Episode 68 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 a team of five quiz challengers

pit their wits against possibly the greatest quiz team in Britain.

They've won some of the country's toughest quiz shows. They are the Eggheads.

Taking on the awesome might of our quiz Goliaths today

are the Avocado Appreciation Society.

This team all work together at Hull City Council.

I'll let the team captain Andy explain their name. Let's meet them.

I'm Andy, I'm 30 and I work in market research.

Hello, I'm Melanie, I'm 40 and I work in policy.

Hi, I'm Rich, I'm 29 and I'm an analyst.

Hi, I'm Gavin, I'm 47 and I work in policy.

Hi, my name is Graham, I'm 39 and I'm a project manager.

Welcome to you, Avocado Appreciation Society. Tell us all about it, Andy.

I've got to say, we're not the real Avocado Appreciation Society.

It's just a silly name that we have as a team. We went out for a team lunch once.

They'd run out of avocados in the restaurant and we told them we were the Avocado Appreciation Society

and we'd come a long way to sample the avocados and the name stuck from then on.

It's just one of those silly moments, isn't it? Poor waitress, what did she say?

She actually believed us and we had to tell her that wasn't the case.

I see. You did disabuse her. Do you actually like avocados?

-Some of you were about to order them. No?

-I can't stand them.

It's getting better and better. I wonder if there is an Avocado Appreciation Society?

There must be a trade body that promotes the eating of avocados.

-I hope they don't get angry with us.

-Let's see what happens today.

Every day, there is £1,000 of cash up for grabs for our challengers.

If they fail to defeat the Eggheads, the prize money rolls over.

The Eggheads have won just the last game.

That means £2,000 says you can't beat the Eggheads today.

Our first head-to-head battle, rather appropriately after that discussion, is Food & Drink.

Who'd like to start this one?

Rich?

-I'll take it if you want, but...

-Rich, are you really good?

You're best on Politics and Geography if they come up.

-Are you good on Food & Drink?

-Not at all.

-This is a bad start.

-This is a really bad subject for all of us.

-I'll bite the bullet. I'll go first.

-Rich will take it.

-Get it over and done with.

-Right, Rich.

You can choose any Egghead you like. They're all unspoken for.

Who do you reckon we should go for?

-Barry?

-What do you think?

-I think Barry.

-Barry?

-I think Barry, yeah. Take a risk.

-Barry?

-Go on then.

-Barry.

-Rich and Barry, the opening round, Food & Drink.

Could I ask you both to go to the question room where you can't confer with your team-mates?

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

-I'll go first, please.

Good luck, Rich. Petticoat tails are a form of which Scottish foodstuff?

Well, my grandma is actually Scottish,

so I should know the answer to this one.

I don't think it's haggis.

And I'm pretty sure it's not porridge. I'll go for shortbread.

Very good, yes. Good on the grandma there.

Shortbread is correct.

Barry, what term is given to dough kept back from a batch of bread

to be used as the raising agent for future bread-making?

I always wondered what sourdough was and I think I now know.

-I think it must be sourdough.

-Yeah, it's the right answer.

Rich, Camembert cheese is traditionally made from the milk of which animal?

I was kind of expecting a cheese question with Food & Drink,

but I was hoping that cheese would be the answer. It's going to be a guess.

I am going to go for goat's cheese.

OK, Camembert cheese is made from the milk

-of the cow.

-Oh, no.

-The cow. It's not goat's cheese.

It gives Barry a chance.

Crusted and premium ruby are types of which fortified drink?

I know this one because I have a bottle of crusted port at home.

-The answer is port.

-Crusted and premium ruby are types of port.

It's the right answer. You've got to get this, Rich.

What French term applies to the process that involves putting ingredients

in vacuum-packed plastic bags and cooking them at low temperatures

in temperature-maintained water baths?

Well...

I haven't done French since GCSE.

For some reason, I don't think it's "sous-valeur",

so I'm going to rule that one out.

For some reason, I'm drawn towards "sous-vetement".

-That's my final answer.

-OK, "sous-vetement"...

And it is "sous...sous-vide".

-Oh, no.

-"Sous-vide". Bad luck.

Judith, you're good at French.

-"Vetements" are clothes?

-Yes.

-I've never heard of that.

-What's "sous-vide"?

-It means "empty".

-That's the vacuum.

-Yeah.

That would be the clue there.

Bad luck, Rich. You're not going to be in the final round.

Barry's already achieved enough to get there.

Would you both please come back and join your teams?

Avocado Appreciators, you're one brain down from the final round. The Eggheads are all there.

Our next subject today is Music.

Who'd like to play this one?

-It's got to be Graham.

-I'll give it a go.

-Should we not keep him for General Knowledge?

-We can keep Gav for that. Graham?

-Let's go for it.

-It's going to be Graham.

-Which Egghead would you like to play? It can't be Barry.

-Who do you think?

-Judith?

-Yeah, I think so.

-Yeah, Judith.

-Judith.

OK, Judith it is. Let's have Graham and Judith into the question room, please.

-OK, Graham, do you want to go first or second?

-I'll go first, please.

Best of luck, Graham. The tuned bars that produce the sound on a glockenspiel

are made from which material?

I'm sure it's not ivory because that would be a piano.

I've never seen a glockenspiel made of plastic. It'll have to be metal.

Metal is the correct answer. Good start, Graham. Judith...

Which word is "prog" short for in the term "prog rock"?

I imagine that must be "progressive".

-Is it, Barry?

-It is indeed.

-Big fan in your time?

-I have been.

-I've rocked with the best of them.

-Rocked with the best of them.

It's hard to believe, isn't it?

Let's confirm that it is "progressive" for "prog rock"

and move on to second questions.

Graham, during his early career,

which animal name formed part of the stage name of the American musician John Mellencamp?

That's one I do know, Dermot. It's Cougar.

Good man. Yes, right answer. Yes, Cougar.

OK, Judith,

which group had a UK hit single in 1997 with Bitter Sweet Symphony?

I know it's not Coldplay.

I think it's The Verve.

It's the right answer, The Verve. Well done.

Graham, which electro-pop artist and producer was born Adam Wiles in Dumfries in Scotland in 1984?

Mark Ronson's been in the charts lately, but I don't think it's him.

I think Calvin Harris had a record out about being born in the '80s,

so I think I'll go for Calvin Harris.

Good one. It's the right answer. Well done. Well identified.

You're in pole position. Judith, the orchestral piece entitled Variations On A Theme By Haydn

was written in 1873 by which composer?

Well, it wasn't Liszt and I'm trying to do it on dates if I can.

I think it was Brahms.

Brahms... It's the right answer. Well done. Brahms.

Variations On A Theme By Haydn...

We vary the game now and take away those options. We call it Sudden Death and it's a lot harder, Graham.

Who had hits in 2009 and 2010 with You've Got The Love and Dog Days Are Over?

They both sound very familiar songs to me,

but I cannot recall the artist.

-Is it the Scissor Sisters?

-Is that your answer?

-Yeah.

It's not the Scissor Sisters. Other Eggheads, do you know?

-Florence And The Machine.

-Florence And The Machine.

-Oh, gosh.

If you put that in a list of three, you might have got it.

But not in Sudden Death.

Judith, the Catalogue Aria, which details a graphic outline of the eponymous hero's amorous adventures,

including 1,003 lovers in Spain alone, features in which of Mozart's operas?

Don Giovanni?

It's the right answer. Don Giovanni is correct and takes you through

to the final round.

Bad luck, Graham. You won't be there. Please come back and join your teams.

Two brains missing from the final round, Avocado Appreciation Society.

No Eggheads gone. Two more head-to-heads, the first of which is Arts & Books. Who'd like to play?

Who have we got left?

-Melanie, Gavin or Andy.

-You're quite good at this, Melanie.

-Yes, I'll do it.

-It's got to be you.

-Our expert on Art & Books.

-He's bigging you up there, Melanie.

Who would you like to play from the Eggheads? Pat, Kevin or CJ.

-CJ's strong at this. And Kevin too.

-So avoid Kevin and CJ?

-Pat?

-Go for Pat.

-Pat, please, Dermot.

-OK, avoiding Kevin and CJ and landing on Pat.

Let's have Melanie and Pat into the question room, please.

-Melanie, do you want to go first or second?

-First, please, Dermot.

OK, Melanie, good luck.

Here's your first question. What is the title of AA Milne's sequel

to the 1926 classic children's book Winnie The Pooh?

I have absolutely no idea, so it's going to have to be a guess.

I'm going to discount The House That Pooh Built.

I'm not sure why.

I'm going to say The House At Pooh Corner,

but I have no reason for picking that answer at all.

This is a question where our younger viewers are looking at the screen

and going, "Why is she taking so long?" You got it right. Well done.

And your first question, Pat.

Which leading author's 1998 novel Digital Fortress concerns government intelligence agencies

and spying over the internet?

I think that's one of Dan Brown's multi-million-selling blockbusters,

along with The Da Vinci Code. Dan Brown.

It's the right answer, Pat, yes.

Back to you, Melanie.

Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa is an example of an oil painting on which type of surface?

I have seen it because I have been to the Louvre.

I don't think it's slate.

So it's between stretched canvas and poplar wood.

I think they did paint on wood in the Renaissance, but, um...

I'm going to say stretched canvas.

Stretched canvas, common for oils, but it's on poplar wood.

Poplar wood, the Mona Lisa...

So, Pat, your second question. The photographer Irving Penn was born in which country in 1917?

I'm not sure of my answer. I don't know much about him,

but I've always thought of him as being a United States photographer.

I've always heard of him as being United States, so I'll go for that.

OK, always heard about him as being from the United States...

Yes, he was born there in 1917. It's the right answer.

So, Melanie, work to be done.

You need to get this. The sisters Iris and Laura Chase are characters in which novel by Margaret Atwood?

I haven't read the book,

but I believe that Margaret Atwood wrote The Blind Assassin,

so I'll say The Blind Assassin.

The Blind Assassin keeps you in it. Well done, that's correct.

But that stretched canvas instead of poplar wood is hanging over you.

A chance for Pat to wrap up the round.

Pat, which artist used naked female models as living paintbrushes

in creating paintings that he called Anthropometries?

I have a vague memory of this.

Carl Andre, I think, is a sculptor and an installation merchant,

so I'm dismissing him.

So it's either Tzara, who was a Dadaist,

or Yves Klein, who is remembered in the name of the pigment, Klein Blue.

Tristan Tzara...

I'm going to have to go with Yves Klein, though I'm uneasy about it.

Yves Klein? It is the right answer, yes.

Yves Klein is correct,

which carries you into the final round, but only just again.

That slip-up on the Mona Lisa cost you a place, Melanie. Both, please, come back and join your teams.

Melanie, Rich and Graham have gone from the Avocado Appreciation Society.

All the Eggheads are still there. So it's down to Andy and Gavin now. Film and Television.

Who wants to play it?

-That's you.

-It's got to be me.

-Save you for the final.

-Yeah, go on.

-It's going to be me.

-All right, Andy. Who would you like to play? Kevin or CJ down the end?

-I think Kevin.

-He's the cleverest guy out there!

-- And the rest of them! - My team inform me we're going to go with Kevin.

-I see.

OK, Andy and Kevin are playing this one. Into the Question Room.

Right then, Andy, got to play a captain's innings.

-Do you want to go first or second?

-Carry on the tradition and go first.

Best of luck, Andy. First question. America Ferrera became famous playing the title role

in which US TV comedy series?

-OK, that's a very poor start for me.

-You haven't answered yet!

-I don't need to!

I could just pick any one.

I want to say Ugly Betty. Loads of people will be saying that's wrong,

but I'll go with that as a guess.

A few people will say it's wrong, but they'd be wrong. It's correct.

Ugly Betty, America Ferrera.

Kevin, who sang the theme tune for the long-running TV drama series Heartbeat?

They've all done acting and singing,

but the star of the first few series also sang the theme. It was Nick Berry.

Nick Berry, yes. That's correct.

OK, back to you, Andy.

The line, "I'm not bad, I'm just drawn that way," was spoken by which cartoon character

in a 1988 film?

OK, em...

I don't know the answer off the top of my head, but I don't think it's Betty Boop, for some reason.

I certainly remember a film with Jessica Rabbit.

It's one of those two. I think I'll go with Cruella de Vil as my answer.

Cruella de Vil? It's Jessica Rabbit, as you were thinking.

You could have done that on dates as the others are way before 1988.

That was Who Framed Roger Rabbit? A chance for Kevin to take the lead.

Which film comedian was born in Ulverston in 1890?

All three, British-born comedians who made great careers in American films. This one was Stan Laurel.

Stan Laurel? A Brit born in Ulverston in 1890. It's correct.

You've got the lead. Andy, you need this one.

Which 1949 film musical has a scene in a museum in which a skeleton of a dinosaur is demolished?

Absolutely no idea.

This is definitely not my category. I don't know.

It would be a complete and utter guess. I think I'm going to go with On The Town.

-OK. Any reason?

-None at all.

-It's the right answer.

-There you go.

-On The Town.

Kevin, On The Town.

Isn't that about sailors?

-On shore leave in New York.

-Yeah.

On The Town identified by Andy.

Kevin needs to face another question. The 2010 Palme d'Or winner at the Cannes Film Festival,

Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives, was made in which language?

It's a Thai film.

It's a Thai filmmaker who specialises in very weird films

and this one sounds very weird.

Uncle Boonmee - it's the correct answer, Kevin. You're through to the final round.

No shame in losing to this man on this subject, Andy.

Two out of three is pretty good, but Kevin really knows his films

and he even knows his Thai films and filmmakers as well.

No place for you in the final round. Both please come back and join your teams.

This is what we've been playing towards. It's time for the final round on General Knowledge,

but those of you who lost won't be allowed to take part.

Andy, Melanie, Rich and Graham from the Avocado Appreciation Society, would you leave the studio, please?

Gavin, you're playing to win the Avocado Appreciation Society £2,000.

Barry, Pat, Judith, Kevin and CJ are playing for something money can't buy - the Eggheads' reputation.

I'll ask each team three questions in turn, all general knowledge. And you are allowed to confer.

Gavin, is your one brain better than the Eggheads' five? Do you want to go first or second?

I think I'll keep with going first.

Well, Gavin, it's been done before. Let's see if you can do it.

Which nursery rhyme includes the lines, "The sheep's in the meadow, the cow's in the corn"?

I'm torn between Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary and Little Boy Blue.

I think...

I'm going to guess now. I think it's...

-Little Boy Blue.

-It IS Little Boy Blue!

Dredging up nursery rhymes!

Another one for our younger viewers.

Eggheads, your first question. Which Latin phrase is often used to refer to someone's former school?

-Everyone happy with Alma Mater?

-Yup.

We think, on balance, that's Alma Mater.

-Alma Mater is correct. How does it translate?

-Something mother.

Bounteous mother.

OK.

Back to you, Gavin. The coat of arms on the flag of the Vatican City features a pair of crossed what?

Been there, but it was some time ago.

I'm pretty sure it's not swords.

I think it's got crosiers in it, but they're not crossed, so I'll go for keys.

Crossed keys. Well done, Gavin. It's the right answer.

-Symbolising what, Eggheads?

-St Peter's symbol.

-To the kingdom of heaven.

-That gives you two, Gavin. Two out of two.

Which American tennis player won the men's singles title at the Australian Open in 1992 and 1993?

-I don't think it was Courier.

-I do.

-Do you?

-Go on.

-No, no, this is your...

-Oh, well.

Courier only won two Grand Slams, didn't he? One was the French.

-And I thought the other was...

-All right, yeah, OK.

-I think Pete Sampras only won the Australian Open twice.

-OK.

Agassi won it more than twice.

So assuming those are the dates... But it's very early for Sampras.

'92 and '93?

Whereas it is Courier's period.

- I had an inkling for Courier. - He didn't win Wimbledon.

Did he win the US? Or Australia?

-You thought it was Courier.

-I don't know about that.

It's just the years... It's not Agassi.

He won it four times.

- So it's Pete Sampras, then? - I think he only won it twice.

Sampras won 14 Grand Slams.

Seven Wimbledons, five US Opens, that only leaves two Australians.

But I can't remember if Courier won another apart from the French.

My instinct is he didn't.

-But I'm happy to go with anyone else if they have more of an instinct.

-No.

I'll go with yours, CJ. You're the expert on this.

-We're going to try Pete Sampras.

-OK, Pete Sampras.

Two Australian Open titles. We heard the maths there.

Seven, five and 14 in total.

Pete Sampras won the Australian Open

in '94 and '97. The answer is Jim Courier.

Jim Courier, '92 and '93. You had doubts there.

-OK, well, that's great news, Gavin.

-Very good.

-Fantastic.

Right. Have a listen to this and you have beaten the Eggheads if you give me the answer here.

What is the more common name for the city state in Ancient Greece that is called Lacedaemon?

This is going to be a guess.

I don't think it's Sparta.

I'm going to go for Thebes.

OK, Thebes you've gone for. It's not, no. Eggheads?

-Sparta.

-If that's any comfort!

-No, it's not!

-That's what I mean. It wasn't Corinth. It wasn't a toss-up you were making.

Well, you still might win it. The Eggheads have got to get this and after that last answer...

Who was the last British Prime Minister to visit Libya before Tony Blair in 2004?

Anybody got anything?!

I'm inclined to think it would be just after the war. I'd discount Eden.

I think Attlee or Churchill. Churchill's the most travelled of those.

- Was it in the war? - Or Churchill's second term?

It could have been during the war.

-Yeah.

-After the desert campaign.

-Maybe that's too obvious an answer.

The only thing is Eden dealing with Egypt and all the rest of it.

-Because of Suez?

-Mm.

-That's the other thing.

There was activity in the area.

Is there any reason for Attlee or do we rule that one out?

We've got to start ruling them out, so best to rule Attlee out.

-He was much more concerned with home affairs.

-Exactly.

This is maybe completely wrong, but the only thing I'm thinking of is Eden was there for a short time

from the middle of '55 until early '57, January '57.

There might not... He was busy.

There might not have been time... Perhaps it's Churchill in the war.

I don't know.

Churchill seems more obvious.

Are we going to take a vote or shall we...?

-Churchill.

-Churchill.

-If we're forced to vote...

I'm more inclined to go for anything you say over anything I say, so I'll say Churchill then.

OK. We're not sure,

but on balance I think we'll probably plump for Winston Churchill.

Winston Churchill. Gavin - has he won?

Not yet! Winston Churchill is correct, Eggheads!

1943.

And a very, very big gap,

a 61-year gap until Tony Blair.

Well, Gavin, you've got to do it all over again now.

It's sudden death, as you know. According to the saying, what does nature abhor?

Oh...

I have not got a clue.

Probably heard this one over and over again and I can't think of it.

I'm going to put a pure guess in and say...change.

Change. No, Gavin, it's not.

-Nature abhors a...

-Vacuum.

-A vacuum.

You've got to say it like that and the words come.

A vacuum there

in terms of an answer. So a chance to win it, Eggheads.

In 1754, King's College, which eventually became Columbia University, opened in New York City

under a grant from which monarch of Great Britain and Ireland?

1754 is George II.

-George II?

-Yeah.

So you're asking who was British king in 1754? We'll go for George II.

Deciphered instantly by the Eggheads. The rest in-between was not really material to that.

George II is correct. You've won.

The lucky Eggheads.

You're lucky!

Bad luck with Lacedaemon, Gavin. With a few more brains there, you might have got Sparta

and beaten the Eggheads. I tell you what prize you do win.

-Best team name so far.

-Definitely.

-An absolute cracker. Thank you so much to everyone who played.

They were all very close and look how close Gavin came.

You go home with a lot of pride.

But the Eggheads have done what comes naturally to them.

You won't be going home with £2,000 which means the money rolls over.

Eggheads, congratulations. Who will beat you?

Join us next time to see if a new team of challengers can defeat them. £3,000 says they don't. Goodbye.

Subtitles by Subtext for Red Bee Media Ltd - 2011

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