Episode 138 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 our resident

general knowledge geniuses

today are the Yellow Bellies.

Now, this team have been quizzing together at their local pub,

The Black Bull, in Welton near Lincoln for the past year.

So, let's meet them.

Hello, I'm Phil, I'm 56, and I'm a retired lawyer.

Hi, I'm Mark, I'm 45, and I'm a financial advisor.

Hi, I'm Sally, I'm 47, and I'm a primary school teacher.

Hi, I'm Malcolm, I'm 55, and I'm a retired newspaper editor.

Hello, I'm Paul, I'm 56, and I'm a retired software engineer.

So, Phil and team, welcome.

-Good to see you.

-ALL: Hi!

And I've got to ask you about this name, Yellow Bellies.

-So, it's got a local connection?

-Well, it has, Jeremy, yeah.

We're all from Lincolnshire and "yellow bellies" is,

very simply, a term for somebody that was born and bred in Lincolnshire.

Does anyone here know why? Kevin?

I've got an idea, I may be wrong, but I think it's to do with

regiments during the Civil War and the colour of their uniforms.

How about that?

Can we go home now? THEY LAUGH

It's a waistcoat, isn't it?

-It is.

-The regimental waistcoat, OK.

So, that's where we get Yellow Bellies from.

And how's the quizzing going?

Pretty good up to date, I'm not sure about today though.

-Good luck in this contest.

-Thank you.

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, Yellow Bellies, the Eggheads have won just the last game,

which means £2,000 says you can't beat them today.

-Would you like to try?

-Yes.

-Oh, yes.

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

Who would like to play this?

-That would be me, Jeremy.

-OK, Paul...

-Good luck, Paul.

-Thank you.

..against which Egghead?

-Who do you think?

-I don't know. Do you think Pat?

-Pat, maybe.

-Pat, maybe.

-Yeah, I think Pat's a good choice.

-Yeah, let's go for Pat.

-OK, Pat.

-Pat.

Right, so Paul from the Yellow Bellies versus

Pat from the Eggheads on Geography.

And, to ensure there's no conferring,

would you please take your positions in our question room.

OK, well, good luck, Paul.

We're on Geography against Pat, who's very, very sharp.

You can see his new glasses are already in operation.

-Would you like to go first or second?

-First, please.

The recreational area known as Venice Beach is in which US city?

Well, I don't know any beaches in Chicago or Seattle,

so, I'll have to go with Los Angeles.

Los Angeles is correct.

Famous for what? Bodybuilders and stuff.

-Yes, musclemen work out there.

-Pat, your question.

Which of these cities is located on the south island of New Zealand?

I think Auckland is towards the north of North Island.

Wellington is on the extreme south of North Island.

And Dunedin is halfway down South Island. So, I think it's Dunedin.

Dunedin is the right answer.

Paul, back to you. The highest mountain peak in Africa

is in which country?

Well, it's Kilimanjaro...

and it's in Tanzania.

Tanzania is quite right. Well done.

-And Phil has climbed it twice, I gather.

-I have, yeah.

Pat, the Canary Wharf complex of offices

is situated in which London borough?

It's in...they're on the Isle of Dogs. Um...

Croydon is considerably to the south

and Kensington & Chelsea is to the west of Central London.

This is Tower Hamlets.

Tower Hamlets is the right answer.

Over to you, Paul.

2013 marked which anniversary of the beginning of the construction

of Amsterdam's famous canal district?

I can't think of any

good reasons to guess for any of them, so...

I will...

..go for 400th.

400th is correct.

-Playing very, very well.

-APPLAUSE

That's a very hard one to guess, that, with no information.

Brilliant. OK, Pat.

See if you can stay in. If you get this one wrong,

you'll be out of the contest.

Mustang is a region in which Asian country?

I think it's an ancient region

in the Himalayan plateau

and I think it's in Nepal.

-Eggheads?

-I think that's right.

Eggheads agree with you.

Nepal is the right answer, so three out of three for you both.

We go to Sudden Death now, OK, so it gets a bit harder.

I don't give you alternatives.

Which Scottish city was formerly nicknamed Juteopolis,

on account of it's thriving Jute industry?

This is also going to have to be a guess.

I'm thinking...

east coast, so I'm going to go for Dundee.

Dundee is correct.

APPLAUSE

Pat, your question.

Saint Bavo Cathedral and Gravensteen Castle

are features of which Belgian city?

I was there a long time ago

when I was in a crocodile of fellow travellers on a very cold day.

And I think we shuffled past Saint Bavo's Cathedral and didn't go in.

So, I've not seen the interior.

But I'm pretty sure this is Ghent.

Ghent is correct. Here is your Sudden Death question, Paul.

What is the name of the South American capital city that is

located 15 miles south of the equator

and is overlooked by the Pichincha Volcano?

Well, the two countries on the equator are Ecuador and Brazil.

So, it's not Brazil, so I'll go for Quito.

Brilliant play. Quito is the right answer.

APPLAUSE

Has anyone got a question wrong yet?

-No, they have not.

-No.

-No, they have not.

The first one to do so will be in some trouble.

Pat, the largest island of the Juan Fernandez Archipelago

in the South Pacific, is named after which fictional character?

Well, we have Alexander Selkirk somewhere,

but I think he's a real person.

Of course, the fictional character inspired by him

was Robinson Crusoe, so...

I'll just do a quick check.

Yeah, Alexander Selkirk is a real person, a fictional...

I'll have to go for Robinson Crusoe.

Robinson Crusoe is correct.

Back to you, Paul.

Which region of France in the north-east of the country is

situated between Champagne-Ardenne and Alsace?

Uh, the only connection I can think of is with Alsace,

and that would be Lorraine.

Lorraine is also correct.

APPLAUSE

I can't remember a sequence where a Challenger has got

this many right in a row for some time.

Paul, you're playing brilliantly. See if you can dislodge him.

Pat, the Barranca del Cobre...

a series of canyons in Mexico, is known in English by what name,

related to their colour?

Hmm. I know there's an immense canyon in Mexico.

It is even deeper than the Grand Canyon,

called the Copper Canyon, which is tempting.

And copper, certainly...

could be described as a colour, although

it's not like yellow and blue, it's not quite that reliable.

Can I think of any other large Mexican canyons?

Barranca del Cobre. So, that's, well,

relating to a snake in some way.

I think I'll have to go with Copper Canyon.

Copper Canyon is right.

OK, Paul...

which large artificial body of water,

constructed in Central England during the 1970s,

was originally to be called Empingham Reservoir?

Uh, I believe I have been there.

Um, so it would Rutland Water.

Rutland Water is correct.

APPLAUSE

Pat, if you get this wrong, you're out.

Which major US city is located where the Charles River meets the sea?

I think that is Boston.

Boston is the right answer, Pat. Well done.

Back to you, Paul.

Which Russian city on the sea of Japan was given a name

that has been translated as "Rule The East"?

Oh, Russian cities on the east coast...

Uh, I can only think of one, and that's Vladivostok.

Vladivostok is the right answer. Well done.

APPLAUSE

OK, back to you, Pat.

What is the name of the so-called urban extension to

the town of Dorchester pioneered by Prince Charles?

I think it's called Poundbury.

Poundbury is correct.

OK, your question, Paul.

Sindh is one of the four provinces of which modern day country?

Not sure. I think I'll go for Sri Lanka.

Ah. You have now got one wrong, I'm afraid. It's Pakistan.

Did you know that one, Pat?

Yes, it's Karachi is the chief city of Sindh.

Pat, if you get this one right...

you'll be in the final.

Which country has borders with Montenegro,

Kosovo, Macedonia and Greece?

Montenegro, Kosovo, Macedonia and Greece...

My first thought is Albania.

I just have to think whether there are any other possibilities.

I think I'll have to say Albania.

Albania is the right answer, Pat.

Very, very well played against a ferocious Challenger.

You are in the final round. Sorry, Paul, you've been knocked out.

Thank you for playing.

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

So, as it stands, the Yellow Bellies have lost a brain,

the Eggheads have not lost one so far.

The next subject for you is Arts & Books.

Who would like this?

-Is that me?

-I think so, yeah.

-I think that's me.

-Sally?

-Yes.

-OK, against which Egghead?

-Um...Barry? No?

-Barry, do you think?

-Yeah, go on.

-I'd like to play Barry, please.

OK, Sally from the Yellow Bellies versus Barry from the Eggheads.

Please go to the question room now.

So, Arts & Books, Sally. Would you like to go first or second?

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

Here we go. Good luck. What is the name of the middle daughter

of the title character in Shakespeare's play King Lear?

Um, I don't think that it is Roma.

And I don't think it's Rachel.

I think it's Regan.

Regan is correct. Well done.

Barry,

The Lock, a painting that depicts a rural Suffolk scene,

and sold for £22.4 million in 2012,

is a work by which English artist?

Suffolk immediately makes me think of Constable,

so my answer is John Constable.

John Constable is correct.

Back to you, Sally.

Which French author born in 1802 was the grandson of a French

nobleman and a slave woman?

Right, um, I don't know the answer.

So, I'm just trying to think of when those people were alive.

Um, a nobleman and a slave girl?

Um, I don't...

..think that it's Alexander Dumas.

I'm going to go...

..I think, for Jules Verne.

-It's actually Alexander Dumas.

-Oh.

Was Jules Verne much later, Eggheads?

-26 years.

-Oh, so not much?

No, it's of the same time in general.

OK, Barry, your question.

Graham Greene's short novel, The Tenth Man,

begins towards the end of which war?

Uh, I don't know. I can't imagine it's the Crimean War.

Graham Greene wrote a lot of novels that

were at the end of World War II, so that'll be my answer, World War II.

World War II is the right answer.

So, he's ahead and it means you need to get this one right, Sally.

-OK.

-The French painter Marie Bracquemond was

an important figure in which movement?

Well, I've never heard of an Impressionist painter by that name.

I...

I'm going to go for...

Abstract Expressionism.

Interestingly...

she...

-was an Impressionist...

-Oh, right!

-..so, I'm sorry, you've lost to Barry.

-OK.

Barry, you'll be in the final. Sally's been knocked out.

Please, both of you, rejoin your teams.

So, as it stands, the Yellow Bellies have lost two brains

from the final round. The Eggheads have not lost any, so far,

and your next subject is Music.

-Who would like Music?

-OK.

-Mark, do you want it?

-It's me, isn't it?

-It's going to be you now, isn't it?

-That'll be me, Jeremy.

-OK, Mark.

Against which Egghead?

-It can't be Pat or Barry.

-Judith?

-Judith?

-Yes.

I'd like to play Judith, please.

OK, so, Mark on Music from the Yellow Bellies versus

-Judith from the Eggheads. Ready for this?

-Yes.

Into the question room we go, please.

OK, Mark, it's Music for you.

Would you like to go first or second against Judith?

I'll go first, please, Jeremy.

And here we go. Which party favourite begins with the words,

"Young man, there's no need to feel down,

"I said, young man, pick yourself off the ground?"

Um, well, strangely enough,

I think it was actually the first record that I bought. Um...

But I know it's the Village People song YMCA.

It is that amazing song, YMCA. Judith, your question.

Alan, Wayne, Merrill, Jay, Donny,

Marie and Jimmy were members

of which pop family that became a musical phenomenon in the 1970s?

I think that was The Osmonds.

The Osmonds is correct.

Back to you, Mark. The musician born Rexton Gordon

found fame under what name?

I don't think it's Shaggy. Um...

I have heard his name and I don't think it's that.

Um...

So, that would leave Shabba Ranks and Shakira. Um...

Shakira is from...

..Central America, so it doesn't really sound like a Central American

name, so, on that basis, I'm going to go for Shabba Ranks, please.

Shabba Ranks is the right answer.

APPLAUSE

Judith, the 1960s song Little Green Bag was given a new

lease of life in the 1990s after it featured on the soundtrack

of which Quentin Tarantino film?

No idea.

Um, I don't know the song, and...

I don't know Quentin Tarantino's films either.

Pulp Fiction.

I can see why you guess that, cos there's a lot of music in

Pulp Fiction, but not this.

-It's Reservoir Dogs, Judith.

-Hmm.

So, Mark, you have a chance to take the round now.

The nickname Cigno de Catania, or Swan of Catania,

has been applied to which Italian composer?

Um...

No, I'm really not sure.

Um, so it's going to be a guess,

and the guess is going to be Rossini.

Bellini is the answer.

So, Judith, if you get this right, we go to Sudden Death.

The Bon Jovi songs Bad Medicine and Lay Your Hands On Me

appeared on which of their studio albums?

Um, I have no idea, I'd say, as a guess, Bon Jovi.

The answer is New Jersey, so, Judith,

you've been knocked out by our Challenger.

Well done, Mark. First blood then to the Challengers.

Mark, you will be in the final round.

Please, both of you, rejoin your teams.

So, as it stands, the Yellow Bellies have lost two brains

from the final round. The Eggheads have lost one

and the next subject is Sport.

Who wants Sport?

SALLY LAUGHS

Do you want me to take on for the team?

-I think you should go.

-I'll go for it.

-OK, you sure?

-You're better off in the final. I'll take Dave...

-Are you sure?

-Yeah, I think go for Dave.

-OK.

-Phil?

-I'll have to do this.

-OK, on Sport against which Egghead?

-Dave, I think.

-Against Dave.

So, Phil from the Yellow Bellies versus Dave from the Eggheads.

Please go to our question room now.

OK, Phil, let's see if you can win through on Sport against Dave.

Would you like to go first or second?

I'd like to go first, Jeremy.

Here is your question.

In 2013, who took over from Jake Humphrey as

the main presenter of the BBC's Formula One coverage?

Well, I can't think it's Carol Vorderman.

Um...

I don't think it's Suzi Perry,

so my answer will be James May.

No, you're wrong, actually.

-It's Suzi Perry.

-Ah!

OK, Dave. Who regained the world number one golf ranking

from Rory McIlroy in March 2013?

Um, Ernie Els, has been...well, he won the Open in 2012,

but hasn't been consistent enough...

um, Vijay Singh, again...

I think he's a senior player now, so, again,

he's competing, but not...

not at that rate, but Tiger Woods made a great start to 2013.

I think he won three big tournaments and regained the number one spot.

My answer's Tiger Woods.

Tiger Woods is the right answer.

Back to you, Phil. The snooker player Dennis Taylor, winner of

the 1985 World Championship, was born in which part of the UK?

Well, I can't remember Dennis Taylor having a Scottish accent...

..nor a Welsh accent, so, I think he was born in Northern Ireland.

You've got it right, Phil, well done. Northern Ireland.

OK, Dave, your question.

In March 2013, which Welsh fullback was named

Player of the Championship for the 2013 Six Nations Championship?

I don't think it's Ryan Bevington or Dan Biggar.

I think it's Leigh Halfpenny.

You're playing well, Dave, you're quite right. Leigh Halfpenny it is.

Phil, back to you.

In early 2013, the American sportswoman Abby Wambach was

named World Player of the Year 2012 in which sport?

Well, I don't know this.

So, it will have to be a guess...

..and I think I'll go down the middle with football.

-Football is the correct answer.

-APPLAUSE

So, let's see whether that first wrong answer cost you here.

Dave, if you get this right, you're in the final.

Andrus Veerpalu won gold medals in cross-country skiing at the 2002

and 2006 Winter Olympic Games representing which country?

Right, I'm going to rule out Liechtenstein.

It could be Finnish, it could be Estonia.

Um...

..because of Andros, I'm going to go Estonia.

You think he's right, Phil?

I've absolutely no idea, Jeremy.

I'm not sure that he does.

He could be, conceivably, Finnish, but

the first name has led me to Estonia.

Well done, Dave. You got it right. Estonia it is.

You're in the final round. Sorry, Phil, you've been knocked out.

So, let's see how your team fare in the final.

Please, both of you, rejoin your team-mates.

So, this is what we have been playing towards.

It is time for the final round, which, as always,

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, Phil, Sally and Paul from the Yellow Bellies,

and Judith from the Eggheads, would you please now leave the studio.

Mark and Malcolm, you are playing to win the Yellow Bellies £2,000.

Barry, Pat, Kevin and Dave, 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, Mark and Malcolm, the question is, are your two brains better

than the Eggheads' four? And would you like to go first or second?

Uh, we'll go first, Jeremy.

Here we go. General de Wet,

Keizerskroon, and Van Der Neer are varieties of which flower?

Phew! I don't think it's going to be a daffodil.

I don't think it's going to be daffodil.

-I think I can rule that one out.

-Dutch.

Well, Keizerskroon is almost like,

-you know, the crown, isn't it?

-Hmm.

-Yeah.

-I think it's tulips, so, shall we try that?

-Yeah.

-We'll go for tulip, Jeremy.

Tulip is the right answer.

A bit of a Dutch connection there, I guess.

OK, Eggheads, your question.

Sir Rocco Forte is especially associated with which industry?

-Hotels.

-Hotels.

-Hotels.

-Yeah.

That is hotels.

Hotels is correct.

Over to you, Challengers.

Woburn Abbey is the ancestral home of which Duke?

I think the Duke of Marlborough is Blenheim,

so I'm pretty well sure we can rule that out.

The Duke of Beaufort I'm not sure about.

Um. Woburn ...

I would say the Duke of Bedford.

Reasonably sure about that.

-Yeah, it would make sense...

-Yeah.

..in terms of, it isn't always the case, is it?

-The Duke being where the place is...

-No.

..but it's fairly close to the area, isn't it?

-So...yeah.

-Duke of Bedford.

Duke of Bedford is correct.

Well done. It's where the safari park is, as well, isn't it?

That's right, yeah.

OK, Eggheads, in the TV comedy MASH,

which character was played by Jamie Farr?

He played Klinger.

Jamie Farr, Klinger, yeah.

Do you think that? Yeah.

Um, he was the, originally, cross-dressing,

although that was toned down in later series, Corporal Klinger.

Corporal Klinger is correct.

So, two each.

Keep at 'em, Yellow Bellies.

What is the real first name of the American actor

known as Christopher Walken?

Ah, I'm not sure about this, are you?

I'm not sure, not sure at all. Um...

-I don't...

-Is Nigel an American name?

-Well...

-Have you heard of any American Nigels?

-I'm not sure.

I'm not sure. I don't think it's Gerald.

-Ronald Walken.

-Ronald's...

-Gerald Walken.

I'm drawn towards Nigel for some reason.

I don't know why.

Right, OK.

My gut feeling is that I can't think of any other American Nigels, so

I don't...it's not a guarantee,

-but it's, you know, in what's basically...

-A complete guess.

..a complete guess. Um, I would maybe think Nigel...

..is probably the one to discount, but...if there's any

sort of inkling that you think it might be Nigel, then go with it.

HE SIGHS I don't know. I honestly don't know.

That's the top and bottom of it, we don't know, so...

We don't know, but we're going to try

as it's the most extreme one, Nigel.

The kind of name you wouldn't keep

if you wanted to be a famous actor.

-Correct.

-OK. Nigel. Are they right?

No, I think it's Ronald.

-The correct answer is Ronald.

-Ah!

So, they can take this with this question.

Eggheads, the charity event Hands Across America,

in which several million people held hands to attempt to form

a human chain across the United States, took place in which decade?

Now, I'm trying to remember

the reason and I'm...

General hippy sentiment?

-Was it the Vietnam War?

-HE SIGHS

All sorts.

Hmm.

Initially, funnily enough, when it first...

when the choices first came up, I was thinking...

'70s, but I'm edging towards the '80s now.

Hmm.

You say '70s, I've got a gut feeling for the '80s.

-You have the '80s.

-If you've got a gut feeling for the '80s...

I seem to...I thought there was loads of them in the '70s.

But it could have been to do with Vietnam and that sort of thing.

Hands Across America.

-Actually...

-I'm just trying to think

-why they'd do it.

-Yeah. Right.

Just trying to think. Now, Hands Across America,

-is it sort of a healing thing?

-Hmm.

I'll let you call it, Kev.

You know, the general consensus seems to be going for the '80s,

so, we're, with no confidence whatsoever, because...

I'm just worried about this. I think we'll go for the 1980s, but...

without any confidence at all, it could well be the '70s.

I don't think it's the '90s.

1980s. If you have this right, you've taken the contest.

The year was 1986, so you've got it

right with the 1980s

and we say congratulations,

Eggheads, you have won!

APPLAUSE

Sorry, they've taken it.

-They have.

-Just at the end...

-Yep.

-..of the third question there.

I thought they were going every which way, but they, unfortunately,

from your point of view, landed on the '80s.

Commiserations to the Yellow Bellies, the Eggheads have done what

comes naturally to them and they still reign supreme over quiz land.

I'm afraid it means you won't be going home with the £2,000,

so the money rolls over to the next show. Eggheads, congratulations.

Who will beat you?

Join us next time to see

if a new team of Challengers have the brains to defeat the Eggheads.

£3,000 says they don't. Till then, goodbye.