Episode 89 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 the show where five challengers

attempt to beat possibly the greatest quiz team in Britain.

Their pedigree is good as they've won some of the toughest quiz shows.

They are the Eggheads.

Taking them on today are the Pop Idlers. This team of friends

met during politics lectures at the University of Worcester.

I'm Katy, I'm 21 and I'm a waitress.

I'm Liam, I'm 20 and I'm a student of history.

I'm Michael, I'm 22 and I'm a student of politics.

I'm Leah, 19, and I'm a student of geography and politics.

I'm Anthony, I'm 32 and I'm a student of politics and journalism.

Katy and team, welcome. You love your politics -

generally speaking, where does a politics degree lead you to?

Can anyone tell me? I'm still struggling to work it out.

Well, me and Mike are fighting over who's going to be PM first!

Who will be Tony Blair to the other's Gordon Brown?

You will become an answer on Eggheads if you do! Good luck.

There is £1,000 worth of cash up for grabs for them.

But if they fail, the prize money rolls over to the next show.

The Eggheads won the last three,

which means £4,000 says you can't beat them today.

-Shall we give it a go?

-Yep!

The first head-to-head battle is on geography.

Which of you would like this?

Well, I study geography,

but don't know place names to save my life!

I think we decided Anthony would do geography.

Anthony, OK. Which Egghead?

Who do we think - Pat or Barry?

Pat or Barry? Yeah, whoever.

ALL: Pat.

So Anthony from Pop Idlers against Pat.

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

So, I'll ask each of you three questions on geography.

Whoever answers the most correctly is the winner.

-Anthony, first or second set?

-I'll go first, please.

Which mountain range, Anthony,

forms the western border of Siberia?

Is it...

Well, I wouldn't've thought it was the Alps.

Um, Carpathians - they're more, sort of, Romania way.

I have to go for the Urals.

Well done, Urals is the right answer.

Pat, your question. The Mackenzie River is the longest river

in which country?

I think it's the longest river in Canada. It flows northwards

and empties into some part of the Arctic Ocean.

Canada is correct.

Anthony, with an area of approximately 2,880 square miles,

what is the largest county of the Republic of Ireland? Is it...

Um... I'm not really sure.

A pure guess - I'd go for County Clare.

It's not Clare. Anyone else know here? Pat will know.

-I will. It's Cork.

-Cork is the answer.

Cork is the answer.

Pat, the five villages that form the Cinque Terre

are part of a UNESCO World Heritage site in which country?

Pat, is it...

My first thought is Italy

because I think in Liguria,

somewhere between Pisa and Genoa,

I think there are famous old villages that are described

as a group. Erm...

I'll have to assume it is the place I'm thinking of in Liguria

and go for Italy.

Italy is correct. Well done.

Anthony, you need this one. Which city is the capital

of the Burgundy region of France?

Is it...

Um... Again, I'm not really sure.

It'll have to be a guess -

and I'll go for Toulouse.

-Judith, you'll know this one.

-Dijon?

Correct. Sorry, you've been knocked out. Pat will be in the final

and you won't. Please come and rejoin your team-mates.

The challengers lose a brain. So far, Eggheads have lost no brains.

It's music for you. Isn't that good?

You spend time listening to music?

-Who'd like it?

-That could be any of us.

I know, split equally, that one.

I don't mind. Do you want to take it? I'll take music.

-All right.

-Who do I want to play?

-Anyone but Pat.

Shall I go for Judith?

-Yeah.

-I think so, yeah. Judith, please.

-You think Judith's a bit out of touch?

-I wouldn't like to say!

Katy from Pop Idlers against Judith from the Eggheads.

So there's no conferring, go to the question rooms now.

I'll ask each of you three questions on music -

whoever answers most correctly wins.

-Katy, first or second set?

-I'll go first, please.

"Callin' out around the world, are you ready for a brand-new beat"

are the opening lines of which Martha And The Vandellas hit?

Hmm. Erm...

I know this. Either Mick Jagger or the Rolling Stones did a cover.

It's one of my dad's favourite songs. It's Dancing In The Street.

Dancing In The Street is correct.

Yeah. Judith, in which year did Michael Jackson

have a UK Christmas number-one single with Earth Song?

Was it...

Erm...

I've no idea. Um, I should think 1995.

Anybody here? Eggheads, is she right?

You're right, yes. Well done.

Katy, in 2010, Please Don't Let Me Go was a number-one single

for which talent-show runner-up?

Was it...

Well, I don't think Rhydian or Ray Quinn ever had a number-one single.

Erm, I think it's Olly Murs.

Olly Murs is right. Well done. Well done indeed.

Judith, in which stage musical

does a character called Glinda sing Popular?

We had a team from Avenue Q on Eggheads, funnily enough.

-I think it's Avenue Q.

-So you had a team from Avenue Q on?

-Yes.

-And one of them was called Glenda, wasn't she?

-Was she?

No! Wicked is the answer.

I wondered how you got there, that's all!

Katy, your chance with this one

to knock out an Egghead and book your place in the final.

Which British-born conductor

who has worked with the Philadelphia Orchestra

collaborated with Walt Disney on the 1940 film Fantastia?

Was it...

Erm, I have absolutely no idea. I've seen it...

Erm... I'm just gonna go straight down the middle - Thomas Beecham.

No, it's actually Leopold Stokowski.

So Judith has a chance to pull level.

If she does, we go to sudden death.

How many strings does a Japanese fiddle have? Is it...

I can't visualize the Japanese fiddle. I think it might be 1.

-How did you guess that?

-Well, something twanged in my brain.

-Was it that single string?

-Perhaps.

It could've been because you are right. It is one string.

Two points each. We go to sudden death. A bit harder,

-I don't give you options now. Are you ready?

-Yep.

Which song by the band Nirvana

that reached the UK Top Ten in 1991

features a brand of deodorant in the title?

Erm, I'm a big Nirvana fan.

That's the sort of music I like.

I guess Teen Spirit must've been a deodorant. Smells Like Teen Spirit.

Smells Like Teen Spirit is the right answer.

I did not know that that was a brand of deodorant.

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

Sheila Ferguson, Valerie Holiday and Fayette Pinkney

were the most successful line-up of which American vocal group

who became stars in the UK in the 1970s?

SHE CLEARS THROAT

Um, The Ronettes.

-Was that a guess by any chance?

-Yes.

-It was the Three Degrees.

So well done to you, Katy, you are in the final!

Things turning around for the Pop Idlers. Come and rejoin us.

So the challengers have lost one brain, but so have the Eggheads.

The next subject is sport. Which of you would like this?

-That's me.

-Liam, OK, on sport, against whom?

-CJ?

-Yeah.

-CJ, please.

-All right, straight there.

-No, thank you.

-You can't say that! So, Liam from the Pop Idlers

versus CJ from the Eggheads.

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

I'll ask each of you three questions on sport.

-Liam, first or second?

-I'd like to go first, please.

Which tennis player completed a career grand slam of singles titles

when he won the US Open in September 2010?

Was it...

It's not Robin Soderling. I don't think he's won any grand slams.

Djokovic, I think, has only won the Australian,

and so my answer is Rafael Nadal.

Rafael Nadal is correct. An impressive bit of back story there.

So well done.

CJ, in the 2010 Formula 1 season, Lewis Hamilton drove

for which constructor?

Was it...

He drove for McLaren.

McLaren-Mercedes is your answer. And it's right. Well done.

Back to you, Liam. Reaching, beating and tacking

are terms used in which sport?

Is it...

Erm...

I don't think it's fencing.

But I know nothing about lacrosse, so I'll have to go for sailing.

Sailing is the right answer. Nice one.

CJ, in Australian Rules Football, what type of goal is scored

when the ball passes between a goalpost and a smaller outer post?

Is it...

I've got no idea. Erm... Back.

-No. Anyone else?

-Behind.

-It's a behind, CJ.

Liam, if you get this right, you take the round.

In athletics, who was the first man

officially to break the 20-second barrier for the 200m? Was it...

Oh. Erm... I know Michael Johnson, I think,

held the 200m record for quite a long time,

but when he broke it, I think it was already under 20 seconds.

I've never heard of the other two though.

My gut instinct is, er... Pietro Mennea,

so I'll say Pietro Mennea.

I'm afraid that's wrong, it was Tommie Smith.

CJ, you have a chance to catch up.

In which year did Will Greenwood last play rugby union

for the England national rugby-union team? Was it...

No idea. 2004.

2004 is the right answer.

-HE LAUGHS

-How do you do that?

-It's a guess!

-How did you do that?

OK, so we go to sudden death.

Who was the only female member of the 1976 British Olympic team

who was not required to undergo an examination to check her gender?

I have absolutely no idea. Erm...

I can only assume

that this was around the time Princess Anne was in the Olympics

and they wouldn't want to be doing checks on royalty

for decency's sake.

Be bad form and all that. I'm gonna have to guess at Princess Anne.

Well done. Brilliant. You're right. Princess Anne.

OK. CJ.

Which 1970s and '80s tennis champion,

born in 1952, was famously known as Jimbo?

-If you get this wrong, you're out.

-Jimmy Connors.

-You said?

-Jimmy Connors.

-Jimmy Connors is the right answer.

Liam, which rugby-union player scored 396 points for England

between 1985 and 1997?

Er, the only player I'm, sort of, really familiar with

in that sort of time is, I think, Will Carling.

-So I'm gonna have to say Will Carling.

-It's not Will Carling,

it's Rob Andrew. CJ, you've got a chance of a place in the final.

-Been in the final recently?

-Certainly not on sport.

Well, making history here.

Which future West Indian cricket captain played football

for Antigua in the qualification rounds for the 1974 World Cup?

-What a great question.

-Maybe for you it is!

West Indian cricket captain.

I've got... nothing to go on. I'll try Viv Richards.

If you're right, you're in the final.

Liam, I'm sorry, he is right, Viv Richards is correct.

CJ wins on sport. Stranger things have happened, but not often.

Liam, bad luck. You won't be in the final round.

Both of you, come back to us now.

The challengers have lost two brains whilst the Eggheads have lost one.

The last subject is history.

So you never got politics!

It's a cruel world. It's between me and Leah,

-so I'll take history.

-Yep.

OK, Michael against which Egghead? Barry or Kevin?

It's not looking good here! I'll take Barry on, I think.

Michael from the Pop Idlers against Barry from the Eggheads.

Please go to the question room now.

Three questions on history in turn.

-Michael, first or second?

-I'll try and put pressure on and go first.

First question. Which royal house reigned in Scotland

from 1371 onwards

and numbered seven men called James among its kings?

Was it...

Not a strong area of mine, I must say. Erm...

Not really familiar with the last two. I'll have to go with Stuart.

And you've gone right. Stuart is correct.

Barry, your question. The cutlass was a short, curved sword

most associated with which people?

Well, the Samurai had a sword called a katana,

the gladiators had the gladioli,

but the sailors would use cutlasses, especially pirates. Arrr!

Yeah, sailors is right. Gladiators had gladioli?!

Well, the name gladioli means "sword plant",

-it comes from the same root.

-OK, fine.

Just conjured up a strange image. They wouldn't be THAT frightening!

Michael, at the centre of the main medieval trade organisation,

which German port became known as "the queen of the Hanseatic League"?

It's one of them you either know or you don't.

Erm... I'll have to guess at Kiel, I think.

It's not Kiel. The correct answer is Lubeck.

So, Barry, in 1963, Singapore became part of which country

only to become independent from it in 1965?

Was it...

In 1963, Singapore joined with Malaysia.

Malaysia is the right answer.

You've taken the lead. You need this one, Michael.

Which French aristocrat and military officer, born in 1757,

was a general in the American War of Independence

and led the National Guard during the French Revolution?

Was it...

Er...

Again, my knowledge of history isn't as good as I thought.

Erm...

I'll go for Marquis de Louvois.

All right, that is wrong. It is... Eggheads, you know this one?

-ALL: Lafayette.

-Yes, it is. Michael, I'm sorry.

You've been knocked out. Barry will be in the final.

Please come back to us now.

So, time for our final round, which, as always, is general knowledge.

But those of you who lost your head-to-heads won't take part.

That is Liam, Michael and Anthony from the Pop Idlers

and Judith from the Eggheads. Please leave the studio.

Katy and Leah, you are playing to win £4,000.

Barry, Pat, Kevin and CJ,

you're playing for the Eggheads' reputation.

I will ask each team three general-knowledge questions.

You are allowed to confer.

Katy and Leah, are your two brains better than the Eggheads' four?

Pop Idlers, do you want to go first or second?

-Erm...

-Shall we go first?

-Yep.

Here we go, your first question. The Hall of Mirrors designed by Mansart

in the 1670s is a feature of which royal palace?

Is it...

Erm... Do you know?

Royalty is not my strong point.

I'm guessing, it sounds French,

so perhaps the Palace of Versailles? It could be any of them.

-Well, then...

-Versailles is in France, isn't it?

-Yeah. Yes.

Go on. The Palace of Versailles.

Palace of Versailles is correct. Well done.

Eggheads, your question. What colour is cyan?

It's pale blue, isn't it? Greenish-blue.

It's greenish-blue, Jeremy.

Greenish-blue is correct. Pop Idlers,

your question. Which major Christian feast

which falls on 15th August is a public holiday in many countries?

I'm thinking back to Sunday school.

I don't remember doing anything in the summer.

My initial thought is Epiphany, but I don't know why.

-Assumption...

-Not Assumption.

I don't think... I would go for either Corpus Christi

or Epiphany.

-Shall we go for Epiphany?

-Yeah, go for your first thought.

Yeah, Epiphany.

It's wrong. Eggheads?

-It's Assumption.

-Help us on the detail.

It's the Virgin Mary being taken into heaven after her death.

OK. Your question. Dating from before the Second World War,

what is a Suzie Q? Is it a...

Erm... I've heard it.

Yes, same here.

It's famously Rocky Marciano's killer punch, isn't it?

Or maybe Jack Dempsey. It was someone's killer punch, the Suzie Q.

What would he name that after?

He's more likely to name it after a dance step than a hairstyle.

Are we eliminating coat?

Yeah, I think so.

I'm inclined to go for dance step.

Yeah. With the punch thing...

But you could certainly rearrange somebody's hair

if they got hit by Rocky Marciano.

Except that their head would be outside the ring!

Yeah... But I think, if we're not sure,

I think, on balance, the dance step looks like...

We're not sure, Jeremy, we're slightly torn with the hairstyle

because it was famously the name that Rocky Marciano gave

to his hard punch,

often fight-winning punch.

Erm, on balance, we're going to go for dance step.

You're right, dance step.

Lovely information added about the punch.

OK, your third question. You need to get it right or the contest is over.

Le Beau Serge and The Cousins were directed by which French film maker?

Is it...

-Oh, gosh...

-Can't say I've seen either of those.

No. I did film studies A level and I thought I knew

a lot about film.

Have you got any idea?

-Not the faintest, at all.

-Erm...

I've never heard of Claude Chabrol. I know the other two.

Eeny, meeny, miny, moe.

Shall we go for the one I haven't heard of?

-Yeah.

-Maybe?

OK. Pure guess -

Claude Chabrol.

Claude Chabrol is the right answer. Two points each, Eggheads.

If you get this right, you've won. If not, we go to sudden death.

The Nyctaginaceae family of flowering plants,

which includes the Bougainvillea, is also known by what name?

Is it...

Let me give you that spelling.

N-Y-C-T-A-G-I-N-A-C-E-A-E.

Suggests "midnight".

Midnight looks good from the spelling of the word.

"Night-time" as in "midnight" or "end of night-time" as in "sunrise".

Well, I think...

Doesn't the Bougainvillea

open at night and the scents waft over islands at night-time?

Isn't it known for that?

For night-time scents?

That would tie up more with the Midnight family.

I'm happy with Midnight. Yeah, yeah.

We'll go for Midnight family.

I wonder what Judith, our gardening expert would say. Judith?

-I don't know. I would say Midnight family too.

-Is CJ right

about this idea of this scent?

Maybe. I didn't think Boungainvilleas scented.

-SHE CHUCKLES

-OK. You're wrong.

-It's the Four-o'clock family.

-After all that, fine!

Four-o'clock family. How you'd get that from the name, I have no idea.

So we go to sudden death.

Katy and Leah, you've held them off. It gets a bit harder now,

-I need the answers from you, no options. Are you ready?

-Yep.

£4,000 we're playing for.

The Ballad Of The Unknown Stuntman was the theme tune

to which 1980s US TV series?

Well, I wasn't born in the '80s.

I was, for... less than a month.

Erm...

-Ballad Of The Unknown Stuntman.

-Ballad...

'80s TV series. It sounds like it's going to be some action... cop...

Is The A-Team '80s?

-Or have you got, like...

-Yeah, but I don't recognise that

as the name of it, it's always just "the A-Team tune".

Erm...

What other '80s action-y TV shows...

I can just think of things like Miami Vice!

-SHE LAUGHS

-Starsky And Hutch, is that '80s?

-I don't... I think it might have been a bit earlier.

-Yeah.

Was Miami Vice '80s though? That's the only thing I can think of.

-Erm...

-Oh, got to come up with an actual answer as well. OK.

I can't think of anything other than

Miami Vice. Hawaii...

The A-Team keeps popping up, but it's the only '80s programme I know.

And Miami Vice is stuck in my head.

But I bet it's a song I know well and it's not that

-and I've had a mind blank.

-We just have to pick one.

-You go.

If it's Miami Vice, I'll kick myself,

but I'll go with The A-Team!

You haven't mentioned the answer at all - it's The Fall Guy.

-Never heard of it.

-Starring Lee Majors, the Six Million Dollar Man.

He was a stuntman in his job and a bounty hunter on the side.

So The Ballad Of The Unknown Stuntman was appropriate.

If you get this, Eggheads,

you've won the contest.

What popular name has been given to the US Navy Fighter Weapons School

that moved from Miramar, California, to Fallon, Nevada, in 1996?

ALL: Top Gun.

As in the famous film with Tom Cruise - Top Gun.

Top Gun is right. Congratulations, Eggheads, you've won!

-You matched them in the opening section there...

-Yep.

..and just fell over at the last moment

on The Fall Guy, appropriately.

-No idea.

-Sorry about that. But thanks for coming in.

Good luck with your careers. Commiserations to the Pop Idlers.

The Eggheads have done what comes naturally and they reign supreme.

You won't be taking home the £4,000 so it rolls over to the next show.

Eggheads, congratulations. Who will beat you?

Join us next time to see if a new team have the brains to defeat them.

£5,000 says they don't. Till then, goodbye.

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