with Greg.

-Greg on Science against who?

-Barry?

-We've agreed.

-Barry, please.

OK, so it's Greg from Slann-Clan Plus One

against Barry from the Eggheads.

To ensure there's no conferring, please go to the question room.

So, Greg, Science is your thing?

-Yeah, hopefully!

-Because you're a student at the moment?

-Yeah, studying mechanical engineering.

-Right.

-So that's all the physical side of science?

-Yeah, hopefully.

Good luck getting into the final,

otherwise your dad is going to be on his own. Three questions.

-Would you like the first or the second set?

-I'll go first, please.

Here we go. The simple organism called an amoeba is formed

from how many cells?

Um, I think I know that.

I'm not very good at biology, but I think it's one.

One is the right answer.

Barry, spiders, scorpions

and mites all belong to which class of creatures?

Annelids are worms,

and amphibians are things like salamanders and newts,

but spiders, scorpions and mites are all arachnids.

They are all arachnids. Well done. One point each.

Back to you, Greg.

Which fruit comes from the tree Prunus armeniaca?

Um, this could be quite difficult.

I don't think it's gooseberry.

I'm pretty sure it comes from a bush. I'm stuck between kiwi and apricot.

I think I'm going...

I'm going to go for apricot, I think.

-But I'm not really sure at all.

-Let's ask your mum. Angie?

-Yes, I think he's right.

-You're right, Greg. Well done. Nicely done.

Barry, to keep up, in the standard layout of the periodic table,

hydrogen and which other element are only members of the first period?

I'm tempted to sing the Tom Lehrer song about the elements,

but I won't. The answer to that is helium.

Helium is the right answer. Well done.

So, you're equal, Greg. You're playing well, though.

Who at the age of 47 is credited with being the oldest man

to set foot on the Moon?

This always does me,

who stepped on the Moon. HE LAUGHS

But I'm pretty sure it's Buzz Aldrin.

I'm hoping, at least!

Well, he did, but it's not the right answer here.

Alan Shepard was 47 when he set foot on the Moon.

Sorry, Greg, it gives Barry a chink of daylight.

If you get this, you're in the final round.

Which American evolutionary biologist wrote the popular

science books Ever Since Darwin and The Panda's Thumb?

Well, the only evolutionary biologist I recognise there,

who wrote books about punctuated equilibrium,

was Stephen Jay Gould,

so, on that basis alone, I should go for Stephen Jay Gould.

Is the right answer, well done. You've taken that round.

Greg, you've been knocked out, I'm afraid. If you come back to us,

we will play the final.

This is what we have been playing towards.

It is time for the final round,

which, as always, is General Knowledge.

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

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

So, Angie, Greg, Laurence and Taha from Slann-Clan Plus One,

would you please now leave the studio?

Nigel, you're playing to win Slann-Clan Plus One £9,000.

Chris, Barry, Pat, Judith and Kevin,

you're playing something money can't buy, the Eggheads' reputation.

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

This time, the questions are all General Knowledge,

and you are allowed to confer, but, effectively, that's for them.

Nigel, the question is,

is your one brain better than the Eggheads' five, and would you

like to go first or second?

I think I'll carry on. I'll go first, please.

Good luck to you, Nigel,

the Slann-Clan are cheering you on.

The approximately 300 square-mile plateau known as Salisbury Plain

is in which English county?

OK, well, if Geography had come up, I was going to go for Geography,

so that's good.

It's not up north and it's not Cheshire - it's Wiltshire.

Wiltshire is the right answer. Good, you got one point, that's great.

Eggheads, Pobol Y Cwm,

the longest-running BBC TV soap, is based in which part of the UK?

-JUDITH: Wales? CHRIS:

-Definitely Wales.

-We're going for Wales, Jeremy.

-Wales is the correct answer.

-What is the "cwm" in that?

-That's "valley" in Wales. C-W-M.

Your question, Nigel.

Which comedian, later to become part of a famous double act,

first appeared on stage with his father in an act

called Bert Carson And His Little Wonder?

OK, Ronnie Corbett is small, he could be Little.

Dudley Moore, I don't believe...

I'm leaning towards Ernie Wise. Yeah, I'm going with Ernie Wise.

It's the right answer. Well done.

Would have been an easy one to slip up on.

Eggheads, which politician called George W Bush the Devil

in a speech at the United Nations in 2006?

2006.

It could be Hugo Chavez.

BARRY: I don't think Castro.

Why do you think it's Chavez? Because I think it's Chavez?

-Well, from the politics.

-Venezuela.

Castro was more or less out of it by then.

Vladimir Putin wouldn't.

KEVIN: It's not Putin. BARRY: I think it must be Chavez.

PAT: There has been personal stuff between Chavez and Bush.

Chavez and lots of people.

KEVIN: It was about the time that Castro was calling it a day

for illness reasons. I don't know it as such.

The percentage one is Chavez.

-Do we want to try Chavez?

-ALL: Yes.

OK, we're not sure of this, but we are going with Hugo Chavez.

Hugo Chavez is the right answer, Eggheads, so third question.

See if you can get this right, Nigel, and then maybe

they will just collapse in a surge of their own contradictions.

Which American film director has written a book on the subject

of transcendental meditation called Catching The Big Fish?

I enjoy Clint Eastwood, a good producer, a good actor.

I don't think it's Clint Eastwood.

I'm being drawn towards Quentin Tarantino.

I'll go for Quentin Tarantino.

-Let's see if the Eggheads know.

-It sounds like David Lynch to me.

David Lynch is the right answer. David Lynch it was.

Let's see, Eggheads. If you get this wrong, we go to Sudden Death.

If you get it right, the contest is over.

The top stripe on the Colombian flag,

which is double the width of the other two stripes, is what colour?

My first thought was yellow.

The more I think about that, more I think it's...

I think it's a broad yellow band.

KEVIN: Yeah.

Ecuador is the same, with different proportions, yeah.

I think it's yellow, blue and red, from top to bottom. Yeah.

The stars on the Venezuelan flag are in the arc

on the blue bit in the middle.

And the yellow is not at the bottom, so I think it's yellow.

As you say, I've got a picture there.

It came straight to mind, the picture.

-Everybody happy with yellow?

-Yes, I think yellow.

We're going to go with yellow, Jeremy.

Your answer is yellow.

Eggheads, yellow is correct. Three out of three,

and congratulations, you have won.

Bad luck, Nigel, you let them in there on the David Lynch,

and also with five of them there, it is particularly tough.

Commiserations to your team.

The Eggheads have done what comes naturally to them,

and their winning streak continues. I'm afraid it means

you won't be going home with £9,000.

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.

£10,000 says they don't. Till then, goodbye.

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