Episode 16 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.

Challenging our quiz champions today

are The Micro-knowlogists from Leicester.

They take their name from three having science backgrounds,

whilst the other two admit to very little knowledge! Surely not! Let's meet them.

Hello, I'm Vin, I'm 29, and I'm a development worker for a charity.

Hi, I'm Janet, I'm 60 years old and I'm an education adviser.

Hi, I'm Ted, I'm 61 years old and a university academic.

Hi, I'm Judith, I'm 64 years old and a retired university administrator.

Hello, I'm Ben, I'm 28 and an administrator for a major retailer.

OK, welcome, Micro-knowlogists.

Who are the brainy three and the self-professed not so brainy two?

The brains would be the middle three. And Ben and I make up the micro side of our knowledge base.

-We're going to do our best!

-Let's find out what does happen.

Every day there's £1,000 up for grabs for our challengers,

but if they fail, the prize money rolls over to the next show.

The Eggheads have won the last 19 games,

so we cross the threshold to £20,000 that says you can't beat them.

That'll do!

That certainly would do, but 19 teams before you have said that.

They're on some form so let's see how you do.

Our first Head to Head battle is History.

Who would like to play this?

-That's me, isn't it?

-Yes.

I'd rather have that than politics!

-Yes. So that'll be Judy. And who would you like to...?

-Any one of them at this point.

-Who did we decide for History?

-I think Dave.

-Try Dave, the new one.

-We'll have a stab at Dave.

-OK, Tremendous Knowledge Dave.

Relatively new to us all. Let's have Judith and Dave into the Question Room, please.

OK, Judith, would you like to go first or second?

I'd like to go first, please.

Good luck, Judith. Between the 8th and the 19th centuries,

the Papal States were territories in which modern-day country?

Em, I don't think it's Egypt.

Or Mexico.

-I'm going to go for Italy.

-Probably the right choice!

It's the right answer, well done.

Dave,

in 1940, the Dutch Government evacuated to which city after the German invasion of the Netherlands?

I'm not that sure, but I will go...

I'll go for London, but not with total conviction.

-What's your other thought? Paris wouldn't be much good.

-Nor Madrid!

Sometimes you look at questions and think, "Hold on. There's one with my name on it."

Exactly. A lesson for all challengers - don't dive in. You didn't and you got it right.

OK, Judith, the Adam Style,

a style of interior design named after the Scottish Adam brothers first appeared in which century?

Hm.

I'm not sure,

but I don't think it was the 14th.

So that gives me the 16th or the 18th.

I'm going to go with...the 18th.

The 18th century for the Adam brothers. It's right, well done.

Dave,

what name from slogans used on the strikers' banners was given to the 1912 strike

by textile workers in Lawrence, Massachusetts?

Textiles is all I can go on because I've not heard of this strike, so I'll go Rugs and Rubies.

Rugs and Rubies. Textiles, obviously a link there with the rugs. Other Eggheads?

-I'd have gone for Sugar and Salt.

-I'd have gone for Bread and Roses!

We've got all three, then.

This would have been an interesting final round question,

when they're all sitting there and arguing.

-It is Bread and Roses.

-Wouldn't have got it.

From slogans on the banners.

OK, nothing there for Dave,

which is great news potentially, Judith. It gives you a chance here to clinch the round.

A correct answer here takes you into the final round.

The Despard Plot was a failed attempt to assassinate which British monarch?

I haven't heard of this,

so it's going to be a bit of a guess.

I don't think it was Anne or...George III.

-I think I'll go for Charles II.

-OK.

The Despard Plot - a failed attempt to assassinate...

-George III!

-Oh!

Oh ho ho. Off the bar!

Right, well, will Dave revive his challenge?

Or will he falter anyway? After WWI,

the Foch Line was a temporary demarcation line between Poland and which other country?

Foch Line. I would go for Russia...

Lithuania and Ukraine? No, I'll go Russia.

OK, Russia for the Foch Line. A temporary demarcation line between Poland and...

-Lithuania.

-I didn't know that!

It's not Russia.

It means that slip up on number three didn't matter, Judith.

You've beaten him 2-1. That takes you through.

Both please come back and join your teams.

That's what we call a flying start. Micro-knowlogists unscathed, Eggheads have lost one brain.

Our next subject is Music.

Who'd like to play this?

Anyone apart from Judith.

-I think it's either Ben or you.

-OK.

- I'm really bad at music! - OK, I'll give it a go.

-OK.

-It's going to be you, Vin. You can't play on your own. Choose an Egghead.

-Chris?

-Yeah, let's go with Chris.

-Chris, please.

-Chris on Music. You have a plan, I can see.

-Yeah.

-We have so many plans!

-Too many plans!

-A, B, C, D... All the way down.

OK, it's going to be Vin and Chris playing the Music round.

Please go to the Question Room.

Vin, let's see if you can follow that trail blazed by Judith.

-Would you like first or second?

-I think I'd like to go first, please.

Best of luck, Vin. First question. The ska and reggae group Toots and the Maytals

was formed in which country in the 1960s?

Well, neither ska nor reggae are types of music that I'm massively fond of,

but the reggae connection sends me to Jamaica

so for that reason alone, Jamaica.

It's the right answer. Well done.

Chris,

"Dirty old river, must you keep rolling, flowing into the night," are the first words of which song,

a hit for The Kinks in 1967?

That came out at just the right time to have another meaning for some of us. It was Waterloo Sunset.

Right, OK. Yes, it's the right answer.

Dare I ask the other meaning?

Bournemouth electrification. The end of steam out of Waterloo. July, 1967.

I am so relieved! I was thinking 1967, Summer of Love,

psychedelic stuff... So it was Bournemouth electrification?

That's fantastic.

I threw that out there with a degree of trepidation

and what did I get back? Of course, it would be with Chris. OK, it's all square.

All right, Vin.

In 1979, the band Fiddler's Dram had a UK top three hit with Day Trip To where?

Again, definitely don't know the answer immediately.

I think I'm going to rule out Birmingham.

I don't know why you'd take a day trip there.

And then I'm leaning more towards Broadstairs than Bangor,

so let's go with Broadstairs.

OK. A lot of day trips have gone to Broadstairs in their time, but it's Bangor.

So...a chance for Chris to take the lead.

How old was Buddy Holly when he was killed in a plane crash at the end of the 1950s?

He was very young.

I think he was only 22.

22. You're right!

And you have that lead. OK.

A good start, Vin.

Let's get you back on track. Which famous piece of music was composed by Grieg for Peer Gynt?

Well, em, unfortunately it's a hat-trick of not really being certain

on any of the questions.

It really is a little bit of a stab in the dark or perhaps an entire stab in the dark, actually.

So, on that premise, I will just go down the middle with In The Hall of The Mountain King.

-Barry chuckling here!

-He's right, absolutely.

You're right, Vin!

Kept your hopes alive. The title character in the English traditional song D'Ye Ken John Peel

was well-known for which activity?

He used to hunt with hounds up and down the Cumbrian fells.

You would know that. It's right. You're through to the final round.

Good effort, Vin. Both please come back and join your teams.

Well, they never stay down for long. It's now all square.

Both teams have lost one brain from the final round. Let's move on to our next subject.

Arts and Books.

Which of the three players left would like this?

You've got Janet, Ted or Ben.

-I think it's going to be me.

-It will.

-Let's go for it.

-Who...?

-Who would I like?

-Can I have Daphne?

-OK.

-Cos she's lovely.

-She'll be kind to me.

-I don't know about that!

You can think that. I couldn't possibly comment.

Let's have Janet and Daphne into the Question Room, please.

We've got two visions in purple in the Question Room.

-Janet, first or second?

-I'd like to go first, please.

Here's your first question.

Who wrote the autobiography I Am Not Spock in the 1970s

and the 1995 follow-up I Am Spock?

Em, well, I think this must be a reference to

Spock from the series, so I don't think it's William Shatner,

I don't think it's George Takei. I'm hopeful that it's Leonard Nimoy.

Yes, indeed!

Or "Le-onard", as I think they call him in the United States.

Daphne, in the Harry Potter books, what is the home of the Weasleys?

-I have never read them.

-Wow!

-What a gap!

-Oh, gosh.

Where would the Weasleys live?

The Burrow.

There's almost an inevitability about this. It's the right answer.

Well done, Daphne. See what you're up against, Janet?

You just answer your questions, as with the first one,

and you'll do fine. What genre of novel

is the influential 1985 book Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card?

OK, I don't think it's romance.

It doesn't sound at all...soppy.

I don't think it's historical. I think it's science fiction. That would be my answer.

And it's the correct answer. Very well done.

What name was given to the group of British poets based in North Africa in World War Two who included

Bernard Spencer and Lawrence Durrell?

Oh...

No, I haven't heard this one, either.

Cairo Poets?

-Is that a guess?

-Yes.

Lovely. It's right.

It just sounded more plausible.

Day in, day out.

Guess after guess after guess. Well, Janet,

you're doing what I told you - as if I have any influence!

Third question. I just hope one of those guesses from Daphne doesn't land.

Which town in southern Brittany gives its name to the school of artists led by Paul Gauguin

who worked there in the 1880s and 1890s?

-Well, southern Brittany...

-Southern Brittany.

I'll try to go for that... I don't think it's Le Treport.

It could be either of the other two. I'm going for Epernay.

OK, Epernay for Paul Gauguin.

It's Pont-Aven.

A slip-up there, Janet.

Let's see what the Guesser does. Which German politician is the central subject

of Michael Frayn's award-winning play Democracy?

I think that is Willy Brandt.

-Ah!

-Not a guess.

Oh, I wound her up there, didn't I? "Not a guess!"

And therefore you know it's right. It is the right answer, yes.

Willy Brandt. Michael Frayn's award-winning play.

Bad luck, Janet. You played really well, but won't be in the final. Both please join your teams.

The Eggheads have managed to shift the balance in their favour now.

Micro-knowlogists have lost two brains, the Eggheads one.

And our next subject, the last one before the final round, is Sport.

Who wants to play this?

-Well, you've got one Knowlogist and one Micro left. Ted and Ben.

-The Micro.

-Yeah, the Micro.

-Use the Micro!

We hope he'll go macro!

- Who shall we go for? - I think probably Barry.

-Take on Barry.

-OK, you Ben from the Micro-knowlogists playing Barry from the Eggheads.

Both please go to the Question Room.

Ben, let's see if you can make it level in the final round by knocking Barry out.

-Ben, do you want to go first or second?

-Second, please.

Barry, who became the first British cyclist to win the Tour de France in July, 2012?

It's the remarkable Bradley Wiggins.

Bradley Wiggins is right.

And, Ben,

what is the length in metres of a short-course swimming pool?

OK.

I'm going to rule out 10 metres.

Kind of wishing I'd gone first as I'd have known Bradley Wiggins,

but I'll say 25 metres.

Short-course swimming pool - 25 metres. Correct.

Barry, Jack Karnehm, who died in 2002, was well-known as a commentator for which sport?

The name doesn't immediately have any resonance.

I know most snooker commentators and I've never heard of him,

so I shall rule out snooker.

Boxing and rugby union...?

-I'm going to go for rugby union.

-OK, rugby union.

-It's wrong.

-It's boxing?

-No!

-It's snooker! Oh, dearie me.

-At least we know it was your third choice.

-It was indeed.

-Ben, are you glad you went second now?

-We'll see what comes next!

That's what you hope for - the Egghead slip-up -

but it depends on this. Which member of the Royal Family

became President of the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in 1969?

OK.

I've got a family member that's very much into tennis.

I think I'm going to shoot straight down the middle with this one. Prince of Wales.

Prince of Wales as President of the All England Club.

No, it's the Duke of Kent.

Well, it's all square.

At the 1982 football World Cup,

West Germany and which team played a controversial match so they both qualified for the knockout stages?

I've never seen Albania in the knockout stages ever, so I'll discount them.

Controversial always tends to suggest Argentina,

but West Germany and Austria would want to help the other get through.

So I'm going to go for Austria on the basis of familial relationships.

OK, Austria. Dave, you're nodding along there.

Yeah, it's Austria. I think Algeria lost out

because of that. I think West Germany won 1-0.

And they were just passing the ball around.

-It was a farce of a game.

-Yeah.

It is definitely Austria.

So you need to get this, Ben.

The American sportsman Dan Gurney was a leading figure in which sport?

Em, OK.

I don't really have an idea on this one.

I'm going to rule out ice skating as I know nothing about it.

I know very little about basketball AND motor racing.

So it is a complete guess.

-I'm going to go for motor racing.

-OK.

I love the way you worked that out. "I don't know about ice skating..."

-You got the right answer, Ben. Well done!

-Thanks.

We go, then, to sudden death.

First time in the game so far, which is strange.

All square. To sort out a winner, I'm not telling Barry, but just telling you, Ben,

you'll not see any choices.

Barry, this is your question. The thoroughbred racehorse Black Caviar,

-one of the best sprinters in the world, was born in which country?

-Black Caviar. A wonderful name.

It suggests Russia, but they don't breed many racehorses, so I'll discount Russia.

I think the Americans are very capable of raising good sprinters,

-so I'll go for the USA.

-The USA for Black Caviar.

-I'll go back to Dave or Pat... or Daphne.

-Australia.

-It's Australian, Barry.

-Ah!

-It's even got its own website.

-It's a very clever horse, then.

How does it type with those hooves?

Australia. Oh, well.

Well, well, Ben. I won't underline the importance of this question.

The Alexander Stadium, often used for international athletic events, is in which English city?

I'm going to say Sheffield.

OK. Sheffield.

It's incorrect. Do you know, Barry?

-I'm afraid I don't.

-Interesting.

The other Eggheads are aghast.

-It is...?

-Birmingham.

-Birmingham.

Birmingham, to enlighten you.

OK, a chance gone begging for Ben. Back to Barry.

With which Major League Baseball team did Alex Rodriguez sign a 10-year deal

estimated to be worth 275 million in 2007?

Was he with the New York Yankees? That's my answer.

OK, you're not asking me.

It is the right answer, yes.

New York Yankees, Alex Rodriguez.

Different kind of pressure, Ben.

Which rugby league team was defeated by Leeds Rhinos in three consecutive Super League finals

from 2007-2009?

Em, I don't follow rugby league, so this could be my exit out.

I'm going to say...

St Helens?

It's the right answer, Ben.

-If only you'd landed a guess before!

-It wasn't a guess, Dermot!

-It wasn't?

-Pure knowledge.

-Of course it was, Ben(!)

And you said you didn't know anything about rugby league.

Barry, at the 1988 Summer Olympics, which American diver

needed stitches after hitting his head on the springboard, but still won two gold medals?

I remember this. Very fortunate he was. It was Greg Louganis.

Yes, it was!

Ben,

which British middleweight boxing world champion, born in 1936, was nicknamed The Paddington Express?

I think this is a bit before my time. This might be where I'm bowing out.

As the name's Paddington, I'll go for Roy Paddington.

Ah. Roy Paddington. Sorry, Ben, it is not. It is Terry Downes.

Barry, you're through to the final.

Both please join your teams.

This is what we've been playing towards - the final round on General Knowledge.

Those of you who lost can't take part, so Vin, Janet and Ben from the Micro-knowlogists

and Dave from the Eggheads, would you leave the studio, please?

Ted and Judith, you're playing to win the Micro-knowlogists £20,000.

Daphne, Chris, Barry and Pat, you're playing for something money cannot buy - the Eggheads' reputation.

I'll ask each team three questions. They're all general knowledge and you're allowed to confer.

So are your two brains better than the Eggheads' four?

Ted and Judith, first or second?

-Do you think we ought to go first?

-Yes, first, please.

OK, first question for you.

What type of clothing is commonly referred to as Daisy Dukes

after a character in a US TV show?

-Do you know this?

-I think so.

-What do you think?

-I think it's the Dukes of Hazzard.

-Is it?

-I think she wore short shorts.

-I think that's shorts.

-Shorts.

What's an academic like you watching the Dukes of Hazzard for?

-It's just a guess!

-Ol' Luke and Daisy Duke!

It's the right answer - shorts.

I used to love that.

Eggheads, in the traditional children's song, the Muffin Man lives in which street?

Drury Lane, yes.

He lives in Drury Lane.

He does. It's right. OK, Micro-knowlogists,

the city of Asmara is capital of which African country?

-I've no idea. Have you?

-I've no idea as well.

-Do you know any of the others?

-It's not Angola, I don't think.

-So it's a toss-up between Eritrea and Cameroon.

-Eritrea, perhaps?

-It's one I know nothing about.

-Try that.

-We'll go for Eritrea.

-Eritrea. It's the right answer, yes!

You have two points.

Which of these authors took part in the Monmouth Rebellion against James II?

-- Daniel Defoe?

-Yeah.

-- Milton was earlier.

We're going for Daniel Defoe.

It's the right answer, Eggheads. It goes back to all square.

What was the codename of the first British nuclear test,

off the coast of Australia, in 1952?

-Well, I don't know. Have you heard of it?

-No.

-I've heard Mockingbird in relation to something.

-That could be it.

-But...

-I've got no...

-I don't think they'd call it Hurricane or Big Ben.

-No.

-Well...

-Try it?

We'll go for Mockingbird.

OK. You had a good guess last time. Mockingbird, you feel,

for the codename of the first British nuclear test.

It's Hurricane. Hurricane. Bad luck.

Hurricane. We didn't hear it,

so the Eggheads can win the game.

Which day of the year is known as Sylvester in many European countries in reference to the fact

that it is the feast day of Pope Sylvester I?

We think that's New Year's Eve.

-New Year's Eve?

-New Year's Eve.

It's the correct answer, Eggheads! You've won!

Well, we had some great quizzing. We had some huge struggles.

We particularly remember Ben, so unlucky to be consigned to the Question Room

against Barry. Nearly got through.

Great Head to Heads, great final round, but not to be on the day. Thank you very much for playing.

Those Eggheads have done what comes naturally to them.

You won't be going home with £20,000, which means it rolls over.

Eggheads, congratulations. Who will beat you?

Join us next time to see if a new team can defeat the Eggheads. £21,000 says they don't.

Until then, goodbye.

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd