Episode 53 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 awesome might of our quiz champions today

are The Garden House Quizzers. This team of friends

all enjoy taking on the quiz machines in their local pub,

The Garden House, in Birmingham. Let's meet them.

Hello, my name's Jeremy, I'm 51 years old

and I'm an electronics design engineer.

Hello, I'm Matthew, I'm 51 and I'm a vicar.

Hello, my name's Chandar, I'm 50 years old

and I'm a telecoms manager.

Hello, I'm Philip, I'm 56 years of age and I'm a company director.

Hello, I'm Jonathan, I'm 51 and I work in retail.

Welcome to you, Garden House Quizzers. Tell me about the pub

and its quiz machine, which is emptied of cash on a regular basis.

Well, we try to. We do our very best.

But it just depends on the questions, of course.

-Yeah.

-And we've all quizzed together, as well,

in various pubs, and done quizzes, but the actual Garden House

-doesn't have a quiz, but we just play the quiz machine.

-OK.

-What's the Garden House like? Where it is?

-It's just south of Birmingham

and it does food and good real ale, so we're all happy.

That should be good for a free pint. A plug on TV.

All right, Garden House Quizzers, let's start.

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

If they fail to defeat the Eggheads, the prize money rolls over.

Garden House Quizzers, the Eggheads have won the last three games,

which means £4,000 says you can't beat the Eggheads.

And our first head-to-head battle is on the subject of Film & TV.

Who wants to start us off with Film & Television?

-I think you had me down for Film & TV.

-Yeah. Er, Chandar, I think.

OK, Chandar. And which Egghead?

Any one of those, opening round.

-Who should we take on?

-Try Barry?

-Yeah. We'll go for Barry.

All right. It's going to be Chandar and Barry contesting the opening

Film & Television round. Into the question room, please.

-So, Chandar, do you want to go first or second?

-I'll go first.

OK, Chandar, phrases such as "Well jel"

meaning very jealous, were popularised by which TV programme?

Well, this is three programmes,

I'm not really a great watcher of any of them,

but just trying to eliminate, er, a few of them.

Newsnight may be something it would not have been popularised in.

But I'm going to go straight down to the right.

Strictly Come Dancing is my answer.

OK, Strictly Come Dancing with "Well jel," very jealous.

Yeah, I can see dancers being jealous of each other.

It's not. The Only Way Is Essex, Chandar. The Only Way Is Essex.

So, let's see how Barry does with his first question.

Sonny Hammond, the son of an Australian park ranger,

was the human hero of which children's TV series?

Ah, well, Daktari was set in East Africa

and it famously featured Clarence, the cross-eyed lion.

I can't recall The White Horses,

but Skippy was obviously an Australian programme

about kangaroos, so it must be Skippy.

The bush kangaroo. That lovely song.

Sonny Hammond, they left out his brother, Richard,

who was in it, as well. Skippy is the right answer.

Right, let's get you moving, Chandar. You need to get this.

What was the name of the character played by Michael Gambon

in the 1980s TV series The Singing Detective?

Well, the first name that comes to mind

was Philip Marlow.

And, er, Sam Spade and Mike Hammer

don't really come out, to be honest, so I'll go for Philip Marlow.

Well done, you are on the board. That is the right answer.

Barry, in 2008, Stephanie Flanders took up what post at the BBC?

Ooh. I don't know. That's an interesting one.

Perhaps I should know that one. Stephanie Flanders.

Maybe it's sexist, but I don't think she probably was a Sports Editor.

And she certainly wasn't the Economics Editor.

So I'll go for Technology Editor.

-Well, Barry!

-Oh, have I got this wrong?

-Very, very, very badly wrong.

-Oh, sorry, Steph.

Yes. Well, I'm not sure you'll be able to call her Steph now.

-Oh, she was a sports editor!

-No.

-Oh.

-It's not going to be Steph. Economics Editor!

-Oh, gosh!

-I wonder how that passed me by.

-Much-praised, award-winning

Economics Editor. And you won't know this, but with a famous dad.

-Donald.

-Oh, from Flanders and Swann!

-From Flanders and Swann, yes.

-Oh, gosh! Dear me!

-That's her dad. OK.

Well, that's very good news for you, Chandar.

It stays all square. And this third one for you.

Who played Percy Jackson in the 2010 film

Percy Jackson And The Olympians: The Lightning Thief?

Well, it's not a film I've actually seen,

but I'm going to have to go for a guess on this one

and it's going to be, er...

-..Jaden Smith.

-Jaden Smith as Percy Jackson.

-No. Do you know, Barry?

-Zachary Gordon?

-No.

It's Logan Lerman.

All right, not doing too well, both of you.

Let's hope you don't get this and take us into sudden death.

For which of her films did Joan Crawford win an Academy Award?

I think I'm on safer ground here. It was Mildred Pierce.

Yeah, it is the right answer. Just squeezed you out there, Chandar.

Bad luck. You won't be in the final round. Come and join your teams.

A close round, but as it stands, the Garden House Quizzers just lost out.

They've lost one brain, the Eggheads haven't lost any.

Our next subject is History. Who'd like to play this one?

I think I was down for that, wasn't I?

-I think you were.

-I think I was. I better do it.

-That'd be me, Dermot.

-All right, Jeremy.

And take on an Egghead, any one apart from Barry.

Right. Erm...

I think I'll take on, erm, Chris, please.

All right. It's going to be... Chris is all pleased, isn't he?

Playing History, you enjoy it, don't you?

Let's have Jeremy and Chris into the question room, please.

Right, Jeremy, do you want to go first or second?

Erm, I think I'll go second, please, for a change.

All right, then, that means the Eggheads, Chris, kicks off.

Grace Archer's death on radio in 1955

happened on the same night as what other major broadcasting first?

It started with an advert for toothpaste

and it was the launch of ITV.

OK, the launch of ITV is the right answer.

This was some kind of attempt, was it, to deflect attention?

-Oh, absolutely. Grab the audiences, yeah.

-OK.

Right, well, you've grabbed the point there.

Jeremy, what was the name of the cold pool in a Roman baths?

Well, they've all got cold connotations. Erm...

Frigidarium's probably too obvious.

Er... Siberium...

Right, OK.

I think I'll rule out arcticarium.

I think we're going to go for...

..frigidarium.

OK. I thought you were going to rule that out

because your original analysis said it was too obvious.

Nah, I changed my mind after that. Go for the obvious one.

Just as well you did. It is the right answer.

Frigidarium, correct.

Chris, the site of the 1805 Battle of Austerlitz

is in which modern-day country?

Well, it's not Slovenia cos that's too far away to the southeast.

I think the Czech Republic's a bit too far north, so it's Austria.

Austerlitz in Austria.

-No, it's the Czech Republic.

-Oh, right.

So very good news for you, Jeremy.

In the 19th century in the West Virginia/Kentucky area,

which family were famously involved in a feud with the Hatfields?

Well, I've got really nothing to go on here,

so it's going to have to be a bit of a guess,

and being a Star Trek fan, I've got to go for McCoy.

So that's my answer. HE LAUGHS

Fantastic! It's the right answer! Yes, McCoy. Of course.

Maybe that's where they got the name for the character from.

All right. Which means that you need to get this, Chris.

The Hague Convention of 1907

related to international law about what?

That restricted certain kinds of warfare.

Correct. Still in it.

A really good chance here, Jeremy, to get into the final round.

The temple complex of Angkor Wat in Cambodia was built in which century?

I've heard of it. Angkor Wat. Erm...

I've heard of it. I should think it's pretty old. Erm...

But how old? That's the question.

Erm, 16th century, 14th...

Again, unfortunately, it's going to have to be a bit of a guess,

so I'm going to say 14th century.

OK, 14th century for a place in the final round.

No. Well, not yet, maybe.

It's the 12th century. OK, so we go to sudden death.

Jeremy, that means we remove the options

and I've just got to hear an answer from you two. This is Chris's.

Which English king was overthrown by his own wife, Isabella,

and her lover, Roger Mortimer?

It's Wars of the Roses, isn't it?

Edward the V?

-Dear me. No, Chris! Eggheads?

-Edward II.

-Edward II.

-Second?

-The second.

Well, Jeremy, let's try again.

The Battle of Abukir Bay in 1798,

Abukir Bay, in which the forces of Admiral Nelson

defeated the French fleet off the coast of North Africa,

is also known as the Battle of the what?

I can only think of one and that's probably the Battle of the Nile.

Battle of the Nile, Abukir Bay.

It's the right answer! You're into the final round! Well done!

And that is a mighty scalp you've taken from the Eggheads there.

Chris very rarely loses, if ever, at History.

So, as I say, you're into the final round, playing for £4,000.

Please come back and join your teams.

Well, it's all square after that round. Two rounds gone

and one player from each team. Our next subject is geography.

-Who'd like to take this one on?

-It's going to be you, Phil.

-Yeah, we worked this out before and it'll be Philip.

-OK, Philip.

Have you worked out who you'd like to take on?

It cannot be Barry or Chris.

-Kevin.

-Kevin, yes.

-Kevin.

-OK, Kevin. Right.

Philip and Kevin playing Geography. Into the question room, please.

Philip, it's your choice. Would you like to go

-first or second?

-I'll go second.

OK, it worked for Jeremy. Let's see if it works again against Kevin.

The French port of Boulogne-sur-Mer lies on which body of water?

It's one of the main Channel ports

if you're crossing over from this country, so English Channel.

It's the right answer. English Channel.

Philip, your first question. Bullion Boulevard and Gold Vault Road

are thoroughfares near which famous American building?

I can't see it being near the Empire State Building.

Pennsylvania Avenue is the White House.

So I'll go for Fort Knox.

OK. Fort Knox is the right answer. Why do we have Bullion Boulevard

-and Gold Vault Road, Eggheads?

-US gold depository.

All right. All square and another pair of questions.

Kevin, Jeddah is an historic city

and port in which country of the Middle East?

I think it's the main port for pilgrims going to Mecca.

-It's in Saudi Arabia.

-Saudi Arabia is correct.

Philip, the city of Chiang Mai

is a popular tourist destination in which country?

I actually have been there, so it's definitely not Cambodia,

it's definitely not Singapore, it's just north of Bangkok in Thailand.

OK. No denying that, he's been there. It's the right answer.

Thailand. Kevin.

Islas de los Ladrones, meaning islands of thieves,

is a former name of which island group?

The Maldives are in the Indian Ocean

and the Spanish weren't as active there.

Now, the Spanish had the Philippines.

And some of their treasure fleets sailed between Philippines

and their colonies in the Americas.

But either of those could actually...

Either of the others there... I've ruled out the Maldives.

Either of the others could serve as bases for pirates

after Spanish treasure ships.

So the Moluccas were in what's now Indonesia.

Which was more Dutch controlled.

I've got very little to go on here, but the Marianas

are not that far from the Philippines in nautical terms,

and the Marianas in itself is a Spanish name.

I'll have to try for the Marianas.

Wow. A forensic deconstruction.

-I've probably come up with the wrong answer, too.

-No, it is right, Kevin.

Just fascinating hearing the thought processes there.

And you got the right answer.

OK, it means you need to get this, Philip.

The Rhodope mountain range

lies on the border of Greece and which other country?

Well, northern Greece is extremely mountainous all the way around.

Because it's coastal with Turkey,

I would suggest Turkey is not the answer.

Albania is very, very small

but that doesn't discount that there isn't a mountain range there.

But Albania's also on the coast.

And I can't see mountain ranges,

cos you can see from Corfu Albania.

And I wouldn't class those as mountains, I'd class them as hills.

Erm... Because of the coastline part, I'll go for Bulgaria.

Bulgaria. I think you matched Kevin there in your deconstruction.

It's the right answer. Well done. All square. Into sudden death.

Kevin, the Russian port of Vladivostok is on which ocean?

It's their great Far Eastern port. It's on the Pacific.

Is the correct answer, Pacific. And Philip.

Albertville, host of the 1992 Winter Olympics, is in which country?

It's obviously French-sounding. I'm discounting Canada.

So it'd be France or Switzerland. I'll go for France.

Well done. It's the right answer. France.

Kevin, the three horizontal stripes

on the Ethiopian flag are red, yellow and which other colour?

The three colours are the ones that have often come to be seen

as the Pan-African colours. They feature in a lot of African flags,

-and it's green.

-Green is correct.

Philip, which central London park contains

ring roads known as the Outer Circle and Inner Circle?

If you've got roads inside, it's going to be one of the larger ones.

Erm, I wouldn't have thought it's St James's.

It's either Regent or Hyde, and I'll go for Hyde.

Hyde Park. OK, Philip.

Bad luck. It's Regent's Park.

You said it there, you were doing a 50/50.

And not Hyde Park but Regent's Park.

Which means, in an incredibly high quality round there,

Kevin has pipped you there, Philip. You'll be in the final round, Kevin.

No place for you, Philip. Come back and join your teams.

This is turning out to be a great game.

Some big battles going on in the head-to-heads. As it stands,

Garden House Quizzers have just lost out so far. Two of them gone.

One Egghead. Will it be all square in the final round?

Let's find out in our Food & Drink category.

We've got Matthew or Jonathon there available to play Food & Drink.

-I'm rubbish at Food & Drink.

-Chips.

-Chips, yeah.

-That'll be Matthew, then.

-OK.

Matthew, choose from the remaining Eggheads, who are Judith and Pat.

We could do with taking Pat out, if we can, rather that Judith.

-So go for Pat.

-Pat.

OK. It's going to be Matthew and Pat playing Food & Drink.

-OK, Matthew, would you like to go first or second?

-I'll go first.

OK, deciding to take the first set of questions. Matthew, here you go.

Which of these terms describes meat that has been boned,

stuffed and rolled into an egg-like shape?

I've just not...

I've not seen any of those ever on a menu,

apart from perhaps ballotine.

I'm going to have to guess on this one.

I'll go for... ballotine.

OK. It's the right answer. Good guess.

Tricky one. Well done. Good start, Matthew.

Pat, kugel is a baked pudding traditional in which cuisine?

Well, the word sounds faintly German or Yiddish, kugel.

Rings some sort of bell. And if it's Yiddish or German,

that would incline me to Jewish.

Indian puddings and Mexican puddings.

No. I think I'll have to go with Jewish.

Jewish is the correct answer. All square.

What name is given to the style of Japanese cuisine

in which food is cooked on and eaten from a hot griddle plate?

Well, I know this one, because there's a restaurant

in Brindleyplace in Birmingham which has this

and it is named after it, so it's the third one, teppanyaki.

OK. Well, that was easy, then. Yes.

-And have you actually eaten there?

-Yes.

-Oh, fantastic.

Right answer. Nice, the way that one fell for you.

Pat, the glera grape variety

is most associated with which type of wine?

Well, I think I know the various grapes used to make champagne,

chardonnay and I think it's sauvignon blanc,

so I don't think it's champagne.

Cava is a sort of Spanish champagne, a sparkling wine,

and prosecco is an Italian one.

I think it sounds Italian, and yet I'm inclined to go for Spain

because if it was an Italian grape, I might have heard of it.

So this is a difficult pick, really.

There's an unconvincing argument for each option.

Glera. I'll go for prosecco, but I think it's 50/50.

But you're good at your 50/50s, you Eggheads. It's the right answer.

It is prosecco. Ooh.

OK, Matthew, fougasse is a bread

typically associated with which region of France?

I think I know this because I've recently been to France

and I went to Brittany, and I think I remember seeing it there,

so I'll go for that one, Brittany.

Fougasse from Brittany.

Yeah. No, it's not.

Maybe they had some there, but typically associated with,

-Judith?

-Provence?

-Provence, yes.

OK, a gap that Pat might be able to get through and get into the final.

Pat, Trinity cream, named after the Cambridge college,

is a version of which dessert?

Well, erm...

These colleges are famed for their fine dining.

Creme brulee is a sort of French thing,

zabaglione is Italian and blancmange is pretty English.

But then Trinity could well spread its wings,

it doesn't have to be an English dish.

I'm going to assume it is an English dish

and they're not being too continental and I'll say blancmange.

No, it is creme brulee.

Trinity cream. Into sudden death.

You survive, Matthew, and here's your question.

In 2003, tortilla chips and salsa

became the official snack of which US state?

Well, it must be one of the southern ones. Er...

Nevada, Texas...

-Texas.

-Is that your answer?

-Yes.

-Texas, correct.

Well done.

Pat, the New Zealand green-lipped is a species of which shellfish?

I think they eat all sorts of shellfish,

big abalone-type things.

I think I've heard of a green-lipped mussel. I'll just thing about that.

I don't think it's a barnacle.

Yes, I think it's a green-lipped mussel.

That's the right answer, Pat. And back to Matthew.

Which American cookery writer presented

the Emmy Award-winning show The French Chef,

first seen in 1963?

No idea. Dick Van Dyke.

-LAUGHTER

-I like the guess there.

-And perhaps not...

-He's good at accents.

-He's very good at accents,

yeah, as Kevin was saying there. Pat, do you know?

-I'll try Julia Child.

-It is Julia Child!

Wow. You don't get through on that but you do if you get this correct.

Which film actress published the cookbook

Notes From My Kitchen Table in 2011?

