Episode 67 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, where five quiz challengers pit their wits against possibly the greatest quiz team.

You might recognise them. They've won some of the toughest quiz shows. They are the Eggheads.

Taking them on today are The Diplomats.

They all worked in the European Directorate of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

Hi, my name's Claire. I'm 35 and a civil servant.

Hi, my name's James, I'm 33 and I'm a civil servant.

Hi, I'm Will, I'm 34 and I'm a civil servant.

Hello. I'm Andrew, I'm 34 and I'm a civil servant.

Hi. I'm Ian, I'm 44 and I'm also a civil servant.

Welcome to you, Diplomats. What kind of quizzing do you do?

We've done a little bit. At our Christmas party, we came second

and we also go to various pubs in London as well after work and we play together then.

The whole team?

-Yeah.

-A proper pub quiz team. Do you call yourself the Diplomats?

-No, usually a bit more low-key.

-What kind of stuff have you won?

-Small amounts of money.

Well, let's take on the Eggheads today and see if you can add them to your trophy cabinet.

Every day there's £1,000 up for grabs for our challengers.

If they fail to defeat the Eggheads, that rolls over.

So Diplomats, the challengers won the last game, so it can be done.

That means £1,000 says you can't beat the Eggheads.

Our first head-to-head challenge is going to be on Film and Television.

Who'd like to play this?

- Will? - I could take this.

I'll take this one, Dermot. And I would like to challenge Judith.

OK, worked out in advance. It's Will and Judith playing Film and Television.

Would you both please go into the Question Room?

Will, I know you're playing Film and Television, but we have a sporting category

in which we quite often feature the sport of darts.

It causes some debate as to whether it's a sport or not.

You've had a role to play in this.

Yes, I was working at the Department of Culture, Media and Sport

and my Minister was a big fan of darts. He'd got up in the House one day

and said, "I want darts to be officially recognised as a sport."

Then he called me in and said, "Right, Will. Make it happen."

So I had to write a letter for him setting out why darts really is a big physical challenge

and a really skilled game. And, well, we did it.

Indeed. We need it at the Olympics, Will, in time for 2012. Think of all the medals we'd win!

OK, we are playing Film and Television. Would you like to go first or second?

I will go second, please, Dermot.

Judith, your first question.

A Star In A Reasonably-Priced Car is a segment in which TV show?

-A Star In A Reasonably...?

-Priced Car.

-First question, state the obvious. Top Gear.

-Top Gear?

-I take it you don't watch it.

-No.

-Right, OK.

It is the right answer, yes.

They've had some very big stars. Tom Cruise, not so long ago.

Top Gear is correct.

OK, Will, which character in the children's TV series Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? typically wears

a green t-shirt and brown bell-bottom trousers?

I remember Scooby-Doo and the gang very well from childhood days.

I definitely have to say it was Shaggy.

Yep, Shaggy. Yes. Scooby's best friend.

Judith, second question.

Which 2002 film contains the line, "With great power comes great responsibility"?

I don't think it was Harry Potter.

I think it was Spider-Man.

Very good! It is. You could see that applying to any of those, but it's Spider-Man.

OK, Will.

In 1962, Valerie Tatlock, played by Anne Reid, became the first wife of which Coronation Street character?

Well, I'm not a big lover of soaps, so I'm going to have to take a leap in the dark here.

But I do know Ken Barlow was in Corrie for ever

-so I'll go with Ken Barlow.

-Ken Barlow.

Plenty of wives. Valerie Tatlock was his first. It's the right answer, well done.

Ken Barlow, identified by Will.

Judith, third question. Which actor appeared in the films

Shutter Island, Zodiac and 13 Going On 30?

Shutter Island was 2010, wasn't it?

So I should know.

But don't.

-Gerard Butler.

-Gerard Butler?

-Yeah.

-Other Eggheads?

-Mark Ruffalo.

-Oh.

-Not Gerard Butler. So...

That's what you hoped for, Will.

That's why you put Judith in first. You go through to the final round if you get this.

In which Western film do Dean Martin and Ricky Nelson sing a song called, "My Rifle, My Pony and Me"?

