Episode 39 Eggheads

These people are among 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 the show where a team of five quiz challengers pit their wits

against possibly the greatest quiz team in Britain.

They are the Eggheads.

Taking on the awesome might of our quiz Goliaths are...

This team of colleagues all work

for the same shipping line in Liverpool - let's meet them.

Hi. I'm Nick. I'm 42. I'm a customer services manager.

Hi. I'm Peter. I'm 31 and I'm an internal audit manager.

Hi. I'm Paul. I'm 49 and I'm an accounts assistant.

Hello. I'm Dean. I'm 42 and I'm a credit manager.

Hello. I'm Bob. I'm 64. I'm the company quality manager.

Welcome to you, Ship Mates. Ship Mates because of the work. You socialise, I hope?

We've done quizzes together. That's a good thing.

-We've won a few, different combinations.

-How competitive are they? Pub quiz or...?

It's company quizzes. Yeah. We've won a few in the company.

-I know they're going to be competitive!

-Yes.

-LAUGHTER

-Let's play the game.

Every day, there is £1,000 up for grabs for our challengers.

If they fail to defeat the Eggheads the money rolls over to the next show.

So, Ship Mates, the Eggheads have won the last five games.

£6,000 says you can't beat the Eggheads today.

The first head-to-head is Geography.

Who wants to play this?

You're going for that one? Yeah.

OK. Paul, I reckon...

What do you think?

Chris. Yeah? Yeah.

I'll take that one, Dermot, and I'll take on Chris, please.

-All right. Chris, you're delighted.

-Absolutely.

-Playing Sport.

Yeah. We can have a long chat about the dockers' umbrella.

-LAUGHTER

-Right. Not too long.

Let's have Paul and Chris into the Question Room, so you can't confer.

Let's get the Ship Mates under steam.

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

-I'll go first please, Dermot.

Your first question.

The Nubian Desert is in the northeast of which African country?

Hm. It's not one I know.

Um...

I think I might go for Judith's trait here and go for Sudan.

It works!

-What's Judith's trait?

-When she doesn't know, she pops to the right.

-LAUGHING:

-It's the right answer!

All right! Chris...

Which island group lies about 1,000 miles directly west of the Portuguese capital, Lisbon?

The Faroe Islands are up towards Iceland, so it's not them.

The Canary Islands are a bit too far south, off the coast of Africa.

-So it's the Azores.

-It is the right answer.

Good start, Paul.

Medan is the largest city on which Indonesian island?

Medan - M-E-D-A-N.

Hm! Wish I'd never been put into Geography now!

CHUCKLES

Again, it's going to have to be a guess on my part, Dermot.

-I think it may be Java.

-OK.

-I see you're edging across, as you guess.

-I am.

When you don't know, it's the way to go.

You should have swung the other way. It's Sumatra.

See what Chris does.

Footscray, Toorak and Moonee Ponds are suburbs of which Australian city?

AUSTRALIAN ACCENT: Moonee Ponds is where Edna Everage is from.

It's Melbourne.

Thank you for the Melbourne accent. Needs a bit of work.

But you got the right answer. It means you need this, Paul.

Hartsfield-Jackson, often cited as the world's busiest airport in terms of passenger numbers,

is about ten miles from which US city?

Um... I seem to remember hearing something about Chicago O'Hare,

but I'm just not too sure.

Philadelph...? Yes. I'll go again with Chicago.

OK. But as you said there, O'Hare and this is Hartsfield-Jackson.

Which is in Atlanta.

Which means the round is over. Chris has two points.

You can't beat that, Paul. No place in the final round.

Would you both please come back and join your teams?

After the opening round, the Ship Mates have lost one brain. The Eggheads are all still here.

Our next subject...it's Politics.

Who fancies a go at this one?

-Away to you, Mr Brown!

-PETER: You were our Politics man.

Definitely saw it on the sheet.

Who do you think?

I reckon you should go for Barry.

OK, I'll take Politics, Dermot, and I'll play Barry.

It's going to be Dean and Barry playing the Politics round.

You know where to go - the Question Room, please.

Dean, Politics, how are you with this subject?

It's not the strongest of my subjects and not of the team's.

This was the Achilles' heel and I've drawn the short straw. Let's see how we get on.

-Do you want to go first or second?

-I'll go first please, Dermot.

Good luck, Dean.

What term refers to a candidate for the leadership of a party

who stands in order to potentially allow a stronger candidate to come forward?

Right, well, I've no idea on this.

I don't know any of these. Nothing looks familiar.

Tracking pig, I'm going to rule out.

I'm going to go straight down the middle at hunting dog.

Haven't heard of it. Gone for hunting dog.

-What do you think, Barry?

-I think it's a stalking horse.

It is a stalking horse. Barry, this is your question.

George Bush senior's famous line during his 1988 Presidential bid was "Read my lips. No new..." what?

I think this has gone down in American lore.

Don't you just love it when a politician says, "Read my lips"?

-He was talking about taxes.

-And when he was elected, famously had to...?

Increase taxes.

"Read my lips. No new taxes." Yup. It's the right answer.

You have a lead.

Which country's parliament is known as the Supreme People's Assembly?

It sounds very much like North Korea to me. I don't think it's Russia.

-I think it's North Korea.

-North Korea.

Supreme People's Assembly. It's the right answer.

In May 2010, David Cameron and Nick Clegg announced the Conservative-Lib Dem coalition

at a joint press conference in which part of Downing Street?

I remember this conference.

I believe that everything was smelling of roses!

-It was in the rose garden.

-It is the rose garden.

You need this, Dean.

The budget box that was retired in 2010 was first used by which Chancellor of the Exchequer?

It's either Gladstone or Lloyd George.

I think, um...

I'm not 100% sure about them two, either! I'm going to go for...

David Lloyd George.

David Lloyd George, the budget box, the old red box?

The very battered red box.

I think it was retired and then brought back by Gordon Brown.

I think he got some apprentices to make him one then brought it back

and it finally retired in 2010.

Anyway, the original was used by... Lloyd George, Barry?

No. I think it was almost the original Gladstone bag - Gladstone.

Yeah. It's William Ewart Gladstone for that budget box. That old!

Which means Barry's through.

You're in the final round. Bad luck, Dean.

You won't be playing there. Would you both please join your teams?

The Eggheads have struck fairly rapidly in those first two head-to-heads.

Means the Ship Mates are two members of the crew down.

The Eggheads are all there, but we've got plenty of quizzing to do. Our next category is Sport.

Which of the three of you left?

Finally got something!

I think we should. I'll definitely take Peter on Sport.

Peter? I'll take Sport, yeah.

All right, Peter. Who would you like to play - Kevin, Judith or Pat?

-Sorry, Judith, but it's going to have to be you.

-She's delighted.

She loves it(!) Let's have Peter and Judith into the Question Room.

Peter, you were the unanimous choice to play this.

-What are your favourite sports?

-I'm a big football fan.

I've had a season ticket for Liverpool since I was nine or ten.

I've seen a lot with them. Quite keen on golf as well.

Do you want to go first or second?

It's not going well so far, but I'll continue with first please, Dermot.

Good luck, Peter.

The tennis player Stefan Edberg was born in which country?

A good start for me. I think I know this one.

Grew up watching the likes of him and Boris Becker around that era.

I would say it was Sweden, please.

Yeah. Sweden is the right answer.

It's a doubly good one for you.

You deprived Judith. She does like tennis questions.

You elected to take that set of questions so Judith has got this.

Who would be most likely to make use of a take-off box in their sport?

-A take-off box?

-Yeah.

Well, divers have take-off boards.

And figure skaters just have an ice rink. They don't take off anywhere.

-It must be a pole vaulter.

-Pole vaulter. Yes. Correct.

Peter, your second question.

In 1949, the American Sam Snead became the first person

to be awarded which coveted item of sports apparel?

OK. Another good one, I think.

Rule out yellow jersey, as that's Tour de France.

Black belt is obviously karate or something like that.

-It's green jacket please, Dermot.

-Green jacket.

-Yeah.

-Why did he win it?

-He won the Masters.

-Yeah. Indeed.

US Masters. It's the right answer.

What is the overall width of a wicket on a standard cricket pitch

formed by positioning three wooden stumps?

Well, let's think. We can do some maths here, Dermot.

-I SO enjoy your counting, Judith.

-JUDITH LAUGHING

If you get over ten, you have to take your socks off!

Well, I mean... A stump is about an inch, isn't it?

Yeah. I think 12 is too many.

Have to have that much in between. Let's think...

-I should think it's nine inches. CHUCKLING:

-OK.

LAUGHING

What?

How did you work that out? By...?

Well, a stump is about, I should think, an inch. Hang on!

An inch. Then it's got about two inches in between.

OK. Yeah. Nine inches.

-It's the right answer, Judith.

-See? Maths works.

-It does.

You're both quizzing very well.

Peter, what is the title of the work first published in 1791 that records the breeding records

for thoroughbred horses in Great Britain and Ireland?

Again, I think I know this one.

I do like watching horse racing occasionally, so I should...

In fact, one of my family is quite into it, so I should get this.

I think it's the Wetherbys Guide to Foals.

-Wetherbys.

-Yeah.

-It's not the right answer.

-OK. Oh, dear.

-Judith, do you know?

-Have a guess.

-I should think it's the General Stud Book.

-It is the General Stud Book.

-Oh, right.

You get into the final round, Judith,

with a correct answer here.

The Kenyan runner Peter Rono - spelled R-O-N-O, his surname -

won gold in which event at the 1988 Olympics?

The Kenyan runners are very good at long distance.

So I think I'm going to rule out 400 metres, hoping for the best.

I think it's the marathon.

Peter Rono won gold in the...

-in the 1500 metres.

-Oh, dash it!

No, it wasn't a dash. That's quite long, too.

Which means we go to Sudden Death.

First time in the game. I'm sure you know it, Peter.

You don't see any more choices until we sort out a winner.

Your Sudden Death question is this.

In 2011, who took over the captaincy of the Australian Test cricket team from Ricky Ponting?

Um...

I think it was one of the Husseys, but I'm not sure which one.

Um... I will go for...

-Michael Hussey.

-OK, Michael Hussey.

It's not the right answer, Peter. Judith, do you mind if I skip past you or do you want to have a go?

-I don't want to have a go. You can skip past me!

-Anyone in the studio tell me?

-SHIP MATES: Michael Clarke.

-We got it from all sides.

Michael Clarke, Peter.

Judith, a chance to take the round.

And...it's on tennis.

Which tennis player won his sixth end-of-season championship in 2011

in a match that was also his 100th career final?

Well, I suppose he's quite old.

-His sixth end-of-season...?

-Yeah.

His sixth end-of-season championship in 2011,

in a match that was also his 100th career final.

I'm not quite sure what "championship" means in that case.

Whether it's a Grand Slam championship. I suppose...

Well, if it meant a Grand Slam match that means it's the American Open.

And who won it? I think it was Djokovic.

-I always need a first name and a surname.

-What the hell is his name?

Oh... What is his name?

Um...

Oh! What is his name? I'm in a panic now cos I can't remember his name.

I'd just like to record to the nation that if Djokovic is right, I do know who won it!

Well, it's not Djokovic. Let's end it there.

-Thank goodness for that!

-Novak Djokovic, by the way.

-Novak!

Anyone tell me?

-KEVIN: Federer.

-Roger Federer, Judith.

-Did he win the Open...?

-No, no. It didn't say Grand Slams.

-He couldn't have been in 100 Grand Slam finals!

-No, that's true.

-100th career final.

OK, Peter.

The Oakwell Stadium,

with a capacity of approximately 23,000, is home to which north of England football club?

Finally, a football question.

I've never been there but I know it's Barnsley.

That's right. Barnsley.

Judith,

if you get this wrong, you've lost the round.

The Amsterdam school teacher Nico Broekhuysen is credited with inventing which game in 1901?

Broekhuysen.

SIGHS

What could he have done?

1901? What on Earth was invented in 1901?

Cheese rolling. I don't know.

Um... What else do the Dutch do?

Canal racing.

LAUGHTER Canal barge racing.

There is a sport which is canal skating, isn't there?

There's a canal skating race. I have absolutely no idea.

Um... I'm going to say the canal skating race.

-OK.

-I don't know what it's called.

-Canal skating, cheese rolling.

-They were all wrong. You're wrong.

-Am I surprised(?)

-LAUGHING:

-No. Does any Egghead know?

-Korfball.

-It's Korfball.

-Never heard of it.

-Eggheads can explain.

-You have mixed teams - four men, four women.

-It's similar to what?

Basketball. "Korf" means "basket" in Dutch.

Korfball.

What an entertaining round that was, with a great outcome for the Ship Mates.

You're in the final round, Peter.

Would you both please join your teams?

Having a great time here. The Ship Mates having a better time!

One Egghead gone. Two Ship Mates, though.

Our last head-to-head before the final round is Film & Television.

Who fancies a go at this?

-That'll be me this time.

-Who would you like to play? It's so long since we had a pick.

That round went on so long! Judith, Chris and Barry have played. You've got Kevin or Pat.

Are you happy for me to go for it? I think I should go for it.

Go for it.

-My lifetime ambition. Kevin, please.

-You have it!

Let's have Nick and Kevin into the Question Room for Film & TV.

Nick fulfilling an ambition to take on Kevin.

-Do you want to go first or second?

-After Peter did so well, I'll go first as well, please.

Good luck to you, Nick. Who starred as the title character in the 1997 film Donnie Brasco?

I've heard of it but I haven't seen it.

As a film buff, that really isn't a great answer.

But I'm going to cross out Harrison Ford.

I don't think it sounds like a Tom Cruise film.

I'm going with Johnny Depp.

Johnny Depp as Donnie Brasco? It's the right answer.

You knew enough about the other two to work out that it was Johnny Depp.

Bomber Busbridge played by Pat Roach and Dennis Patterson played by Tim Healy

were characters in which 1980s comedy drama?

They were two of the building site gang in Auf Wiedersehen, Pet.

Is the right answer. Back to you, Nick.

Which comedian plays the hapless history teacher Mr Wickers in the sitcom Bad Education?

Once again, I haven't seen it. But I've seen trailers for it.

I'm pretty sure Russell Howard hasn't done any acting.

I'm a big fan of Lee Mack, so I'm pretty sure it's not him.

I'm going to go with Jack Whitehall.

Is the right answer. Well done.

Which actor, who appeared regularly in the 1960s Batman TV series,

played the trainer Mickey Goldmill in the Rocky series of films?

I'm trying to remember who he played in Batman. Was he the Penguin?

I can't remember. Anyway, it's Burgess Meredith.

He WAS the Penguin. Had a cigarette holder.

It's the right answer. Well done. Good quizzing.

On the children's television programme Sesame Street,

what is the full name of the numerically obsessed count?

That's taking me back quite a few years.

I'm definitely going to cross out Count Upp to start with.

Leaving me with the other two.

-HE SIGHS

-Let me think.

For the man who likes numbers, I'm going to go for Count von Count.

Count von Count. Your degree's in maths, isn't it?

-Just! Yeah.

-LAUGHTER

-You got this. I don't think that has any bearing on it.

-Didn't cover it.

-It's the right answer.

-Well done, Nick.

Kevin, you need this.

In what era is the 1967 Julie Andrews musical Thoroughly Modern Millie set?

It's set in the flapper era of the 1920s.

That's the correct answer and, as I suspected,

we're heading into Sudden Death. Both players going really well.

Nick, your Sudden Death question.

In the film Beverly Hills Cop, Eddie Murphy plays a detective who normally operates in which city?

In the film Beverly Hills Cop,

Eddie Murphy plays a detective who normally operates in which city?

Right. I've gone completely blank.

I can see the film. I can see him in it.

SIGHS

I'm going to have to have a complete guess and say New York.

New York, and obviously he transplants to Beverly Hills.

Where did he come from?

New York is the wrong answer. Do you know, Kevin?

-Detroit.

-It's detroit.

It's not Kevin's question.

This is your question, Kevin.

Mosfilm, established in the 1920s,

is a film studio based in which country?

Mosfilm, established in the 1920s, is a film studio based in which country?

Well, the Mos is for Moscow, so it's what was then the Soviet Union,

now Russia.

Is the correct answer, Kevin. You've got through.

I suppose you suspected, Nick,

-if you make a mistake against this man...

-Yeah.

-..it can be terminal.

And it has. No place in the final round for Nick, but good quizzing.

Got into Sudden Death against Kevin. Would you both please join your teams?

So this is what we've been playing towards, the final round which, as always, is General Knowledge.

I'm afraid those of you who lost your head-to-heads

won't take part.

Nick, Paul and Dean from the Ship Mates

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

So, Peter and Bob, you're playing to win the Ship Mates £6,000.

Chris, Barry, Pat and Kevin,

you're playing for something which money can't buy - the Eggheads' reputation.

I ask each team three questions in turn, all General Knowledge, and you are allowed to confer.

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

-Would you like to go first or second?

-First, please, Dermot.

The final round starts now with this question, Ship Mates.

Which businessman married Priscilla Chan in 2012?

Well, as far as I know Warren Buffett and Donald Trump are still

-happily married men.

-Mm-hm.

-Yeah.

-So...

-Shall we rule them two out?

I would think we'd be safe with Mark Zuckerberg.

-He's the guy that invented Facebook, I think.

-Yeah.

OK? Mark Zuckerberg please, Dermot.

Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan

married in 2012 - it's the right answer and a good start.

What name was used by Neil Armstrong for the landing site on the moon

where the Apollo 11 lunar module touched down?

Tranquillity Base, isn't it?

That's Tranquillity Base.

It's the right answer. OK, Ship Mates.

"Fuerte" is a popular variety of which food?

F-U-E-R-T-E, "fuerte".

-I wouldn't think it would be potato.

-I wouldn't say potato.

That's far too European and English.

So we're stuck between avocado or radish.

-It sounds a bit exotic, doesn't it?

-You're going to the avocado?

-I'm thinking so.

-That seems the most one to match.

-We say avocado please.

-Avocado for "fuerte".

It's the right answer.

Going well.

In the Shakespeare play Hamlet who kills Polonius?

-Hamlet stabs him through the arras.

-Hiding behind the arras.

Hamlet himself?

-That was Hamlet himself.

-He was stabbed in the...?

-Hiding behind the arras.

-Which was a type of curtain.

Could be painful, that!

It is the right answer, Hamlet.

This is a good final round.

Ship Mates, the album Snap, Crackle & Bop,

featuring the track Evidently Chickentown,

is part of the output of which performance poet?

-Any idea?

-No idea whatsoever.

-I'm absolutely clueless.

-Never heard of any of them.

-So, what do you suggest?

We're going to have to have a guess.

Maybe we need the one with the most swinging type name.

-We'll go down the middle?

-We believe it's Murray Lachlan Young.

For Snap, Crackle & Bop.

-What do you think, Eggheads?

-John Cooper Clarke.

It's John Cooper Clarke with Snap, Crackle & Bop.

Leaves you vulnerable here.

You've just got to hope the Eggheads don't get it.

Which singer became best known for being lead vocalist with the band The Kills?

Well, Justine Frischmann is with Elastica.

Karen O, wasn't she the Yeah Yeah Yeahs?

She's best known for the Yeah Yeah Yeahs.

By a process of elimination, it's got to be Alison Mosshart.

We're going for Alison Mosshart.

-Do you agree, Chris?

-Possibly, yeah.

It is the right answer, Eggheads.

You've won.

Bad luck, Ship Mates. Just too good for you in the end, those Eggheads.

But good quizzing, particularly by you, Peter.

That round against Judith will live in the memory for a while!

Great fun having you here. Best of luck with all the quizzing.

The Eggheads have done what comes naturally and their winning streak continues.

I'm afraid you won't be going home with that £6,000.

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.

£7,000 says they don't. Until then, goodbye.

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