So many people put out cookbooks. I think, off the top of my head,

the actress that is most linked with diet is Gwyneth Paltrow.

OK, Gwyneth Paltrow. Well, you knew Julia Child

and you did know this one, too. Gwyneth Paltrow is correct.

You get through to the final round.

That was a fantastic bit of quizzing there, Matthew. Really bad luck.

You won't have a place in the final round. Come and join your teams.

And so this is what we've been playing towards,

it's time for the final round, which 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, Matthew, Chandar

and Philip from Garden House Quizzers

and Chris from the Eggheads, leave the studio, please.

So, Jeremy and Jonathan, you're playing to win £4,000.

Barry, Pat, Judith and Kevin, you're playing for something

which money can't buy - the Eggheads' reputation.

And as usual, I'll ask each team three questions.

This time the questions are all General Knowledge

and you are allowed to confer. Do you want to go first or second?

-I think we'll go first, don't you?

-Yeah, we'll go first.

OK, first question. What popular name was given to the victory pose

that the athlete Mo Farah exhibited at the 2012 Olympics?

-That's the Mobot.

-Which you'll be doing if you win the money.

OK, Eggheads,

for what does the letter D stand in the computing abbreviation DPI,

used in reference to the resolution of graphic images?

-Dots.

-Dots per inch.

-Dots per inch.

-Dots per inch?

It's dots per inch.

Very good, Judith. Dots is correct.

OK, Garden House Quizzers,

in the United States, the Newbery Medal

is a prestigious award given to authors in which field?

-I've not heard of it. Have you?

-No.

I've not heard of it. Erm, let's think. Biography.

Let's go through it logically. Biographies?

-You wouldn't think you would get a medal for biographies.

-You wouldn't.

-People write about themselves.

-No.

-Science fiction, there's an awful lot of science fiction.

-True.

I think I'd have heard of it if it was science fiction.

-OK.

-But not reading children's books,

-I'd go for children's literature.

-I've got no idea, so we'll go...

We'll go for children's literature, please.

It's the right answer, well done. Well worked out, guys.

In 2012, David Cameron was accused of ageism

after referring to which veteran politician as a dinosaur

during Prime Minister's Questions?

-Skinner, wasn't it?

-It was Skinner.

-Skinner?

-I'd have thought so.

-Yeah.

-Not John Prescott?

-He would also qualify.

-It wouldn't be Vince Cable.

-I think it was Dennis Skinner.

-I think it was. Shall I say that?

-Yes.

-We think it's Dennis Skinner.

-It is the right answer, Dennis Skinner.

OK, Garden House Quizzers, Welcome To Wherever You Are

was a 1990s UK number-one album for which band?

-Ooh.

-Pop music.

-I don't know.

-Can we rule any out?

Welcome To Wherever You Are.

Well, didn't Bon Jovi do Welcome To The Jungle?

-Could be a play on that, couldn't it?

-Mm.

Out of any of them, I think Bon Jovi might have done it.

-I don't think it's Simply Red.

-I don't think so.

And I'm not really familiar with INXS, so I think Bon Jovi

-if we're guessing...

-I think it's our best shot.

-It's a guess.

-It's a slight guess. Straight down the middle. Bon Jovi.

Welcome To Wherever You Are

-is by... INXS.

-Ahh.

A miss there. And could it be a crucial one at this point?

Eggheads, where in the human body is the thymus gland situated?

The hypothalamus is in the brain.

-But I think the thymus is in the...

-In the chest.

-..is in the chest.

-Oh.

-The thyroid is in the neck.

-Yeah.

-A bit lower down, you've got the thymus.

-Yeah.

The thymus is in the chest. I'm sure it's sort of up around here.

-Is it? Are you sure?

-It's not the stomach. I think it's the chest.

-What do you think?

-Yes.

-OK.

Erm, most of us think it's the chest.

It's the chest. It's the right answer. You've won.

Well, bad luck, guys, but that was some quality quizzing.

Some of those head-to-heads could easily have gone the other way.

Matthew's round against Pat there, so close for him.

But not to be at the end of the day. Good luck with the pub quiz machine.

-Thank you.

-And the quizzes. And thank you for giving the Eggheads

a very good game. But the Eggheads have done what comes naturally

and they still reign supreme over Quizland.

I'm afraid you won't be going home with the £4,000,

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. £5,000 says they don't.

Until then, goodbye.

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