Well, again, I'll have to take a guess, but I don't remember there being any songs in Fort Apache

or Rio Bravo,

so I'm going to go with The Quiet Man.

OK, The Quiet Man.

It's not, no.

It's Rio Bravo. It is Rio Bravo.

-The Quiet Man, Dean Martin's not in it.

-And it's not a Western.

Yeah, indeed. Not even a Western, no.

Rio Bravo missed by Will.

A chance gone begging, so we go to sudden death.

Just to remind you, Will, Judith well knows this,

that we remove those options.

Judith, what was the title of the popular TV sitcom of the 1990s starring Gary Olsen and Belinda Lang

-and which took its name from the supposed average size of a British family?

-2.25...

2.5 children? Or something like that, I think.

So what's your answer?

2.5 Children.

-I can't accept it.

-2.4.

-It's 2.4 Children!

-The average size of the British family.

-Oh.

-Sorry.

Because it's based on that, 2.5 isn't good enough.

Which means you've given another chance to Will.

In which decade was the Charlie Chaplin film The Gold Rush originally released?

Well...I don't know too much about early cinema,

but I think the heyday for Charlie Chaplin must have been the '20s, so I'm going to go with the '20s.

1920s. It's the right answer! You're in the final round. Well done.

A very narrow victory.

Judith was 0.1 out with her answer.

On The Gold Rush, the precise date?

It's a funny one because of different release dates. Sometimes you see it down as '24, sometimes as '25.

-I've always thought of it as '24, but increasingly you see '25.

-I've seen '25.

That would have been interesting if we'd asked! But the decade was the 1920s. Will's in the final round.

Both please come back and join your teams.

The Diplomats are all there, the Eggheads have lost one brain.

We move on to our second category. This one's Science.

Who'd like to play this?

-Not you, Ian, by the look on your face.

-Is it going to be me, then?

You're one of our top two.

-Me or Will.

-Yeah. Are you happy?

-It can't be me!

-I'll do it.

-I'll take that, Dermot.

-Which Egghead do you want to choose?

Em...who do you think? I like the look of Barry.

-I'll have Barry, please.

-It's that shirt, isn't it? It's a winning combo.

Let's have Andrew and Barry into the Question Room, then.

Well, Andrew, our Chris was very excited about you coming because of your grandfather.

-He was an inventor?

-That's right. He was an electrical engineer

and he worked on the project to build the levitating train

that ran between Birmingham International and the airport.

Levitating? A magnetic track?

Yes, that's right. It sits on a bed of air because the magnetic poles are opposed,

so it floats. I'm beginning to sound like I know about science, which is not true at all!

It sounds plausible to me. Chris, excuse the pun, but it never really took off here.

-But the Japanese have got one?

-Yeah. The Chinese are building one.

There was a huge test track about 18 miles long on the Bedford Levels in Cambridgeshire,

about 30 years ago. That's gone now.

But it is up and running in Birmingham.

Like poles repel, so it's about an inch or so off the ground.

Then you use magnets in the other direction to give it linear force and it uses very little energy.

And track maintenance is a lot less?

Well, yeah, it doesn't wear. You've got a guidance system, so it has wear and tear,

but the actual track itself, the thing floats an inch above.

-Fascinating stuff. That leads us in. Andrew, first or second?

-I'll go first, please, Dermot.

This is your question. In mathematics, the binary system has a base of what number?

The "bi" is a clue, as in bicycle and biped. It's 2.

Yes, it's based on 2.

OK, Barry. Hypoxia

is the name for the condition when part of the body is starved of which element?

I think there's a clue in this question as well. The "ox" refers to oxygen, so it's oxygen.

Yes, correct. Straight back to you, Andrew.

What's the term for the means by which radio signals are transported from a transmitter to a receiver?

All of those answers look like they have more to do with gardening so this is a complete guess.

-I'll go for propagation.

-I'm not sure it is a complete guess. Yes!

Well done. Two to you and, Barry,

with a diameter of around 5,150 kilometres,

which is the second-largest moon in the Solar System, after Ganymede?

