Episode 96 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,

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

They are the Eggheads.

And challenging our resident quiz champions today

are The Tramlines for Edinburgh.

Now, before our own

train-loving Chris gets too excited and rushes back into the studio,

I better explain three of the guys on this team play tennis together,

and for that reason Tramlines is an apt name.

Why is that, CJ?

The tramlines are the lines on the side of the court.

If you ball lands outside you've lost the point

and I've never seen so many double faults in my life.

Thank you, CJ. Let's meet them.

I'm Brian, and 53 and I'm a freelance journalist.

Hi, I'm Mark, I'm 30, and I'm an active schools coordinator.

Hi, I'm RD, and 28, and I'm a customer service representative.

Hi, I'm David, I'm 53,

and I'm a clinical scientist in the National Health Service.

Hi, I'm Max, I'm 48, and I'm a transport planner.

Brian and team, welcome, great to see you.

Tennis in some way brings you altogether.

Mark, RD and I all play tennis at St Serf's Tennis Club in Edinburgh.

We know Max through the tennis club as well.

His sister plays tennis with us,

and he's a transport planner in Edinburgh,

and trams has been a big issue.

David, the fifth member of our team is married to my cousin,

and a cricketer rather than a tennis player.

Suddenly we've got trams arriving unexpectedly here.

We thought Tramlines was all about tennis

but you've got some real trams involved as well.

Perfect. OK. Good luck in this contest.

Every day there is £1,000 worth 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, The Tramlines, the Eggheads have won

the last four games

which means £5,000 says you can't beat them today.

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

-Which one of you would like this?

-Not me.

Ditto, not me.

-David, is that you?

-Is that me?

-It's either you or RD.

-OK.

-Are you happy with that, David?

-Yes, I think so.

And you got to pick an Egghead now. This is the tricky bit.

Max, what does our research tell us?

They're all pretty good at History.

What about Barry?

Good, so David from The Tramlines versus Barry from The Eggheads.

I won't mention that he's won 20 out of 20 History rounds.

Why don't you go to the Question Rooms now?

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

Whoever answers the most questions correctly is the winner

and goes through to the final round.

The other gets knocked out.

So, David, do you want the first or second set of questions?

I think I'll take the first, please.

Here we go and good luck. In which year did the Russian Revolution

which brought Lenin to power take place?

OK, I think there were a couple of Russian revolutions.

One of which was earlier in the century.

But I think the one we are talking about for Lenin is 1917.

Quite right, 1917 it was. Barry, your question.

Who was President of the USA at the time of the first Moon landing?

Oh, it was Richard Nixon and he came up with a memorable speech

when he called the astronauts on the phone. He said,

"Most presidents promise the Moon but I'm the first one to actually deliver it."

Richard Nixon is right, 1969.

Over to you, David. The battle of Barnet

was an important engagement in which conflict?

OK, I'm guessing it's not the Boer Wars.

This'll be a guess

but I'm thinking my first instinct is the English Civil War.

English Civil War. Do you know this, Barry?

It's the Wars of the Roses.

The Wars of the Roses is the right answer.

So, Barry, your question to take the lead.

Where did Prince Albert die in 1861?

That's an excellent question, I've not heard it before.

He died of typhoid.

Queen Victoria did like Balmoral very much.

I'll go for Balmoral.

No, you're wrong as well, it was Windsor. Windsor Castle.

So David, little chink of light.

What was the name of the British diplomat who became

Acting Secretary-General of the United Nations in 1945?

Erm, I have to say, this will be a complete guess.

But there is only one name that I have heard of,

which probably augurs well for it being someone

that took on such an important role.

So I would go for Philip Noel-Baker.

It's not him. Anyone on your team know?

Arthur Henderson?

No, it's the other one.

It's Gladwyn Jebb.

Barry, if you get this right, you've got the round.

Which Empress was assassinated in 1898

by an Italian anarchist while visiting Geneva?

Well the Italians and the Austrians had lots of to-dos in that time

so I think it may have been Elizabeth of Austria.

You're right, Barry.

It was Elizabeth of Austria, well done,

you have taken the round.

Sorry, David, you won't be in the final round.

Do both of you please come back and rejoin your teams.

As it stands, the Challengers have lost one brain from the final round.

The Eggheads have lost no brains so far.

The next subject for you is Sports,

so who would like this?

-I think it's RD.

-RD, all right, against which Egghead?

What do you think?

-Kevin? Take on Kevin?

-I'll try Kevin.

Right, RD against Kevin from the Eggheads.

To ensure there is no conferring, please take your positions

in the Question Room.

I'll ask three questions on Sport in turn. Whoever answers

the most questions correctly is the winner and goes to the final.

RD, the first or second set of questions?

I'll take the second set, please, Jeremy.

Kevin, your first question.

Which team won golf's 2010 Ryder Cup?

Yes, a big event because it was held in Wales

and a very dramatic last-day victory for Europe.

Europe is the right answer. RD,

at the 2010 Football World Cup,

extra time consisted of two periods, each lasting how long?

Football, end of the game, it's always 15 minutes each half

so 15 minutes.

That's my answer.

15 minutes is the right answer. One each. Back to you, Kevin.

In 2003, Roger Federer won his first Wimbledon singles title,

beating which player in the final?

I don't actually know it, unfortunately.

I would think 2003 is possibly a little early for Nalbandian.

I don't recall Philippoussis getting to a Wimbledon final,

I may be wrong there.

Marat Safin?

I think I'm going to have to go for, despite what I said,

I'm going to have to go for Nalbandian.

-Your answer is David Nalbandian?

-Yes.

-I can't conjure this one up.

-Tramlines?

-Philippoussis.

-Philippoussis, they all say, the tennis players.

-OK.

-So you're wrong there, Kevin. Well, let's see what happens now.

RD, here's your question.

In 2009, Usain Bolt

ran a world best 14.35 seconds for the 150 metres

during a street race in which city?

I think the idea of this event was to try and get athletics

obviously out of the stadiums and into the community a bit more.

From what I recall I think it was quite wet conditions in Manchester

that it happened, I'm going to go with Manchester.

Very well done, it was Manchester. Absolutely.

Kevin, back to you, if you get this one wrong

you are knocked out. In which sport

are competitors awarded the Pete Rozelle Trophy?

I'm not having a good day here, because I know this perfectly well,

but it's not... I'm sure it's not ice hockey.

But I'm having trouble remembering which of the other two it is.

I think it was American football. American football.

American football is your answer,

and it's correct.

You're still in there.

I thought he was gone for a second there, RD.

-Yeah, I was hoping so too.

-It's never that easy with Kevin.

If you get this one right you have knocked him out, that will help.

The Preakness Stakes, one of the American

Triple Crown of horse racing, is run on which course?

Right, horseracing is not really a knowledge of mine at all

and American, even less so.

So it'll just be a stab in the dark.

I hope they race at all three, and just going to go...

Pimlico, no idea, Pimlico Race Course.

Your answer is Pimlico. Who knows?

-Anyone?

-It's Pimlico, I think.

You've got it right, RD, well done!

What about that?

So Kevin, you are knocked out and RD, you are in the final.

And your team have a bit of a boost there.

Please both of you rejoin us.

So as it stands, Challengers have lost one brain from the final round,

and the Eggheads have also lost one brain.

Kevin, the next subject is Music.

Who is the musician?

It might have to be Mark.

Mark, on music, against... It can't be Kevin, can't be Barry.

I'll take Judith on, please.

Mark from The Tramlines against Judith from the Eggheads on music.

Feeling musical today?

Well, you know, Jeremy.

Please go and take your places in the Question Room.

Let's see how you both do.

Three questions, multiple-choice,

and you can choose, Mark, the first or second set.

I think I'll go second, please, Jeremy.

Judith, your question.

Which Tears for Fears song

was adapted as a 2010 football anthem

and taken into the UK charts by Dizzee Rascal

and James Corden?

I'm just trying to think which would be best on a football pitch.

Shout, perhaps.

I don't know. Shout.

Shout, it is. It's Shout.

-It is Shout?

-You're right.

-Hurray.

OK. She's got one right.

As you can see, Mark, it's heavy weather on the other side.

Tom Fletcher and Harry Judd became famous as members of which band?

I'm afraid this won't do my street cred any good whatsoever.

But I think, I don't want to be

too confident but I think I know this one.

I'm pretty sure they make up half of McFly.

McFly is the right answer, well done.

As you say, your street cred is now...

At least it wasn't about Justin Bieber, that question.

Judith, in the 16th and 17th centuries,

the Amati family of Cremona

were famous for producing which musical instruments?

Violins.

-Straight there.

-Yep.

OK.

You're right.

Mark, which veteran entertainer released the album

Praise and Blame in 2010?

I certainly know that Tom Jones has released an album.

He released an album in 2010,

none of the other two spring to mind anything released recently,

but I'm going to have to go with Tom Jones.

Tom Jones is the right answer. So the pressure is on.

Judith, your third question.

Which rapper founded

the management music publishing and entertainment company,

Roc Nation, in 2008?

I know Jay-Z is this kind of big businessman,

but he may have been a big businessman a bit longer.

But on the other hand,

it's the only one I know has tremendous business sense, so Jay-Z.

Jay-Zed, as Chris would say.

Jay-Zed, yes, I've done that before myself.

Any Egghead want to comment on that?

I think she's right.

Yes, you're right,

Judith, amazingly. I don't mean that. You're right.

Jay-Z.

OK, so now, you're head to head on Music, Mark,

with Judith and you have to get this right.

Which classical musician

is the subject of the book,

A Genius in the Family?

Genius in the Family.

For some reason, there is one

particular answer standing out to me,

for no other reason than it just appears to be doing that.

So unfortunately, without any other reason,

I'm going to have to go with Jacqueline du Pre.

-Jacqueline Du Pre. Eggheads?

-He's right.

-You are quite right, you got it right, well done.

-No idea how.

Three out of three for both of you.

So we go now to Sudden Death. It's that bit more difficult because I don't give you options,

you have got to give me the answer.

Here is your question, are you ready?

The musical All the Fun of the Fair is based on the songs

of which English singer who had his first UK hit single in 1973?

Erm, I don't know, Cat Stevens.

No. Anyone?

-David Essex?

-David Essex.

Mark, you can take it if you get this one right.

"A few questions that I need to know,

"how you could ever hurt me so",

are the opening lines to which 1997 UK number one single for All Saints?

I'm pretty sure it's Never, Ever.

Never, Ever is the right answer. Well played, Mark. Very, very good.

Judith, you have been knocked out,

I'm sorry to say,

although not a bad effort either at all from our Egghead.

That means another of the Challengers will be in the final.

Please, both of you, come back and rejoin your teams.

As it stands, the Challengers have lost one brain from the final round.

The Eggheads have now lost two brains. Game on, as they say.

The last subject is Science.

Which of the Challengers would like that?

This is where it's all gone a bit wrong. It was supposed to be David.

Are we going for that then? Are you going to take that one?

-I'll take that.

-Max, OK.

Against which Egghead?

Pat, we'll go for Pat.

Max from The Tramlines versus Pat from the Eggheads on Science.

Take your positions in the Question Room.

Pat versus Max. Three questions, multiple-choice,

Max, the first or second set?

I'll try going for the first ones, please.

And here we go. The word hepatic refers to which part of the body?

Pretty sure that's not going to be the heart or the lung.

I'll go for the liver, please, Jeremy.

Well done, liver it is, Max,

one point to you. Pat.

Gonepteryx rhamni

is the scientific name for the Brimstone,

a variety of which creature?

My first thought is butterfly, you get a bit spooked by beetles,

simply because they are hundreds of thousands of different beetles.

There are yellowish birds as well.

But the best-known Brimstone is a butterfly.

Yes, you have got it, it's the right answer, butterfly.

Max, which building in London is home to

the Royal Society of Chemistry, and the Royal Astronomical Society?

Bush House is a BBC building.

British Library houses the British Library,

so I guess is going to have to be Burlington House.

Well done, it is Burlington House.

Pat, your question.

Which acid found in apples and grapes is also known as E296?

I think I can dismiss acetic.

Butyric acid

has something to do with vines, that's a slight concern.

But the classic acid one would link with an apple is malic acid,

so I'll go for that.

Unerring use of logic and malic acid, it is.

You are equal, two points each. Third question,

Max, get this right, put some pressure on.

Baud is a unit used for measuring the speed of what?

I'm going to have to have a guess at this one, I think.

Not a term I've heard of.

I'll go for electronic communication data.

Nice one, you're right. Really well done.

You've got three, if Pat doesn't get three

he will be out. Your team is playing really well.

Pat, what was the name of the American who, in the 1930s,

first discovered radio waves emanating from space?

This could go bad on me, it could be David H Levy,

but I'm going to have to go with Karl Jansky.

You got the answer right, well done. Karl Jansky it is.

Three points each in the Science round.

We go to Sudden Death.

Gets harder, Max, I don't give you alternatives.

Here we go.

In the late 1970s, the US series of Pioneer probes

came to an end with Pioneer 12 and 13,

both sent to observe which planet?

Would that be Jupiter?

No,

it actually dropped four probes into the atmosphere of Venus.

Venus was the answer.

Pat, this for the round.

Which device devised by CTR Wilson in 1911

was the first instrument to detect the tracks of atomic particles?

I think I'll have to go for cloud chamber.

Let's check with the Eggheads.

-Yes, cloud chamber.

-Yes, they are agreeing with you

and you're right. Cloud chamber it is.

Pat, well done. Max, well fought, but you've not made the final.

If you both come back to us, we'll play it.

This is what we have been playing towards,

time for the final round which as always is General Knowledge.

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

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

So David and Matt from The Tramlines,

and Judith and Kevin from the Eggheads,

would you please now leave the studio.

So Brian, Mark and RD, you are playing to win The Tramlines £5,000.

Barry, Pat and CJ,

you are playing for something money can't buy,

the Eggheads' reputation.

I will ask each team three questions in turn.

The questions are all General Knowledge,

and you are allowed to confer.

So Brian, Mark and RD, the question is

are your three brains better than the Eggheads' three?

And Tramlines, first or second?

We've gone first twice and lost, we've gone second twice and won.

So we'll stick with the radical notion of going second.

OK, Eggheads, here we go, final round and you are going first.

Events surrounding which legendary figure

are said to have caused the Trojan War?

-Helen?

-Helen?

I think we're happy with Helen.

Helen of Troy. You're right. Helen is the correct answer.

OK, Tramlines, your first question.

Giles Coren and Jay Rayner found fame as critics of what?

Restaurants.

We are all happy that it is restaurants.

Restaurants.

Restaurants is the right answer.

Eggheads,

what was the name of the Kenyan hotel

where Princess Elizabeth was staying

when she heard the news of the death of her father, King George VI?

Treetops?

That's Treetops, Jeremy.

Treetops is the right answer.

Here's your question.

Which Cardinal was beatified at a mass held in Birmingham

during the Pope's visit to Britain in 2010?

Basil Hume, I think, is too recent.

-2010.

-It was 2010.

No, I think he is too recent in history.

I wonder if I have seen John Henry Newman in the news recently.

I know there was the woman that became the saint,

fast-tracked sainthood for John Paul II.

Is it John Henry Newman? I'm not certain,

that would be my guess.

John Henry Newman.

John Henry Newman is correct. Well done.

So, Eggheads, your third question.

In which country is Amharic one of the main languages?

Presumably Ethiopia.

Can't be the other two, Amharic is an East African language.

-Definitely Ethiopia.

-Ethiopia.

It's got to be Ethiopia.

Ethiopia is the correct answer.

OK, if you get this wrong, the contest is over.

If you get it right we go to Sudden Death.

Here we go, Tramlines - a statue to Tommy Cooper

erected in 2008 in his home town of Caerphilly

was unveiled by which actor?

Well, obviously they're all Welsh.

Hopkins is Port Talbot, the same as Richard Burton.

Caerphilly...

I thought it was Anthony Hopkins.

He would be more of the kind of...

I feel like he did do some statue.

Obviously Jonathan Pryce is pretty famous.

Jonathan Pryce is pretty famous, I think he's done lighter stuff.

But does that mean anything?

I think Hopkins.

Anthony Hopkins.

Just like that, it's gone.

-Your answer is Anthony Hopkins.

-Just like that.

-Just like that.

Eggheads?

-I attended it.

-You were there?

I attended the ceremony.

Which actor was it?

It was Anthony Hopkins.

Anthony Hopkins is the right answer, well done. Anthony Hopkins it is.

So you have three points each,

and we go to Sudden Death. £5,000 on the table. Eggheads.

Ed McMahon was from 1962 to 1992 the announcer for

and sidekick of which American chat show host?

Normally associated with Johnny Carson, I think.

'92 he finished, you say?

Ed McMahon was from 1962 to 1992 the announcer for

and sidekick of which American chat show host?

-I've always associated Ed McMahon with Johnny Carson.

-Fair enough.

-And that's quite a long time, isn't it?

-And he ran for a long time.

I think '92 was the Johnny Carson finished the Tonight show.

OK, are we happy with that?

-Yes.

-Yes.

-Johnny Carson.

Johnny Carson is correct.

Here's your question.

If you get this wrong, the contest is over.

Which Hollywood actor was born

Bernard Schwartz in the Bronx in 1925?

-Something in my mind tells me it's Tony Curtis.

-Bronx.

I know that he was a New Yorker.

How old was he... He's just died in the not too distant past,

how old was he when he died? Can anyone remember?

My gut feeling is that this is Tony Curtis.

-Go with it then.

-Tony Curtis.

Tony Curtis is correct.

Well done, Brian.

Back to you, Eggheads. Sudden Death.

In March 2009,

Mauricio Funes was elected president of which country?

Sounds faintly Portuguese.

Who's the Portuguese president?

-I don't know.

-Don't know.

Could be Hispanic, obviously, as well. They're not that far apart.

In which case you have all of South America to play with,

and Central America.

Can you spell the forename, please?

Mauricio Funes,

M-A-U-R-I-C-I-O, Mauricio,

Funes, FUNES.

It does sound Portuguese.

-I've heard the name.

-Brazil maybe.

I think if was Brazil, we'd know it.

-It's not Brazil.

-I think we have to go for Portugal, don't we?

Hope for the best.

It sounds more Portuguese than Spanish.

It definitely does, yes.

We have a couple of hints, so we'll try Portugal.

Portugal is wrong.

It's El Salvador.

Couple of hints. Hinting in the wrong direction. So, here we are,

Tramlines, if you get this right

you've taken £5,000.

And beaten them out of sight.

Which English poet wrote a pamphlet entitled

The Doctrine and Discipline of Divorce

shortly after his first wife left him?

It doesn't sound recent.

It sounds like we're back in history.

Either that or it is somebody with a very close attachment to the church

who would still be using that sort of antiquated language.

Nobody these days would write a pamphlet called

The Doctrine and Discipline of Divorce.

No, I certainly wouldn't.

But, John Betjeman is the sort of guy

that might have got divorced

and might have written a pamphlet with this sort of title.

I think Brian is going to have to choose?

-John Betjeman.

-Go with it, Brian, if you think...

Can we think of anybody... Milton?

Well, Paradise Lost, Paradise Gained.

-What's his first name?

-John.

-John Milton.

-Is that too far back?

Is he more known for his writing...?

John Milton, John Betjeman?

Paradise Lost has the...

At least it's got the religious connection.

What you think, Milton or Betjeman?

-I like...

-You like?

I do kind of like the Milton...

John Milton.

Your answer is?

John Milton.

OK.

You got the right answer, John Milton it is.

Congratulations, Challengers, you've won!

High five!

We'll stick with the handshake.

Brian, you should be a detective.

The way in which you just tracked down

every answer was stupendous to watch.

I could see them in front of me

-and I thought this guy is going to get there.

-Eventually.

Yes, but you did it brilliantly.

Congratulations to our Challengers. You've won £5,000.

You are officially cleverer than the Eggheads.

You have proved they can be beaten.

Join us next time on Eggheads

to see if a new team of challengers will be just as successful.

Until then, congratulations again, and goodbye.

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