Episode 64 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 the might of our quiz Goliaths today

are Eels & More Eels. This team are all members

of the Dartford Road Runners and they have completed over 50 marathons. Let's meet them.

Hi, I'm Brian, I'm 48 and I'm a police officer.

Hi, I'm Dave, I'm 38 and I'm a development manager.

Hi, I'm Rob, I'm 41 and I'm a printer.

Hi, I'm Stuart, I'm 52. I'm a police officer.

Hello, I'm Mike, I'm 60 years young and I'm an insurance broker.

So, Brian and team, welcome. Great to see you.

-Eels & More Eels, please explain.

-It's a bit of a play on words.

We do lots of training for marathons and 10K races and lots of hill-running.

And one night in a curry house we were having a meal

and the discussion was about what was the best sort of food for running

and Dave decided the best food for running was eels and more eels!

-A pun on "heels and more heels"?

-Exactly.

-And from Dartford and thereabouts?

Yes, we all live in the Dartford surrounding area and we're members of the Road Runners.

You describe yourselves as "a drinking club with a running problem"?

At the far end of the table, definitely, yes.

Good luck in the contest. There's £1,000 of cash up for grabs every day for our challengers.

If they fail to defeat the Eggheads, the prize money rolls over.

So, Eels & More Eels, the Eggheads have won the last ten games,

so that means £11,000 says you can't beat them today. How's that?

-Sounds good.

-The first head-to-head battle is on the subject of Geography.

Who would like this one?

-We decided it was going to be Mike for Geography?

-Are you up for that, Mike?

-Yes.

-Who would you like to play?

Mike against which Egghead?

Not that I'm pointing you in his direction, but we've got Tremendous Knowledge Dave, our newest Egghead,

-and all the rest to choose from.

-I think probably Barry.

-Barry, OK.

Mike from Eels & More Eels versus Barry from the Eggheads.

Just to ensure there's no conferring, please take your positions in the question room.

-Mike, welcome to the show.

-Thank you.

-You've got one of the more interesting CVs.

You run a broker business, you do the Ironman contest in Austria.

-You did a stand-up comedy gig when you turned 60.

-Yes.

-Anything else?

-I'm on telly for the first time.

-You didn't want to mention the tattoo?

-Not really, no.

-Of the Dartford Runners which is, shall we say, not visible on television today?

-I've got an Ironman tattoo which is on my shoulder and the Dartford Road Runner tattoo which isn't.

-OK.

Good luck in Geography. You're up against Barry.

-Had a bit of a bashing in the last game, Barry?

-Yes, I'm still kicking myself.

I feel your pain. Three questions on Geography in turn. Mike, you can choose the first or the second set.

I'll go first, please.

Number one question. What is the official language of Colombia?

Well, it wouldn't be French, I don't think.

And I know Portuguese is Brazil.

I'll go for Spanish.

Spanish is right. Well done. You could've easily tripped up on that.

Barry, the Costa del Sol is in which autonomous community of Spain?

Galicia is up in the north-west, so it won't be Galicia.

Andalusia, that's Barcelona which is further north.

And the Costa del Sol is further south.

I'm not 100% certain on this one, but I'll go for Cantabria.

Has he got it right, Eggheads?

-No, it's Andalusia.

-It's Andalusia, Barry.

-Ah!

-Andalusia. A little bit of excitement on the Eels team here.

Can you take... You have taken the lead. Can you go further ahead?

Which Michigan city, Mike, is nicknamed Cereal City?

Well...

Something is drawing me towards Grand Rapids. I don't know why.

But I will say Grand Rapids.

Barry, do you know this one?

It's in Battle Creek.

That's where Kellogg's founded Corn Flakes and various things.

The Kellogg's connection. Difficult one to guess. It's Battle Creek.

Back to you, Barry.

The abandoned mining town of Kolmanskop is in which African country?

-Could you spell that, please?

-K-OL-M-A-N-S-K-O-P.

That sounds very Afrikaans and of those three countries,

Namibia was controlled by South Africa for quite a while,

so my guess answer would be Namibia.

Perfect logic. Well done, Namibia it is.

Back to you, Mike.

Which avenue is popularly regarded as the widest in Paris?

Well, um...

I've run the Paris Marathon on about four occasions

and I'm going to do it very soon.

And, uh...

I know the Avenue Victor-Hugo is on the course.

I'm not sure about the Avenue de l'Opera.

But I know that the marathon finishes in the Avenue Foch

and that is very wide

because there's thousands and thousands of people in that avenue.

So I will go for Avenue Foch.

That's one of the most brilliant processes of reasoning I've seen.

You're right, well done. Avenue Foch. That's the way to do it.

Barry, if you don't get this, you are out. In which city was Megatrend University founded in 1989?

Hmm... I've not heard of the university.

1989...

Ljubljana is the capital of Slovenia.

I'm pretty certain Zagreb had a university well before that date

and I suspect Belgrade had as well.

I don't know the answer, but I'll go for Ljubljana.

Ljubljana is the capital of Slovenia,

but it's actually Belgrade, this one.

You've been knocked out.

Mike, well done. First blood to the Eels.

Exciting start. Mike, you will be in the final round and Barry won't.

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

The challengers have not lost a brain, but the Eggheads have lost Barry. The next subject is Science.

Which runner wants Science?

-I can take that.

-Dave?

-Definitely not me.

It has to be Dave. He's the only one with a degree.

-Dave is the only one with a degree?

-LAUGHTER

-Is it in Science, by any chance?

-No, it's nowhere near.

-Not in Science.

-What is it in, actually?

-Sports and Recreation. LAUGHTER

-Which Egghead?

I'm going to go for Daphne for no other reason than my mum's a massive fan.

-That's nice. That's made her day.

-I'll try not to upset your mum.

That's going to be hard. Dave from Eels & More Eels versus Daphne from the Eggheads.

Dave's mum is going to be watching. To ensure there's no conferring, please go to the question rooms now.

Three questions on Science. Whoever answers the most questions correctly goes through to the final.

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

-I'll take the first set, please.

Your first question. The popular term for a baby conceived by in-vitro fertilisation

includes the name of which piece of laboratory equipment?

There's only one sort of baby on the list that I've actually heard of.

A Petri dish doesn't sound very likely. It's sort of too open.

Burette, I don't know what a burette is,

so I'll have to go with "test tube" as my answer to this question.

-They didn't cover burette in your sports degree?

-No, strangely not.

It is "test-tube baby". Well done. Here's your question, Daphne.

What is the chemical formula for hydrochloric acid?

Hydrochloric acid...

HCl?

-Is that a question or an answer?

-I hope it's the right answer.

It is the right answer. Back to you, Dave.

The shell of a chicken egg chiefly consists of which substance?

For a living thing, an organic material,

I think potassium sounds a bit toxic, really,

as perhaps does magnesium, though not so much,

but calcium and carbon would seem

to be more the building blocks of living things,

so on that basis, I think I'll try calcium carbonate.

Very good. You got it right. It is calcium carbonate.

Daphne, your question to catch up.

The SI unit of magnetic flux density is named after which scientist?

It's Nikola Tesla.

It is. Did his friends call him Simon? Why is it called the SI unit?

-System International.

-System International?

-Yes.

-Right, OK.

So it's Nikola Tesla.

Back to you, Dave.

Labradorite, named after the region of Canada in which it was first identified,

is a variety of which mineral?

When the question started, I thought, "That's a mineral,"

but that hasn't really helped me because you've told me that.

I'm sort of liking halite because it has the same ending as labradorite,

so I suppose that's possible,

but quartz could be a possibility as well.

My first thought was for halite,

so I will go for halite.

I'm liking your logic, but it's wrong. It was feldspar.

Daphne, if you get this right,

you are through to the final round.

The Frenchman Jean-Henri Fabre was a leading name in which scientific field?

He was a leading expert on insects,

so it's entomology.

Entomology is the right answer, Daphne. Well done.

Dave, I thought you were going to take that round, but she's tough,

as I'm sure your mum will appreciate by way of mitigation.

Daphne, you're in the final. Dave, you've been knocked out. Please rejoin your teams.

Brian, any change of tactic now?

No, we're reasonably happy. It's one more through than we were hoping to get through.

-You're a police officer?

-Yes, I am.

-And one of your colleagues is?

-Stuart.

-Stuart is as well.

-I am.

-If it gets any worse, you could arrest them.

-It might be coming to that, yeah.

The challengers have lost one brain. The Eggheads have also lost a brain from that final round.

Our next subject is Sport. You're going to love this, aren't you?

We are. Dave was going to do Sport.

-Is that me then?

-It's got to be.

-I'll take Sport, Jeremy.

-OK, Brian on Sport against which Egghead?

-I'll play against Chris.

Brian from Eels & More Eels against Chris...

-Yeah.

-On Sport.

-I did 12 years as a special on the Met, so don't come the old flannel with me!

LAUGHTER

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

Chris, I've got your CV - Brain of Britain champion 2005,

International Mastermind since 1983, Mastermind champion '83.

-You didn't mention you were a special in the Met.

-No, well, 1976 to 1988, yeah.

-Meaning you do that in your spare time and unpaid?

-Unpaid, yeah.

Just going around arresting people?

I've felt a couple of collars in my time, but mostly, I used to go out patrolling Enfield town.

You never know who might have been deterred from doing what by the sight of me heaving over the horizon.

-That's interesting - a part of your life I didn't know about.

-You'd be surprised, Jeremy.

-We're finding things out the whole time.

-Excellent. Good stuff.

I'll ask each of you three questions on the subject of Sport in turn.

-You can choose the first or second set.

-I'd like to go first, please.

Here we go. All the best. What is the lightest men's boxing weight category at the Olympic Games?

Well, I know it's not the middle one

because cruiserweight is in the heavier divisions,

so it's going to be between bantam and fly.

I'll go for flyweight because flies are smaller than bantams,

so I'll say "light flyweight".

Brilliant logic. You're quite right. It is light flyweight. Well done.

Boxing weights are great quiz territory.

We still haven't worked out what they all are.

-There are so many of them.

-Yes, so many of them.

Chris, your Sports question.

Curve Grande is a high-speed curve on the circuit used for the Formula One Grand Prix of which country?

It's not Austria. It would be German if it was in Austria.

I don't think the Italian for "curve" is "curve",

but Curve Grande sounds French to me, so I'll say France.

-It sounds French to me, but it's in Italy.

-Is it?

Brian, your question.

Which tennis player is the second cousin of the footballer Charles N'Zogbia?

That's a real tough one.

I think I'll go with the old adage, if you're not sure,

pick the one straight down the middle, so I'll go for Gilles Simon.

It's not Gilles Simon. It's Tsonga.

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. Chris, your question

to get off the starting blocks here

in your favourite topic of Sport.

In European flat-racing,

which thoroughbred won Horse of the Year at the 2011 Cartier Racing Awards?

"So you think" I'm going to know this? We'll go with So You Think.

So You Think is wrong. It's Frankel, Chris.

As in "Frankel" rotary engine?

LAUGHTER

I know you need an engine connection to get the answer.

-Sorry I couldn't supply one. This is good, Brian.

-It is.

If you get this one right, you are through to the final round and Chris is out of the contest.

Bob Mathias, later a US Congressman, won two Olympic gold medals in which athletics event?

I'm going away from decathlon.

I just think that's not...

I'm thinking back to the era of Daley Thompson

and I can't think of that name before then.

I hope it's not a marathon runner.

I'd be really embarrassed if I got that wrong.

On a process of elimination, I'm going to have a go at pole vault.

I can see why you went for pole vault, but it's wrong.

It is decathlon. In '48 and '52, so just after the Second World War.

Chris, you've got a way back in here if you get this one right.

In which sport did Miki Ando of Japan become a famous name?

They had the Winter Olympics, didn't they, at Sapporo?

Figure skating is not very Japanese

and snowboarding is too modern, so I'll say ski jumping.

"Figure skating isn't very Japanese..." It is figure skating.

-Oh.

-So we apologise to Miki Ando, who is a lady, by the way.

-Now we get down to it!

-Yeah, that might have helped you.

I couldn't tell you that. Figure skating is the correct answer.

Ski jumping is not. So, Chris, you're out. Brian, you're through. Well done.

Some good running by Eels & More Eels. Please, both of you, rejoin your teams.

The challengers have lost one brain and the Eggheads have lost two brains from the final round.

It's looking tasty! The last subject is Film & Television.

So who would like to take this?

-I think it's going to be Rob.

-Yeah.

-I'll take it.

-Rob, OK.

Which Egghead? It can be Dave, Tremendous Knowledge, or Kevin.

-We know Kevin's very strong, but we don't know what Dave's like.

-Unknown territory.

-I've never seen Kevin weak on TV & Films.

-I'll challenge TK Dave.

The slightly unknown quantity. So it is Rob from Eels & More Eels versus Dave from the Eggheads.

To ensure there's no conferring, please go to the question room now.

Good luck. I'll ask you three questions on Film & Television.

-Rob, you can choose the first or second set of questions.

-Following suit, I'll take the first.

Here we go. Good luck to Eels & More Eels.

In the 1980 film The Blues Brothers,

what are the first names of the title characters played by John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd?

Having seen the film on numerous occasions,

I really hope I don't get it wrong.

So I think I will eliminate Buck and Cody

and Luke and Harley and go for Jake and Elwood...

I hope.

You're right to hope. Jake and Elwood, it is. Well done.

Best line from that film, anyone?

-We're on a mission from God?

-We're on a mission from God.

Dave, who played the part of Charlotte in the US TV series Sex And The City?

Right, one of my wife's favourite programmes,

interrupting the golf on Sunday nights and things like that.

I think Charlotte is Kristin Davis.

She's the kind of neurotic one who eventually ended up getting married.

My final answer is Kristin Davis.

Kristin Davis is the right answer. OK, so...

Let's see how we go. Over to you, Rob.

In 2010, a statue of which sitcom character was unveiled in Thetford in Norfolk?

That's a difficult one. Um...

If I go with my initial thought,

I would have said Captain Mainwaring.

That's my answer.

Captain Mainwaring is the right answer. Well done.

From Dad's Army. OK, Dave, your chance to catch up.

Who directed the films Vanilla Sky, Almost Famous and Jerry Maguire?

Um...

I can try and eliminate things. I don't think it's Bryan Singer.

I don't think it's Brett Ratner.

If it's Jerry Maguire, I associate that film...

Can you name the three films again?

Who directed the films Vanilla Sky, Almost Famous and Jerry Maguire?

I didn't know he did Vanilla Sky and Almost Famous,

but I thought Jerry Maguire was Cameron Crowe, so that's my answer.

And it's the right answer. Well done. Over to you, Rob.

The 2007 film Stardust and the 2009 film Coraline were based on works by which writer?

I'm familiar with Neil Gaiman and Philip Pullman.

I'm not familiar with Alan Garner,

so really I would be clutching at straws,

but I'll take Philip Pullman as my answer.

You were heading in the right direction, but you swerved.

It's Neil Gaiman. So a chance for Tremendous Knowledge to take it.

Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn's on-screen partnership began with which film, Dave?

That's a very hard question.

I think they've been in all three.

I'll go for Woman Of The Year

as a guess, but with no other basis

than it's one that just sticks out to me.

But I don't really...

I don't really know.

-You've got it right. It is Woman Of The Year.

-A bit lucky.

-Very good.

Rob, sorry, you've been beaten.

-Yeah. He's a tough competitor.

-He is. Well done, Dave. You're in the final round.

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

This is what we've been playing towards, the final round, which, as always, is General Knowledge.

But those of you who lost your head-to-heads can't take part,

so we say goodbye to Dave and Rob from Eels & More Eels and also Barry and Chris from the Eggheads.

Would you please leave us now?

Right, Brian, Stuart and Mike, you're playing to win Eels & More Eels £11,000.

Kevin, Daphne and Dave, you are playing for something that money can't buy, the Eggheads' reputation.

I'll ask each team three questions in turn, this time on General Knowledge, and you can confer.

So, Eels & More Eels, are your three brains better than the Eggheads' three?

-We'll find out.

-We will indeed.

-Do you want to go first or second?

-We'll go first.

-We'll go first again, please, Jeremy.

Here we go. All the best to you.

Which 1959 musical was not performed in Salzburg as a full-scale production until 2011?

The Sound Of Music is the obvious one.

-That's the obvious one.

-That's the area that was...

The other two are American.

-I can't see any reason...

-There's no reason for West Side Story to be...

-Unanimous?

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

We all agree on The Sound Of Music.

The Sound Of Music is correct. Well done.

Eggheads, your question.

What name is given to the craze of being photographed in an unusual or incongruous location

while lying face down with your arms by your sides?

-Yeah, happy with planking?

-Yeah.

-We think that's planking.

Planking is the correct answer. Well done.

OK, your second question. "Cry God for Harry, England and St George" is a line from which Shakespeare play?

Well, it's a Henry.

-I think it's Henry V.

-I don't think it's Henry VIII.

-Definitely not.

I would go with Henry V.

I'm sure it was one of the early Henrys because it's during the wars.

-Henry V is always the quoted one.

-I'm quite happy with that, yeah.

-Are you?

-Yeah.

-I don't know anything from Henry VIII.

No, it's about the Wars of the Roses, etcetera.

We're going to go with Henry V. We're all agreed.

Henry V is correct.

Two out of two, challengers. Let's see what happens to the Eggheads.

The Barghest, a figure from the myths of northern England,

usually takes the form of which creature, Eggheads?

The Barghest, a figure from the myths of northern England,

usually takes the form of which creature?

-I think it's a dog.

-Yeah.

-Definitely.

-A big, black dog?

-Yeah.

-OK.

We think that's a dog.

Dog is correct. They've got their teeth into your trousers.

The couturier Mainbocher developed a signature shade of blue

which became associated with which public figure?

-Right, Mainbocher is the person who developed the colour.

-Yeah.

-Of those three...

-I don't think it was Shirley Temple.

Shirley Temple was a child, so it's between the other two.

-Jacqueline Kennedy was very fashionable.

-That was the '60s.

Wallis Simpson would have been the '30s, Jacqueline Kennedy the '60s.

After she was with Kennedy, she was with Onassis,

-so she was more high profile.

-Yeah.

-And fashionable.

-Yeah, that would be my logical...

Are we going to go with Kennedy?

-I think so.

-I think so, yeah. Jacqueline Kennedy.

We think due to her high profile,

we think Kennedy, Jacqueline Kennedy.

Jacqueline Kennedy. Eggheads, what's the answer?

-Wallis Simpson.

-Wallis Simpson.

-He designed her wedding outfit.

Wallis Simpson is the answer, guys.

If you get this right, Eggheads,

you've taken the contest. Here we go.

The Stolen Kiss in the Hermitage and the Portrait of Diderot in the Louvre

are works by which artist?

Yeah, I was thinking initially

that they sound like pictures done by Fragonard.

Yes, exactly. Corot...

The other crucial point is the other two were alive

-after Diderot was dead.

-Yes.

-So...

-Yeah.

Um, I think it's...

-The Stolen Kiss sounds very Fragonard.

-It's 18th century.

-Yes.

-Fete champetre.

-Isn't Corot more landscape?

Yes, that's the other thing. Corot is landscape.

Delacroix did classical pictures.

-Yes.

-But Diderot was...

-Diderot died in 1784.

-Yes.

-Neither of the others was born until after that.

-No.

-So it's got to be.

That's Fragonard, Jean-Honore Fragonard.

I'm loving your use of logic there.

-So Corot and Delacroix were after Diderot died?

-Yes.

I'm not sure. Corot might have overlapped by about ten years.

Jean-Honore Fragonard is the correct answer. Eggheads, you have won.

Commiserations, challengers. The Eggheads have done what comes naturally to them

and their winning streak continues. You won't be going home with the £11,000, so that money rolls over.

Eggheads, very well done. Three of you here, but you won in the final and I wonder who will ever beat you?

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

£12,000 says they don't. Until then, goodbye.

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