Episode 25 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 Scousers On Tour.

This friends and family team are extremely proud

to be from the city of guess where? Liverpool.

So much so that team captain Gary regularly organises tours of the city. Let's meet them.

Hi, I'm Gary, I'm 54, I'm a tour operator and I'm a bakery team leader.

Hi, I'm Gary, I'm 30 years old and I'm a logistics supervisor.

Hi, I'm Danny, I'm 21 and I'm a restaurant supervisor.

Hi, I'm Bill, I'm 48 and I'm an accountant.

Hi, I'm Tony, I'm 67 and I'm a steward in a local community centre.

Welcome to you, Scousers On Tour. Good to see you all.

Let's start with you, Gary. You mentioned those tours of Liverpool.

Is that what the team name refers to or is it that you've spread your wings

and ended up in exotic Glasgow where we record this?

We're on tour here. The Scousers have come here on a mission.

But at Heart of the City, we basically...

A lot of people who come to Liverpool, they think it's all about the Beatles and football.

But I like to bring people into our fantastic city

and take them round into the roots, to meet the real people

and take them round the local places that don't get as much publicity

as other parts of the city.

And we're all proud Scousers. We love our city

and it's good to get close to people and bring them over

and they always come back for more.

The Egghead should sign up for that.

I bet you'd give them a few little gems of knowledge that people wouldn't have known before.

I'd give them a wrong impression. I'd give them some false information.

OK, let's play the game and good luck to you, Scousers On Tour.

Every day there's £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, Scousers On Tour, the Eggheads have won two games,

that means £3,000 says you cannot beat the Eggheads today.

And our first head to head battle is going to be on Film & Television.

Who wants to take this one on?

I think er... I think Danny would be good for this one.

OK, yeah.

And... Who do you reckon?

Er...

-Chris.

-Yeah. Danny will take on Chris.

You've thought your tactics out, watched the programme and analysed the Eggheads?

-We've got a game plan.

-Ah, OK, good.

Right, well, let's see it in action, then.

It's Danny against Chris for our opening head to head

and, as you know, you've both got to go to the question room, please.

Chris, the lads here were telling me about the history of Liverpool

and they had an overhead railway. Do you know about that?

Yes, they did. Dingle to Seaforth Sands.

Used to be on a steel viaduct all the length of the docks.

It was an independent company. It was never nationalised in '47.

So it staggered on till '57, when a lot of renewals were due and it just lay down and died

and now there's virtually no trace of it apart from the tunnel mouth in the cliff at Dingle

and the tunnel through Dingle station.

All the rest of it has disappeared.

Chris, you're making me laugh because I said, "I think Chris might know a little bit about it."

That's fantastic stuff.

-And, Bill, what was the nickname for it?

-The dockers' umbrella.

The dockers' umbrella. What a great nickname.

Pity it's not there now.

OK, well, let's play the round and it's Film & Television

and as the challenger, Danny, you get to choose.

-Do you want to go first or second?

-I'll go second, please.

All right. You're kicking off, then, Chris, and here's your question.

Which TV soap features an underwear factory called Underworld?

Which TV soap features an underwear factory called Underworld?

The only soap I watch these days. It's good old Coronation Street.

No problems with that answer. Yes, that's correct. Corrie.

And, Danny, first question for you.

Who provides the voice of Puss In Boots in the Shrek films?

Who provides the voice of Puss In Boots in the Shrek films?

I'm not entirely sure

but I've got a feeling it's someone with a bit of an exotic accent.

So I'm going to go with Antonio Banderas.

-OK. Have you seen any of them?

-No.

-There's a Puss In Boots film as well.

-You haven't?

-No.

-You've got it, anyway. Antonio Banderas is correct.

Chris, which James Bond film features Curt Jurgens

as the main villain?

Erm... Dr No was Joseph Wiseman, so it's not Dr No.

Quantum Of Solace I think is too late.

Curt Jurgens... No, I don't think so.

It must be The Spy Who Loved Me.

It is. You have two.

Let's see if Danny can match that with this one.

Which character in the TV sitcom The Young Ones

styled himself as the people's poet?

-I have never even heard of this.

-Ah!

I wondered if your age was going to have a bearing on this one.

Erm...

I'll have to go with a guess. I'm going to guess Rick.

OK, a guess at Rick.

I'll ask some of the more senior Scousers On Tour here

who may have been around for the original transmission of the Young Ones -

what do you think?

I know it's not Vyvyan cos he was the punk, wasn't he?

Yeah. That's right. I'll put you out of your misery.

Danny did get it with a guess. It's the right answer.

-Oh, Rick was it?

-The people's poet.

So well done. Two-all.

Chris, in 1998, which TV host became the honorary mayor of the East Yorkshire village of Wetwang?

That was the much missed Richard Whiteley.

Indeed, yeah. Much missed, as well. Agreed on both counts.

It's the right answer. Richard Whiteley.

And it means you need to get this one, Danny.

Which 1920s film directed by Alfred Hitchcock

had the subtitle A Story Of The London Fog?

A Story Of The London Fog.

Again, no idea. It's going to be a guess again.

I wouldn't... Mm.

Something's telling me it's not The Ring, so I guess I'll go with The Lodger.

You're good at this! It's the right one!

Fantastic! Three-all.

Well, if you do need to guess, Danny, it's going to get a lot harder now

because we're not able to offer you any more options or choices.

It's the sudden death phase. All square after three questions

and that means we remove those options.

So Chris faces his one first.

Which British sitcom, first seen in 2005,

is known as Politiikan Nappula in Finland

and Trist Herr Minister in Sweden?

-HE CHUCKLES

-I'd better read those again for you.

Which British sitcom, first seen in 2005,

is known as Politiikan Nappula in Finland

and Trist Herr Minister in Sweden?

Well, 2005, it's obviously political.

So the political sitcom that started in 2005 I think was called The Thick Of It.

Well dissected. Is the right answer.

So you didn't need to know your Swedish or your Finnish there.

The Thick Of It is correct. So that means you need this, Danny.

In which French coastal city is the Gene Hackman film French Connection 2 mostly set?

In which French coastal city is the Gene Hackman film French Connection 2 mostly set?

Again, unlucky with the questions. Absolutely no idea.

Another guess. Erm...

Lyon.

OK. It's not, Danny. I'll just check if Chris knows.

-It's Marseilles.

-It's Marseilles.

Which means that the round's over for you, Danny.

But you got into sudden death there and some magnificent guesses.

Informed guesses, I know, but not a place in the final round as a result.

Would you both please come back and join your teams?

Good quizzing by Danny but not the right outcome from his point of view.

Just lost out, which means the Eggheads are all intact

and Scousers On Tour have lost one brain.

So we move on to our next subject. This is Music.

Who fancies a crack at this? Music.

-I can do music.

-Gary Jr. OK.

-Yeah.

-Who would you like go up against?

-Barry or Judith.

-Yeah.

-Barry?

-Yeah. Against Barry.

OK, so we're going to have Gary Jr against Barry on Music

and you know where to go - it's the question room.

All right, Gary Jr, how are you with your music?

-What are your tastes?

-I like anything probably from '80s onwards,

so anything lower, there could be a problem.

Oh, right, well. I can't guarantee there won't be.

-Would you like the first set or the second set?

-I'll take the first set, please.

All right, here you are.

How many individual drums are traditionally connected together

to form the instrument known as the bongo drums?

How many drums are traditionally connected together

to form the instrument known as the bongo drums?

I'm pretty sure it's two, so I'll go with two, please.

-Have you ever had a go?

-A little knock once.

On the bongos. And it is two. It's the right one. Well done.

Barry, in the summer of 1986, who went to number two in the UK charts

with the single So Macho?

In the summer of 1986, who went to number two in the UK charts

with the single So Macho?

Oh, goodness. I don't think I listened to any music in the '80s.

So '86 is right smack bang in the middle of that.

So Macho. The name rings a bell.

It's not the sort of... I don't think it's the sort of thing Sade sang.

She sang Smooth Operator and more mellow stuff,

-so I'll go for Sinitta.

-Sinitta.

Why weren't you listening to music in the '80s? What were you doing?

Too busy raising a family and working.

All right, well, the answer is...

-Sinitta!

-Oh!

-It's right. You guessed it.

OK, Gary. Under what band name did Tony Thompson, Robert Palmer

and Duran Duran members John and Andy Taylor record an album in the mid-1980s?

That's close to your cut-off point, isn't it?

Well, you'd think so, yes.

Erm... Duran Duran is not my strongest.

It's going to have to be a guess.

I'm going to go Power Station.

OK, Power Station. Total guess or an inkling?

-A gut feeling.

-A good feeling. OK. So a guess.

It's the right answer.

Well! Well, let's hope the luck stays with the team

and let's hope it stays with you all the way to the final round here, Gary.

Barry, your second question.

Time Out Of Mind, released in 1997, is an album by which musician?

I don't think it's Paul McCartney.

Time Out Of Mind. That rings a bell.

Well, Bob Dylan's released about 50 albums

and I have a vague recollection that might be one of them,

so I shall go for Bob Dylan.

OK, Bob Dylan is the correct answer as well.

You're both working the questions well and using a bit of logic

and a bit of guessing and getting the right answers.

OK, Gary. The American-born composer Conlon Nancarrow

is best remembered for the pieces he wrote

for which musical instrument?

Not my cup of tea, this question.

Mm.

It's going to have to be a complete guess

but glass harp... Yeah, glass harp I'll go for.

OK. Glass harp there for Conlon Nancarrow.

It's the first one you've got wrong. It's incorrect.

-Do you know, Barry?

-I believe he wrote for the Theremin.

-No!

-Oh!

Anyone else like to tell me?

It is the player piano.

-Player piano.

-Well.

-There we are.

Well, it's not over yet for you, Gary.

Barry would need to get this correct to knock you out.

Barry, which conductor co-founded the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra

which brings together musicians from various Middle Eastern countries?

Well, I'm hoping Middle Eastern is a key

and I know Daniel Barenboim did a lot of work

trying to bring various different cultures together,

so I shall go for Daniel Barenboim.

Daniel Barenboim is correct.

Oh, dear! Bad luck, Gary.

Just caught there on the last question. It means you won't be in the final round.

Both please come back and join your teams.

Well, two head to heads gone and as it stands, Scousers On Tour have lost them both,

so two brains missing from their team for the final round.

The Eggheads are all there. We've got two more head to heads coming up.

So see if you can knock an Egghead out with history.

Our next subject - History.

Who'd like to play this? Gary Senior, Bill or Tony.

-Tony?

-We'll have Tony on that.

OK, Tony. And from the Eggheads, who would you like to play?

Chris and Barry have gone, so you've got Pat, Judith or Kevin.

-Kevin.

-Kevin.

-Please.

-Kevin.

-Kevin.

-And you said that with determination

because you know the size of the task you're taking on, don't you?

Let's go for it. Tony and Kevin into the question room.

Well, Tony, I know you have no illusions about the scale of the task,

taking on the unbeaten Kevin in History.

-Do you want to go first or second?

-First, please.

Good luck, Tony. I've got your first question here.

Which of these British prime ministers took up the office first?

Which of these British prime ministers took up the office first?

David Lloyd George.

No hesitation. It's the right answer. I'll tell you straight away.

Do you know the date?

I would guess 1913, '14.

1916, surprisingly. It doesn't matter.

We were simply asking for the order. Then came Churchill in 1940,

Anthony Eden in 1955.

All right. Kevin.

In 1961, the United Nations General Assembly resolved

to treat which continent as a de-nuclearised zone?

In 1961, the United Nations General Assembly resolved

to treat which continent as a de-nuclearised zone?

Well, there were obviously nuclear missiles

and nuclear weaponry of all sorts in both North America and Europe,

so it must be Africa.

Indeed. That is the right answer.

OK, good start for you both. Tony, your second question.

In which conflict were 50,000 troops captured

in what was known as the Falaise Pocket?

That would be the Battle of the Bulge, World War II.

I would go World War II.

OK, and you think it was the Battle of the Bulge,

during the... Post D-day, during the Allied advance.

It is the right answer. Well done. World War II. He knows his stuff.

OK, Kevin. Svetlana Alliluyeva, who defected to the US in 1967,

and there became known as Lana Peters

was the daughter of which Soviet leader?

I think she quite long-lived.

It's that very long since she died.

She was Stalin's daughter.

Yes, she was. That is correct.

Well, as we rather expected, some cracking quizzing going on

and, Tony, third question.

Which writer hosted an annual banquet to celebrate his recovery

from a March 1658 operation to remove a bladder stone?

I would...

I would go for Samuel Pepys.

OK. Pepys, yeah. It's the right answer. Well done.

Kevin, in 323BC, Ptolemy I Soter, a Macedonian general under Alexander the Great,

became ruler of which civilization?

When Alexander the Great died, his various leading generals

all contended for parts of the empire.

About three or four of them wound up with different large chunks of it.

Ptolemy got Egypt.

OK, Kevin, thank you for that. It's the right answer.

And it's all square, I think as we rather expected.

Maybe we should have gone straight to sudden death.

So that's served the hors d'oeuvre. Here's the main course, then.

It's sudden death, Tony, and no more options till we sort out a winner.

Francisco Franco was Spain's head of state until his death in which decade?

The '70s.

OK. Which is correct. Do you know the precise year?

-Do you know the precise year, Tony?

-'75?

-Just out of interest.

You've got it, yeah. I can't give you an extra point.

'70s was all we needed. Well done.

Kevin, which Essex city now stands on the site of the Roman settlement

of Caesaromagus?

So that's Caesar with O-M-A-G-U-S at the end?

-Yeah. All joined up.

-Yeah.

I believe that's Chelmsford.

It is. That's correct. Chelmsford.

OK, Tony, in a satirical note

pinned to the gates of St James's Palace in 1736,

who was declared to be "lost or strayed out of this house,

"a man who has left a wife and six children on the parish"?

1736.

Lost out of this parish.

No, sorry.

I would guess Charles. Charles I.

OK. Charles I is incorrect. Kevin, do you know?

Well, I can't quite remember what this refers to

but the king at the time was George II,

so I would assume it refers to him.

OK. Going for George II, which is correct.

It does because he'd gone back to Hanover, being a Hanoverian,

for an extended period of shenanigans -

so discussions, close personal discussions with his mistress.

OK, well, Tony didn't get it, so a chance for Kevin here.

With which 18th century king of Prussia did Voltaire maintain

a lengthy philosophical correspondence?

Well, it was one of the great so-called enlightened monarchs

who had an interest in all matters philosophical, musical, etc.

It's Frederick the Great, who was Frederick II.

Frederick the Great.

OK. Covering your tail, there, giving me his number as well.

Frederick II is the correct answer, Kevin.

Well done. Still remaining unbeaten at history.

Good effort, Tony. Well into sudden death but it just didn't happen.

Would you both please come back and join your teams?

It's three-nil to the Eggheads at the moment.

Scousers On Tour have lost three brains, the Eggheads are all there.

And our last head to head before that final round,

so a crucial round this, Scousers On Tour,

It's Arts & Books and Gary Senior or Bill must play it.

Arts & Books.

-You.

-Well, I'm afraid I'm going to have to go sacrificial lamb here

-because we've got more chance in the final with Bill.

-OK.

-So...

-Who do you want to play? Judith or Pat?

-I'll take Judith.

Let's have Gary Senior and Judith into the question room, please.

Gary, let's hope we can get you through on this Arts & Books round.

Do you want the first set or the second set?

I think I'll go second so I can stay on just a little bit longer.

OK, well, linger there while Judith faces the first question, then.

Judith, in which country is the Shakespeare play Titus Andronicus set?

I think that might be Italy.

It just might be, yeah. That's the right answer.

And, Gary. Oil paints traditionally consist of a colour pigment

in what type of oil?

Well, when I think of linseed oil I think of cricket.

And when I think of crude oil I think of Dallas,

so I'll have a go for bergamot oil.

OK. I'm afraid it is linseed.

It's definitely not crude, you're right. But it is linseed oil.

OK, well, Judith, second question.

What is the main focus of the magazine Frieze - and it is spelt FRIEZE -

first published in 1991?

Well, there's an exhibition,

which I think is more or less annual nowadays,

which is to do with contemporary art,

so I imagine it came out of that magazine.

So contemporary art.

-You're talking about the Frieze Art Fair.

-Yes.

I meant an art fair, not an exhibition.

Yeah, 1991, contemporary art - that's correct. Well done, Judith.

OK, well, that means you need this, Gary.

What name is given to the form of post-impressionist painting

where bold areas of flat colour are separated by dark outlines?

Well, as you can see, erm...

I'm going to have to go for tenebrism.

OK. Do you get round the galleries?

You've got loads of galleries in Liverpool, haven't you?

I go to quite a few.

I've been on tours round the places and stuff like that but...

-not in as much detail as that.

-This is a detailed question.

So we have post-impressionist painting, bold areas of flat colour

separated by dark outlines

and it is cloisonnism, unfortunately for you,

which means Judith has already attained the dizzy heights of two,

which you can't match even if you face another question.

So no place for you in the final round.

Would you both please come back and join your teams?

So this is what we've been playing towards.

It's 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 Gary Senior, Gary Junior, Danny and Tony from Scousers On Tour,

would you leave the studio, please?

So that leaves you, Bill. You're playing to win Scousers On Tour £3,000.

Chris, Barry, Pat, Judith and Kevin,

you're playing for something which money can't buy -

the Eggheads' reputation.

And as usual, I ask each team three questions in turn.

This time the questions are all General Knowledge

and you are allowed to confer.

So, Bill, the question is, is your one brain better than the Eggheads' five?

And, Bill, are you going to go first or second?

I'll go first, please, Dermot.

Well, very best of luck to you, Bill. First question in the final round.

What nationality is the former world flyweight and bantamweight boxing champion

known as Fighting Harada?

I don't think it's Swiss.

Harada has a Japanese ring to it.

-Could you spell Harada for me, please?

-Yeah. HARA-D-A.

-Fighting Harada.

-I'll go Japanese.

It's the right answer. Well done, Bill.

One on the board, there.

And, Eggheads, what is the usual English translation

of the Latin phrase Fiat Lux?

-"Let there be light."

-That's "Let there be light",

as uttered, I think, in Genesis.

OK. "Let there be light" is the right answer, Eggheads.

And back to Bill.

In Greek mythology, Paean served the gods by working in what capacity for them?

P-A-E-A-N

Paean.

Er...

I don't think it's a blacksmith.

Erm...

It's going to have to be a guess between the other two.

I'll go navigator.

Navigator for the gods. Eggheads, is that correct?

I'm not sure on this one. I'd be more inclined to physician but...

-There's a paean of praise, isn't there?

-Mm.

I'd go for physician, myself.

OK, well, two of them going for physician.

That's the answer. It's physician, not navigator. Paean.

All right, well, Eggheads, see how they do with their second question.

Which former Director General of MI5 wrote the 2004 novel At Risk?

-Rimington - she writes.

-Manningham-Buller is also an author.

-Yeah.

-Has she? What was the date of this?

-2004, it said, wasn't it?

Was it 2004, Dermot?

Which former Director General of MI5 wrote the 2004 novel At Risk?

Stella Rimington has written a whole series of novels about an MI5 agent.

-Yeah.

-Er... At Risk rings a bell, I think,

as being one of the first of those.

-How about you?

-They're coming out at virtually an annual rate.

-It could be the other one. It rings a bell, I think, Stella Rimington.

-OK.

I think she'd retired before Eliza Manningham-Buller.

We're going to go for Stella Rimington.

Stella Rimington. Some debate whether it was her or Eliza Manningham-Buller.

Eliza ManninghamBuller has written books as well.

Well, you've got the right one. It is Stella Rimington.

So you have that lead and putting the pressure on Bill.

Miles Platting is a district of which English city?

I know it's not Liverpool.

Erm...

Miles Platting.

It sounds Mancunian.

I know a bit of Manchester but...

I don't... It doesn't ring any bells from Manchester.

I'm going to go Birmingham.

OK, well, between Manchester and Birmingham. You've gone for Birmingham.

And it's Manchester. It is Manchester.

Which means, Eggheads, you've won.

Well, well done, Eggheads, you've won that.

But thank you very much, Scousers On Tour

and well played, Bill.

Always tricky on your own against those five Eggheads in the final round.

Thank you very much indeed for coming along

and having a lot of fun, even if it wasn't to be in terms of the ultimate outcome.

And best of luck, Gary Senior there, with those tours.

We'll book the Eggheads in for one, shall we? See you soon.

The Eggheads have done what comes naturally

and they still reign supreme over Quiz Land.

I'm afraid you won't be going home with the £3,000.

That means the money rolls over to the next show.

So, Eggheads, congratulations. Who will beat you?

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

£4,000 says they don't.

Until then, goodbye.

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