Episode 81 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 challengers

pit their wits against possibly the greatest quiz team in Britain.

They are the Eggheads.

And challenging the awesome might of our quiz champions today are...

This team of colleagues all work for the same firm of solicitors,

based in Leicestershire.

So let's meet them.

Hi, my name's Colin, I'm 50 years old and I'm a company chairman.

Hi, I'm Martin, I'm 42, I'm a business development manager.

Hi, I'm Douglas, I'm 52 and I'm a solicitor.

Hi, I'm Leanne, I'm 34 and I'm a chartered tax advisor.

Hi, I'm Ian, I'm 32 and I'm a sales and marketing manager.

-So, Colin and team, welcome. Good to see you.

-Thank you.

I know that this is a charity drive that you're doing.

Yes. We're trying to find ways of raising as much money as possible

for a local hospice charity called LOROS.

So I suppose this all hinges on you actually winning here.

That's the one thing we haven't considered here!

That would be a distinct advantage, yes!

Well, we'll see what they can do,

although they're curiously unbending when it comes to quiz questions, I must say!

I wish you well with this.

Everyday, 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, Expecting Heavy Losses - and, by the way, I love your name -

the Eggheads have won the last 31 games,

so what we can do for you

is offer you really quite a big jackpot.

Only one thing, or rather five things,

stands between you and £32,000

and we know who they are.

-Do you want to get started?

-Absolutely.

The first head-to-head battle is on Geography.

Who would like to take Geography?

I think, er, that's you, isn't it, Douglas?

-I think I will.

-Douglas in the middle, OK.

-Against which Egghead?

-Any suggestions? Ladies first?

-Very well.

-I think ladies first.

-Judith.

-OK.

Who's the key Eggheads viewer here? Somebody's an expert.

Ah, the gentleman at the end - Ian!

So Douglas versus Judith on Geography. Good luck to you.

Please go to the Question Room and we'll see how you do.

OK, good luck in this round.

It's Geography. You can choose whether you go first or second.

I'd better go second, hadn't I?

-How are we feeling today, Judith?

-Very well, thank you.

Turkey has a land border with which of these countries?

That's Iran.

Iran is quite right.

Over to you, Douglas.

Which European capital is situated where Lake Malaren meets the Baltic Sea?

Well, I think, the Baltic Sea being up in the northeast of Europe,

it's going to not be Vienna, so it's either Moscow or Stockholm.

I don't think Moscow is near the Baltic Sea, so I would say Stockholm.

Stockholm is the right answer. Well done!

Good stuff! OK.

Here we go with your question, Judith Keppel.

The Beaulieu River flows out into which body of water?

And "Bowlier", which is the correct pronunciation,

is spelt B-E-A-U-L-I-E-U.

I thought it was always called the "Bulee" River.

It's only called the "Bulee" River when you are describing it, I think.

I'm told "Bowlier". We've been through it.

I've sailed on the Beaulieu River.

-You think it's "Bulee"?

-Yes. Yes, I'm sure it's "Bulee".

It goes into The Solent.

Ask Kevin, he'll know because it's in Hampshire.

-We love our pronunciations here.

-It's "Bulee".

-It's...?

-It's "Bulee".

-"Bulee".

-Never heard it called anything other than that.

OK, we'll call it "Bulee", just for you.

And The Solent is the right answer.

-If you sailed on it, you were never going to get that wrong, were you?

-No!

After all that, Douglas, back to you.

Someone described as a Savoyard is native of which part of the world?

Well, that, I'm fairly certain, would be Savoy,

and why am I suddenly having a blank about where Savoy is?

Erm...

I would say not Southeast France,

because I'm fairly familiar with that.

I think, and I'm risking it here,

I think I will go for Central Italy.

Savoyard is a native of Southeast France, Douglas.

-Oh, dear.

-You got it wrong. Sorry.

Judith is ahead. If you get this one right, Judith, you take the round.

Let's see. The Rila Mountains form the highest mountain range in which European country?

I've absolutely never heard of them. Erm...

What country's got good mountains? Erm...

There's a Hungarian plain...

Bulgaria.

-You went down the right for instinct or...?

-No reason.

-No reason at all?

I abandoned that.

-Bulgaria is the right answer.

-I'll have to take it up again.

Douglas, I feel bad. She didn't even know and she just...

The instinct they play with sometimes, these Eggheads, is quite something!

Judith has won the round on Geography.

Douglas, you won't be in the final.

Please come back and rejoin your teams.

Expecting Heavy Losses have suffered a light loss.

This is not the end of it, but there's a little chunk taken out of the team.

Let's see how you do in the next round. The Eggheads have not lost one yet.

It's Sport we're doing next. Who would like this?

-It's not me.

-I'll take that.

All right, the sportsman against which Egghead?

-Are we thinking Barry?

-I'm not thinking anything!

-Barry, please.

-Right.

Ian from Expecting Heavy Losses against Barry.

Back in the game. He's had quite a few games he hasn't been chosen in. It's now starting again.

Barry, who's now Brain of Britain, will take you on, on Sport.

To ensure there's no conferring... I should've mentioned that earlier, shouldn't I?

..please go to the Question Room now!

-Ian, good luck. First or second set of questions?

-I'd like to go first, please.

Here we go.

The Test match cricketing venue known as The Oval is in which English city?

It's definitely not in Leeds.

I don't believe it's in Liverpool,

so I'll say London.

London is correct. Well done.

OK, Barry, your question.

In which athletics event did Brendan Foster win a bronze medal at the 1976 Summer Olympics?

Brendan Foster was a very fine long-distance runner

and he won this medal in the 10,000 metres.

10,000 metres is absolutely right.

Wasn't he commentating when Mo Farah...

-So, for him, it was a very emotional experience...

-Indeed.

..to see that Olympic victory in 2012.

On we go, Ian.

Which football team signed the Dutch striker Robin van Persie from Arsenal in 2012?

I'm actually a Leicester City fan,

and we're not quite in the Premier yet but we'll be there soon,

but I do enjoy football

and I am 100 percent positive that he joined Manchester United,

and he's scoring a lot of goals, too.

It was a very good signing for them. Man United is the right answer.

Van Persie. Any Arsenal fans here?

No? That's all right, then.

It could've been a difficult moment.

Barry, what is the nickname of the American gymnast Gabby Douglas

who won two gold medals at the London 2012 Olympics?

Mm... Now, let me think.

I don't think it was The Flying Ant.

It's Flying Squirrel or Flying Chinchilla.

There's not many chinchillas in North America,

so I think it was The Flying Squirrel.

She was indeed The Flying Squirrel. Well done.

Two each. A little bit tense.

Ian, as a fan of the programme, you know that this third question can be crucial.

Stephen Bunting and Scott Waites found fame as leading players in which sport?

I don't recognise their names, and I do watch a bit of darts

so I'll rule that out first.

I don't watch any bowls or squash, so I'm going down a 50-50 route here

and... I'll opt for squash.

It's not. We had a squash question the other day.

It's not squash, though. Darts is the answer, Ian. Sorry.

Barry, if you get this right, you're in the Final Round.

In the US, the Maxwell Award

and the Walter Camp Player of the Year Award

are given annually to outstanding college players in which sport?

The Maxwell Award and the Walter Camp Award...

I thought the Heisman Award

was the award for college players in American football

so I shall discount American football.

They play a lot more basketball in American colleges.

I'm not too sure if they play baseball,

but because I've not heard of it, I'll go for baseball.

It's funny, both this question and the last one with Ian,

you start by discounting the correct answer.

In this case, American football is correct.

Ian, you're still in with a chance very much.

We go to Sudden Death. You're level after three.

It gets a bit harder because I don't give you alternatives.

The sports broadcaster Matthew Syed

was an England number-one in which sport?

The name does ring a bell. I don't know why

but cricket came to mind as soon as you said the name, so I'm going to opt for cricket.

No, the answer is table tennis.

Barry, your question.

Claudio Caniggia earned 50 caps

playing for which national football team?

I'm toying between two teams, Italy and Argentina,

because it definitely sounds a Latin name.

I'll go for Argentina.

You played well. You got it right. Argentina is the right answer.

Ian, you've been knocked out,

but a very tight sporting round there.

Both of you, rejoin your teammates.

OK, as it stands, Expecting Heavy Losses have had their expectations met somewhat

because they've lost two brains,

but there's plenty of time and you can win with just one person left.

The Eggheads are still intact here.

The next subject is Arts & Books. Who would like this?

-Is that me?

-It's got to be you.

-It's you.

-That's me, apparently.

-Leanne. OK.

Choose an Egghead, Leanne.

-Let's go with Pat.

-Pat.

Leanne from Expecting Heavy Losses, expecting to win - let's say that -

versus Pat from the Eggheads on Arts & Books.

Please take your positions.

-Good luck. Arts & Books the subject. Would you like to go first or second?

-First, please.

Here we go with your first question. Good luck.

In Michael Bond's Paddington Bear books,

the part of the world from which Paddington comes is described as what?

This is about my standard of question with young daughters,

so that one, I'm pretty confident, is Darkest Peru.

Spot on. Darkest Peru is right. Well done.

OK, Pat, your question.

The comic verse known as the Clerihew

normally comprises how many lines?

"Geography is about maps and biography is about chaps" -

I think that's a classic Clerihew.

Could that be described as being four lines?

I think a Clerihew is just shorter than a limerick,

so I think it's four.

Four is the right answer. But was that a Clerihew?

No, I have second thoughts now. It might not be a Clerihew.

I think it was a quote from the man who created Clerihews,

but I don't think it's a Clerihew itself.

-Would you have got that one, Leanne?

-I'd have probably guessed, but I wouldn't have known it.

"Early Sunday Morning",

a 1930 painting of an empty stretch of street, is a work by which American artist?

I'm not sure on this one. Erm...

My mind has gone blank as to when...

..any of these names would've been around,

so I'm going to have to take a bit of a punt.

I think I will go for...

..Edward Hopper.

-Edward Hopper is the right answer.

-HE LAUGHS

Excellent work.

You're very much in it. In fact, you're ahead.

Pat, what is the profession of Sydney Carton,

one of the central characters of the Dickens novel A Tale of Two Cities?

There's Charles Darnay and there's Sydney Carton,

and one sort of voluntarily takes the other's place

on the way to the guillotine

in an act of self-sacrifice.

Of those three options,

I find it hard to believe he's an executioner.

I'm not sure. I really don't know.

I'll go for lawyer but I won't be surprised if it's debt collector.

Lawyer is your answer. I shall check with the lawyers over here.

We don't know.

Pat, you're right. It's a lawyer. So you've both got two.

Leanne, your question.

Which author, born in 1892,

was considered for the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1961,

but lost out because, according to one jury member,

"his prose has not in any way measured up to storytelling of the highest quality"?

I'm in two minds here, because I was thinking Tolkien originally

but then I'm not sure whether he was born after that.

I'll go with my instinct and say Tolkien.

JRR Tolkien is the correct answer. Three out of three!

Playing really well, Leanne. Let's see if you can dislodge Pat.

The German painters Ernst Ludwig Kirchner,

Erich Heckel and Karl Schmidt-Rottluff

founded which early 20th-century art group?

Well, I think if you were listing the founders of Der Blaue Reiter,

I think Kandinsky had a piece of that.

I'm not certain, but I think he did.

Neue Sachlichkeit...

I would've thought Grosz and Dix would've been included in the list.

So without any great confidence, I'll go for Die Brucke.

I'm impressed, I must say,

but you can have more confidence than that,

Die Brucke is the right answer.

We go to Sudden Death against Pat.

You're playing really well, but he is, too, I'm afraid!

It becomes a bit harder, I don't give you alternatives.

Who wrote the late 1930s novella entitled The Red Pony,

comprising a series of stories about a young boy named Jody Tiflin

and his life on his father's ranch?

I don't know that one, but I'd rather a guess a name

so I'll go with George Orwell.

John Steinbeck is the answer.

Pat, which painter once wrote

"At the age of six, I wanted to be a cook.

"At seven I wanted to be Napoleon. And my ambition has been growing steadily ever since"?

Well...

..I don't know,

so I'll have to think of painters who, erm,

who are good for a good quote.

In terms of overweening intergalactic ambition and ego,

I'll go for Salvador Dali.

Salvador Dali is the right answer, Pat. You've taken the round.

Leanne, you played really well. Just got pipped by him at the post.

Pat will be in the final.

Both of you, please rejoin your teams.

As it stands, Expecting Heavy Losses have lost three brains,

the Eggheads have not lost one yet.

