Episode 65 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 quiz champions today

are the Eton Rifles.

This team of old friends

are all affiliated at the same five-a-side football team based in Kent. Let's meet them.

Hi, I'm Amon, I'm 34, and I'm a betting shop manager.

Hello, I'm David, I'm 36 and I'm a sales rep.

Hi, I'm Tristan, I'm 33, and I'm a customer support manager.

Hi, I'm Paul, I'm 33 and I'm a financial accounting team manager.

Hi, I'm Alan, and I'm 34 a higher education advisor.

So, Amon and team, welcome.

Thank you. Hello.

And just tell us why Eton Rifles? Which is of course a song by the Jam.

That's right. We were struggling to find a name for the team

and, inspired by our musical taste, we went with the Eton Rifles,

which was, as you said, a song by the Jam.

And a cracking song, but you're all at least 15 years younger than me, so how come you know it?

Well, good music lasts, doesn't it? Great music from the '60s, '70s we all listen to really. Yeah...

And you play football together? We do, we play five-a-side football to varying degrees of success.

We seem to find as we get older we're getting a bit worse.

Speak for yourself!

Good luck here against the Eggheads.

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, Eton Rifles, the Eggheads have won the last 15 games,

which means that £16,000 says you can't beat them today.

Would you like to have a go? Yes, please!

The first head-to-head battle will be on the subject of Music.

Perfect. What about that? Who's the music fan?

What will we do with Music? Will we go with Tris? Do you want to go for that?

Yeah, I think I'm going to go for that. You're the main Jam fan, I gather? Yeah. OK.

Good taste. Against which Egghead?

Who do you want to go with, Chris? Chris? Chris.

Against Chris. How are we feeling about Music today, Chris?

Depends what you call music!

So Tristan from the Eton Rifles versus Chris from the Eggheads on Music.

And just to ensure there is no conferring, would you please take your positions in the Question Room?

Tristan, you're Music and it's your subject.

Yes, well, as long as I get three questions on early '90s grunge, it shouldn't be a problem!

So that's your scene, is it, as they say?

Yeah. My image has changed slightly over the years! But, yeah...

Was that Nirvana and all that? Yeah, Nirvana and Pearl Jam and Soundgarden...

He's playing your tune, Chris. Those are your bands as well. This is an incredible coincidence.

Yeah, you could say that, Jeremy.

Mind you, I'm more sort of late '50s grime than early '90s grunge, but there you go!

OK, so, Tristan, as you know, it's your choice whether you go first or second.

I think I'll go second.

Chris, first question to you.

In January 2013, Where Are We Now? was the first single in ten years to be released by which singer?

Ow!

I believe I read somewhere it was David Bowie.

David Bowie is quite right.

OK, Tristan,

in opera, which word refers to a female character, often a servant, who is pert or flirtatious?

Opera's not really my specialist subject, I'm afraid.

So I'm going to take a guess at libretto.

No, it's not. Eggheads?

Soubrette. Soubrette is the answer.

To put your side of it, Tristan,

that's about as far as we get from '90s grunge questions.

Yes, I think you could say that!

Chris, your second question.

Falling In Love With Love is a song from which musical based on a Shakespeare play?

Well, The Boys From Syracuse is A Comedy Of Errors,

I don't think it's from that.

West Side Story is Romeo And Juliet and it's certainly not from that,

so it's got to be based on The Taming Of The Shrew, Kiss Me Kate.

I love the rollercoaster nature of your logic

and it's taken you to completely the wrong answer.

The Boys From Syracuse. Oh, right?

The Boys From Syracuse is the answer.

So he's let you back in, Tristan. Get this one right.

In 2006, the band the Automatic had a UK hit

with a song that includes the lyrics, "What's that coming over the hill? Is it a..." what?

I remember this song well, actually.

And the answer's monster.

Must be one of the catchiest songs ever written. I think so.

Monster is the right answer.

OK, so you're level after two questions.

Chris, let's see how you do with your third.

Which singer appeared on the cover of her 2010 hit album

lying face down on a bed of candyfloss?

Er...she does slightly... Was she dressed,

lying on the candyfloss or undressed?

If she was undressed, it was probably Katy Perry.

I'll have to go with Katy Perry.

I don't know what's going on in that head of yours,

but Katy Perry's the right answer.

OK. So Chris got that right. You need to get this one right, Tristan,

or you're going to be "Going Underground"!

To use another Jam song title. Here we go.

What is the first name of the folk singer

who's the father of Martha and Rufus Wainwright?

