Episode 113 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 Doctors' Notes. Now, this team of student friends

are all members of the Medics Orchestra

at the University of Manchester. Let's meet them.

Hi. I'm Rohan, I'm 22 and I'm the conductor.

Hi. I'm Rhiannon, I'm 20 and I've been playing the flute for 12 years.

Hi. I'm Roanna, I'm 19 and I play the French horn in the orchestra.

Hi. I'm Aaron, I'm 22 and I've been playing the clarinet for two years.

Hi. I'm Eleanor, I'm 24 and I've played the oboe for 16 years.

-So, Rohan and team, welcome. Good to see you.

-Hi.

-How do you do?

We've got all different instruments - clarinet and flute and oboe.

-You're the conductor, Rohan.

-That's right. I have the enormous privilege

of standing at the front and directing.

And tell us where the Medics Orchestra plays.

We tend to play around various churches in South Manchester.

We rehearse in the students' union

-and usually do a couple of concerts each year.

-Do you quiz together?

-We haven't actually quizzed before, have we?

-No.

-No, not yet.

Hopefully this is a good one.

So, you watch the show, you watch these characters here.

Have you discerned any particular medical conditions

-you can help them with?

-Well...

-That would be telling.

-We have to stop ourselves from

-spotting people in the street, really.

-No need to intervene.

Anyway, they're probably on very good form, the Eggheads,

certainly very confident today, and good luck, as you take them on.

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

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

the prize-money rolls over to the next show.

So, Doctors' Notes, the Eggheads have won the last four games

which means £5,000 says you can't beat them today.

-Are you ready to have a go?

-Definitely.

-Brilliant. OK.

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

How about that?

-Very good.

-Shall I do that? That's my subject, yep.

OK. Rhiannon, the beautifully-named Rhiannon, against which Egghead?

-Oh, where shall we go?

-I don't know.

-Who do you think?

Who do you want? You're doing it.

-Chris? Shall we go Chris?

-Yes.

-Chris, please.

OK. So, Rhiannon from Doctors' Notes against Chris on Music from the Eggheads.

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

Rhiannon, I'm assuming that your name was chosen

cos of Fleetwood Mac, was it?

Well, my grandad was Welsh so I don't think so,

but maybe.

And tell us about your studies and what you're doing.

I'm in my second year at the minute at Manchester.

So, next year, I'll be moving to Preston

and starting hospital skills there.

And you will be a GP at the end of it all or what?

I don't really know at the minute.

I'm thinking about paediatrics, so working with kids,

or maybe becoming a GP. I'm not really sure at the moment.

-Good luck with that...

-Thank you.

-..and good luck with this.

It's Music and you can go first or second, Rhiannon.

Please can I go first?

Here we go with your first question. The pop group The Undertones

was formed in the mid-'70s in which part of the UK?

Hmm. OK.

So, The Undertones...

So, '70s was a bit before my time.

Erm...

I'm drawn between Wales and Northern Ireland,

but I'm thinking more Northern Ireland, The Undertones.

Erm...

I think I'm just going to have to guess. Northern Ireland, please.

Northern Ireland is the right answer.

-Lucky.

-How did the logic work there?

The Undertones took you to Northern Ireland.

-Yeah, I'm not really sure why.

-Really good.

OK, Chris.

The Air That I Breathe was a UK number-two single

for which group in 1974?

# All I need is the air that I breathe. #

Yeah, that was The Hollies.

Yeah, it was The Hollies. Correct. Rhiannon.

Which singer-songwriter was named Best British Male Solo Artist

at the 2013 BRIT Awards?

I should really know this cos I love Ben Howard and I love Ed Sheeran.

I think it was Ben Howard cos I know he won a BRIT award,

so I'm going to go Ben Howard.

Well done. Ben Howard is correct. Good stuff.

You've got two out of two. Chris.

Though he is now best known as a composer,

what was Gustav Mahler's main line of employment?

Mahler...

19th-century Austria.

He wasn't an instrument maker.

Er...

Was he a teacher?

He was a conductor.

Not on a bus either.

Let's check with Rohan here, fellow conductor.

-He was indeed a conductor. A very fine one.

-Yeah, you're right, Chris.

Well done. We've had it confirmed by a conductor.

Rhiannon, the first performance of Edward Elgar's work

The Dream of Gerontius, which for various reasons

was a near disaster, took place in which city?

OK. I haven't got a clue. Erm...

Oh, wow.

I don't think it was Dundee cos I think I would have

heard of that, maybe.

So...

I'm just going to have to guess.

I'm drawn to Birmingham, so we'll go Birmingham, please.

-You're very good at this game.

-Oh, wow.

-Birmingham is right.

That was lucky. Again.

Interestingly, Chris, you're on the back foot now.

The doctor is operating on you.

The Beatles song For No One features a solo played on what instrument?

Not banjo, not French horn. Vibraphone.

-OK. Who's our French horn player here?

-That's me.

-It is French horn, Chris.

-Is it?

It's not the best-known Beatles song. But you've gone out on that.

Well done, Rhiannon.

You're through to the final round. You've done really well.

Good stuff for our doctors. Congratulations to you.

Chris has been knocked out. Please, both of you, come back

and rejoin your teams.

As it stands, well done to you, Rhiannon.

That's a really good start for Doctors' Notes.

They've not lost a brain. The Eggheads have lost one.

Where do we go from here? To Sport.

-Who would like Sport?

-I think that might need to be mine, really.

-Yep.

OK. So, it's Rohan against which Egghead, Rohan?

Obviously, can't be Chris.

I think I would like to play against Daphne, please, Jeremy.

OK. So, Rohan from Doctors' Notes, Daphne on Sport.

I've been having a bit of a torrid time.

Yes, you've had a couple of bad ones, haven't you? All right.

Well, let's see how you do now.

Please, both of you, go to the Question Room.

So, Sport, Rohan, against Daphne.

Yeah. I'm not a great sports player myself.

I'm a pathological cricket watcher.

I don't tend to play as much as I ought to, perhaps.

And Daphne, you don't play so much now.

No, not since my teens, actually.

I play skittles.

I've been in the same team for 47 years.

Where do you play that?

-In Weston at the Working Men's Club.

-Really?

-Yeah.

-How nice.

-And we've never, ever talked about that before.

-Oh, right.

We're called The Fiddlers.

You've revealed your secret sporting history.

-Have we ever had a question on skittles? I don't think so.

-No.

-OK.

So, here we are, Rohan. We've just discovered that Daphne

is a current sporting person. Would you like to go first or second?

I think I'll go first, please, Jeremy.

Here are your questions.

Which team's stadium was used to stage the baseball competition

of the 1984 Olympic Games?

Gosh. I really know almost nothing about baseball.

Clearly all American.

I don't particularly know where baseball is strong.

Something's drawing me towards Cincinnati...

purely on a minuscule hunch.

So I think I will go for Cincinnati, please.

Let me check this with Daphne. She's good on her stadiums.

Los Angeles Dodgers.

Los Angeles Dodgers, Rohan, is the answer.

-I've actually been there.

-You've been there?

-Yes.

On our honeymoon, we went to Los Angeles

and two quiz people that we'd met in Australia took us to a game

-and we watched the Dodgers against the San Diego Padres.

-Tremendous.

-It was brilliant.

-OK, Daphne. Your question.

In addition to his Olympic silver and bronze medals

in the 4x400m relay, Kriss Akabusi

won an Olympic bronze in which event?

I think it was 400m hurdles.

I think you're right. 400m hurdles.

OK, Rohan,

to catch up, the footballer Gareth Bale who joined Spurs in 2007

began his senior career with which team?

Gosh. I've unfortunately rather lost touch with football

in the few years recently.

Of course, he's been a very good player for Spurs.

I wonder if he was perhaps playing for Southampton

before he went to Spurs.

Southampton's correct.

Well done.

OK, Daphne. The tennis player Vitas Gerulaitis

was born in which country?

Oh, he's American. USA.

USA is the right answer.

Rohan, you've got to get this one right.

In 2007, who became the first England wicketkeeper

to hit a century in his test-match debut?

Gosh. I really ought to know this. Erm...

I'm strongly drawn towards Matt Prior

who I believe started playing around that time.

I'm wondering if he played in the 2006 Ashes though.

I don't think he did.

Geraint Jones kept wicket for the 2005 Ashes.

Tim Ambrose had a brief period in-between, although...

something suggests that Tim Ambrose maybe also hit a century on debut.

I think I'll have to go for Tim Ambrose, please.

-They're all wicket keepers, are they?

-They are indeed.

Yeah, you were right the first time, actually, Matt Prior,

-and you just veered away.

-That's very disappointing.

-I really ought to have known that.

-I'm sure you do.

Cricket is your thing, I know. Daphne, well done.

You've won on sport and not even a single question about skittles.

Do, both of you, please come back and rejoin your team-mates.

As it stands, Doctors' Notes have lost one brain from the final round,

the Eggheads have also lost one. The next subject for you is Science.

Now this, with a team of doctors, should be good.

I was going to do this category though so...

Do you want to do it? Roanna.

-Roanna?

-Yeah.

-Against which Egghead? Can't be Chris or Daphne.

-Dave.

-Shall we do Dave?

-OK.

-Can we have Dave, please?

OK. This is going to be Roanna from Doctors' Notes

against Tremendous Knowledge Dave from the Eggheads on Science.

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

-Roanna, I gather you like trampolining?

-I do, yeah.

And you do it every week?

I try to, yeah, when medicine doesn't get in the way anyway.

Doctor, musician and a trampolinist, that's quite a combination.

Roanna, do you want to go first or second against Dave?

I'll go first, please.

Here we go. Good luck. The French scientist Andre-Marie Ampere

is best known for his work in which area?

I can't think of any links with the name

and any of the particular options. Um...

I'm just going to take a stab at botany.

-I wonder whether Ampere... Is that the clue, Dave?

-Yes, it is.

Ampere's a unit of electricity so it's physics.

-Physics. It's the amp, yeah.

-Yeah.

Physics is the answer. Over to Dave.

When a dog is too hot, it regulates body temperature by panting

and by sweating primarily from which part of its body?

I don't know. It's going to be a YouTube moment, this.

I don't think it's tail.

Erm...

-I'll go ears, but probably wrong.

-It is wrong, actually.

-Foot pads.

It is foot pads, yeah. I thought tongue was going to be in there.

-I've never heard of this.

-I've just not heard of that.

-I've never heard of this one.

-No.

-Anyone have a dog?

-I've got a dog.

-You've got a dog?!

-I don't notice the dog sweating.

-So, yeah.

-OK. Roanna...

that's good news for you.

What type of creature is the snoring rail?

I'm leaning towards the snake

because rail, a long, thin sort of thing so...

I'm going to go with venomless snake.

-Anyone know on the Eggheads' side?

-Bird.

-Bird.

-Yeah, it's a bird.

Flightless bird. Snoring rail. Dave, your question.

The Rankine cycle is a mathematical model used to help explain

the thermodynamics of what?

He's going to kill me, Chris.

I'm not entirely sure, but I'm going to go steam engines,

but you know, it's a bit of a guess.

No, you've got it right, Dave. Well done. Well done.

So, Roanna...

-you need to get this one right.

-Yep.

To which of the three main classes of rock

do the majority of rocks at the Moon's surface belong?

Igneous rocks tend to be around volcanoes.

Sedimentary ones are at the bottom of the sea and metamorphic...

I think...

I don't know.

I'm thinking sedimentary.

I'm just going to have to go with that, I think.

The answer is igneous.

Sorry, Roanna.

Dave has taken the round,

despite the incident with the curious dog.

-Yeah.

-Tremendous Knowledge Dave will be in the final.

Roanna, you won't be. But there's still hope for your team,

don't worry. Please come back and rejoin us.

So, we've had rounds with Rohan, Rhiannon and Roanna on this side

and Doctors' Notes have lost two brains from the final round,

the Eggheads have lost one so far. The next subject is Politics.

So, it's going to be

not a Rohan or a Rhiannon. Aaron or Eleanor?

-I think I'm going to do this one.

-Aaron. OK. Against...

-Kevin or Barry? Either end.

-We don't want Kevin.

I think probably Barry.

-What do you think?

-Barry.

-Barry. Kevin.

-What do you reckon?

-Kevin.

-Kevin.

All right. They've volunteered you for Kevin. Good stuff.

It's Aaron from Doctors' Notes versus Kevin from the Eggheads.

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

-So, Aaron the clarinet player on Politics.

-Yep.

OK. Good luck against Kevin. Would you like to go first or second?

I think I'll go second.

Here we go, Kevin.

Bouvier was the maiden name of which First Lady of the United States?

That was Jackie Kennedy.

Jackie Kennedy is correct.

Your question, Aaron.

Which often disparaging term is sometimes applied to the staff

of European organisations, especially the European Union?

I think it's Eurocrats because "crat" means something

to do with ruling, like democracy.

Eurocrats is right.

Yeah, kind of a pun on bureaucrats, I guess.

Kevin, the Five Star Movement headed by Beppe Grillo

played an important role in which country's domestic politics in 2013?

Beppe Grillo himself is a comedian and satirist

and he set this movement up out of...

well, partly self-aggrandisement, obviously,

but it's also pure disenchantment with the political class

and he attracted so many followers that they wound up

with a very important role in the election.

Got a lot of seats. And it's Italy.

Italy is the right answer. And he's only regretting calling it

Five Star which, of course,

links it to an extremely unfashionable band.

-Pop group, yeah.

-Popular music combo. Aaron.

The founding members of the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance

were from which part of the world?

Oh, now you're asking. It might...

The only thing I can possibly think of is...

there was The Marshall Plan in America and Europe

and it might have been the opposite in the Communist countries.

I'm going to say Eastern Europe.

Eastern Europe is the right answer.

Well done. Well done indeed. OK, Kevin.

In 2012, who became the first non-lawyer in modern times

to hold the post of Lord Chancellor?

The post of Lord Chancellor is now, as a result of the reforms

that have happened in the last few years, it's been doubled up

with Justice Secretary and the Justice Secretary who

then acquired that title as well was Chris Grayling.

Chris Grayling is correct.

So, you need this one, Aaron.

In February, 2013, Park Geun-hye was inaugurated

as the first female president of which country?

-Could you spell the name, please?

-Yes. Sorry.

P-A-R-K and then G-E-U-N hyphen H-Y-E.

Right.

Um, it doesn't sound that Korean, to me.

But I'm not that good on that part of the world.

I'm going to say Vietnam.

-Let's see if Kevin knows. Kevin?

-That is South Korea.

South Korea it is, Aaron. I'm really sorry.

You've been pipped at the post by Kevin

and he's knocked you out. If you come back to us, both of you,

we will play that final round.

So, this is what we have been playing towards.

It is time for 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, Rohan, Roanna and Aaron from Doctors' Notes,

and also Chris from the Eggheads,

would you please now leave the studio?

So, Rhiannon and Eleanor, here you are.

-Which two instruments have we got here, by the way?

-I'm flute.

-Oboe.

Flute and oboe against the Eggheads.

You're playing to win Doctors' Notes £5,000.

Kevin, Dave, Daphne and Barry, you're playing for something

that money can't buy, the Eggheads' reputation.

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

This time, the questions are all General Knowledge

and you are allowed to confer.

So, Rhiannon and Eleanor, the question is,

are your two brains better than the Eggheads' four?

-Would you like to go first or second?

-First?

-Yeah, we'll go first.

Here we go. Good luck to you both.

Someone who is inexperienced is said to be wet behind the what?

-Ears.

-Ears. That's ears, yeah.

-It's ears.

-That would have thrown you, Dave, wouldn't it?

-It would have done.

It would have sorted me out.

OK. Eggheads,

in Greek mythology, Helios, or He-lios, is the God of what?

-The sun.

-The sun.

Yes, Helios is the chap in Greek mythology

who drew the chariot of the sun across the sky.

The sun is the right answer.

Don't be alarmed by them adding information,

it doesn't count and they are just showing off.

Which novel is reputed to have sold 200,000 copies in the UK

on the 10th of November 1960?

Is it...?

-Oh...

-Well...

I've not read any of those.

But when was Casino Royale written, do you know?

It was the first Ian Fleming, eh, first James Bond book,

but I don't know when it was written.

Lady Chatterley's Lover, quite controversial at the time,

maybe those people ran out to buy it.

I don't know. That's a DH Lawrence book.

I'm not sure exactly when it was written.

So, 1960s. 200,000 copies.

The only one of those I know is Casino Royale.

So, I would have thought that would have sold a lot, but maybe more...

I'm just thinking, "First in the series," it's like well-known...

-Yeah.

-I don't know.

So, what's Lady Chatterley's...?

That's a DH Lawrence book, like quite controversial, a bit racy.

-Do you know when that was written?

-No.

I'm not sure.

-Is that one more famous than Casino Royale?

-Probably as a book, yeah.

-Do you want to go for Casino Royale?

-I don't know.

What's Lady Chatterley's Lover all about?

-Is that racism, did you say?

-No, no, no. It's a bit racy.

-Maybe it's that one then.

-Genuinely don't know.

-Shall we go for that one?

-Really sorry if it's wrong.

No, it's all right.

We're going to go for Lady Chatterley's Lover.

That was a sensation, Lady Chatterley's Lover,

there was a big court case trying to stop it being published

and all that. So, you've got it absolutely right.

It wasn't like a normal book, wasn't it?

It was a sensation.

Yeah. It was prosecuted on the grounds of obscenity,

so when that case was lost, Penguin were allowed to publish it,

it just became a sensation.

There we are, well done. Brilliant, brilliant play.

Eggheads, Fred Quimby was best known as the producer

of what type of films?

ALL: Cartoons.

Yes, we've seen Fred Quimby in a cartoons, so it's Cartoons.

Cartoons is the right answer.

Two each. Your question.

EAK, E-A-K, is the international vehicle registration code

for what African country? Is it...?

I've been to Kenya, I should know this.

I don't think it's Ethiopia.

It rings a bell, so I would say Kenya, but...

I have no idea, so I'm happy to go for Kenya.

Yeah, cos Ethiopia's too obvious, isn't it? Angola sounds...

-EAK would... Yeah.

-We'll go for Kenya.

It stands for East Africa Kenya. You are quite right.

So you've done well there, you got three out of three.

I should have known that. I was just like, "Maybe..."

Three out of three in the final round,

you can't ask for any more than that from the Doctor's Notes.

You are going to be very, very good doctors

cos they are definitely good quizzers.

Eggheads, here we are again.

If you get this wrong, the jackpot goes to the Challengers.

Socialism and the English Genius is the sub title of which

long essay by George Orwell? Is it...?

Why would they mention the unicorn which is

an emblem of Scotland in the title of the English Genius?

That may be to throw us.

Have you heard of any of those?

Yes, Decline Of The English Murder.

-Have you?

-That is an essay by George Orwell.

It may well be that the other two are.

I've read the Decline Of The English Murder, I don't think

that's about socialism at all, it's about exactly what it says.

I've got a feeling it's My Country Right Or Left.

What about you, Daph?

Well, you know what a guesser I am.

And I would have guessed The Lion And The Unicorn.

-Oh.

-Oh, right.

For no reason whatsoever cos I think My Country Right Or Left

-sounds like it ought to be...

-Sounds what, sorry?

It sounds as if the subtitle refers to it.

You know, it's more plausible. But I don't know.

We just don't know it.

What are you saying now, Kev?

I went with you with South America for the bumblebee...

I'll just point that one out.

As you've gathered, we really don't know.

We're pretty certain it's not the Decline Of The English Murder.

But I'm holding my flag out for My Country Right Or Left

and I've pulled the other eggs along with me,

so I hope I'm right, otherwise I've got some explaining to do tonight.

My Country Right Or Left is your answer. Of course,

if they've got this wrong you've won.

What would you do with the money if they've got it wrong?

I'm going to Canada, so I would spend it on the flights.

OK.

Listening to you is so fascinating.

Barry had, I wouldn't say an inkling,

but maybe a logical progression to My Country Right Or Left.

And then just as you were going to seal the deal, Daphne did her thing,

no-one can explain how you do what you do, Daphne,

but of course Daphne had it right.

Of course it's The Lion And the Unicorn,

and we say congratulations, Challengers, you have won!

So, you're going to go to Canada hopefully.

I am going to go to Canada.

Fantastically done.

You hung on in there and you've beaten the Eggheads.

Eggs, well, it's tough, your side of the table, I know that.

Congratulations to Doctor's Notes, you've just won £5,000.

You are officially cleverer than the Eggheads.

How about that?

You've proved that they can be beaten.

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

will be just as successful and as much fun to see play.

Until then, goodbye.