Episode 82 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

attempt to beat possibly the greatest quiz team in Britain. Their pedigree is well known.

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

And taking on the awesome might of our quiz Goliaths today are...

This team of friends and family put their knowledge to the test

at the Uplands Tavern in Swansea and say their team name represents what they go through every time.

Let's meet them.

I'm Chan, 35, a graphic designer.

I'm Shaun, 27, and a bar manager.

Hi. I'm Josh, 26, and a pharmacist.

I'm Leon, 25, a trainee teacher.

I'm Liam, 27, and an administrator.

So, Chan and team, welcome. You quiz together and you play pool some of you together?

-I play pool with Shaun.

-Right.

-And Shaun and Josh are cousins

and the other two are just drunken buddies.

-But you do know each other?

-Yes.

And you had a bet with Shaun whoever lost at pool had to do what?

We bet and the loser would name their first born after the other.

-So who lost?

-Shaun lost. I beat him 15-nil.

-15-nil.

-So have you got a child yet?

-No, needless to say, I haven't bothered having children yet.

-But your son will be named Chan.

-Indeed. Very fashionable name.

If you want to come out with any similar wagers now, Eggheads, we can rename you all at the end.

Good luck to you. Every day there is £1,000 in cash up for grabs for our challengers.

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

So the Eggheads have won the last nine games,

which means £10,000 says you can't beat them. Would you like to try?

-Indeed.

-We'll have a go.

The first Head to Head is on Film and TV.

So you can choose someone

to play someone from their side.

-I think it's got to be Josh.

-Film buff.

And I'd like to take on Judith, please.

OK, so Josh against Judith. Please take your positions in the Question Room now.

-Josh, where are you from originally?

-I'm originally from Maerdy in the Rhondda valleys.

-Is that an out of the way place?

-It's quite high up. It's a small mining village.

-But since the mine closed it's just like a nice little valleys village, I suppose.

-Sure.

I know you've got a band. What state is that in?

It's just me and Leon and another boy. We're at the moment trying to write our own stuff

and just get ourselves out there, really. Early days yet.

-The band is called...?

-The Dirty Money.

-OK, right. Good luck with the Dirty Money

-and the clean money we're offering.

-Thanks.

-I'll ask each of you three multiple choice questions in turn.

Whoever answers the most correctly wins. Josh, first or second?

Oh, I think I'll go first, please.

Here we go. Best of luck to you.

The TV series Ugly Betty is set in which US city?

I'm not a big fan, to be honest, Jeremy,

but seeing the subject matter with fashion and everything I'd probably go for New York.

New York is bang on. Well done.

If you don't know, you don't know, so it was a good guess.

Judith, in which 2010 film

does Leonardo DiCaprio play a character called Don Cobb

who is able to enter the dreams of others?

I think that is Inception.

-Inception is correct. Have you seen it?

-No.

-Would you want to?

-It's terribly long, isn't it?

-I noticed that when I watched it.

Someone said they hadn't enjoyed it, so I thought I didn't want to.

All right, Josh, your question.

In which TV comedy series of the 1970s did Richard Beckinsale play a medical student called Alan?

Well, in Porridge he was Godber.

And I think Going Straight was a continuation of Porridge,

so by a process of elimination I'm hoping it's Rising Damp.

Spot on. It is Rising Damp. Well done.

Two points to you.

Judith, which actor played radio DJ Chris Stevens in the TV series Northern Exposure

and Carrie's boyfriend Aidan in Sex and the City?

I don't really know.

But Matthew Fox, for some reason, stands out.

Maybe it's totally wrong, but that's the one that twangs something.

-It twanged something?

-Yep.

-I don't know what it twanged, but it's wrong. It was John Corbett.

So you've fallen behind.

Josh, get this and you're through.

Al Pacino received Academy Award nominations for his work in Scent of a Woman

and which other 1992 film?

Em... That would be...

I'd have to say Glengarry Glen Ross.

If you've got this right, you're through. Glengarry Glen Ross is correct.

-Well done. Very well played.

-Thank you.

-There we are.

Taking on an Egghead and winning. Sorry, Judith. You'll be in the sin bin.

Do both please come back and rejoin your teams.

A very good start for the challengers. Judith will not be in the final.

Let's see how we go next on Science.

Which of you would like it?

We've lost the pharmacist!

-I'll have to take that on?

-Chan.

-Who shall I take on?

Chan against which Egghead? Anyone but Judith.

-I'll try CJ, please.

-OK, Chan versus CJ,

-looking, well, delightful.

-And stripy.

-Yes, looking stripy.

Would you please take your positions in the Question Room?

-Chan, you were brought up in Swansea?

-Born and bred, yes.

-Your family are from Hong Kong?

-Yes.

Do you have multiple languages?

I can speak two forms of Cantonese, which was my first language. And English was my second.

OK. And how about this subject, science?

-I watch a lot of science programmes, so I hope I'm OK on it.

-Good luck.

I'll ask three questions in turn. Whoever answers the most, wins.

-Chan, would you like the first set or the second?

-I'll take the first.

Good luck to you. In the Periodic Table, what is the symbol for gold?

It's not W. I'm pretty certain it's Au.

Au is quite right. Well done.

What's the logic there,

-Eggheads?

-It's from the Latin aurum. A-U-R-U-M.

-Latin for gold.

-Thank you.

CJ, a rough approximation for pi is often given as 22 divided by which whole number?

Well...

In decimal, it's 3.14159265358979323.

Approximately. I think it's 22 over 7.

It would have been so funny if you'd then given me the wrong answer! You're right.

3.1415 is as far as my calculator went at school. 7 is right.

Chan, back to you.

Nullius in verba or "take nobody's word for it" is the motto of which scientific institution?

I'm not too sure about this one.

NASA would be... I don't think that would be right.

I'm going to have to take a guess, I think.

Nobel Foundation.

Nobel Foundation is the wrong answer. It's the Royal Society.

CJ, your chance to go ahead.

Where is the speculum of a bird, such as a mallard?

I'm not sure.

I always thought - I could be showing my absolute ignorance here, but I do most times -

I always thought it was that little hard bit just above the beak

that joins onto the head.

Em... I don't think it's on the wing.

Unless it's a bony part under the tail, I'll go for above its beak.

Above its beak is your answer. Any challengers know?

-No clue.

-Eggheads?

-I'd go for on each wing.

-Why would you say on each wing?

-Is it a bright-coloured patch?

-Yeah, it's a patch on each wing.

On each wing is the answer, CJ. Equal after two questions.

Back to you, Chan. Found in the waters around Britain, what type of fish is a bull huss?

Judging by the name,

I'm going to have to guess at shark.

-That's my answer.

-It's a fantastic guess. You're right. Well done.

Why did you go to shark?

-Because of the word bull. It sounds very...sharkish.

-OK!

Always good to get the explanation. CJ, which food additive was accidentally discovered

by Constantin Fahlberg and Ira Remsen in 1879, but was then the cause of their falling out?

The name Ira Remsen does ring a very vague bell.

But I haven't got a clue, to be honest.

Well, I think I'm going to go for one of the sweeteners, but...

When was aspartame?

I really don't know. I'll go for aspartame.

The sweeteners is the right zone, but it's not. It's saccharin.

-Oh.

-So, Chan, well done.

You've knocked out CJ.

You will be in the final round. Both please come back and rejoin us here in the studio.

Well, it's getting exciting here. The challengers have lost no brains and the Eggheads have lost two.

Let's see what happens next. It's Arts and Books.

Which of you wants this one?

- Liam? - Yeah, I'll give it a go.

OK. Me, please. And I'll go up against...

-Liam against which Egghead?

-Barry.

Barry, OK. So Liam from Blood, Sweat and Beers against Barry.

Just to ensure there's no conferring, please take your positions in the Question Room.

-Liam, tell us about you.

-Er, I'm 27, I'm currently working as an administrator

-for a housing association in Cardiff.

-Are you in this band?

-No, unfortunately, I wasn't blessed with any rhythm or musical talent.

-It doesn't always matter!

I'll be a bit of a Bez and dance at the side.

And you've not agreed to name your first child after Chan?

I wouldn't name anything after Chan.

All right. Good luck in this round. Three questions, multiple choice, on Arts and Books.

-And you can go first or second.

-I'd like to go first, please.

Here we go, Liam.

The saying, "There shall be no more cakes and ale," is from which play?

I'm going to be honest. I have no idea.

If I stroke my chin, it looks like I know, but I don't.

I'm going to go with... The Crucible.

The Arthur Miller play. It's the wrong answer. It's Twelfth Night.

Of course it is(!)

Barry, the phrase "a three-pipe problem" is a quote from one of the more difficult cases

of which fictional detective?

Ah. He was very well played by Benedict Cumberbatch in the recent series on TV.

-It was Sherlock Holmes.

-That is the right answer.

What did you think of the re-make with Benedict Cumberbatch?

It was absolutely wonderful. It was very true to the original in spirit and action.

They sent each other text messages the whole time. As a purist, I thought that might upset you.

No, because they really kept within the spirit of the stories

and they transposed a lot of the familiar things very well to the 21st century.

-It's that amazing writer. Who's the writer who did Doctor Who?

-Russell Davies.

-No, Moffat.

-Oh, Steven Moffat.

-Steven Moffat, incredible, yeah.

You're one point ahead. Back to you, Liam. A chance to pull back against Barry.

What nationality are the two people who figure in the painting The Ambassadors

by Hans Holbein the Younger?

OK, again, I'm not really sure.

My brother said, if I don't know, just pick the third one,

so I'll take his advice and I'll go with Russian.

Russian is your answer, OK.

Judith, you had a system like that?

-Go down the middle, then swerve right?

-No, go down the right.

You would have said Russian?

-Not in this particular case.

-You know the answer?

-French.

French is the answer. Sorry, Liam.

Barry, if you get this one right, you're in the final.

Whose painting entitled Long Grass With Butterflies was found to be hanging upside down

in the National Gallery in the 1960s?

This one has passed me by completely

I know there was a Manet that was hanging upside down,

but I thought that was Le Bateau,

a painting of a boat being reflected on the water.

I'm not sure. Long Grass With Butterflies...

It sounds like any of them could have truly painted that one.

Manet was, of course, very...

I don't think... On reflection, I don't think it was Manet.

I don't think that's really his style. Long Grass With Butterflies..

I think I'm going to go for Van Gogh

But I've no idea at all really. It's a pure guess.

It's difficult to work out

how Long Grass With Butterflies could be hung upside down,

-but the answer is Van Gogh.

-Oh.

-You're right. Barry, well done.

You're in the final round. Liam, sorry, you were beaten and you can't help your team in the final.

Do, both of you, please come back and rejoin us here.

-Liam, bad luck.

-I tried my best.

-Tough round.

And the Hans Holbein picture of the Ambassadors, the French Ambassadors, it's got a famous peculiarity.

-Anyone know?

-A skull.

-Which is down in the corner or what?

-No.

-It's the perspective of it.

-You're supposed to look at it from a side angle?

-Yes.

-You go down to the left.

-And it changes as you go round it.

-Right.

You've lost a bit of ground there, but you're still in the lead and you're doing well, so fight on.

The Eggheads have lost two brains, the challengers one. Last subject is Politics. Who would like Politics?

It can be Leon or Shaun.

-Take your pick, guys.

-Both have Politics degrees.

-I hate Politics.

It's going to be a bloodbath either way, isn't it?

Got a coin?

A coin!

-I don't know...

-Leon, do you want to take it?

I'll get pushed into it.

-I thought you were hiding there, Leon.

-I was trying to. The shirt is too bright!

Leon against...? Who would you like?

Pat or Kevin. I know that's a bit frightening.

What do you think? Pat?

-Yeah.

-OK, I'll take on Pat, please, Jeremy.

OK, we have Leon from Blood, Sweat And Beers against Pat on Politics. Do go to the question rooms now.

Do you like your politics, Pat?

Yes, I read the papers, take an interest in it.

Do you have to be on one side or the other to be interested or can you be objective?

I can be objective and I like politics from all over the world.

I don't have an interest in who wins the Japanese general election,

but I still find it interesting.

Have you been looking at the Japanese general election?

Yeah, I'm constantly up to date on anything that goes on in Japanese politics(!)

-You did look worried. I thought you were going to pull your shirt over your head.

-I was extremely tempted.

-Horrified, Jeremy, really.

-Good luck.

-Thanks.

-It can happen. You're still doing well.

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

I'll go first, please, Jeremy.

Good luck. When Gordon Brown stepped down as leader of the Labour Party in 2010,

who took over on a temporary basis?

That's something I should know.

I think it was Harriet Harman.

Spot-on.

Well done. Good start.

In the parliamentary process known as "naming", what happens to an MP

if he or she is named by the Speaker of the House of Commons?

I think they've been bad boys

and have gone on and on when asked to desist by the Speaker.

I think he names them and I think they're suspended from the House.

Suspended from the House is the right answer.

Liam, in US politics,

what term is used to refer to a private meeting of members of a political party,

for instance, in order to nominate candidates,

choose convention delegates or select leaders for a legislature?

Oh...I'm not sure at all.

Um...

I'm going to go and take Judith's logic here, I think,

and I'll go with "think tank".

-On the basis that you're swerving left there?

-Swerving left.

OK... I don't know how this legendary system of yours started,

but none of us can work it out.

Caucus is the answer. I'm really sorry. It's caucus.

Your chance for the lead, Pat.

When he was a schoolboy, which Liberal Democrat MP performed community service in Germany

after burning part of a professor's cacti collection?

Well...

I haven't heard of this cacti-related felony.

Of those three,

Nick Clegg has either a Dutch or a German mother,

so there's a slight German connectio there.

But really... I have no idea really.

I think I'll have to go with Nick Clegg because he can speak German

and his mother is Dutch or German.

You're quite right. It was Nick Clegg.

It only came up when he was getting a lot of attention,

becoming Deputy Prime Minister and the election and all that.

People started, I think, looking back, as they do, and they found the cactus.

So that means, Leon, that you've got to get this one right to stay in. Are you ready?

-Yeah.

-What is the name of the widowe of Benazir Bhutto

who was elected President of Pakistan in 2008?

Right, I don't know again.

I thought Inzamam-ul-Haq was a cricketer.

That shows how much I know, really.

I'm going to go for Pervez Musharraf

OK, Pervez Musharraf is the wrong answer.

It is Asif Ali Zardari. And Inzamam-ul-Haq...is a cricketer.

You were right about that. Pat, you've taken the round and you will be in the final.

Leon, you won't be. Please come back and rejoin your team-mates.

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

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

so Leon and Liam from Blood, Sweat And Beers and Judith and CJ from the Eggheads,

please now leave the studio.

Chan, Shaun and Josh, you are playing to win £10,000.

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

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

-You've done well to keep it level. How are you feeling?

-Scared.

Scared? OK.

Chan, Shaun and Josh, the question is, are your three brains better than the Eggheads' three?

And would you like to go first or second?

-Shall we go first, guys?

-Yeah, first, please.

I wish you all the best. Good luck.

What name is given to a valve in the carburettor of a car that reduces the air supply,

giving a richer fuel-to-air mixture while the engine is still cold?

-Choke.

-Choke, isn't it? Are you happy with the choke?

-Definitely.

-We all agree it's "choke".

-You're right.

Do they still have chokes on cars? I haven't seen one for ages.

-I don't think so.

-They're all automatic.

-Yes.

Eggheads, which superhero is famously vulnerable to kryptonite?

-Superman.

-Superman.

-That is Superman.

Superman is right. What happened when he was exposed to kryptonite?

-He loses his powers.

-Does that affect you, Kevin, as well?

-No-one's tried it.

-LAUGHTER

Your question, Blood, Sweat And Beers.

The R&B and soul singer-songwriter Daniel Merriweather was born in which country?

-I thought he was Canadian before it came up.

-Go for it then.

-First instincts.

-Go with Canada.

I'm sure it's not Ireland.

-You rule out the other two for definite?

-Go with Canada.

-Happy with Canada? On my head be it.

-I'm happy with your decision.

We're not 100%, but we think it's Canada.

Canada is your answer. Let's see if the Eggheads know this. Do you?

-I'd have guessed Australia.

-Why Australia?

I don't know. Maybe something... I don't actually know.

He's not from Ireland.

No, he's Australian, I'm afraid.

I'm sorry to say, so you may fall behind now.

Eggheads, in medieval English,

which pair of letters was sometimes represented by a letter called thorn

that looked like a modern letter Y?

In medieval English, which pair of letters was sometimes represented

by a letter called thorn that looked like a modern letter Y?

-It's just "th", isn't it?

-I think it's "th".

Hence "thorn", in a way.

When you say "ye olde" so-and-so. it's really "the old"...

So I think it's "th".

That's my feeling.

I knew "ae" was joined together, but I also think it's "th" as well.

-They also were.

-OK?

-Yeah.

We think it's... It might be a clue there, "thorn", we think it's "th".

You know sometimes you see "ye olde English..."?

It's not actually pronounced "ye", it's "the".

It's just the "y" is the "th" sound.

Fascinating information, isn't it, and it's all true. "Th" is correct.

So what does that mean, guys?

Well, you've got the pool score now. You're avid pool players. You need to get this one in the pocket.

An alembic is used in which process for making alcoholic beverages?

An alembic is used in which process for making alcoholic beverages?

Blood, Sweat And Beers don't know!

I don't know. Distilling?

I thought distilling. I'm not entirely sure.

I might have seen it in some programme.

Shall we go for distilling then?

I thought winemaking, to be honest, but I don't know why.

There's no logic behind it.

Alembic? Does that word have any historical meaning?

It could be "ale" - "alembic". Brewing maybe.

-That's a good shout.

-Yeah.

Based on the fact it's "ale", A-L-E, we'll go for brewing.

OK, if you get this one wrong, then the Eggheads have won

and the £10,000 is snatched away.

The answer is distilling.

I'm very sorry, Blood, Sweat And Beers.

That team name suggested this was your question.

Congratulations, Eggheads. You've won.

You were surging at the start as well.

-Yeah.

-And then something went wrong.

-Quickly knocked off our perch, I think.

"Ale" threw us a little bit.

Yeah, unlucky. The Eggheads have done what comes naturally to them and their winning streak continues.

You won't be going home with £10,000, so that money rolls over to our next show.

Eggheads, congratulations. Who, I wonder, will ever beat you?

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

£11,000 says they don't. Till then, goodbye.

Subtitles by Subtext for Red Bee Media Ltd 2011

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