Phobos is absolutely tiny. I believe the second-largest moon is the only one with an atmosphere - Titan.

-It has an atmosphere?

-It does. I think it's...

-I think it might be methane.

-OK.

Titan is the right answer. 5,150 kilometres in diameter.

Both going very strongly.

Third question, Andrew. Completed at the University of Manchester in 1948,

the small-scale experimental machine nicknamed Baby is acknowledged as the world's first working what?

It rings a bell, but it might be the wrong bell. I think it's...

Radio telescopes were invented before. Stored-program computer.

Stored-program computer. Baby.

A small-scale experimental machine. It's the right answer! Well done.

You've got three. OK.

Barry, which element in the Periodic Table was named by the Swiss scientist Jean Charles de Marignac

after the Swedish town in which it was discovered?

There's four elements named after this town in Sweden.

It holds the record for the number of elements.

This one is Ytterbium. From Ytterby.

It's the right answer. Thank you for the extra information.

It is correct.

So it means we go to sudden death once more. Andrew, your question.

In which century was the British physicist and chemist Michael Faraday born?

I'm guessing again, Dermot. I'm going to guess for the 18th century.

18th century for the birth century of Michael Faraday. That's right.

That was a tricky one because his work was done in the 19th century, but born in the 18th.

-Do we know what year, Eggheads?

-1791.

-1791. So well negotiated by Andrew there.

He listened very carefully.

You need to get this, Barry.

Macropus rufus -

M-A-C-R-O-P-U-S - Macropus rufus

is the scientific name for what type of kangaroo, the world's largest marsupial?

Macropus is the genus of kangaroo and rufus means red.

-There is a red kangaroo, so red kangaroo.

-It is, yes!

They're quite easy when you know how. Macropus rufus - the red kangaroo.

Andrew, for what does the letter C stand in the abbreviation CBT,

a psychological treatment based on the belief

that most unwanted thinking patterns are learned and can be unlearned?

I don't know much about psychology, but I've heard of cognitive behaviour therapy, so I'm guessing "cognitive".

It's the right answer. Cognitive behavioural therapy is CBT.

Well, Barry...

-You must be thinking, "What have I got to do to beat this guy?"

-Just a little.

You've got to get this right to hang on in there.

If light from a large source is intercepted by an object,

the dark central shadow cast is called the umbra

and the partial shadow surrounding that is known by what corresponding name?

-Surrounding the umbra is the penumbra.

-Yes, penumbra and umbra.

Back to Andrew.

Who wrote the 1794 work entitled Zoonomia: Or The Laws Of Organic Life

that commented on natural history and the basic concept of evolution?

I'm trying to think of the first geneticist.

But I can't remember his name.

Um...

I can't even begin to guess, I'm afraid, Dermot. I'm going to have to pass on this one.

OK, the first pass in the round.

Not anything there for Andrew. Barry?

-I have heard it. Was it Ray?

-No. Other Eggheads?

-Lamarck?

-No.

-Evolution is the key here. Kept it in the family.

-Erasmus Darwin.

-Erasmus Darwin.

Grandfather of Charles. Erasmus Darwin.

Barry, what name taken from that of a German scientist

is given to the phenomenon in which magnetic flux is excluded from a substance

when it is in a super-conducting state?

I believe, fingers crossed on this, that is the Meissner effect.

The Meissner effect is the correct answer, Barry.

You have just got into the final round.

These games are so tight so far, Will and Judith's and now Andrew and Barry's.

It means you're in the final round, only just, Barry.

Bad luck, Andrew, after a really storming performance there, but just not made it.

Would you both please come back and join your teams?

Andrew, as the stopgap performer on that subject, that was a fantastic effort.

Just not to be. Barry on some really good form there himself.

Both teams have lost one brain from the final round. It's all square at this point.

This will change the balance, our third head-to-head, on Sport.

Who'd like to play this?

I think it's got to be you.

-I'll take Sport.

-James, who would you like to play? Not Judith or Barry.

So you've got Kevin, Pat or Chris.

-Chris?

-I'll take on Chris.

-OK, James and Chris then playing Sport.

-I'll get me coat!

Into the question room, please.

James, let's see if we can tip the balance The Diplomats' way here.

-Do you want to go first or second?

-Second, please.

Your first question, Chris. Rebound tumbling is an alternative name for which sport?

Ah!

Boing! Trampolining.

I thought you were doing The News At Ten. Bong!

Trampolining, right answer, yes - rebound tumbling.

James, what colour of gloves are worn by a snooker referee?

I'm pretty sure that's white, Dermot.

White gloves, yes, correct. Both eased into the round there.

And Chris, second question. Bradley Pryce, a former Commonwealth light middleweight champion boxer,

was born in which part of the United Kingdom?

Well, Pryce comes from "ap Rhys", "son of Rhys", which is a Welsh name,

so I presume he's from Wales.

Yeah, he is. It's the right answer. Yes, Bradley Pryce, Welsh.

Second question, James.

Frank Lampard Senior, born in 1948, won two FA Cups with which football team?

I know it's not Arsenal as I'm an Arsenal fan.

And I'm pretty sure it's West Ham, Dermot.

Yeah, West Ham. An Arsenal fan, eh?

One of those FA Cups was at Arsenal's expense,

I think, wasn't it, in 1980?

Two FA Cups with West Ham is correct for Frank Lampard Senior.

'75 and '80, to be precise.

The father of which British tennis player was a footballer who played for Ipswich Town and St Johnstone?

It's going to be a pure guess here, Dermot. I'll go for Laura Robson.

Laura Robson - her dad played for Ipswich Town and St Johnstone...

No, he didn't. Mr Robson did not play... Other Eggheads?

-It's Elena Baltacha.

-Elena Baltacha.

That's good news for you, James. Here's an opportunity.

In cycling, what French name is given to the rider in last position?

My father-in-law is a big cycling fan

and I wish I'd paid more attention to him recently.

This is going to be a complete guess.

I'm going to go for Lanterne Rouge, Dermot.

OK, Lanterne Rouge at the back there... It's the right answer.

Yes, well done. That puts you into the final round.

Congratulations. I know in the Tour de France everyone wants the yellow jersey,

but they have a bit of a battle at the back.

You might as well come stone-last and get something, rather than be second last.

-Makes sense.

-You've completed this round successfully, James.

You're in the final round. Would you both come back and join your teams?

The Diplomats have lost one brain from the final round, but those Eggheads have lost two.

Our last head-to-head comes up now before that final round. It's Arts & Books.

Claire or Ian can play this one.

-Ian, I think.

-It's going to have to be me, Dermot.

Who would you like to play from the Eggheads? The remaining players are Pat or Kevin.

-I think Pat, please.

-Pat? OK, Ian and Pat into the question room with you.

OK, Ian, let's see if you can really make it a very strong hand in that final round and knock Pat out.

-Do you want to go first or second?

-I'll go first, please, Dermot.

Good luck, Ian. First question. Greenware is a name for what type of craft item?

Greenware is a name for what type of craft item?

I'm struggling now. Art and crafts, not really me.

-I'm going to go with unfired pottery.

-Unfired pottery...

It's the right answer, yes. Well picked out.

Pat, a psychiatrist called Martin Dysart and a stable boy called Alan Strang are the central characters

of which play, first produced in 1973?

I think this is Peter Shaffer's pretty controversial play Equus,

subsequently made into a film

and subsequently Daniel Radcliffe,

the Harry Potter man's West End stage debut. So it's Equus.

-Harry Potter's in it, is he?

-Daniel Radcliffe tread the boards

as the troubled young man who attacked a horse.

Didn't he have to be careful he didn't get any splinters?

-He had to get his kit off?

-He was in his natural state.

-Very nice.

Equus is correct. OK, Ian...

In which Shakespeare play are Imogen and Posthumus the daughter and son-in-law of the title character?

I don't think it's King Lear cos King Lear had three daughters.

I'm going to guess Cymbeline, I think, Dermot.

Cymbeline for Imogen and Posthumus. It's the right answer. Well done.

