Episode 137 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 the Kent Inquisitors.

Now, this friends and family team, predominately based in the lovely

county of Kent, have taken part in quizzes individually,

but today sees their first coming together as a quintet.

Let's meet them.

Hello, I'm Raymond, I'm 61 and I'm a retired chartered accountant.

Hello, I'm Sylvia. I'm 76 and I'm a retired district nurse.

Hi, I'm Jane, I'm 54, a retired midwife.

Hello, my name's Michael, I'm 67 and a retired chemical engineer.

Hello, I'm Paul, I'm 61, I'm a retired patent attorney.

-Raymond and team, welcome. Good to see you.

-Thank you.

-So, quizzers but not always together, Raymond?

-That's correct.

It's Farnborough Village in Kent which really unites us.

Paul and I played cricket together for 20 years for the village team,

and Sylvia, Jane and I play twice a year for the village

quiz team to support the local church.

And we have been known to win a bottle of wine or two.

I mention this purely to rattle our opponents,

who probably haven't quizzed at such a level for some time.

-JEREMY LAUGHS

-I think you're probably right.

You're about to discover just the level that they've been

quizzing at recently, but, er, so that's nice.

So you... Social things bring you together,

cricket brings you together, quizzing brings you together,

and, as I mentioned, in a very beautiful county.

It is.

It's quiet, and, er,

Farnborough Village is a traditional Kentish village, just with

a couple of pubs, the village cricket team and the football team.

What was the John Major phrase? The warm pints of beer and the sunset?

-That's it.

-Exactly.

-You're taking us there, how lovely.

OK, well, every day there is £1,000 up for grabs for our challengers,

as you know.

However, if they fail to defeat the Eggheads the prize money

rolls over to our next show.

So, Kent Inquisitors, your comment about the Eggheads

not quizzing at the same level as you is spot on today

because the team to my right took a bashing in the last game and lost.

The challengers won, which proves it can be done,

and it means £1,000 says you can't beat the Eggheads today.

Their confidence may be a little shredded.

-Would you like to give it a go?

-We certainly would.

-All right,

the first head-to-head battle is on the subject of Politics.

Who would like this?

That is me, Jeremy.

OK, Raymond.

Raymond from the Kent Inquisitors against which Egghead?

It's going to be Kevin.

So, Raymond from the challengers against Kevin from the Eggheads

on Politics. And to ensure there's no conferring

would you please take your positions in the question room?

Politics, Raymond, your choice. First or second?

I'll go first, please, Jeremy.

Here we go, Raymond, good luck.

What term is used to refer to schemes in which welfare recipients

are required to find some employment or attend training

in order to continue to receive benefits?

I think that would be Workfare.

Workfare is the right answer, Raymond, well done.

Kevin,

the form and processes of Parliamentary government

in the United Kingdom is known as the what?

Well, it would be the Westminster System.

Yeah, Westminster System, that's right.

Back to you, Raymond, one each.

Professor Sir Alan Walters was best known as Chief Economic Advisor

to which Prime Minister?

I believe that was for Margaret Thatcher.

Margaret Thatcher's the right answer.

Famously described the European Exchange Rate Mechanism as...?

-Anyone know? Remember the phrase?

-Something like a German plot?

-Something like that?

-Well, yeah, I think that was Nicholas Ridley.

-Oh.

-Half baked.

Caused Nigel Lawson to resign, the Chancellor. OK.

Kevin, in the USA, the principal military advisor to the President

is known by the title of Chairman of the...what?

It's the, um, it's the Joint Chiefs of Staff,

which is the heads of the various services coming together as a body.

And they, erm...

One of them sort of takes it in turns more or less every few years

to head the body.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Joint Chiefs of Staff is the right answer. Two each.

Back to you, Raymond.

In Britain, what is the name of the fund into which the proceeds

of taxation are paid and from which government expenditures are made?

I'm not certain of this.

Designated Fund it could be,

but that would tend to indicate a specific project.

I'm not sure, I will go for the Consolidated Fund.

Consolidated Fund is the right answer.

Nice play, three out of three. Here's your question, Kevin.

In 1985, the civil servant Clive Ponting was put on trial accused of

sending documents concerning the sinking of the Argentine warship

the General Belgrano to which Labour MP?

Ooh, yes, I remember that very much at the time. Erm...

I mean, the one who...

stands out there,

I suppose, as the greatest critic of the Falklands War and what was

going on was Tam Dalyell, so I think I would have to go for Tam Dalyell.

Tam Dalyell is the right answer.

OK, Kevin has got three points as well, Raymond.

It was never going to be easy, was it?

I never thought it would be for one moment.

So we go to Sudden Death,

and it gets a bit harder cos I don't give you alternative answers.

Vince Cable was first returned as an MP

in the General Election of which year?

He's been in politics for some time.

I'm going to say 1982.

Yeah, you're quite some way out, actually.

It's 1997.

Oh, Lord! A long way out.

Yeah, when Tony Blair got his landslide, that's when he arrived.

OK, Raymond, you've given Kevin a chance. Let's see if he takes it.

Sudden Death, Kevin.

The UK pressure group for constitutional reform called

Charter 88 took its name from the revolutionary events of which year

in British history?

I assume this is a reference to the Glorious Revolution, the overthrow

of James II and bringing of William III to the throne, so it'd be 1688.

1688 is correct, Kevin. Well done, you've won on Sudden Death.

-Sorry, Raymond, you've been knocked out.

-Quite OK.

You won't be able to help your team in the final round. Kevin will.

Please both of you return to your teams.

So, as it stands, the Kent Inquisitors have lost

a brain from the final round, whilst the Eggheads have not lost any.

Good start for the Eggs here. The next subject is Music.

So, which of the Kent Inquisitors would like this?

That's me.

OK, Jane. Jane on Music against anyone but Kevin.

I think have a crack at Pat.

-You think?

-Yeah.

-OK, you're in charge, all right.

I'll take on Pat, please.

So, Jane from the Kent Inquisitors versus Pat. How are we feeling, Pat?

-I'm feeling fine.

-Good.

-He looks very smiley.

-He is smiley, yeah.

Keeps a lot hidden, though. To ensure there's no conferring

would you please take your positions in the question room?

So, Music, Jane, and would you like

the first or second set of questions?

I'd like to go first please.

Here we go, good luck.

Which weather condition is used to describe Christmas Eve

in the lyrics of the Christmas song Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer?

Erm, being Christmas, I don't think I'll go for rainy.

Icy might be a bit tricky for reindeer

so I'll go for foggy, please.

Foggy is the correct answer, well done.

OK, Pat, your question.

In a song from the musical Me and My Girl,

which of these follows the line, "The sun has got his hat on?"

The sun has got his hat on

Hip, hip, hip, hooray.

The sun has got his hat on

He's coming out to play.

I think that's the lyric. Erm...

I think it's hip, hip, hip, hooray.

Hip, hip, hip, hooray is the right answer.

OK, Jane.

Delta Machine is the title of a 2013 album by which group?

I haven't got a clue.

So, I'm going to have to make a guess, and...

I'm tempted to go for U2 cos it's in the middle.

But I'm going to go for Radiohead, I think.

Both are wrong, actually. Depeche Mode is the answer.

Depeche Mode who just keep going and going and going, it's remarkable.

OK, Pat. Can't Speak French was a UK hit single for which group in 2008?

Ooh, dear.

It doesn't ring any bells. Can't Speak French.

Let's go with Girls Aloud, just about a complete guess.

Girls Aloud is the right answer.

CHALLENGERS GROAN AND LAUGH JEREMY LAUGHS

I'm never sure, when they say complete guess,

I'm never sure whether there's something ticking away,

some fragment there which their computer brain has hit upon.

So you need to get this one right, Jane.

Which singer and actor had UK hits with the songs

What Do You Want, Poor Me and Someone Else's Baby?

Hmm, Someone Else's Baby.

So, I'm probably going to be completely wrong here.

They don't sound like songs from Anthony Newley or Tommy Steele,

just the titles, so I'm going to go for Adam Faith.

-Team, is she right?

-Yes.

-Yes, your team like that answer.

Adam Faith it is. You're off the hook.

OK, Pat, you can still take the round with this question.

Whose 1893 String Quartet in F Major Opus 96

is popularly known as his American Quartet

because it was written on a visit to the USA?

Well, Stravinsky died in the 1970s,

so to be writing a quartet in the 1890s doesn't seem feasible.

Of those three,

the man most linked with string quartets is Antonin Dvorak,

and I think he went to America and he famously, or supposedly, inspired...

Er, he wrote the New World Symphony,

partly inspired by, er, music he heard in America,

so I'll go for Dvorak.

Dvorak is the right answer, so you're in the final, Pat.

Sorry, Jane, you've been knocked out by our Egghead

and won't be able to help your team in the final round.

If you come back, rejoin your teams, we'll play on.

So, as it stands, Kent Inquisitors have lost two brains

from the final round, the Eggheads are still intact.

The next subject is Sport.

-Is this good? Sporting person?

-We hope so.

-It's for me.

It's for you, OK. Which Egghead? Obviously not Pat or Kevin.

-It's going to be Chris.

-All right for Chris?

-Whatever.

-Whatever you say.

-I'll take on Chris.

OK, so, Paul from the Kent Inquisitors against Chris on Sport.

-Chris, not your favourite, has to be said.

-No.

I know where Farnborough is, so I'm coming!

LAUGHTER

Send the boys round.

Paul from Kent, Chris from Crewe, please go to the question room.

So, Paul, would you like the first or second set of questions?

I will go first, please, Jeremy.

Good luck. In 2002, Rio Ferdinand joined Manchester United

from which other football team?

Oh, dear, my mind's gone a complete blank.

Erm...

Dear, oh, dear. I'm going to go for the centre one, Leeds United.

BARRY LAUGHS

I've got to ask Barry whether you're right cos Barry has connections.

-He's spot on!

-Yeah.

Spot on, Leeds United it is.

Chris, your question.

Thirsk Racecourse is located in which part of England?

Thirsk is on the A19 in North Yorkshire.

North Yorkshire is correct.

Back to you, Paul. Andy Murray became the World Number Two

when he beat which tennis player at the Sony Open in Miami

in March 2013?

Erm...

David Ferrer.

David Ferrer is quite right.

OK, Chris.

The cricketer Chamara Silva made his test debut

for which country in 2006?

Er, can you spell the surname please, Jeremy?

Chamara is C-H-A-M-A-R-A, and Silva is just S-I-L-V-A.

Yeah, well, that's Portuguese, isn't it?

And Chamara sounds like an Asian name.

So we've got a Goa connection going here, haven't we, with Portugal.

So, he would have made his test match debut for Sri Lanka.

And Sri Lanka is correct. Nice bit of logic.

-Like Sherlock Holmes, isn't it?

-That's how I operate, Jeremy.

Working through the case, deduction. Elementary.

Paul, in baseball, what is a pitcher said to be credited with when they

complete a game without allowing the opposing team to score a run?

They all sound as though they could be right, unfortunately.

But I will say a shutout.

Shutout is correct.

You've got three out of three, Paul, well done.

OK, Chris, this to stay in.

The German athlete Silke Renk won gold at the 1992 Olympics

in which event?

Silke Renk.

Javelin, long jump...

Well, they tend not to produce many good runners in Germany.

Er, javelin doesn't seem right somehow

so I'll go down the middle with long jump.

-Why doesn't javelin seem right?

-Just doesn't somehow.

You can't imagine a German throwing a javelin?

Well, it would fit in with the ethos,

-but I'll have to stick with long jump.

-I think you will.

You're wrong. Javelin is the right answer

so the Eggheads have now got a question wrong and lost a player.

Well done, Paul, you've triumphed on Sport.

So you'll be in the final round and Chris won't.

Both of you please come back to us.

So, can you feel the tide turning?

Er, possibly a little early to say that, but, er, having got

a player through to the final to support Michael, that will help us.

OK, let's see where we go from here.

You've lost two brains, the Eggheads have now lost Chris,

and the subject is now Science.

-TEAM LAUGHS

-Is that good?

-That's Paul!

-That's Paul.

-So, that's me.

-Sylvia is going to take one for the team here.

This, yes, this is real sacrifice.

OK, I'm trying to work out, we've got a chemical engineer

on the end of the row. You're saving him, are you?

-We certainly are.

-Ah, I see.

And having watched Barry with Science, it's going to be

poor Judith to have a crack at Science please.

OK, so Sylvia from the Kent Inquisitors against Judith

on Science for the Eggheads, and just to ensure there's no conferring

please take your positions in the question room.

So, Science, Sylvia. Would you like to go first or second?

I'd like to go first please, Jeremy.

Here we go, good luck.

What is the term for the opening through which light passes

in an optical instrument?

Well, the only thing that sort of, I know it isn't,

it isn't ligature, I'm sure, because that's when they tie off things.

Erm, I don't think it's coverture. I'm going to go for aperture.

Aperture is the right answer, well done.

Judith, your question.

Which of these consists mainly of acetic acid and water?

Well, vinegar came up in my mind before it did on the strap

so I'm going to say vinegar.

Vinegar is the correct answer, Judith, well done.

Back to you, Sylvia.

Which of these insects is included in the order Odonata?

Odonata. Something to do with smelling, possibly.

I know that ants are very clever. Er...

I think I'll go with ants, please.

Do you know, Judith? You're quite good on your orders.

Er, I think ants is something else.

I think it might be dragonflies.

-It is dragonflies.

-Well done.

Judith, to take the lead,

the Sea of Moscow is a region of which celestial body?

-The Sea of Moscow. Moscow, like the town?

-Yeah, city.

I think the moon is the one with the sea, so I'm going to say the moon.

-The moon is right.

-Oh!

OK...

Where that leaves us, Sylvia, is you have to get this question right,

OK, otherwise Judith goes through to the final.

And we're trying to hold back the Egghead tide.

Which member of the alkane series of hydrocarbons

has the chemical formula C4H10

and can be liquefied under pressure at normal temperatures?

Hmm, that is quite difficult.

That is very difficult, gas is very difficult.

Don't know too much about any of those gases.

So, but it's liquefied.

I think I might go for butane.

-You're right, Sylvia, well done.

-Wow.

-That was good, how did you do that?

-Quite amazing.

So you have to hope now that Judith gets this one wrong,

-which can happen, Judith, can't it?

-It does, frequently.

Bufo marinus, or the cane toad, is native to which of these continents?

It's causing huge problems in Australia,

erm, where it's got rather out of control,

so it must have been imported to Australia,

and the nearest to Australia is Asia, so I think I'm going to risk Asia.

-I get the logic but it's wrong, it's South America.

-Oh.

We go to Sudden Death, Sylvia.

It becomes a little bit harder, I don't give you alternatives.

How could you get that one wrong?!

LAUGHTER

Come on, you can get in the final here.

The technical name for which bone in the human body ultimately

derives from a Latin word meaning "key?"

Key...

Bone, key...

I don't really know but I'm going to have to guess. Erm, cranium?

-No, do you know the Latin word for key?

-No.

-Judith?

-Is it clavicle?

Yeah, clavis is the Latin word for key,

so from that you get to clavicle, yeah, collar bone.

OK, Judith, for the round.

In 1954, Joseph E Murray,

who won the Nobel Prize for Medicine in 1990,

performed the first successful human transplant of which organ?

-In 1954?

-1954.

Erm, kidney?

-Kidney is the right answer.

-Phew.

From one identical twin to another,

interestingly, and the person who

got the kidney survived for several years,

as indeed you will survive in this contest, Judith.

Well done, you're in the final round. Sylvia, sorry.

You've been knocked out on Science.

Both of you please come back and rejoin your teams.

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, Raymond, Sylvia and Jane from the Kent Inquisitors

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

So, Paul and Michael,

you are playing to win the Kent Inquisitors £1,000.

Barry, Pat, Judith and Kevin,

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.

You are allowed to confer. So, Paul and Michael,

the question is are your two brains better than the Eggheads' four?

And would you like to go first or second?

I think we'd like to go first.

Here we go, good luck.

Which Steven Spielberg-directed film was nominated for 11 Oscars

but won none?

I've heard of all the films.

But I'm not sure which one it is.

-Erm, have you any...?

-I'm not much help on this one, I'm afraid.

Well, Schindler's List was very popular,

and so was The Color Purple.

-I think I'd go for Amistad.

-OK.

We'll go for Amistad.

Let's see, cos we've got film buffs on this side.

-Color Purple.

-Color Purple is the answer. Color Purple.

OK, Eggheads, your question.

Which actress was married to the actor Ian Holm from 1991 to 2001?

I think...

Not Susan Hampshire,

she's married to some sort of Greek person with a beard.

I don't think Felicity Kendal was married to Ian Holm.

No, she had affairs with Tom Stoppard and somebody else, didn't she?

So it must be Penelope Wilton.

When the three choices came up she was my first thought,

but I'm not certain. But I think... I don't think it's the other two.

-OK.

-I think it's Penelope Wilton.

Well, we're not 100% sure but we don't think it's

Susan Hampshire or Felicity Kendal, so that only leaves Penelope Wilton.

Penelope Wilton is correct.

OK, so you're behind, challengers.

Belize in Central America gained its independence

from which other country in 1981?

Well, I do know that for certain and that was the UK.

So I'll say the UK.

UK is the right answer, gentlemen, well done, got a point.

OK, let's see if the Eggheads trip up now.

Which character in Shakespeare's Macbeth is told,

"Thou shalt get kings though thou be none?"

-Banquo?

-Banquo, yeah.

-This question, the answer is Banquo.

Banquo is the right answer. Well done.

So that means they've got two right, you've got one right.

You have to get this one right or the contest is over.

Which writer created the policeman DCI Alan Banks?

-(Peter Robinson.)

-You know that for sure?

-Yeah.

Paul informs me that it's Peter Robinson.

-Is it Peter Robinson?

-Yeah.

Peter Robinson.

Peter Robinson is correct.

Two out of three. All right, is it good enough? Let's see.

If the Eggheads get this one right the contest is over.

If they get it wrong we go to Sudden Death. OK, here we go.

What is the usual meaning of the abbreviation QV

when written on a prescription?

What does it mean?

-Right, QV.

-I have a feeling it's "Complete the course."

It certainly wouldn't be "Use as much as you like" on a prescription.

-And nothing to do with alcohol.

-Can't see an alcohol...

Oh, V for vial, alcohol-related? QV?

NV, non-vino or something.

I think it'd be "Complete the course."

-Happy for "Complete the course?"

-Yeah. We'll have to risk it.

Well, as you gathered, Jeremy,

we have various misgivings about this answer, but we're going to

go for "Complete the course," and we hope that we have.

The answer is "Use as much as you like."

You've got it wrong, Eggheads, the contest is definitely not over.

-And if you'd got The Color Purple you would have beaten them!

-I know.

So we go to Sudden Death.

Gets a bit harder, I don't give you alternatives.

-Are you ready, Kent Inquisitors?

-Yes.

Which former model became the presenter of the TV series

Baking Made Easy in 2011?

Baking Made Easy. Was it...

..someone called Lorraine?

I think it's somebody called Lorraine but I can't think of the surname.

It's a model so it's, it's not someone like Mary Berry.

-You've no idea?

-I'm afraid I don't.

I'll just have to guess at Lorraine Kelly.

That's a shame cos you were on the right track with Lorraine for sure.

-D'you know?

-Lorraine Pascale.

-Lorraine Pascale is the answer.

It gives them a chance here, the Eggheads, to come back after,

well, what does Alex Ferguson call it?

-Cock-up.

-Squeaky bum time?

The harpooner Ned Land is a character in an 1870 adventure

novel by which French writer?

-Jules Verne.

-Mm?

-He's the harpooner in 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea.

So, Jules Verne is the...

Er, well,

he's the harpooner in 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea by Jules Verne.

The answer is Jules Verne. You're right.

So, Eggheads, we say congratulations, you have won.

Well, you took them to Sudden Death in the final round,

not everybody does that. Thank you very much for playing.

Commiserations to the Kent Inquisitors,

the Eggheads have done what comes naturally to them

and they reign supreme over Quizland once again.

I'm afraid you won't be going home with the £1,000

so the money rolls over to our next show.

Eggheads, back on track, who will beat you?

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

have the brains to defeat the Eggheads.

£2,000 says they don't. Till then, goodbye.