Again, I'm not too sure about this one.

I'm going to have to have a guess.

I'm going to go for...

I'm going to have to go straight down the middle with Loudon.

And Loudon is correct. Well done. Well done.

OK, so we go to Sudden Death now.

We've had our three questions, you're level on 2 each.

It gets a touch harder because I don't give you alternative answers.

Chris, you're first.

In 1977, the pop duo Baccara had a UK number one single with Yes Sir, I Can...what?

Yes Sir, I Can Boogie!

Yes. Yes Sir, I Can Boogie is the right answer.

OK, Tristan, this is tough now.

You've got to get this to stay in. OK.

"All you will see is a girl you once knew,

"although she's dressed up to the nines at sixes and sevens with you,"

are lyrics from a song in which musical by Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber?

Musicals again not my strong point.

I'll guess at Sunset Boulevard.

Sunset Boulevard is not the musical, the musical was Evita. OK.

And the song, by the way, was Don't Cry For Me Argentina. Right. Sorry, Tristan.

You've lost on Sudden Death

to Chris on Music.

So, Chris, you will be in the final. Tristan's been knocked out.

Please, both of you, come back, rejoin your teams and we'll play on.

OK, so a shaky start for the Eton Rifles. They've lost a brain, the Eggheads have not lost a brain,

but very early days and you can definitely still win that money, and there is a lot of it.

The next subject is Politics.

Who's the political specialist?

Do you want to take it, Dave? Can I go? OK. Alan's going to take it.

Alan's going to take it. Against which Egghead? Obviously, it can't be Chris.

Oh, this is going to be really tough. I'll go against Tremendous Knowledge Dave.

On our team, I'm known as Average Knowledge Alan.

It could be Tremendous Knowledge Alan after this round, couldn't it?

OK. The very modest Alan from the Eton Rifles on Politics versus Dave from the Eggheads.

Please take your positions.

So, Dave, we're doing Politics. Is that up your street?

Some of it is, but, you know, it's been found in some of the rounds

that Politics is quite a wide-ranging subject,

and some of the questions have been on areas I haven't been too confident on, so it's a mixed bag.

Alan, does that sound encouraging? Yeah, it does a little bit, yeah.

I'm looking forward to this Politics round. Hopefully, I'll do well.

OK, and you become Tremendous Knowledge Alan if you win, OK?

You can have the title with pleasure! I'll steal his crown, yeah.

You can have it with pleasure! You can have it now!

So, Alan, would you like to go first or second? I'll go first.

Here's your question. The Parti Quebecois is a political party in which country?

Could you repeat the name of the party, please?

I can spell it for you. Q-U-E-B-E-C-O-I-S.

OK, well, from that clue,

I'm presuming something to do with France and maybe Quebec,

so on that basis I'll guess at Canada.

It's a good guess, Canada is the right answer.

Dave, your question.

Which organisation was awarded the 2012 Nobel Peace Prize?

OPEC! The Nobel Peace Prize! Brilliant!

It happened to be the European Union.

European Union is correct.

OK, Alan, your question.

Which political figure has children called Lara Lettice, Milo Arthur,

Cassia Peaches and Theodore Apollo?

Well, Apollo sounds quite American.

I don't think it's Boris Johnson.

I think I've read enough about him to know the name of his children,

so again a little bit of a guess. I'll go for Mitt Romney.

Any Eggheads know?

Boris Johnson. They're all saying the same name.

Boris Johnson. Oh, it is Johnson? Oh, OK.

Boris Johnson is the answer.

So, Dave a chance to go ahead here.

Caroline Flint became MP for which constituency in 1997?

Caroline Flint?

Caroline Flint. Yes, Labour.

Well, I can't remember exactly where...which Valley it was.

I think it's Don Valley,

but not entirely sure... but I'll go Don Valley.

Well done, Tremendous Knowledge Dave. It is Don Valley!

OK, Alan, you need to get this one.

Operation Urgent Fury was the codename for a US military action in which country?

I don't know this one either.

I'm not sure... They definitely went to war in Libya, I think, so...

Yeah, I'm going to go for Libya.

It's not Libya.

It was Grenada.

That was Operation Urgent Fury, so the urgent fury of Dave

has unseated you here! I'm not furious! I've never got urgent fury!

But there's an urgency, Dave, you have an urgency, there's no doubt about that. OK.

I'm sorry you're not in the final. No easy way to say it. OK, never mind.

Please, both of you, come back, and we'll play on.

OK, the Eton Rifles are going off at the moment.

Two brains lost from the final round, the Eggheads have not lost a brain so far.

But, really, you can still win. Don't give up. I know you won't.

The next subject is Arts & Books.

Which one of you wants Arts & Books?

I think that's going to be me, please, Jeremy. OK, David, against which Egghead?

Obviously can't be Dave or Chris. Are you going to go with Pat or Barry? Barry. OK.

I'll challenge Barry, please.

So David from the Eton Rifles versus Barry from the Eggheads.

There's a bit of a problem with Barry at the moment.

He's won Brain Of Britain and ever since returning to this programme from Brain Of Britain,

he's lost every round. Thank you for pointing that out!

So we've got to praise him and then it may work for you.

To ensure there's no conferring, please go to the Question Room.

Do you do a bit of reading, Dave? A little bit, yeah.

I work in the publishing industry. I'm a sales rep,

so I visit lots of bookshops around the country.

It must be fantastic doing books for a living!

I can't imagine anything better, actually! No, it's great.

Barry, that's your dream job, isn't it? It certainly is!

I'm not allowed to have any more bookcases in my house now.

OK, so it's Arts & Books.

We've given you the big build-up here, David, but have to say as well Barry is the new Brain Of Britain.

Let's see what happens.

Let's see... It looks better for you every second, David!

Would you like to go with the first or second set of questions?

I'll go first, please, Jeremy.

Here we go. Your first question.

Camp David published in 2012 is an autobiography by which celebrity?

Well, I don't think it's David Icke.

I'm going to rule him out completely.

Er... Well, I think it's David Walliams.

So I'll go with David Walliams.

David Walliams is quite right. Well done.

OK, Barry.

Hans Holbein the Younger's portrait of Christina of Denmark was painted for which monarch

who was looking for a wife?

Well, Hans Holbein was the court painter of Henry VIII

who was always looking for a wife!

Not necessarily his own, so the answer is Henry VIII.

Henry VIII is quite right.

David, here is your next question.

Estella is the adopted daughter of which Charles Dickens character?

Oh, Dickens isn't my thing at all.

It's going to have to be a guess.

I'm just trying to think. I'm going to go for Mr Pickwick.

No, it's not Mr Pickwick.

It's Miss Haversham and it's Great Expectations.

OK, Barry...

which of these plays revolves around a production

by members of the Pendon Amateur Light Operatic Society?

Oh, I'm not sure on this.

Noises Off, I think that's Michael Frayn,

I think A Chorus Of Disapproval is Alan Ayckbourn.

and I'm not sure who was Trivial Pursuits.

Light Operatic Society...

it tends to suggest A Chorus Of Disapproval, so I'll go for that.

You're absolutely right, Barry. Well done.

You've got 2 points, and you've got 1, David,

so you need to get this one right or it could be curtains. I'll do my best!

OK, here's your question, David.

The Bridgestone Museum of Art, founded in 1952,

by a member of tyre-manufacturing family,

is in which city?

I'm really sorry.

Nothing coming.

So in true Eggheads fashion, I'll go straight down the middle, please.

New York. Let's see if Barry knows. Barry?

I would have gone for New York.

Yeah, it sounds like that. It's actually Tokyo... Oh, gosh!

..Is the answer. So, David, I'm sorry, you've been knocked out.

There we are, Barry. You've now arrived as Brain Of Britain

in Eggheads. Finally you've got one. You're in the final.

Even despite getting that last one wrong!

David, I'm sorry, you've been knocked out. Please, both of you, come back to your teams.

David, bad luck. Anyone able to sum up the mood of the team at this point?

Despondent. Using a song by the Jam?

Beat Surrender. Beat Surrender! Very good.

Brilliant.

The Eton Rifles have lost three brains from the final round, the Eggheads have not lost a brain.

So it's looking a bit difficult, but as you say, you're up for the fight.

The next subject is Geography.

So which of you would like this? That would be me.

Paul? OK. Which Egghead, Paul?

It can be Daphne or Pat.

Either/or? You choose. I'll go with Daphne.

OK, so it's Paul from the Eton Rifles versus Daphne on Geography.

Been anywhere recently? No, actually.

I'm quite happy at home. I've done all my travelling.

So there's a chance, definitely a chance.

To ensure there's no conferring, please take your positions.

So, Paul, I was asking Daphne where she'd been recently,

and it's pretty much Weston-super-Mare town centre.

What about you? I was in Barcelona back in May last year for my stag do.

Fantastic. And you survived the stag do? You got home? It wasn't like that film The Hangover

where they don't get home? There were parts of it that were maybe a bit like that.

We won't go into that.

That would shock Daphne, I have to say. Nothing shocks me any more!

OK, Geography it is. Paul, would you like to go first or second?

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

Here is your question, Paul. Which river is crossed by the Ponte Vittorio Emanuele II,

Ponte Garibaldi and Ponte Marconi?

Well, given the names of the bridges sound Italian,

that rules out obviously the Seine and the Rhine,

so I'll go with the Tiber.

Tiber is the correct answer.

Daphne, your question.

Crumlin and Castleknock are suburbs of which city?

Well, my dad's from Dublin,

my first husband was from Dublin,

and I think it's Dublin.

It is indeed Dublin.

Dublin is right. Well done.

OK, Paul, your question.

The unusual rock formations known as Brimham Rocks are in which English county?

I think, I'm not 100% sure here,

but I think it sounds...

the name sort of sounds to me like it would be in the Southwest,

and I will go further southwest and say Devon.

Let's see if Daphne knows. Daphne? Is that right?

I might have gone for North Yorkshire,

but I'm not positive.

North Yorkshire is the right answer. Sorry.

Daphne, to take the lead...

the World heritage Site known as the Site of Xanadu is in which country?

You know, my mind's gone completely blank. Kubla Khan...

China!

It went blank and then you got China?

How did that happen?

"In Xanadu did Kubla Khan..." Yeah, that sounds Chinese. Yes.

China is the right answer.

So you need to get this one right now, Paul.

What type of geographical feature in Florida is known as the Big O?

Er...

I have to admit I'm not really sure either way,

but I think the freshwater lake,

just as a sort of a guess, really.

It's a good guess, you're quite right. Freshwater lake it is.

So, bit of a comeback here from the Eton Rifles.

Let's see what you do now, Daphne.

Which US state is bordered on the west by California and on the east by New Mexico?

Arizona?

I never know how your guessing works. Arizona is your answer,

and it is the right answer, Daphne.

Arizona is the correct answer. You're in the final round.

Paul, sorry. You've been knocked out.

But are your team in trouble? We'll see. Come back to us, we'll play the final.

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, David, Tristan, Paul and Alan, from the Eton Rifles,

would you please leave the studio?

So here we are, Amon. Good luck. You're playing to win the Eton Rifles £16,000

against all of them here.

So Dave, Daphne, Chris, Barry and Pat, you are playing for something which 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... doesn't help you, I know!

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

And also would you like to go first or second?

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

Best of luck to you and it can be done.

Three questions away from £16,000.

What name is given to the type of cooking that combines elements of eastern and western cuisine?

I think I know this one.

They're all kind of scientific terms,

but I'm pretty sure that it's fusion.

Fusion is the right answer. Well done.

Over to you, Eggheads, for your question?

In which year did Joseph Stalin die?

1953. Same day as Prokofiev. '53.

He died on the same day as the composer Prokofiev in 1953.

1953 is the correct answer.

On the same day as the composer Prokofiev?

Yes, there were no flowers for Prokofiev's funeral, apparently.

They'd all been commandeered for the Great Leader!

How interesting!

They're full of this stuff, you know? Indeed.

I won't say useless information, because that was very interesting.

Amon, what is the name of the technique used by dancers

to prevent them becoming dizzy when spinning?

Spotting, dotting or jotting...?

Er...

jotting sounds a bit too kind of random,

so I think I'll eliminate jotting.

And again so does dotting,

so it seems to me that spotting would be the most logical answer.

Spotting...? Yeah, I suppose...

Yeah, I think I'll go with spotting, Jeremy.

You've got the right answer. Well done.

Phew! Spotting is correct. 2 out of 2.

Excellent. OK, Eggheads,

which of these names is associated with the Fokker Wulf Fw 200,

a four-engined World War II aircraft?

Fw 200 Condor. Condor.

Did it bomb Guernica, the Condor Wulf...? No! That was Condor Legion.

The Condor Legion's something else, this is the Fw 200 Condor.

It's the Condor.

Chris sounded very certain there. Yeah.

Did it bomb Guernica or was that something else?

No, that was Heinkel 111s of the Condor Legion

which was something else. This is Fw 200 Condor

which is sort of long-range...

Well, it was built as a bomber, but they used to use them

for long-range reconnaissance over the Atlantic a lot.

It would be hilarious if you were wrong after that long explanation,

but you are right. Well done, Chris especially.

Condor is the correct answer.

OK...

Well, they never make it easy, these Eggs. No.

Especially when there are five of them!

So your question... Get this one right and they could fall apart quicker than you would imagine...

Ayrton Senna made his Formula One debut in 1984 driving for which team?

Now, I'm trying to think back because I have watched the Senna film,

which is a great, great film.

I seem to recall it was one that isn't around any more.

And I think Sauber are still going, aren't they?

So I think I might rule that one out.

Which would leave Toleman or Brabham.

I'm drawn to one, but...

I think...

Brabham rings a bell, so I'm going to go with Brabham,

but I'm not 100% certain.

Eggs? I'd have gone for Toleman.

But you're not certain, are you? Not certain, no.

The answer is Toleman.

OK, let's see what they do with this question.

If they get it right, the contest is over.

Otherwise we go to Sudden Death.

A lot of money we're playing for here.

Eggheads, in which film does Molly Ringwald say the line,

"I just wanna let them know that they didn't break me"?

I think it's The Breakfast Club. I think it's The Breakfast Club too.

I think it's The Breakfast Club because she's definitely in it

with Judd Nelson and Emilio Estevez. Not Pretty In Pink...?

We'll go with The Breakfast Club.

In The Breakfast Club they're in detention,

and they're all quite dysfunctional children or teenagers. Yeah.

She was like the one who was being bullied

by the other teenagers.

I would really go The Breakfast Club rather than Pretty In Pink.

I know she's in Pretty In Pink, but I would go The Breakfast Club. OK.

We'll do that. We're going to go for The Breakfast Club.

You've gone for The Breakfast Club.

If that's right, the contest is over.

Do you happen to know? I would have gone for Pretty In Pink personally.

Really? Yeah. You would have been right.

I talked them out of it, it was all down to me.

I hate to annoy you by saying this,

Toleman would have got you 16,000. but you're not out.

They've let you back in here.

So just to be clear, Breakfast Club is wrong.

Pretty In Pink is the correct answer. Sorry about that, team.

Complete meltdown of the Eggheads!

We go to Sudden Death. It gets a little bit harder, particularly when you're on your own,

because I don't give you alternatives. OK. Good luck, Amon, here's your question.

The name of the BBC station Three Counties Radio

refers to Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire and which other county?

I think, if memory serves me correctly, I might be wrong on this,

the area that it would be in would be kind of north of London, M1 kind of way...

er...and...

..the one that springs to mind round there would be Hertfordshire.

So I'm going to go with Hertfordshire.

Hertfordshire is the right answer. Yes!

A little bit of pressure on these Eggheads. Playing really well, Amon.

Let's see, because if you get this one wrong, they take the money.

Which Chinese river's devastating floods earned it the nickname China's Sorrow?

It's the Yellow River. Huang He. Definitely the Yellow River.

Yeah. Yeah.

That's the Yellow River, I think they call it the Huang He,

but the Yellow River. They do, and it is Yellow River.

You're right. OK.

Back to you on Sudden Death, Amon.

Who directed and acted in the 1958 film Touch Of Evil?

I'm really struggling with this. '58?

Touch Of Evil...

Who directed and acted in the 1958 film Touch Of Evil? Take your time.

I'm really trying to think here...

I've heard of the film, but I haven't seen it.

And I'm really kind of struggling...

I'm trying to think of an actor from that era...

Something's saying...

I don't think it's right, but I'm going to go with Robert Mitchum.

But I don't think it's right.

It's not Robert Mitchum.

If you'd gone for the most obvious director-actor...?

Orson Welles. Really? It was in my head and I thought...

I thought that was one to leave out.

You got that wrong, so this is a chance for the Eggheads to win.

The writer and broadcaster Charlie Brooker

married which former Blue Peter presenter in 2010?

Konnie Huq. Yeah. That was Konnie Huq.

You all knew it? Yeah.

Konnie Huq is the right answer,

and we say congratulations, Eggheads, you have won.

That was a really great contest.

We see a lot of them in this studio and I'm sorry... I'm really annoyed, I could have said Orson Welles,

it sprung to mind, but I hadn't heard of it. But Toleman is the one, isn't it?

I won't even remind you.

Commiserations to the Eton Rifles.

The Eggheads have done what comes naturally to them,

and their winning streak continues. I'm afraid you won't be going home with the £16,000.

So the money rolls over to our 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. £17,000 says they don't.

Until then, goodbye.

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd