Episode 62 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, where five quiz challengers pit their wits

against possibly the greatest quiz team in Britain. They are the Eggheads.

Taking on our quiz Goliaths are the Ancient Creaks from Oxfordshire.

These friends who, in the main, live on the same street quiz in various pubs around Bicester,

often against their wives.

Hi, I'm Derek, I'm 57 and a chartered building surveyor.

Hi, I'm Martin, I'm 59 and I'm a finance analyst.

Hi, I'm Mike, I'm 62 and I'm a medical sales manager.

Hi, I'm Richard, I'm 68 and a retired IT manager.

Hi, I'm Chris, I'm 55 and a business analyst.

-Derek and team, welcome.

-Thank you.

-And you quiz together.

-Yes.

-Against your wives, though?

Occasionally we go up against our wives, yes, in what has been our local pub quiz.

-And you play golf a lot.

-Yes. Not necessarily very good, but we give it a good go.

-OK.

So golf, quizzing, living in the same street. You've got busy lives.

We have, but we enjoy it.

-What do you think of this lot?

-We respect them.

-They're awesome.

-They're an awesome team, but we're going to do our best.

-Good luck.

Every day there is £1,000 up for grabs for our challengers. If they fail, the prize money rolls over.

So, Ancient Creaks, the Eggheads have won the last eight games,

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

-Do you want to go for it?

-Yes.

-The first head to head battle is on History.

Which one of you would like this?

-- OK.

-I think it's me.

-- Yes, it's you.

We're happy? It'll be Richard.

-You've got a plan here.

-We have.

-You are organised.

Against which Egghead? Tremendous knowledge Dave, only his second game. Any one.

-Em, you could take on the new kid on the block.

-Yeah.

I'll take the new member of the Eggheads, Dave.

I didn't set you up, did I? Was that my fault?

-I'll take them as they come!

-He was chosen first last time as well.

It's Richard from the Ancient Creaks versus Dave, our newest Egghead.

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

So, Richard, is history your thing?

It's one of three subjects that I have been concentrating on,

but it's not my best subject, but it's one of them.

-Dave, we're still working out your strengths and weaknesses.

-We'll see how the questions go.

You can always set yourself up for a fall if you start being too confident about certain ones

and if you say you're weak, then produce a good performance. It depends how the questions fall.

Kevin's had five years of Food and Drink after some stray comment about not having an oven.

Three questions, multiple choice, History. Whoever wins goes to the final, the other is knocked out.

-Richard, first or second?

-First, please.

Your first question. Who were the main passengers of the Hougoumont

on its voyage from England to Fremantle in Australia between 1867 and 1868?

Em...

I have to be careful on this. I'm not absolutely sure of an answer.

I know that convicts were often transported to Australia.

Soldiers obviously went with them.

Tea planters. I don't know of tea being planted in Australia,

-so I'm going to opt for convicts.

-Well done. Convicts is right.

One point to you. Dave, your question.

What name was given to the series of castles built in North Wales by Edward I?

Well, because they're castles

and because I know that there were military fortifications there,

I'm going to rule out Copper Band.

Now Gold Circle's tempting, but I'm going to, as I said,

-just on the military basis Iron Ring.

-Iron Ring is your answer.

-Is he right, Eggheads?

-Yes.

-Yes, you are right, Dave. Well done.

Back to Richard.

In 1936, General Metaxas was appointed Prime Minister of which country?

General Metaxas... That's not a name I've heard.

I'm going to rule out Austria, I think.

Metaxas could be Greek.

But I think I might go for Bulgaria.

Bulgaria is your answer, but it's actually Greece.

-Oh!

-Bad luck. Not Bulgaria. It's Greece. OK.

Dave, see if you can take the lead. Used by the British military in WWII,

Hobart's Funnies were modified versions of which vehicles?

Again I've got no idea at all.

Hobart's Funnies.

Em, it's going to have to be a guess. Tanks.

Tanks is right! Well done. Part of being an Egghead

is the ability to guess. No doubt about it.

OK, Richard.

Which city gave its name to a type of long, pointed shoe popular in the Middle Ages?

Oh...

-I don't know a lot about long, pointed shoes...

-You need to get this right to stay in.

-I know.

I'm drawn to Heidelberg, so I'll go with Heidelberg.

-I had not heard of this. Anyone on your team know?

-No.

-Eggheads?

-Krakow.

-Krakow?

It's that one on the left. Have you worn those shoes, Daphne?

No! Not yet.

I'm sorry, Richard. You've been knocked out by Dave

who has won two rounds in a row. Dave, you're in the final round.

Please come and rejoin your teams.

The challengers have lost one brain from the final round, Eggheads none. Very early days, though.

Next subject is Sport.

Which one is the Sport person?

-I think that's me.

-Yeah.

-Happy?

-That'll be me, Jeremy.

-Derek. Against which Egghead? It can't be Dave.

-No.

-I think I'll take on Judith, please.

-OK.

-What a surprise(!)

-How did that happen, Judith?

-I can't think how.

-Oh, dear.

-You'll put her in a bad mood for the next ten weeks.

-Sorry.

So Derek against Judith on Sport. Please take your positions.

-Oh, dear, Judith, here we are again.

-I don't mind.

-Have you been revising Sport?

-I've been reading the sports pages.

-I don't believe you.

-Don't you? Well, we'll see, won't we?

Derek, you collect Monopoly?

Yes, I do collect international Monopoly boards.

So you've got the UK and the USA and how far afield do they go?

I've got a lot of the European countries, a couple of Scandinavian,

Australia, Argentina. I've even got one from Japan,

but we can't play that because we can't read Japanese.

We'll see who ends up in jail after this round. Three questions.

Whoever answers the most goes through. Derek, you can choose the first or second set.

Can I go first, please?

Here we go, Derek. All the best. Which tennis player won his first US Open Singles title in 2011?

Well, I'm drawn to one in particular. I can't think that it's Fernando Gonzales.

It doesn't stick out in my mind so much. Nor does Tomas Berdych.

But very much the new kid on the block is Novak Djokovic.

So that's my answer, please. Novak Djokovic.

It's the correct answer. Well done. That's right.

OK, Judith, your question.

In the 110 metres hurdles event, what is the distance from the start to the first hurdle?

Well, 3.72 metres is about... three threes...nine.

Em...13 would be about 30-something feet.

I'm trying to visualise what it looks like.

I think it might be 13 metres.

-The middle one.

-Yes.

-Remembering the last time you ran that race.

-Absolutely.

-13.72 metres is correct, Judith.

Well done. Nine feet would be a bit close to the starting line.

-Exactly. It would.

-You need a run up. Derek, your second question.

What sport is played by the team called New England Revolution?

New England Revolution.

I'm thinking, looking at ice hockey, it's not that one.

Soccer, I can't think it's that. Nothing sort of jumps at me.

I think I'll go for basketball.

OK. Did your team sigh then?

-A little bit.

-What do you think it is?

-Soccer.

-Yeah, it is soccer.

Soccer is the right answer. Sorry.

OK, Judith.

The boxer John Conteh was a world champion in which weight category?

-He was on one of our celeb programmes.

-He was indeed.

He wasn't vast, so... There isn't heavyweight there.

I don't think it's lightweight. I think he's light-heavyweight.

It's the right answer. Well done, Judith.

So you have to get this, Derek.

-OK.

-Or you will be knocked out.

In the 2011 Formula One season, what was the only circuit to have a figure of eight formation?

OK. I don't think it's Monza. I'm going to rule that out straight away.

I'm going to go for Sepang, Jeremy.

It's...

-I'm sensing your team might know.

-Suzuka.

-Suzuka is the answer.

You were on the right track. Sorry, you've been knocked out. Judith!

-Come on, where's the fanfare?

-You will be in the final round.

Derek, sadly, you won't. Both of you come back to us now.

So the challengers have now lost two brains from the final round. The next subject is Film and TV.

-Film and TV.

-OK, that's you.

-Yes, it's me!

-That'll be Martin, Jeremy.

-Martin, OK.

From the Ancient Creaks. Against which creaker on this side?

-Daphne, I think.

-Daphne?

-Yeah.

-You sure? OK.

-Go for Daphne.

-Daphne.

-All right. Martin against Daphne.

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

All right, three questions. Film & TV. Martin, first or second?

I'd like to go first, please.

Here is your question. In the TV series Dallas, what was the name of JR's wife?

I actually know this, only because I never watched it,

but my wife watched it religiously.

I think... Well, I'm pretty sure that JR's wife was Sue Ellen.

Sue Ellen is the right answer. Well done. Daphne, your question.

Who played Jim Hacker in the TV sitcom Yes, Minister and its sequel Yes, Prime Minister?

That was Paul Eddington.

Paul Eddington is correct. One each. Back to you, Martin.

What is the name of the character played by Nicole Kidman in the 2001 film Moulin Rouge?

Oh...

I've never actually seen this film, so whichever one I plump for will be a guess.

The only one that sounds like a name to me is...Maxine,

so, for better or worse, I'll go for Maxine.

-Let's see if Daphne knows.

-I'd have gone for Satine.

Satine is the right answer. Back to you, Egghead.

Who starred as Gil in Woody Allen's 2011 film Midnight In Paris?

Hmm. I haven't seen it,

but I know Owen Wilson's in it,

so fingers crossed he's Gil.

-Yes?

-He is indeed Gil. Owen Wilson is right.

He's also, I think, Owen Wilson, the voice of... Pat?

Lightning McQueen in Cars.

You know that because on Mastermind, your whole subject was Pixar.

Pixar Films. I've watched them all many, many, many times.

-OK.

-Yes.

-All right, Martin, back to you.

If you get this wrong, Martin, you will be in the sin bin.

Who devised the animation technique known as Dynamation?

Well, I've never heard of the first guy there - Harryhausen

Gerry Anderson,

he's back in the early '60s, I think

when he was doing Thunderbirds and Fireball and things like that.

Nick Park is more recent.

As I say, I don't know the first one,

so the only one I'll plump for probably is Gerry Anderson.

-It's actually the guy on the left, Ray Harryhausen.

-Never heard of him.

Who can help us with this? Ray Harryhausen?

Things like Jason And The Argonauts,

various things involving dinosaurs and that sort of thing.

-Real people plus animation?

-Yeah.

-I see, I see.

Sorry, that was a tough question and you have fallen off your perch.

-Yes.

-And Daphne, you will be in the final round.

Both of you come back and rejoin your teams.

OK, is it the time for a change of tactic?

I think we're committed now, Jeremy. Anything can happen.

-If this was going on on a golf course, what would you do?

-Go to the bar.

-Go to the bar?

-Early to the 19th hole, I think.

-OK. It's not over. Honestly, you can win. We've seen it happen.

You have lost three brains which is not so good, but there is another round before the last round

and the subject is Geography, so who wants that?

That's you, Mike.

-The question is, which one do we go for?

-That'll be Mike.

OK, Mike against which Egghead? It can be Pat or Kevin.

-Go out in glory with Kevin?

-Go out in a blaze of glory.

-Go out in glory with Kevin.

The blaze of glory theory. Mike from the Ancient Creaks against Kevin from the Eggheads on Geography.

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

-Mike, it's up to you to turn it around now, yeah?

-I'm trying.

We've noticed that in each of the previous rounds,

-your colleagues have got the first question right and the next two wrong.

-Unfortunately.

-If you get the second question right, that is a big moment.

-That gives me some bragging rights.

-It's Geography and you love to travel.

-I do, and I have to travel a lot with work.

But I enjoy travelling with my wife on holiday as well.

You do medical sales, but you've got some nice cruises booked.

-Tell us where.

-We're heading for Calgary in Canada,

across the Rockies, then up the Alaskan coast on a cruise ship.

-I'll see if I can get those areas to come up.

-I haven't been there, so I'd prefer that question next time.

I'll ask each of you three questions on Geography in turn.

Whoever gets the most questions right will go through to the final.

-Mike, you can choose the first or second set.

-The tactic hasn't worked very well so far,

but I'll stick with the plan and go first, please.

Here's your first question. Wallasey is a town on which peninsula?

One of my team members will be upset if I don't get this one correct

because it's the Wirral Peninsula.

Wirral is quite right. Well done.

Kevin, Western Australia is bordered by the Northern Territory and which Australian state?

The other two are over the other side,

but in the middle bordering Western Australia is South Australia

South Australia is correct, Kevin. Well done. Back to you.

This is a big moment, Mike. If you get your second one right, we may be at the tipping point.

The International Hydrographic Organisation is based where?

Oh... I can't say I know the answer to this one.

As it's an international centre,

I tend to rule out Monaco even thoug Monaco is on the Mediterranean.

There are more bodies in Switzerland so I will opt for Switzerland.

Anyone know what the Hydrographic Organisation does?

-Something to do with water?

-Brilliant, Judith! Brilliant!

-Anyone know what it does?

-If it's "graphic", perhaps it maps water.

-It's mapping waters and oceans?

-Well, it might be.

It's Monaco, Mike.

So again we're in that territory

of first one right, second one wrong. Kevin, your question.

The Old Vicksburg Bridge crosses which American river?

Assuming this is the Vicksburg of American Civil War fame,

I suppose there could be more than one Vicksburg,

but the only Vicksburg I know of is in Mississippi,

so the bridge would logically cross the Mississippi.

So, unless it's another Vicksburg, I shall go for Mississippi.

If we sprang another Vicksburg on you, we would be particularly cruel.

You're quite right, it is the Mississippi. Well done.

-What happened on that bridge?

-The city of Vicksburg,

there wasn't a bridge there then, was under siege.

It was the most famous siege of the Civil War.

The residents were reduced to eating rats.

And it actually surrendered finally on July the 4th, 1863,

so it had a real symbolic value.

It was a Confederate city and surrendered to the Union.

He does know a lot!

Not that that's meant to intimidate you, but let's get this one right.

Puna - P-U-N-A - is a name given to a grassland and a wind in which mountains?

I can't recall any winds from the Apennines.

Atlas, of course, North Africa,

and the Andes in South America.

It's not a confident guess,

but I'll go with Andes.

Well done, Mike. You've got it right.

Is this the turning point?

Kevin, your third question. If you get it right, you've got the round.

What name taken from a type of cheese is given to a pinnacle of ice on a glacier?

It's always cheese, isn't it? Um...

The only one there that I think I've heard of,

so therefore I'll have to go for it, is serac.

Daphne is signalling wildly. Is he right?

-Yes.

-Serac is correct, Kevin. Well done. You've taken the round.

Mike, sorry, you were beaten by our Egghead.

You won't be able to take part in the final. Only one of your team members will.

Come back to us and we'll play that final round.

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

Those of you who lost your head-to-heads

won't be allowed to take part,

so Derek, Martin, Mike and Richard from the Ancient Creaks, please leave the studio.

So, Chris, you are on your own here.

-Yes.

-You're the only one who doesn't live in that street. Is that a coincidence?

-All the people in that street have left the studio.

-It's not a very bright street, I'm afraid.

-I should have picked a different street to join.

-Good luck. This is the moment. It can happen.

Sometimes the more of them they are, the more confused they get by each other.

-I'm certainly hoping so.

-Good luck. You're playing to win the Ancient Creaks £9,000.

Pat, Judith, Kevin, Dave and Daphne, 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.

Chris, the question is, is your one brain better than the Eggheads' five?

-Would you like to go first or second?

-I'll carry on going first.

Here's your first question, Chris. The sorcerer Gargamel is a sworn enemy of which characters?

OK, well, I don't know it straight off.

I don't think it's The Perishers.

I'm not too sure about either of the other two

in terms of enemies.

But if I have to pick one,

I'll have to say...

The Smurfs?

Well done. The Smurfs is right.

OK.

Eggheads, what is a kakuro?

- A number puzzle, isn't it? - How do you spell it?

You spell it K-A-K-U-R-O.

-What is a kakuro?

-It's a number puzzle.

-It's on the back of the newspapers.

-Yeah, it's like a sudoku.

It is, yeah. Kakuro, yeah.

We believe it's a number puzzle, like a variant on the sudoku.

-It's a number puzzle.

-Number puzzle is the right answer.

In sudoku, you've got to get nine in a box. What do you do with this?

-It's numbers.

-It's adding to make sure the numbers are symmetrical,

so it's a bit more complicated.

OK. It's a shame they didn't stumble there.

That would have really helped us. Your second question.

Howard Devoto is best known for being a founder member of which punk band?

Right, Howard Devoto.

I think... I think he left to form Magazine or something, but, um....

I might be wrong.

Howard Devoto, I'll...

I don't remember him in The Damned.

I think I'll have to go for, um...

The Buzzcocks?

Brilliant. Right all the way through.

I know that because Magazine are one of my favourite bands. Well done.

They're silently clapping behind you.

I say "silently" as we can't hear them.

OK, Eggheads, which Roman emperor is commonly believed to have banned the Olympic Games in 393 AD?

I think it's Theodosius.

- Theodosius, yeah. - Is it?

-I think it's Theodosius.

-We think that's Theodosius.

And why do you think that?

-Because it was.

-Because it was?

-Yeah.

-That's a good reason.

Theodosius is right. Theodosius is right.

All right, so...

Get this one correct, Chris, and they may collapse.

What symbol featured on the coat of arms of Kate Middleton's family

that was unveiled shortly before her wedding to Prince William?

Right, I'm not sure about this one.

I don't see what would be special about swords.

A unicorn and oak leaves are quite common.

I'm just going to have to pick something.

I'll say "unicorn"?

-Eggheads?

-Oak leaves.

-Oak leaves is the answer.

She had sort of earrings.

-A unicorn is too royal.

-A unicorn is too royal?

-Yeah.

-So she had some oak-leaf earrings, did she?

-Yes.

-Yes.

Sorry, Chris. You've got that wrong.

You've got two out of three. You need to hope the Eggheads get two out of three or the game is over.

Eggheads, Telugu and Tamil belong to which family of languages?

-Dravidian.

-Yeah, Dravidian.

We think that's Dravidian.

A lot of consensus here, a lot of agreement.

-No-one cutting up rough, disagreeing?

-No.

You're not saying much there, Judith.

-Do you have a different idea?

-No, I agree with them.

Always the best way.

The correct answer is Dravidian.

So we say congratulations, Eggheads. You have won.

Do you know, I had a feeling there that you were going to take them apart.

I really did. I just did.

-Never mind.

-You were playing with great confidence and also the oak leaves... Tricky!

-I nearly said "oak leaves", but that's the way it goes.

-Would you have known Dravidian?

-No.

I don't know how you did know that, Eggheads. How would you know that?

-It's Indian.

-There's a group of languages in southern India called Dravidian languages.

-Of course, yeah

Now they've said it, it's jolted our memories, hasn't it?

It's what they spend their lives doing. Commiserations, challengers.

Eggheads, you've done what comes naturally to you and your winning streak continues.

You won't be going home with the £9,000, so the money rolls over.

Eggheads, well done. 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.

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd