Episode 118 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

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

They are the Eggheads.

And taking on our awesome quiz champions today

are The Quad Runners. This team met six years ago whilst studying

at Pembroke College at the University of Oxford.

They were all members of the college darts team

and have remained friends ever since.

Let's meet them.

Hi. I'm Hadrian. I'm 25 years old and I'm a law student.

Hi. My name's Tim. I'm 24 years old and I'm a performance analyst.

Hi. I'm Ashley. I'm 24 years old and I'm a management consultant.

Hi. I'm Bobby. I'm 24 and I'm a trainee lawyer.

Hello. I'm Will. I'm 23 and I'm a researcher and bid writer.

So, Hadrian and team, welcome.

And Quad Runners suggested to us it's athletics, it's running,

it's something incredibly fast and strong. It's actually darts.

Yes. The Quad Run was a punishment for poor performance.

-In darts?

-Yep.

-I see, OK.

So, did you play a lot of darts when you were at college?

-Yeah.

-A lot of time...

-A lot of time.

-..in the college bar.

-Do you still play darts now?

-When we can find a pub that's got

-a darts board, but they're quite rare these days.

-Is that right?

Eggheads, you spend a lot of time in pubs.

Have you noticed - well, quizzing, I mean, not drinking,

but have you noticed there's a lack of dart boards now?

-Yeah, true.

-Is that right?

-Definitely.

-They're not as common as they were.

-When they all go shi-shi,

-start serving food and they take the dartboard out?

-Yeah.

-Hmm.

-Yeah.

-Probably health and safety as well?

No, I don't think so. I think it's just been a change

-in culture really.

-Yeah.

-OK.

Every day there is £1,000 in 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, Quad Runners,

the Eggheads are on amazing streak at the moment.

They won the last 28 games.

So it's definitely been worth your while coming.

£29,000 is up for grabs.

-The stakes are high.

-CHALLENGERS LAUGH

So good luck. And we'll start, shall we? No reason to delay.

First Head-to-Head battle is on the subject of History.

Who would like History?

-Right.

-That's got to be Will.

-So that's me.

-Yes, I'm happy to take it.

-Will, I don't think you've got any choice.

They've volunteered you. Which Egghead would you like to knock out?

-I'll take... I'll challenge Daphne, please.

-OK.

-All very polite, aren't they?

-Yes.

Will from the Quad Runners against Daphne from the Eggheads.

Let battle commence. Do go to the Question Room now.

Will, you were in the darts team as well?

-I was, yes, Jeremy.

-Just to be clear, you had to run round the quad

if you lost. Is that correct?

-That's correct, yes.

-And the quad is part of this college at Oxford

-that you were all at.

-Yeah.

Anything else you'd like to tell me about running around the quad?

I'm not sure it's appropriate for pre-watershed.

Let's say it was in a state of undress, we could say.

-Were you wearing any clothes at all?

-I'd rather not comment on that.

I think we can guess. So that's quite a serious punishment.

And that's basically for not hitting double-top, is it?

Well, it was... I won't bore you with the precise circumstances

but it didn't happen very often.

You ever been in one of these darts clubs, Daphne?

-If you lose, have to run naked around...

-I have been on Bullseye.

-You've been on Bullseye?

-Yes.

-You didn't lose that, though, did you?

-You won that?

-We won it.

-They didn't get you to run naked around Weston-Super-Mare?

-No, no.

Not a pretty sight.

OK. I'll ask you three multiple choice questions on History in turn.

Whoever answers the most questions correctly is the winner,

goes through to our final.

And Will, you can choose the first or second set.

I think I'd like to go first, Jeremy.

Here we go. Good luck.

The Tet Offensive, a key phase in the Vietnam War,

began in which year?

Uh, I actually studied 1960s American History at university.

Obviously, there was quite a lot of the Vietnam conflict in that course.

And so I'm fairly sure about the answer.

And I believe it is 1968.

1968 is the right answer.

Massive year that, wasn't it?

What was going on? It was Bobby Kennedy, was it?

-And Martin Luther King?

-Yeah.

Assassinated? It was kind of a crazy year.

-It was a crazy year for the States, certainly.

-Yeah.

-Across the world.

-And Paris.

-Paris riots.

-I was born.

-You were born?

-It was crazy, yeah. It was mad, yeah.

Daphne, your question. William III,

who was King of Great Britain from 1689 to 1702,

was born in which modern-day country?

Well, I assume, because he was William of Orange,

he was born in the Netherlands.

And Netherlands is the right answer. One each.

Back to you, Will. HMS Victory,

Nelson's flagship at the Battle of Trafalgar,

was built in which dockyard?

Right. Erm...

I've never really studied this...

period of history.

So I'll go with a bit of a guess and I'll try...

-Woolwich, I think.

-Woolwich is your answer.

Any of your team-mates know?

-I think it's Chatham.

-What do you think? No?

Chatham is the right answer, actually.

Will, sorry, you got it wrong. Chatham it was.

Daphne...

How were the American Presidents

William Henry Harrison and Benjamin Harrison related?

They were grandfather and grandson.

Grandfather and grandson is correct.

So you take the lead, Daphne.

That means you need to get this one right, Will,

or you'll be knocked out.

Who Captained the Susan Constant

on the Virginia Company's 1606 colonising mission

to the New World?

Hmm. Right. Again, unfortunately...

these questions seem to have taken a bit of a naval bent.

Unfortunately I don't really have a great knowledge of maritime history.

So I'm sort of struggling again.

I think I'm going to just...

go down the middle and go for Thomas Cochrane, please.

Thomas Cochrane, OK. Let's see if Daphne knows this.

-Do you know, Daphne?

-I don't,

but I'd have gone for Charles Howard.

-Any Eggheads know?

-It was Christopher Newport.

Christopher Newport is the answer, Will.

-Oh!

-Not Thomas Cochrane.

We had a whole spree of answers there,

so no shame in not knowing. But you've been knocked out, I'm afraid,

by Daphne. Daphne, you're in the final round.

But it's early days.

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

So, as it stands, the Challengers have lost the first brain

from the Final Round. The Eggheads have not lost a brain yet.

The next subject for you is Arts & Books.

So you're all very brainy ex-students.

This should be a difficult choice.

Do you fancy Arts and Books? Cos I'm terrible.

I'd prefer not to. But I...

I think it makes sense to just go for it.

-Go for it.

-I'll do it.

OK, Bobby. Against which Egghead?

-You can have anyone but Daphne.

-We'll have a shot

-with an unknown quantity. Dave.

-Tremendous Knowledge Dave.

OK. So it is Bobby from the Quad Runners

against Dave from the Eggheads.

Please go to our Question Room now.

I'm going to ask each of you three questions on Arts & Books in turn.

And you can choose the first or second set, Bobby.

OK. I'm going to go first, if that's OK.

And here is your first question. The Jack Higgins novel,

The Eagle Has Landed, involves a plan

to kidnap which politician?

OK. Well, I haven't heard of the book.

But I'd suggest...

I'm going to discount Tony Blair because it sounds too recent.

The Eagle Has Landed obviously suggests something to do with

the moon landings, but that doesn't really provide any assistance.

But given that it happened after Churchill's death,

I'm going to go with Margaret Thatcher.

OK. Anyone on your team seen The Eagle Has Landed?

-Yeah. I think it's a World War II movie.

-Yeah.

-So I would have gone for Winston Churchill.

-It's Churchill.

Advantage Dave. Here's your question.

Renoir's painting, Luncheon Of The Boating Party,

shows a group of friends on a balcony overlooking which river?

Hmm. Erm...

I'll have to go with the Seine.

Seine is the right answer. Bobby, your question.

What was the name of William Shakespeare's second daughter,

the twin sister of his son Hamnet?

I don't, off the top of my head, know this, actually, Jeremy.

I know his wife was called Anne.

I'm going to go with Judith.

-Let's ask the lady herself. Is he right?

-Yes.

-BOTH LAUGH

-He is right. You're right.

-You're right.

-CHALLENGERS APPLAUD

Here's your question, Dave. Vittoria Vetra is a major character

in which Dan Brown novel?

I'm going to go Angels And Demons,

because it's the most famous one to me,

but I've not got a clue.

-But you're right, Dave. Angels And Demons it is.

-By default.

OK. Bobby, your question. You need to get this one right

or you will have gone.

In which year was Tom Stoppard's play

Rosencrantz And Guildenstern Are Dead first performed?

Well, again, I don't know this for a fact.

I'm going to discount 1986 because I just feel that that's too late.

Which leaves 66 and 76.

I guess he's in his 60s or 70s now. I'm not entirely sure.

So let's say 66 might be a little bit too early potentially.

At a guess, I'm going to go with 76. 1976.

-Is he right, Eggheads?

-No.

-I think it's 66.

-66 is the answer, Bobby, not 76.

You've been knocked out by our Egghead,

Tremendous Knowledge Dave, who will be in the Final Round.

Please, both of you, come back here to the studio, and we'll play on.

As it stands, the Challengers have lost two brains.

The Eggheads have lost no brains.

So this is the moment. Get the darts out.

THEY MURMUR IN AGREEMENT

This is it.

You'll have 180 next. It's Sport.

I'm thinking somebody here's going to be very good at sport.

-Who's it going to be?

-Three of us could take it, couldn't we?

Do you want to go for it? Would you like it?

-I'll take it.

-Yep.

-Tim, is it you?

-I think it's going to be me.

OK. Against which Egghead? Kevin, Judith or Pat?

Erm...I think I will challenge Judith, please.

-She has been...

-Not much of a challenge.

You have been reading the back pages, haven't you?

-Oh, I have, yes.

-Not just the crossword, but the sporty bits.

Yes, and the sports bits.

So, Tim versus Judith, sighing, looking a bit unhappy,

about Sport, from the Eggheads. Do please go to the Question Room now.

So, three questions, and Tim you can choose the first or second set.

I think I'll buck the trend and go second, please, Jeremy.

OK, Judith, here we go.

The 19-stone Andrew Sheridan

became a leading player in which Rugby Union position?

Erm...

Well if he's... What did you say he was, 19 stone?

-The 19-stone Andrew Sheridan.

-Yup.

Well, I don't think he'd be on the Wing in that case.

-I think he might be a prop.

-Brilliant logic.

-Prop is correct.

-Oh, hurray.

-Well done.

Tim, your question.

Madison Square Garden is the home arena of which NBA basketball team?

Right. Well, my first thought was that it's in New York,

so I was kind of hoping that two of the answers would be elsewhere.

Erm, I think...

I'm going to go for...

the New York Jazz, please, Jeremy.

Your team-mates looked a bit unhappy at that moment.

-Who knows the answer here, team-mates?

-The Knicks.

The Knicks. The New York Knicks.

Judith, your question.

In which year did the boxer Frank Bruno

fight the first professional bout of his career

against Lupe Guerra?

Oh. They're all far too close in date.

I'm going to say it was 1978.

No. 1982 is the answer.

So, she's in the lead, but only just.

Tim, your question. Which English cricketer

took his 200th one day international wicket in September 2011?

Again, they're all cricketers of the same era, the modern team.

I was hoping I might be able to rule a couple out

based on them being... no longer playing, perhaps.

Erm. I'm trying to think. 200, is that a large number?

Or is that easily achievable in a short period of time?

I think that's quite a lot, so I'm going to go,

for that reason, for James Anderson,

-who I think's been in the team slightly longer.

-Very good.

Very logical. James Anderson is the right answer, Tim. Well done.

So, one point each. Third question to you, Judith.

Which golf major did Bill Rogers win in 1981,

the only such victory of his career?

-Bill Rogers?

-Bill Rogers.

I've never heard of him. So it's a guess.

-Down the right. The Open.

-Is the right answer.

-Ooh!

Going down the right. I don't know how you do that.

-Occasionally, it works.

-The Open is the right answer.

So Tim, a little bit of pressure here, really.

Get this right, or you'll be knocked out by Judith on Sport.

The upside of that is, she will be very happy for a very long time.

At least 24 hours.

OK. The American, Jenny Thompson, has won eight Olympic gold medals

in which sport?

Jenny Thompson.

I haven't heard of her,

I'm afraid.

I'm guessing that she'll have had to do more than one event.

Otherwise that would be eight Olympic Games for fencing.

So I'm going to rule fencing out.

Swimming, there's lots of different classes in swimming,

but also in gymnastics.

Again, it's a bit of a guess, I'm afraid.

I'm going to say gymnastics.

Eight Olympic golds in gymnastics, you say?

I wonder if you're right. Anyone on the Eggheads side?

-Swimming.

-She's a swimmer.

-Swimming is the answer.

Jenny Thompson is a swimmer.

Which means you've fallen behind Judith

and so, at that point, I'm afraid you've been knocked out

with two wrong answers, Tim. You're not in the final.

Judith, you're through to the final in sport! Go crazy for a moment

-or wave your arms in the air or something.

-I'm thrilled.

I can see that.

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

The Challengers have lost three brains,

which is going to make it harder.

Eggheads have lost no brains so far,

which is why they're looking just a bit smug.

And we'll have one more subject before the Final Round,

-and it is Film & TV. So who'd like this?

-Shall I take it?

-Ashley or Hadrian?

-I'm awful at film.

-I'll have a crack at it, Jeremy.

-Ashley, OK.

Against which Egghead?

-Erm...

-Kevin or Pat?

Yeah. I think I might as well take on Kevin.

-All right.

-I'll have a shot.

Ashley from the Quad Runners

against King Kevin from the Eggheads

on Film & TV. Please go to the Question Room now.

Film & TV now. Three questions,

and you can choose the first or second set.

Erm, I will go second.

OK, Kevin, your first question.

The film, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel,

released in the UK in 2012

and starring Judi Dench and Bill Nighy,

is largely set in which country?

It's mostly set - well, apart from the bit at the start -

it's set in India.

India is the right answer.

OK, Ashley. What is the profession of Malcolm Crowe,

played by Bruce Willis,

in the 1999 film The Sixth Sense?

Erm, my first instinct is that he was some sort of detective.

So, based on that,

I would be swinging towards policeman.

Although I know that he's working alongside

a child who's been troubled, which makes me think

that psychologist might be a smarter move.

I'm probably getting confused with his Die Hard films,

where he is a policeman, so I'll try psychologist.

You've done well. Psychologist is the right answer.

Kevin. Which Cheers cast member went on to star as the title character

in the medical comedy series Becker?

I don't think I've heard of that. So is it B-E-C-K-E-R?

B-E-C-K-E-R.

Becker.

It'd be fairly unusual for a female character

just to have the name, the surname, Becker...

as a title. So I've got to rule something out,

so I'll rule Shelley Long out.

Was it something that Ted Danson did?

I mean he went into films after Cheers.

This could be a bit of a trap,

but because Kelsey Grammer went on to Frasier,

I'll go for Ted Danson.

-Daphne looks excited. Is he right?

-Yes.

It's obscure, this, isn't it?

-It is obscure.

-I think he plays a grumpy doctor a bit like Doc Martin,

who doesn't like his patients.

-OK. Or Hugh Laurie in House or whatever. Right.

-Yes.

-OK.

Anyway. Ted Danson is right, Kevin. You got there slowly.

OK. Ashley.

In the 1978 film Grease,

which of the Pink Ladies is played by Didi Conn?

OK. I think I have seen Grease, but it was when I was very young.

So my recollection isn't too strong of it.

Two names that do sound familiar are Frenchy and Marty.

Just as a 50-50, I'm going to go down the left with Frenchy.

-Frenchy's the right answer.

-Yes!

So 2-2. Very hard-fought round, this,

trying to get a second person in the final here.

Kevin. Which children's TV show is set in a town called Pontypandy?

Well, "town" doesn't seem to apply to either The Tweenies

or In the Night Garden, to my mind.

so I'll have to say Fireman Sam.

-Fireman Sam is the right answer.

-Hmm.

-OK, Ashley.

Who played Maxwell Smart

in the 1960s TV show Get Smart?

And you need this question right, or you're gone.

I've seen the film Get Smart, I think.

I think that was John Travolta.

But that's obviously irrelevant to this.

In terms of these actors,

I'm not very familiar with any of them.

So I'm going to go with what we used to do if we didn't know the answer

in the It Box in the bar, and go lucky middle, with Don Adams.

-It is lucky.

-What do you think, Eggs?

-Yes, he's right.

-You're right. You got it right. Three out of three.

-The Travolta film is Get Shorty, isn't it?

-Oh, yeah. Maybe.

-ALL LAUGH

-Doesn't matter. You got it right.

OK. We go to Sudden Death. It gets a bit harder.

As you know, Kevin, I do not give you alternatives now.

Your question. Which British show won the best TV mini-series award

at the 2012 Golden Globes?

I don't know it. so I'm going to assume it's Downton Abbey.

-Downton Abbey.

-Downton Abbey is correct.

OK. A bit of pressure here, Ashley.

Dave Spikey played Jerry St Clair in which TV comedy series

first shown in 2001?

It's not ringing any bells, I'm afraid.

I'm going to have a guess, a wild stab in the dark, with King of Queens.

Just cos I think it started about that time.

No, that's wrong. Do your team-mates know?

-Anyone?

-I have a feeling it was Phoenix Nights?

Yes, it was Phoenix Nights. Peter Kay's Phoenix Nights.

So Kevin has triumphed in this round.

Ashley, sorry, you've been knocked out. Kevin, you're in.

Please, both of you, come back, and we will play the Final Round.

This is what we have been playing towards.

It's time of 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 Tim, Ashley, Bobby and Will from the Quad Runners,

would you please now leave the studio.

Well, Hadrian, here we are.

-Not quite what was planned.

-Not ideal.

So you're playing to win the Quad Runners £29,000.

Daphne, Dave, Kevin, Judith and Pat,

you're playing for something that money can't buy,

the Eggheads' reputation.

As usual, I will ask each team three questions in turn.

This time the questions are all General Knowledge.

And you can confer.

So, Hadrian, the question is, is your one brain

better than the Eggheads' five? Can you take them down?

-Shall we find out?

-Let's go for it.

-Do you want to go first or second?

-I'll go first.

You said that in a very determined way.

Which national newspaper was launched in February 2012?

Fortunately, you've handed me one

I'm pretty confident of the answer to.

Newspapers have come under a bit of fire and one in particular

was the News of the World

which was replaced, by the parent company,

with the Sun on Sunday, I believe.

The Sun on Sunday is quite right. Well done.

Replaced the News of the World.

OK. Eggheads, your question.

Which part of the body is sometimes referred to as the pinky?

ALL: Little finger.

-That's the little finger.

-The little finger is the right answer.

So back to you, Hadrian.

Which Scottish singer had a UK number one in 2012

with her debut album Our Version Of Events?

I own, I think, this.

Could you repeat the name of the album? Our Version Of Events?

Our Version Of Events.

I own the Emeli Sande album,

and I think it's called Our Version Of Events,

so I'm going to go for Emeli Sande.

I've got that album too, and I can't remember the title,

but you've got the right answer. Emeli Sande is correct. Well done.

OK, Eggheads, your question.

The Baiyoke Tower Two, one of the world's tallest hotels,

is located in which Asian country?

Baiyoke is spelled B-A-I-Y-O-K-E.

-Have you come across it?

-No.

-Neither have I.

-I would have said Malaysia.

-It's got a track record for skyscrapers.

-They build tall ones.

Yeah. Might have added to the collection.

-I mean, Malaysia has had some tall buildings.

-Lots of tall buildings.

I don't know what tall buildings there are in Thailand.

Hmm.

-Sri Lanka has been ravaged by civil war for quite a long time.

-Yeah.

-I'm not sure they put up giant skyscrapers.

-It's not rich enough.

They've had peace. But have they had peace for long enough

to be putting up really tall buildings?

-I think we'll have to go for...

-Yeah.

On the basis of the tall buildings thing,

-we'll have to go for Malaysia.

-Malaysia?

-Malaysia.

OK. We really don't know at all.

But because Malaysia has a bit of a tradition

of putting up really tall buildings,

we're going to go for Malaysia.

And everyone asked this question would have gone for Malaysia.

Everyone. There's no excuse, though, cos you are the Eggheads.

You're supposed to not go for the wrong answer.

You got it wrong. It's Thailand.

So, this is interesting.

They've blundered in the most fantastic way

by naming a country they think had a tall building in it.

And if you get this right, you've won £29,000.

Hadrian, here's your question.

Qaboos bin Said

became the Sultan of which country in 1970?

His name is spelt - there's three words in it -

Q-A-B-O-O-S

B-I-N

S-A-I-D.

Qaboos bin Said.

The options are...

Yup. Erm...

Well, the Said family is...

That's the royal dynasty.

When I heard that, I was hoping that Saudi Arabia would come up,

so I could at least discount one, but it hasn't.

Oman no longer has a Sultan.

But this is 1970.

So that doesn't help.

Sultan of Qatar, Sultan of Brunei, Sultan of Oman.

I'm going to knock out Brunei.

Just because the name sounds

more Middle-Eastern

than it does...Asian.

I'm going to plump for -

for no particular reason - Oman.

Your answer is Oman.

If it is correct, you've won £29,000.

The correct answer for Qaboos bin Said

is that he became the Sultan of Oman in 1970.

Well done. You've won it, Hadrian. Congratulations!

EGGHEADS APPLAUD

I told you it was possible.

Look at your team. You can look round now.

They are absolutely going crazy. Look at that!

ALL LAUGH

-Well done. Well done.

-Unbelievable.

I was trying to follow your logic.

You seemed to have some sight of the whole Saudi Arabia thing.

-How was that?

-I did actually study Middle-Eastern politics

as part of my degree, but I didn't dare mention it

during the question in case I got it wrong.

That is pretty handy. That is pretty handy.

Well, it would have helped me a lot if different countries had come up,

but, fortunately, I managed to guess it nonetheless.

Well done. It's good to see you so thrilled at winning,

and it's been a long time in coming,

because they've been on an amazing streak.

So you've brought it to a dramatic end.

you've won £29,000 and you are, you can tell everybody,

officially cleverer than the Eggheads.

Join us next time on Eggheads to see if a new team of Challengers

will be just as successful. Until then, after a cracking game,

goodbye.

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