Episode 129 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.

Taking on our awesome quiz champions today

are Pride of Kintullagh from Northern Ireland.

This team of friends are all former pupils at St Louis Grammar School in Ballymena. Let's meet them.

Hi. I'm John. I'm 30 and I'm a PR consultant.

Hi, I'm Fearghal. I'm 34 and I'm a solicitor.

Hi. I'm John. I'm 30 and I'm also a solicitor.

Hi. I'm Andy. I'm 32 and I'm a teacher.

Hi, I'm Bertie. I'm 31 and I'm a cellphone engineer.

-So, John and team, good to see you!

-Thank you very much.

-And still in Northern Ireland now, or...

-all over the country?

-Four of us live in Northern Ireland. Andy's down in England.

-Sure. And do you quiz together?

-No, we haven't quizzed since we were at school together.

-But you quizzed then?

-We quizzed then. Our school took it seriously.

-We had quiz teams and a quiz teacher, bizarrely.

-A quiz teacher at school?!

-Have you heard about this?

-Yes.

-Yes?

My grandson went to Boston Grammar School and they had Quiz Society.

-Yeah.

-And they used to stay after school and do quizzes.

-Right.

-I'm loving that cardigan.

-Thank you.

-I've just noticed the colour.

-Is that the first time?

-No. No. Not very observant.

-LAUGHTER

-It's like being told off by my mum.

Anyway, every day there's a £1,000-worth of cash up for grabs for our challengers.

If they fail to defeat the Eggheads, it rolls over to the next show.

Pride of Kintullagh, the Eggheads have won the last eight games,

which means £9,000 says you can't beat them today.

-Shall we give it a go?

-Yes.

First head-to-head battle is on the subject of Science.

-Who's the scientist?

-That'll be me.

-Yeah.

-Probably going to be Bertie.

-Bertie, on the end.

-Are you going to take the hit?

-Who would you like to take on?

-I don't know really.

-What about Barry?

Yeah, anybody who's not Pat! I've seen him on Science before.

We'll try Barry.

OK, so Bertie from Pride of Kintullagh against Barry.

-Been a while since you've been in a school lab, Barry?

-Yes.

-I seem to remember blowing one up once.

-Well, you may be chosen for Science every time now!

To ensure there's no conferring, would you please take your positions in the Question Room?

You've got one of the most interesting CVs we've ever had, Bertie. I don't know where to start.

-You play football semi-professionally.

-Used to.

-That was for which club?

-Coleraine and then for Larne.

-OK.

It says your grandad represented Great Britain... The Eggheads will love this.

-..in the football team that competed at the 1936 Berlin Olympics.

-Oh!

-What was his name?

-His name was also Bertie Fulton.

-Do you know what position he played in?

-No.

Barry, what position did Bertie Fulton play in, in the 1936 Olympic Games? He'll bluff now, watch!

-Centre forward.

-No, he was a left-back.

LAUGHTER

Good effort, though!

All right. Three multiple choice questions on Science.

-You can choose the first or second set, Bertie.

-I'd like the first, please.

Here we go.

Which constellation is typically represented as a dragon?

Oh! I don't know this.

So, it's going to have to be a guess.

Er, which means I'm just going to have to go with how the word looks.

I'll go for Draco, please, Jeremy.

Draco's absolutely right. Well done. The Eggheads do that all the time.

Very good way of getting it. Barry.

Your question. A person in which profession would be most likely to use

glass ionomer cement in their daily work?

Ionomer?

I can't imagine it would be a motor mechanic or a builder.

I'm going to have to go for dentist.

Dentist is the correct answer.

Bertie, your question.

In mathematics, a function whose value is repeated at constant intervals is known as what?

Well, if it's repeated at constant intervals...

I don't think it could be sporadic or occasional.

So, I'll go with periodic function.

Good logic and you are right again. Well done.

Barry...

In computing, for what does the letter "C" stand

in the acronym ASCII?

Which is A-S-C-I-I.

ASCII stands for American Standard Code for Information Interchange,

so the "C" will stand for code.

-Bertie, you do software, don't you? Is he right?

-Yep.

100%.

What is ASCII all about? What's it used for?

It's basically a way of encoding letters in binary

and it's an agreed format of what that binary represents.

OK. Code is the correct answer. Two out of two for you both.

Bertie, howler monkeys are native to which part of the world?

Oh! Again...

I...don't know this. Did you say "howler monkeys"?

Howler - H-O-W-L-E-R.

Howler monkeys are native to which part of the world?

HE SIGHS

Erm...

I'm trying to think of what monkeys I know from different places.

And I can't think of any.

I'm going to have to guess. Central Africa.

-Do you know, Barry?

-It's the Americas.

Mostly Central America. They kept me awake when I was in Mexico,

because they are incredibly loud from a very far distance.

Yeah, he's right, Bertie, not Central Africa, the Americas.

So, Barry, if you get this right,

you're in the final round. In relation to planet Earth,

where is the asthenosphere located?

The asthenosphere is part of the mantle, so it's in the mantle.

What is the mantle?

The Earth is comprised of three things - a central core,

which is nickel iron,

and which is probably liquid and possibly metal at the centre.

Surrounding that is the mantle, which is all the various hot rocks

which haven't cooled down and on top of that is what we're standing on.

The asthenosphere sounds like it's a gas or something, but it's not?

No, it's a solid bit of the crust, which goes into part of the mantle.

You're right. In the mantle is right. You've taken the round.

Sorry, Bertie.

They can do that on the third question sometimes. Please come back here and rejoin your teams.

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

The Eggheads have lost no brains. The next subject is Sport.

Someone's got to want to do Sport.

-It's definitely you, John.

-John? John M?

OK, against which Egghead, John M?

I think it's going to be Judith.

Oh!

-No!

-That expression of alarm and disgust.

Look at that. Daggers! OK.

So, John from the Pride of Kintullagh

versus Judith from the Eggheads on Sport.

To ensure there's no conferring, please go to the Question Room.

Judith, Sport again. I thought the Sport thing had gone away.

-In what sense?

-I thought people weren't picking you any more for it.

-Well, maybe one or two have seen me win a Sport here and there.

-Yep.

And you've been seen around the building reading papers starting at the back.

Unfortunately, the nation doesn't see that, where the challengers come from.

I mention it a lot and your love of certain football teams.

Thank you for mentioning it, yes. I love football teams.

-And all kinds of sports you enjoy, don't you?

-Yep.

LAUGHTER

We believe you!

OK, and as for you, John, hurling? You do hurling, what is that?

I do indeed. It's an Irish sport

that involves a stick and a ball. It's a bit of a cross between...

sort of lacrosse and hockey. It's a great sport. Check it out.

Mm. Good luck in this round. Three questions on Sport.

John, you can choose the first or second set.

I will go second. Let Judith lead the way.

Judith, your first question. What is the nickname of the football club Stoke City?

Well, I know The Canaries is Norwich or Norfolk, or Norwich.

Stoke City? Oh! The Potteries. The Potters.

The Potters is the right answer, Judith. Well done.

John...

which golfer won the US Open in 2011, aged 22?

That's probably quite topical, given where we're from.

Erm, he's really leading the charge for Northern Ireland, generally.

It's Rory McIlroy.

It is indeed Rory McIlroy. Where's he from in Northern Ireland?

-He's from a small place called Holywood.

-I know where that is.

I stayed for a while at Green Island and I could see Holywood across...

-Across what? The lough?

-Across Belfast Lough, yeah. Nice view.

Rory McIlroy's the right answer. Judith, your second question.

In 1995, the Epsom Derby moved from being run on a Wednesday to which day of the week?

That is Saturday.

-You said that decisively.

-Yes.

Saturday's the right answer. John...

Which driver won the Formula 1 British Grand Prix five times

between 1983 and 1993?

'83 and '93? Erm... I recently watched a documentary

on Senna which involved his rivalry with Alain Prost.

I think that's as much logic's going to be involved.

I'm going with Alain Prost.

Alain Prost is right. Well done.

OK, Judith, here's your question.

The Southeast Asian game of sepak takraw

was originally played using a ball made from which material?

Erm... Well, rice paper and rattan definitely come from Southeast Asia.

Erm, so it's a bit of a guess.

I think I'm going to say rice paper.

Compressed rice paper.

-This is Barry's part of the world. Barry?

-Rattan.

Rattan. Rattan is the answer.

So, John, your chance to take the round.

Rugby union coach Shaun Edwards

spent the majority of his playing career at which rugby league team?

I think, although it's a dangerous thing to say, I'm quite sure.

He had great success with that particular rugby league team

and he's moved on to bigger things in rugby union.

I think it's Wigan.

Wigan is the right answer, John. You're in the final round.

-Sorry, Judith, you've been knocked out on Sport!

-Again.

-Oh, dear!

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

As it stands, the challengers have lost one brain, but the Eggheads have also lost a brain.

The next subject is Geography.

-Who would like this?

-I said I would take Geography.

-Andy?

-Brilliant. So, I'll take Geography.

-Andy against which Egghead?

-The ones remaining are all pretty good on Geography, actually.

-Do you want to take on Chris?

-Yeah, OK. Let's do that. Yeah.

We're going to pick Chris.

So, it's Andy from Pride of Kintullagh versus Chris from the Eggheads on Geography.

Please take your positions.

Andy, since the subject is Geography, I'll ask you about the team name, Pride of Kintullagh,

-and why you chose that.

-The name "Kintullagh" comes from the hill on which our school was built.

And the Kintullagh is referenced in the school song.

-This is the school that you all went to, where they had the quiz teacher?

-Yes, that's correct.

We were made to sing the school song at Christmas and special school events,

-just to show how proud we were of the place that we were educated at.

-OK...

-So, there'll be even more pride in Kintullagh if you can beat the Eggheads today?

-Definitely.

-Let's hope so!

-Good luck. Three questions on Geography. The opponent is Chris.

And, Andy, would you like the first or second set of questions?

I'm going to carry on with what John started and go second set of questions, please.

First one to you, Chris. Hypocentre is the term for the point where which

natural phenomenon originates.

Well, the centre of an earthquake is the epicentre.

Deserts don't originate. They just happen.

But the hypocentre is the point from which the northern lights

appear to come in the sky, so it's the northern lights.

If you were questioned by the police in connection with a crime,

they would believe everything you said.

Your denial would be totally convincing, even if it was false.

Cos your story about the northern lights - I believed it

-and I can see it's not right! Earthquake.

-That's the epicentre.

Daphne's going to explain. Daphne in the lime-green cardigan.

You have both. The epicentre is the centre

and the hypo... Isn't that the bit underneath? I can't remember.

-Go on.

-Is the epicentre not the centre of it at the surface?

And then the hypo's where it actually happens.

Right. So, the hypocentre is the bit at the bottom of the Earth's core.

-Yeah.

-The mantle, probably the mantle.

-OK.

OK, well, that was a stunning bit of strategy,

getting Chris to go first. Here's your question, Andy. New Street...

is the main railway station of which city?

It's funny you should say that. This is where I'm heading after the show.

I'm going to drive down to Birmingham.

-So, your answer is...?

-Birmingham.

Is the right answer. Well done.

Chris...

Ecuador is bordered by Peru and which other country?

Well, Argentina and Uruguay are both in the southeast, so it's Colombia.

You are right on this one. Colombia is the answer.

OK, Andy, to take the lead.

What is the official language of the African country of Benin?

Benin? A lot of the European powers have had influence

in the African nations over the years.

And I'm just trying to work out which one was actually Benin.

I'm going to say, because of...

the vast majority of French influence in Africa, I'm going to say French.

French is...

the right answer!

Nicely done.

Chris...

The historic city of Laramie is located in which US state?

HE HUMS

-It's in Wyoming, Jeremy.

-How do you know that?

You'd be surprised what I know. It's not Texas or Indiana!

Indiana's up in the northeast and Texas is down south. It's Wyoming.

Wyoming is the right answer. Andy, your question. It's 2-2.

If you get this one right, you have knocked Chris out,

cos of the problems he had with his earthquakes.

The Chuvash are an ethnic group native to which country?

-Can you spell Chuvash for me?

-C-H-U-V-A-S-H.

OK, because of the spelling "AS-H" at the end,

that sounds to me like something Slavic.

So, as a result, I'm going to punt for, and hope it's right...

-I'm going to go for Russia.

-Let's see if the Eggheads know.

-Pat?

-I think it's right.

-It sounds plausible.

Same logic as you and you're all right. Russia is the answer.

Well done, Andy! You're in the final. Chris has been knocked out.

And the debate about the earthquake will continue for some time.

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

I've got the information on earthquakes, so we're all clear.

It's pretty much as you guessed.

The epicentre is the bit where the crack shows on the ground.

The hypocentre is where the fault starts.

-Ah!

-The absolute core. Anyway...

The challengers have lost one brain. They're doing really well. You've knocked two Eggheads out.

Look at them! Their confidence is shaky.

Playing for £9,000.

Film & TV now, guys.

Who will take Film & TV?

-You're down for it, Fearghal.

-Thanks for the vote of confidence!

-It looks like I'm going to be volunteered for that.

-OK, Fearghal.

-Against either Daphne or Pat.

-Oh, Pat, Pat!

-It's not really much of a choice.

-They are very different.

THEY CONFER

I think it's called Hobson's choice.

I would be honoured to go up against Daphne.

OK, Fearghal.

So, it's Daphne from the Eggheads versus Fearghal from the Pride of Kintullagh.

And Kintullagh is becoming prouder and prouder as this game goes on.

-It's about to get slightly less so.

-To ensure there's no conferring,

please go to the Question Room.

Daphne, have we established what colour your lovely cardigan is?

When I ordered it, it was described as "lime green".

I thought it was lime green, cos that's what I said unprompted.

But there has been a dispute about it among the other Eggheads.

-OK.

-I think it's primrose.

-Judith is saying it's primrose.

-No, no, no.

-Or bright motorway yellow?

-LAUGHTER

It's certainly high vis. Good for you. Good luck in this round.

Three questions we're going to do - Film & TV.

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

My mother brought me up properly, Jeremy, so I'm going to say ladies first. I'll go second.

OK, Daphne.

Attack Of The Clones is the subtitle of a film from which movie series?

That's Star Wars.

-Oh!

-Well done! Yes, you're right.

Star Wars is correct.

OK, Fearghal, your question.

The song I Got No Strings appears in which Disney animated film?

Got to say, Jeremy, not something I'm familiar with.

On the basis of the name, I'll guess puppet, so I'll go for Pinocchio.

Absolutely right. Well done.

Well done. Daphne.

The medical drama series The Royal

is a spin-off from which other TV programme?

It's from Heartbeat.

Heartbeat is the right answer, Daphne.

OK, Fearghal.

Russell Brand starred in a 2011 remake of which Dudley Moore film?

I'd love to be able to go 50-50.

I'm fairly confident.

I think I'll try Arthur.

I'm reasonably confident on that.

Yep, very good. Arthur it is.

Anyone remember who was originally in that with Dudley Moore?

Liza Minnelli.

-Who was the butler?

-Was Sir John Gielgud in it?

-Exactly!

That was a good round. Two points each.

Daphne. Who directed the 1959 John Wayne Western, Rio Bravo?

Oh, crumbs!

Who directed the 1959 John Wayne Western, Rio Bravo?

Howard Hawks.

Correct.

I think.

I don't know how you do it!

So, bit of pressure now, Fearghal.

You need to get this one right.

Which character did Gary Burghoff play

in both the original film and the later TV series of M*A*S*H?

-Can you give me the actor's name again, Jeremy, please?

-Sure.

Which character did Gary Burghoff play

in both the original film and the later TV series of M*A*S*H?

Jeremy, I've got to confess I loved the original series.

Erm...

But that's about as far as my knowledge extends.

I'm going to take a wild stab. I don't think it's Hawkeye.

That leaves me with two options. I'm going to say Klinger.

Eggheads?

-Do you know, Barry?

-Radar O'Reilly.

-Radar O'Reilly it is!

Ah, shame! She's just nicked it off you there.

So, Daphne, you're going to be in the final round.

Fearghal, you've been knocked out.

If you both come back, we will play the final.

This is what we have 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

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

So, Fearghal and Bertie from Pride of Kintullagh,

and Judith and Chris from the Eggheads, would you please leave the studio?

So, Andy and the two Johns, you are playing to win Pride of Kintullagh £9,000.

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

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

The questions are all General Knowledge. You can confer.

So, Andy and the two Johns, the question is this,

are your three brains able to batter the Eggheads' three and take the prize money?

-Would you like to go first or second?

-I think we would like to go second, please, Jeremy.

Here we are. Final round.

Eggheads, your first question. Which phrase is commonly abbreviated to ASAP?

-"As soon as possible"?

-Yes.

"As soon as possible".

I always thought it was "as silly as possible"!

That might explain some of the trouble I've got myself into.

It is, of course, "as soon as possible". OK, Pride of Kintullagh.

What is the North American term for the stone inside a fruit,

such as a cherry?

-I think it's pit.

-Pit?

-I think it's pit, yeah.

-OK.

-Excellent. We think that's pit, Jeremy.

Pit is the right answer.

Eggheads...

A huge image of what is carved into a chalk hill at Westbury in Wiltshire?

-A horse.

-Must be a horse, surely, a white horse.

-You know it's a horse?

-Yes.

OK? Yeah?

That's a horse, Jeremy.

Horse is the right answer. There's a man somewhere, isn't there?

-Yes. Cerne Abbas.

-Oh, that's a different one?

-Yes.

There was a kiwi in Wiltshire as well on Salisbury Plain.

-A kiwi?

-In chalk or in stones.

The Bulford Kiwi.

-But the naked man is somewhere else?

-The Cerne Abbas Giant.

OK. Your question.

The title of a 1936 novel by George Orwell is Keep The Aspidistra...

what?

It's Flying. It's definitely Flying.

I've read most of Orwell, but I haven't got round to that one.

-But it's definitely Flying.

-OK.

Andy's pretty confident on this one. We think Flying.

Andy's got it right. Well done. Flying. What is aspidistra?

-A flower?

-Yes, plant.

-What does he mean, "keep the aspidistra flying"?

-What's the phrase?

-I've no idea.

No idea, to be honest, Jeremy.

It was almost a cliche. Aspidistra was a classic house plant.

OK, let's move on.

Eggheads, your third question. You're neck and neck.

The village of Belleek in Northern Ireland

gives its name to a well-known type of what?

-Porcelain.

-Porcelain?

That's porcelain, Jeremy.

I thought you'd say cheese.

Your rule is, if cheese is there, go for it.

-That's your rule.

-But we knew that.

-Not when it's the wrong answer!

-Shame. You would have known this.

-Yeah.

-We would have had that.

-Northern Irish lads.

-OK, porcelain is the right answer, Eggheads.

Vital you get this right

or the contest is over.

£9,000 to play for.

The piece of music known as the Coffee Cantata

was written by which member of the Bach family?

-Coffee Cantata? I genuinely don't know.

-I'm not sure.

Something tells me Carl Philipp.

My inclination would be don't go for JS, cos he's the most obvious.

-But then I'm thinking "JC" as just a...

-Yeah.

-Just to mix it.

-Been thrown in there to...

-Yeah.

-I don't know.

-It's a total guess.

-50-50, isn't it?

If we don't think JS.

-I just don't think it is.

-Coffee Cantata?

-It's not my field at all!

-No.

-What are we going to go for?

-I think we'll go Johann Christian.

Johann Christian. Yeah. Let's try it.

-Why not?

-OK.

At a guess and trying to employ some twisted quizzer's logic around here,

I think we're going to go for not quite the obvious one,

but close enough to it - Johann Christian.

Johann Christian Bach is your answer.

-Let's see... Would the Eggheads...?

-No! It's the obvious one.

She's right. Johann Sebastian Bach.

-Guys... It just...

-We didn't think it would be that easy!

Just taken it at the death there.

We say congratulations, Eggheads, you have won!

I understand your logic totally.

I was also thinking there must be a reason there's another one in there.

You also would have thought, cos he's so well-known, you probably would have heard of it.

Never heard of it. Plump for something less obvious, then.

Had you gone first, you would have got the Northern Ireland question,

but they would have got the Bach question right.

-We'd still be in the game, then.

-We'd still be playing! Anyway...

Thank you so much for coming in. Really great to meet such a nice team from Northern Ireland.

And the Eggheads have done what comes naturally to them.

Unfortunately, their winning streak does continue.

That means Pride of Kintullagh won't be going home with £9,000,

so the money rolls over to our next show.

Eggheads, many congratulations. Who will beat you?

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

to defeat the Eggheads. £10,000 says they don't. Till then, goodbye.

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