Who was awarded the Carnegie Medal in 2001 for the book The Amazing Maurice And His Educated Rodents?

I haven't read this book, but I think it's by Terry Pratchett.

The Amazing Maurice And His Educated Rodents is by Terry Pratchett.

It's correct, Pat.

Ian, which artist stowed away to the US in 1926 and later married Elaine

who became a significant Expressionist painter?

The only one I've heard of is Mark Rothko, so I'll have to go with that.

OK, Mark Rothko stowing away and marrying Elaine...

It's not the right answer. Pat?

-I'd go for Willem de Kooning.

-It is Willem de Kooning.

You've got a chance to take the round, Pat,

and even it up in personnel in the final round.

The Arnolfini, established in 1961, is an important gallery and arts centre in which city?

I always assumed it takes its title

from the great Van Eyck Arnolfini wedding portrait, but it may not.

I'm pretty sure it's in Bristol.

-Have any of you Eggheads been to the Arnolfini?

-Yeah.

-Where were you?

-Bristol.

-It's the right answer, Pat. Yes, Bristol is correct.

It takes you into the final round.

Ian, you did well with those first two questions, but caught out on the third.

You won't be in the final round. Come back and join your teams.

This is what we've been playing towards - the final round which is General Knowledge.

But I'm afraid those of you who lost your head-to-heads can't take part,

so Andrew and Ian from The Diplomats and Chris and Judith from the Eggheads, leave the studio, please.

So, Claire, James and Will, you're playing to win The Diplomats £1,000.

Barry, Pat and Kevin, you're playing for something which money can't buy, the Eggheads' battered reputation.

I'll ask each team three questions in turn, all General Knowledge and you are allowed to confer.

So, Diplomats, are your three brains better than the Eggheads' three?

-Diplomats, would you like to go first or second?

-Shall we go second?

-Let's go second.

-We'll go second.

The first set of questions are for the Eggheads.

What is the continuous helical ridge on the outside of a screw?

-Thread?

-A thread, I would assume. We think that's the thread.

You haven't lost the thread. It's the right answer.

Thread on the outside of a screw.

Diplomats, to which pop star did the comedian Russell Brand become engaged in 2009?

-It's definitely Katy Perry, isn't it?

-Yeah.

-It's Katy Perry, Dermot.

Katy Perry is correct. One each.

Eggheads,

worn by some Hasidic Jews, what item of clothing is a shtreimel?

-It's a hat, generally a fur one.

-Yeah.

-It's a hat, Dermot.

-A hat?

It's the correct answer, Eggheads. Two to you. Diplomats,

which composer had a sister called Maria Anna, a pianist with whom he performed in public at an early age?

Didn't Chopin mostly compose for the piano?

-Mm-hm.

-That suggests to me it's Chopin.

-Yeah. I've got no idea.

I'd be guessing again. Mozart was obviously a prodigy.

But I don't remember anything about a sister.

So shall we go for Chopin?

-Yeah, let's do that.

-OK.

-OK.

We're not 100% certain, so we'll guess on Chopin.

Chopin for Maria Anna and Chopin performing in public. Eggheads?

-Mozart.

-It's Mozart.

-Oh!

-Mozart...

And no comeback now if the Eggheads get this.

That's the danger of getting one wrong on the second set of questions.

The Eggheads can win if they get this.

Unveiled in 2010, the "seatcase", a suitcase with an integral fold-down seat,

was invented by which politician?

-Tony Benn definitely.

-That was Tony Benn.

Tony Benn is the correct answer. Eggheads, you've won.

Bad luck, Diplomats. You didn't get going. We don't know what might have happened.

That strategy worked really well for you in those head-to-heads, letting the Eggheads in.

They made the mistake. But if you make the mistake,

there was no chance of a comeback or hoping the Eggheads get one wrong.

Diplomats, thank you very much for playing the Eggheads.

It's been a lot of fun having you and some quality quizzing in those head-to-heads.

The Eggheads have done what comes naturally to them and they reign supreme over quizland.

You won't be going home with £1,000 and the money rolls over to the 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.

£2,000 says they don't. Until then, goodbye.

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