The next subject is Music.

Who would like Music?

-Martin.

-It's got to be you.

-It's me.

-Against which Egghead?

Chris.

-Against Chris.

-OK, so Martin from Expecting Heavy Losses...

-Chris on Music?

-Yep!

As I always say, it depends what you mean by "music".

Hit and miss! Let's see how you both do. Please go to the Question Room.

Martin, you can choose the first or second set of questions.

I'll go first, please.

Here we go. Which Beatles song features the line

"Sont des mots qui vont tres bien ensemble"?

OK, it's not She Loves You.

Er... It's not Yesterday.

It's Michelle.

It is Michelle. Will you sing that line for us?

I'd rather not!

Chris, your question.

Everything I Own, released in 1987,

was which singer's first solo single?

It's not Michael Jackson.

Er, I think Boy George was Karma Chameleon, wasn't it,

with the Culture Club, so...

..after the break-up of The Police, it must've been Sting.

-It wasn't, actually. It was Boy George.

-Was it?

OK, your question, Martin.

What is the title of Nicki Minaj's song

that reached number two in the UK Singles Chart in 2012?

I've got no idea.

I'm going to go with Starships.

I'm glad you did, it's correct. Starships.

OK, Chris,

"Va, pensiero"

is a chorus from an 1842 opera by which composer?

It's from Nabucco by Verdi.

Yes, it is. Verdi is correct.

Martin, your question.

Ian Hunter was best known in the early 1970s

as the lead singer in which group?

I don't know this one, either. I'm going to rule out Humble Pie

and I'm going to go with...

..Mott the Hoople.

They're the best-known band. It's the right answer. Well done.

So no way back for Chris there.

Maybe things are turning now. That was a good win for you, Martin.

Well done. You'll be in the Final Round.

Chris won't. If you come back to us, we will play that Final Round,

with a substantial jackpot.

This is what we have 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 be allowed to take part in this round.

Douglas, Leanne and Ian from Expecting Heavy Losses,

and also Chris from the Eggheads,

would you please now leave the studio?

Colin and Martin, you're playing to win Expecting Heavy Losses £32,000.

Barry, Pat, Judith and Kevin,

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

As usual, I will ask each team three questions in turn.

The questions are all general knowledge.

You can confer, OK?

So, Expecting Heavy Losses, the question is,

are your two brains able to tear apart the Eggheads' four?

-Most important of all, do you want to go first or second?

-We'll go first, please, Jeremy.

Very best of luck to you both.

Part of Morecambe and Wise's stage patter

involved Eric saying of Ernie's hair, "You can't see the..." what?

-Is it...

-(It's join.)

-(Join!)

-They say there's questions you know the answer to

and questions you don't know the answer to,

and it was a wiser man than I that said this,

this is one that we do know the answer to, and it's join.

Well done. You're right. Join is right.

OK, Eggheads, your question.

Schwarz is the German word for which colour?

-Black.

-OK with black?

That is the German for black.

Schwarz means black in German, you're right.

Back to you, Colin and Martin.

In the expression "20/20 vision",

to what do the numbers refer?

-I think...

-I don't know.

-I'm not 100 percent sure on this one.

-I'd say the first one.

-Erm...

Number of Letters Read -

-you can't tell that.

-It's not that. Take that one out.

I would suggest that the Height of the Letters on the Chart,

as they vary, it's unlikely to be based on the height of the letters

-because you start with small ones and get larger.

-Yes.

As a very uneducated guess,

I think I'd have to say it's based on the Distance from Eye Chart.

-We'll go with that.

-Yes?

-Yes.

We're doing a semi-educated guess here, Jeremy,

and we're going to say it's the Distance from the Eye Chart.

-Are they right?

-Yes.

-You're right.

Distance from the Eye Chart is absolutely right.

Eggheads, your second question. £32,000 being played for here.

The think tank The Hansard Society was founded in 1944 to promote what?

1944... THEY CONFER

The logical one is Parliamentary Democracy.

-Yes.

-Could it be anything else?

I don't think it's anything to do with healthcare or trade,

as far as I'm aware.

I don't know for sure, but Hansard is the record of goings-on,

if that's the right phrase, in the Palace of Westminster,

so the logical answer there is Parliamentary Democracy.

Parliamentary Democracy is correct.

Your third question.

"The Trouble With Tribbles"

is the title of an episode of which science-fiction TV series?

Do you know what, I think there was an episode of Star Trek

when they had those little balls everywhere.

-The Trouble With Tribbles.

-I think it is that.

Again, Jeremy, it's another one of our uneducated guesses.

Erm...

We're going with Star Trek.

That answer puts you one question away from £32,000.

Well done. Star Trek is the right answer.

You've played a perfect round so far. Three out of three.

Eggheads, if you get this wrong, the money goes to our Challengers

and we reset it right back to £1,000.

November 22nd is a commemorative date for Albanians,

marking the standardisation of the Albanian what?

Did they convert from...

Are they currently on the standard Western alphabet?

I don't know. Are they on something else?

Without having the faintest idea, I mean, I simply don't know it,

-but that would be my instinct.

-You don't know?

-No.

That would be my instinctive answer, the alphabet.

They were on Cyrillic and they switched?

-I'm inclined to agree with you.

-I don't know it,

the only thing I would think of is that

you have the two different language and social groups,

the Ghegs and the Tosks,

this would be a way of uniting them and bringing them together.

That's my... That would be my guess, but it is a guess.

-OK?

-Yes.

In Albania, there are a couple of different groups,

the Ghegs and the Tosks, social, ethnic groups,

and since this is standardisation, it implies unity.

On the whole, we think the most likely is Alphabet.

It could be Calendar, but we'll try Alphabet.

If you've got it wrong, IF,

then the jackpot goes to our Challengers,

but you've got it right, Eggheads. It is Alphabet. Well done.

Three out of three. We go to Sudden Death.

I don't give you alternatives. Here's your question.

Which actress married Richard Branson's nephew

Ned Rocknroll

in December 2012?

So, he's going to be sort of 30, isn't he?

-Yes.

-And he's going to marry a...

-You can tell from the blank expressions we don't have a clue.

-Never heard of Ned Rocknroll.

I've never heard of Ned Rocknroll, either.

So we want a sort of 30-something-ish actress.

Yes. So, who's of eligible age? Erm...

Kate Winslet? She's of eligible age.

I don't think it's her. I don't think it's her.

-Keira Knightley? Has she recently got married?

-I don't think it's her.

I've gone a bit blank, to be honest.

This is where we need one of the girls who reads trivia magazines.

-Hello! magazine or something.

-One of these girly glossy mags.

Erm...

-Go with Keira Knightley.

-We have no idea at all.

Keira Knightley.

Keira Knightley is your answer. That's a shame, because the answer...

I think Leanne knows. Do you know?

-Leanne?

-We think so.

-Go on.

-We think it's Kate Winslet.

-Yes. The answer passed your lips.

I'm looking at it thinking, "My goodness! You sailed past it!"

-It was Kate Winslet.

-No way!

-That's frustrating.

OK, so you've given the Eggheads a chance to take the contest here.

Here is your question, Eggheads, for the contest.

Whom did Nikita Khrushchev once describe as

"the first Soviet swallow in the cosmos"?

-Yuri Gagarin?

-Valentina Tereshkova?

-It's got to be Tereshkova.

-What do you think?

-I think Tereshkova was the first Soviet woman in space.

It depends on what they're saying,

on whether swallow is referring to...

Gagarin was a very small man, so that doesn't hurt the "swallow".

-What do you think, Barry?

-I'm inclined to think Gagarin

-rather than Tereshkova.

-OK.

I'm puzzled as to whether "swallow" has any feminine connotation.

Yes. OK.

I'm outvoted. That's fair enough.

OK, erm, we've had to take a vote on this one, Jeremy,

and...

..we'll say Yuri Gagarin.

Kevin was wrong. It is Yuri Gagarin.

So we say congratulations, Eggheads, you have won.

I'm sorry. Commiserations, Expecting Heavy Losses.

You played such a tight game at the end.

As you can see, they just...

They had both astronauts there

and they just went for Gagarin and it was Gagarin.

Commiserations to you. The Eggheads have done what comes very naturally at the moment.

Their winning streak continues. That means you won't be going home with the £32,000,

which means that money rolls over to our next show.

Eggheads, congratulations. Dare I say, who will beat you?

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

£33,000 says they don't.

Till then, goodbye.

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd