Episode 47 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 challenging the awesome might of our quiz champions today

are The Melting Pot.

In forming this quintet, team captain Kevin has called upon the services

of four of his brainiest friends, including

two of his former quiz mates

from their time studying together at the University of Chester.

-Let's meet them.

-Hi. I'm Kevin, I'm 25 and I'm a trainee barrister.

Hi. I'm Liam, I'm 24 years of age and I'm a litigation executive.

Hello. I'm Myles, I'm 25 and I'm a paralegal.

Hi. I'm Joe, I'm 22 and I work as a cashier.

Hello. I'm David, I'm 61 and I'm a retired teacher.

Welcome team Melting Pots.

So, Kevin, this is a bit of a reunion for you guys.

Certainly for myself,

Liam and Myles, we were at university together

and we lived with each other for two years.

With David and Joseph, I've seen them a lot more recently

as I worked with Joseph and David was an occasional customer

in the bookies I was working in.

I say occasional.

Very diplomatic. Say no more about that. Best of luck, Melting Pot.

Every day, there's £1,000 worth of cash up for grabs

for all our challengers. However, if they fail to defeat the Eggheads,

the prize-money rolls over to the next show.

So, Melting Pot, the Eggheads have won the last two games

which means £3,000 says you can't beat the Eggheads today.

Let's play our first head-to-head,

see if you can knock an Egghead out straight away on History.

That's you, big boy.

-Looks like that's me.

-Good lad.

Liam. You've been chosen. Which Egghead would you like to play?

I don't think I'd like to play any of them. They're all so clever.

But I think I'm going to take CJ.

There's no thinking behind that. I'm quite intimidated

by all of them, so I'm just going for the first one

that came into my vision.

Hopefully, there's no thinking behind CJ's answers.

Sometimes there's not. Let's have CJ and Liam into the Question Room,

just to make sure you can't confer with your team-mates.

OK. Liam, you're playing History. Do you want to go first or second?

I'll go first, please, Dermot.

Good luck. Here you go.

Which US president died one day before

President Nixon appeared on US media

to announce the end of the Vietnam War?

To be honest with you, presidents aren't my forte.

I'm going to rule out John Kennedy cos that obviously

was when he was assassinated in Dallas in '63, I believe.

And FDR I'd imagine would have passed away a lot earlier.

So it's an educated guess, but I'm not certain.

-I'm going to plump for Lyndon B Johnson.

-OK, Lyndon B Johnson.

You've done it on the dates. Well done. It's the right answer.

CJ, your first question.

Which palace close to the River Seine was burnt down in 1871?

Oh dear. Um...

I mean... Versailles did burn.

I'm just trying to think if Tuileries did as well.

I don't think it's Fontainebleau.

I don't know this. I'll try Versailles.

OK, Versailles burnt down...

-No, not Versailles. Other Eggheads?

-ALL: Tuileries.

-It is Tuileries.

-All right.

Well, a great start, Liam.

Second question then for a bigger lead.

The Pleven Plan proposed in 1950 by French Statesman Rene Pleven

aimed to create a united European what?

Well, this is a bit difficult.

I'll be honest, I don't know the answer off the top of my head.

I'm going to rule out army given the proximity to the Second World War.

Looking at the onset of the currency,

I don't think it was that.

Looking at the way we entered the European act in the 1970s,

-I'm going to hazard a guess, I think it's Parliament.

-OK, Parliament.

Pleven Plan...

It's not. It's the one you first discounted.

-It is the army.

-The defence plan.

OK. CJ, a chance to draw level with your second question.

Which title was created in 1385 for Edmund Langley,

the son of Edward III?

I don't know this, but I thought Duke of Clarence was later.

-I don't know this, but I'll try Duke of York.

-Duke of York...

levels it up. It's the right answer. All square after two.

Third question each.

Liam, what was the name of the flagship

of Rear Admiral Richard Kempenfelt which sank near Portsmouth in 1782?

I have absolutely no idea, I'm not going to lie.

-I'm going to hazard a total guess at Royal George.

-Good guess!

It's the right answer. Gives you the lead

and one foot in the final round. CJ needs to get this.

In mediaeval England, what was a heriot?

I don't think...

I always thought it was a person, a heriot.

I don't think it's death duty.

I think I've heard of the death duties.

Er, unit of measurement?

There were so many, that's the problem, different measurements.

I don't know so this is going to have to be a blind guess as well.

I had a vague recollection it was a person,

but I might be confusing that, so I'll try local councillor.

OK. Local councillor. No.

That's incorrect. It is death duty.

Death duty, not a local councillor.

You're through then, Liam, to the final round. A very narrow victory.

-2-1 takes you through.

-I'll take any win, Dermot.

-Absolutely.

I'm sure you will. As will the guys here. They're very happy.

Would you both please come back and join your teams?

Well, A great start for the Melting Pot.

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

But plenty of hard yards to go yet, guys.

And we approach our next head-to-head, the second one today.

This is Geography.

Who'd like to play this? Can't be Liam.

Would you prefer to do Geography?

Shall we keep you back for Sport, Dave? Just in case.

-Yeah, go on then, Myles.

-I'll go for Geography and...

OK.

-I'll pick Judith.

-That's very nice of you.

-That'll cheer Judith up.

-It has cheered me up hugely, yes.

-Not playing Sport also cheers you up.

-I know. Exactly.

Phew, is what I think.

Let's have Myles and Judith into the question room, please.

Well, then. It's the appropriately named Myles playing Geography

and you get to choose whether you face the first

or the second set of questions.

I'd like to go first, please, Dermot.

Best of luck. First question to you then, Myles.

The city of Jeddah is on which body of water?

Jeddah... I've been to the Red Sea.

I usually look at the map of where I'm going to go on holiday

and I don't think I saw a Jeddah on the Red Sea.

Although, it is a big sea.

I think I'm going to count that one out.

The Bay of Bengal...

Jeddah...

Does it sound like that sort of area? I don't know.

I don't know the answer. But I'm going to go for the Caspian Sea.

I don't think it's the other two.

The Caspian Sea. Doesn't think it's the Bay of Bengal or the Red Sea.

Judith, what do you think?

I think it's Saudi Arabia so I think it's in the Red Sea.

It is the Red Sea. The one you ruled out.

-You've been on the wrong side of the Red Sea, I would suspect.

-Yes.

OK, Judith.

What is the English name for the Puente Aereo,

the air shuttle route which links Barcelona and Madrid?

Well, puente, I think, is probably bridge so...

Air Bridge.

OK. That's what unlocked it for you.

Yes, Air Bridge is the right answer so you have the lead.

And Myles, to get you on the board,

Sylvania Waters and Killarney Heights

are suburbs of which Australian city?

Again, I'm not sure.

I think Sydney is...

Basically, you've got Botany Bay so...

..I'm not sure if it's Sydney.

Melbourne, big city.

Adelaide, I'm not too sure about. It's a bit further out.

I'm not sure how much of the coastline that straddles.

-I'm going to go with Melbourne, I think.

-OK.

Sylvania Waters and Killarney Heights in Melbourne? No.

It's the big one, Sydney.

OK, well, a chance, an early chance

for Judith to clinch the round.

Judith, in which county is the village of Pentrich,

source of the failed Pentrich Rebellion of 1817,

when a group of men attempted to start a popular revolt?

Well, I don't know, but...

Cornwall has a lot of places beginning with "Pen", like, um....

I can't think of any now, but anyway...

We know what you mean.

Cornwall has a lot of places beginning with "Pen",

so I'm going to have a bet on Cornwall.

OK, Cornwall. That's very good.

"Such as... I'll get back to you on that."

-And it's the wrong answer, Judith.

-After all of that!

I like the way you're laughing. You have got the giggles.

It's not Cornwall, it is... Other Eggheads, of the other two,

is it Suffolk or Derbyshire?

-You tend to get... I think it's Derbyshire.

-It is Derbyshire.

-You would automatically think of Cornwall...

-Yes.

And, you know, the odd rebellion or two

located in the West Country down there.

Well, maybe a let off.

This would be quite a comeback.

First part of it is you need to get this

and Judith needs to fail in hers, but one step at a time.

You need to get this.

Which Croatian city is the most southerly of these?

Croatia. Um,

Zagreb obviously the capital. Um...

(Dubrovnik.) Split.

Oh, again this is going to be a complete guess.

Um...

Dubrovnik, I'm going to go for, straight down the middle.

And you've got one.

-HE LAUGHS

-One.

-Good.

-Is this going to happen? Well, Judith,

still a chance to win the round, of course.

What is the most visited national park

in the United States of America?

Well, I must say, I don't know the statistics on that,

but the Everglades are in Florida,

and I think more tourists go to Florida than anywhere else,

so I'm going to say the Everglades.

OK, the Everglades. Again, good guess.

And you were guessing. It's not the right answer, though.

-It's not correct.

-Back in the game!

-Other Eggheads... Look at Myles!

"In the game!" You are!

What a comeback. Just to clear up the answer with the other Eggheads.

-I think it's Great Smoky Mountains.

-It is. Which are where, Pat?

Somewhere like North Carolina. Somewhere around the East Coast.

OK. I mean, that is, I think, a shock.

Yosemite isn't there, Yellowstone, all those parks.

It's the Great Smoky Mountains.

Well, well, well, I bet after those first two fluffs, Myles,

-you didn't expect to see yourself still in the game.

-I didn't.

You are, and you're in Sudden Death, which, to explain to you

and any players that come after you that may get into Sudden Death,

means, quite simply,

we remove the options, you've just got to tell me the answer.

We make it harder to sort out a winner cos you're all square.

So, Myles, Kibo, K-I-B-O...

Kibo, the highest peak in Africa,

and Mawenzi are part of which volcanic massif?

Now, the two areas in Africa that I know that are quite mountainous...

There's the area in sort of Kenya with Mount Kilimanjaro.

A lot of people climb that, but I don't think it's the tallest peak

in...Africa.

So, I think we're going to have to go north to Morocco sort of area,

and I think it's the Atlas Mountains.

-So, I would say the Atlas Mountains.

-The Atlas Mountains, OK.

You've got a little bit too much knowledge there.

You talked yourself out of the right answer, which was Kilimanjaro.

David nodding again. David would've been through in this round.

But another chance for Judith.

Goat Island and Luna Island, L-U-N-A,

separate sections of which famous waterfalls?

Niagara.

Niagara is the right answer, Judith.

You got there in the end!

Bad luck, Myles. I thought you were going to do it.

Certainly would have kept it going if you got Kilimanjaro.

Not to be. You won't be in the final round.

Would you both please come back and join your teams?

Well, Judith avenging CJ's defeat there with a storming victory,

and still thinking of some Cornish place names beginning with "Pen".

She's going to tell us them all later.

But, as it stands, both teams have lost one brain from the final round,

and our third head-to-head comes up. This one is Music.

Who'd like to play? Liam and Myles played, so one of the other three.

-Yeah, David?

-I'll have a go, but it's not my strongest suit.

-OK.

-Want me to have a go?

-Yeah.

-You're going to do it, David?

-I'm going to do it.

-OK, could have done Geography.

I heard the discussion, held back for Sport.

-Who knows what's last, but you're going for Music.

-Under protest...

OK, under protest, but you choose an Egghead, remember, and remember

Judith and CJ have played, so you can face Kevin, Pat or Barry.

They're all very difficult. I just say go for Barry.

Barry. They're all very difficult.

-All very talented people.

-I'll try Barry.

-Try Barry.

OK, let's have David and Barry into the Question Room, please.

OK, David, in there under protest you say.

Would you like to go first or second?

I always said if I had a chance I'd go second just to break

the routine of contestants going first,

but I've suddenly thought I'm sticking to go first.

David, first question for you.

Which group achieved fame

when they became regular guests on The Andy Williams Show in the 1960s?

It's got to be The Osmonds.

The Osmonds. It has got to be The Osmonds.

Presumably without little Jimmy.

-He would've been too young in the '60s.

-I think so.

Well identified, David. So, your first question, Barry.

In which decade did the composer Ralph Vaughan Williams die?

Oh, gosh, well, it certainly wasn't the 1990s. Ralph Vaughan Williams.

So that leave the '50s or the '70s.

The '50s just seems a little too far back.

I think he lasted into the '70s, so I'll go for the '70s.

-OK, the 1970s. Incorrect. NOT right.

-Oh!

-No.

Obviously, we have to go to Kevin here.

Give me the precise year.

'58.

It's correct.

-And when was he born?

-1872.

-1872.

So, very long-lived.

OK, well, it's great news for the Melting Pot so far, David,

to build on those firm foundations.

Let's see if you can get this.

Which conductor made the first complete studio recording

of Wagner's Ring cycle?

The answer doesn't immediately spring to mind. I'm...

I'm leaning towards one particular name.

But I'm not absolutely sure, and...

as I've been an admirer of his conducting,

I've got to go with the popular one of Georg Solti.

OK.

Which is the right answer. Well done.

Well, you do have a very firm lead,

and Barry knows what he's got to do here, then.

Which successful British boy band consisted of Jimmy Constable,

Spike Dawbarn and Lee Brennan?

I am a huge fan of all these boybands, as you obviously can tell.

The names mean nothing to me,

the bands mean even less to me.

So, let's see if my luck is in. Straight down the middle, 911.

Oh, it is in. Yes, it's the right answer, 911.

David, fate in your own hands, as I always say.

If you get this, you're in the final round.

That's The Way It Is and Orsino's Songs

are albums by which jazz singer?

My inclination is to go straight down the middle,

-but on this occasion, I'm going to go for Stacey Kent.

-Stacey Kent.

Ooh!

Right not to go straight down the middle, but a friend of ours,

actually, on Eggheads, isn't it?

-Been on Celebrity Eggheads.

-She was on the celebrity one.

Yeah, the Radio 2 team. It's Clare Teal.

Clare Teal. So, bad luck there, David.

But, Barry, is he going to revive his challenge here?

The song Marry Me A Little

was written originally for which Stephen Sondheim musical?

I don't know this song.

So, all Sondheim musicals,

I'll go for Company.

My goodness me, Barry, you're back in it!

-Ho-ho!

-Well done.

That's... Oh, I mean, you admitted with number two there,

when you had to get it, down the middle got you 911.

But, we're in Sudden Death, David, and you know what that entails.

So, here's your question.

Terence Parsons was the real name of which singer,

whose main career spanned the early 1960s?

Terence Parsons.

I don't know a lot of the real names of a lot of singers,

but I'm not certain about this.

I've got an inkling...

which was Marty Wilde.

Marty Wilde, Terence Parsons.

It's not. It's not.

Barry?

Ooh, it's either Adam Faith or Matt Monro. I think it's...

Terence Parsons. I think it's Matt Monro.

It is Matt Monro. Real name Terence Parsons.

But that doesn't clinch the round for you.

We don't pass questions over. That's only out of interest.

This is the question that could win it for you.

Troldhaugen in Norway is the site of a museum dedicated

to which composer born in 1843?

Well, I guess that can only be Grieg.

And you want a first name, don't you?

-Edvard.

-Edvard Grieg...

is correct, Barry. You have clinched a very, very tight round.

Bad luck, David.

Would you both please like to come back and join your teams?

Well, the Eggheads have nudged ahead. As it stands, Melting Pot,

you've lost two brains from the final round.

The Eggheads have only lost one.

So, our last head-to-head, a chance for you to level it up

in the final round, and this category is Film & Television.

-Who wants to play this?

-Kevin's up.

-Kevin smiling there.

And the Eggheads are either Kevin or Pat.

I'm smiling now. Whether I'm smiling in five minutes...

I think I'll have to take Pat on on this one.

Taking Pat to avoid Kevin on one of his strongest subjects?

Just got to avoid Kevin on everything!

Well, that means you leave him there for the final round,

but it's your choice.

So, Kevin and Pat playing this one. Into the Question Room, please.

OK, then, Kevin, do you want to go first or second?

I'll keep up with the rest of the team and I'll go first.

Here you go then, Kevin. First question.

Jeff Bridges starred in which 2010 film directed by the Coen brothers?

This is a popular film which I unfortunately didn't see

because it wasn't in our local cinema for long enough.

Very disappointed by that,

but I know it's not Rio Bravo or High Noon.

-This is True Grit.

-True Grit, yes.

-Remake.

-Yeah, the remake, yeah.

Right answer. Well done.

Pat, which professional dancer partnered Kate Garraway, Jan Ravens

and Ann Widdecombe on Strictly Come Dancing?

I'm not a complete Strictly addict.

But I think Anton du Beke is suited up and sent in for some of

the tougher partnering tasks, so I'm going with Anton du Beke.

What on Earth could you mean by that? Ann Widdecombe?

Anton du Beke is the right answer. Well done, Pat.

Kevin, When The Whistle Blows is the title of a spoof sitcom

that features within which TV comedy series?

I've actually got the theme tune whirling round my head.

It's one of my absolute favourite sitcoms. Ricky Gervais' Extras.

It is indeed.

Very nice for you, the way that fell.

Great fan of Extras, and got it.

So, Pat, which Italian directed Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor

in the 1967 film The Taming Of The Shrew?

I don't know this.

That's why I'll have to scavenge whatever hunches I can find.

Fellini is very much art house, and Taylor and Burton are mainstream

Hollywood blockbusters, so perhaps it's not Fellini.

Pasolini is even more art house than Fellini,

and slightly exotic filmmaking.

Zeffirelli certainly did a couple of Shakespeare versions.

So, on the basis that Zeffirelli has got some mainstream credits,

I'll go for Zeffirelli.

Shakespeare work leading you to the right answer. Zeffirelli is correct.

And back we go to Kevin.

Both of you going extremely well.

Who wrote the 1987 TV series The Ritz,

set in the world of nightclub bouncers?

This is something which I've heard of.

It's a series which I have heard of but I haven't seen.

But based on what I think I've seen previously in credits,

I will plump for Paul Abbott.

But it's quite a guess.

OK, quite a guess at The Ritz for the world of nightclub bouncers.

It's not Paul Abbott. You haven't got it. Pat?

-I would guess at Godber.

-John Godber, yeah.

He had a play, didn't he, just called Bouncers.

Presumably spun out of that.

Well, chance for Pat, then.

A slip-up there at a potentially critical point for Kevin.

Which fictional town was the setting for the TV drama Crown Court

that ran from 1972 to 1984?

I think I know this, although I've got a slight feeling of uneasiness,

because it rings a bell with the Viz comic as well.

Billy the Fish played for a team very much like Fulchester Rovers.

But I think that's just a coincidence.

I think Crown Court was set in Fulchester.

Going for Fulchester.

As well as appearing in...

Is that Egghead reading material, then, Viz magazine?

In the past, a long time ago, I read Viz.

Well, Kevin's nodding.

He knows it. It's the right answer.

Yes, you're through to the final round. Bad luck, Kevin.

Just missing out with nightclub bouncers.

Means you won't be in the final round, though.

Would you both please come back and join your teams?

So, this is what we've been playing towards.

It's time for the final round, which is General Knowledge.

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

won't be allowed to take part in this round, so Kevin, Myles

and David from the Melting Pot,

and CJ from the Eggheads, would you leave the studio, please?

So, Liam and Joe, you're playing to win the Melting Pot £3,000.

Barry, Pat, Judith and Kevin, you're playing for something

which money can't buy - the Eggheads' reputation.

And, as usual, I ask each team three questions in turn.

The questions are General Knowledge and you're allowed to confer.

Liam and Joe, are your two brains better than the Eggheads' four?

So, Liam and Joe, first or second?

We'll go first.

Well, good luck to you. And first question -

in criminology, what name is given to an unsolved case

which is no longer being actively investigated?

-Pretty sure it's cold case. I'm pretty sure.

-It's cold case?

I'm almost certain it's cold case. Almost certain.

He's a law student. He knows, probably, very well.

Well, I know from a couple of things.

It's a term I've come across in various TV shows and forms of media,

and I just haven't heard the other two.

I'm pretty sure, cos it's open, it's not ended,

-but I'm pretty sure it's cold case.

-Cold case.

-Cold case.

-Yeah.

OK, it's the right answer, yes. Well done.

Eggheads, your first question. A unicorn is usually depicted

in heraldry with the tail of which creature?

Well, I don't think it's got either

-a fishtail or feathers, has it?

-Well, an eagle hasn't got a tail.

-Got to be lion.

-Got to be a lion, hasn't it?

We'll go for a lion there, Dermot, please.

Lion is the correct answer. Well done, Eggheads.

So, back to the Melting Pot. Second question.

In 2011, Lauren Bush, the niece of George W Bush,

married the son of which fashion designer?

I've got a feeling... What do you think?

Ralph Lauren?

Ralph Lauren was the first thing that came to my head. I'm not certain,

but it was the first thing. It's that or Tommy Hilfiger, I'd say,

but if that's your gut instinct, then let's go with that.

-I think we'll guess...

-Yeah.

-I think A, Ralph Lauren.

OK. It's the right answer, yes. Well done.

And is known as Lauren Bush Lauren.

Or Lauren Lauren, or Lauren Laur-en. Well done, guys.

And Eggheads, second question.

"One must eat to live and not live to eat,"

is a quotation from a play by which writer?

Hmm. Right. Any thoughts on this one?

-No.

-I've heard the quote, obviously.

It's one of those quotes

that's passed into general language.

It's slightly puritanical.

-And of those three, Brecht is the most puritanical, isn't it?

-Yeah.

-It does have a Brechtian ring to it.

-It does, yeah. It does.

Didactic, yeah.

It could be Moliere. It could very easily be Moliere.

It could be any of them.

-Yeah.

-What's the Moliere glutton play called?

L'Avare.

Mm. I think, on the whole, we've got reasons for Brecht.

I'm happy with Brecht.

It's tenuous. It's tenuous.

OK, we don't know it, Dermot.

Don't remember where that comes from, and it could actually be any of them.

But on the basis it sounds a bit didactic, we'll go for Brecht.

Could be any of them, that's why it's a well-balanced question,

as they all are on Eggheads. CJ's looking puzzled.

Let's just bring him in. CJ, what would you have said

if you'd been with your team-mates there?

-I thought it was Brecht. I thought I'd studied this college, so...

-OK.

No. Well, then, you'd all have been wrong. Just confirming that.

It's incorrect.

-Who wrote The Miser?

-It is Moliere.

-We discussed that.

-But you went for a glutton.

This is a miser. "One must eat to live and not live to eat."

Yeah. Oh, no, Pat said "L'Avare", which is The Miser.

Oh, OK. Yeah, you thought of it, but missed it. It's Moliere. Moliere.

Which means...

Liam offering a little prayer there,

well, for something that he knows.

Well, you might just know this.

Wins you the money if you get it.

Viracocha was the creator god of which civilisation?

I don't think it's Ashanti,

because it sounds very Indian.

Even Maori sounds very Asian.

So do you think Inca? That's a guess?

I'm with you on this one.

Inca came to my head, but I would be lying if I said I had an idea.

-And that came to my head.

-Yeah, go on then.

-Inca. We'll go for Inca.

-Go for Inca.

-It's a guess, pure guess.

OK, pure guess at Inca.

Well, it's a guess worth £3,000.

-Yes!

-You've just beaten the Eggheads.

DERMOT LAUGHS

Don't need to ask - happy about that, then?

-Just a bit, yeah.

-Just a tad(!) You have beaten them.

You are the geniuses today, Melting Pot.

Thank you very much indeed. For beating the Eggheads,

you've just won £3,000,

and you are 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, goodbye.

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