Episode 17 Eggheads

These people are amongst the greatest quiz players in Britain.

Together, they make up the Eggheads,

arguably the most formidable quiz team in the country.

The question is...

..Can they be beaten?

Welcome to Eggheads, the show where a team of five quiz challengers

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

They are the Eggheads.

And taking on the might of our quiz Goliaths today are the Amnesiacs.

This team are friends and regularly quiz together at the Red Lion

pub in Millfield, just outside their home town of Berwick-upon-Tweed.

Let's meet them.

Hello. I'm Martin. I'm 60 years old and I'm a farmer.

Hi. I'm Fiona. I'm 56 and I'm also a farmer.

Hello. I'm Simon. I'm 52 and I'm a retired yacht skipper.

Hello. I'm Nicky. I'm 51 and I run a transcribing business.

Hi. I'm Joan. I'm 58 and I'm an artist.

Welcome to you, Amnesiacs.

Now, have you forgotten what you're doing here?

-You know you're going to play the Eggheads.

-Yes.

Why have you called yourself the Amnesiacs?

It's kind of lost in the mists of time, I believe.

I remember we were at a pub many years ago,

and we were talking about how you get asked a question at the quiz

and you think, "Oh, I know the answer to that,"

and then amnesia seems to set in and you can't quite recall it.

So someone said, well, why don't we call ourselves the Amnesiacs,

if we forget that much? And that's how it transpired.

OK, well, let's hope it doesn't affect you today.

We give you a bit of time to think about things but it's always good

if you can remember the answer eventually.

Let me tell you what's been going on, Amnesiacs.

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

However, if they fail to defeat the Eggheads,

the prize-money rolls over to the next show.

So, Amnesiacs. The Eggheads have won the last four games.

That means £5,000 says you can't beat the Eggheads today.

And let's start, then, with our first head-to-head. It's Geography.

Who'd like to play this? Who'd like to start us?

It's got to be you, Martin, surely? Yes, I think probably.

I think I'll do the Geography, Dermot.

OK, Martin, straight in there

and which Egghead would you like to challenge?

Hmm...

THEY CONFER

I think we'll take on CJ please.

CJ, OK.

I am so happy. Delighted!

The two closest to me, then, it's Martin

from the Amnesiacs and CJ from the Eggheads

to play Geography. Into the question room please.

Now, Martin, Geography you're playing. Would you like to go

first or second?

I will go first, Dermot, please.

Good luck, Martin. First question.

Moose Jaw is the name of a city in which country?

Well, it's definitely not Kuwait.

And I don't believe it'll be Wales,

but I'm sure I've heard of a Moose Jaw or something in Canada.

The Eggheads were tittering, there.

I think enjoying Kuwait, there. You never know!

It is Canada. Well done, Martin.

CJ, which European country is officially

known as the Hellenic Republic?

That would be Greece.

Yes, it would. OK, I think we eased you in there, both of you,

with your first questions.

Let's ratchet it up a bit now.

Martin, at the 2011 census,

what was the approximate population of the Isle of Wight?

Ooh... It's definitely not over a million.

Possibly 13,000. There is one or two big towns on it.

138,000?

Possibly...

I think I will go for 13,800.

It is...

10 times bigger than that. 138,000.

As you said, quite a few fairly big towns on the Isle of Wight. OK.

138,000 not identified by Martin. CJ, can you tell me...

The official languages of Peru are Quechua, Aymara, and which?

Erm...I don't think it would be English. Not for Peru.

The vast majority of Central and South America has Spanish.

But is that too obvious?

I may be trying to second-guess myself here.

I'll just have to go for Spanish.

OK. Just making sure you didn't talk yourself out of it.

It is the right answer. Well done, CJ. You have two.

Martin, you need this one, then.

Which of these countries straddles the equator?

Erm... I think I know that one. It's not Iran. Too far north.

India's too far north, as well. But I'm sure, Indonesia...

..straddles the equator.

Indonesia. Well, there's a lot of it, isn't there?

It's the right answer. Well done, Martin, you're still in it.

And, CJ, Newtownards in Northern Ireland

lies at the northern tip of which body of water?

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to blind guessing time, starring CJ.

I don't even know why I'm thinking about this.

I've got absolutely nothing to go on.

Erm... Lough Foyle.

Lough Foyle.

No, it's not. That's way out. Other Eggheads?

-Strangford Lough?

-Strangford Lough.

Strangford... So, good news, Martin.

CJ didn't get that, so we go into sudden death,

and to sort out a winner we remove the options now.

No choices for you, Martin.

So, can you tell me...

..Vail is a famous ski resort in which US state?

Vail. V-A-I-L.

I think that's in Colorado?

It's correct.

Yes!

OK, CJ, you need to get this, then.

Bikku Bitti is the highest mountain in which African country?

B-I-K-K-U, second word B-I-T-T-I

Haven't heard of it. Can I do anything with the language? Erm...

I don't think so. Erm...

Kenya?

OK, Kenya for Bikku Bitti.

It's not the right answer.

It is Libya.

Yes! There is a God!

Which means, Martin, you're through to the final round.

Yay!

I mean, after the Isle of Wight mix-up you've got back in it

and won the game. Well done. You're playing in the final round.

Would you both please come back and join your teams?

Surprised to find you back here, Martin.

Thought you might have forgotten the way back in.

You won't forget that round, though. That was a great performance.

That means that the Amnesiacs are all still here,

the Eggheads have lost one brain from the final round.

Our next subject today, it's Arts & Books.

Now, who'd like to play this from the Amnesiacs?

-Joan? Joan, we'll take a chance on that.

-You sure?

-Yes, definitely.

That's it. Joan you've got to choose an opponent.

Who would you like to play? It can't be CJ.

-Chris?

-Yeah. Martin? What do you reckon, Chris?

-Yeah.

-We think Chris.

I like the way you asked Martin there. He's not interested.

"I've won my round. Don't ask me."

It's going to be Chris, then. OK.

Let's have Joan and Chris into the question room for this one, please.

So, Joan, good to have an artist playing Arts & Books.

Would you like to go first or second?

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

OK, Joan, first question is this.

What is the full title of the Narnia series of books by CS Lewis?

Well, I'm sure it's not the Annals of Narnia.

I'm drawn towards the Chronicles of Narnia.

Yes. You'd be right to be.

It's the correct answer.

Yes! Well done, Joan.

Chris. Which book is set in the ancient time

between the age of Faerie and the dominion of men?

Well, the Grapes of Wrath is Depression America,

the Count of Monte Cristo is nineteenth century France.

It's Tolkien's The Hobbit.

It is, yes. The Hobbit. Didn't you get a part in that, Chris?

Er... No.

OK, it's all square. One all.

Joan. The sixteenth and seventeenth century British portrait

miniaturist Nicholas Hilliard established which

shape as a standard for such paintings?

Well, I've never seen a triangular portrait.

And I think square's quite unlikely. We'll have to go for oval.

Yes, you're right.

-Yes! Come on!

-Well done. Two for you.

Chris, the artist Titian lends his name to a shade of which colour?

Yeah, you sometimes see ladies with Titian hair.

It's red.

It is red. That is correct. Two all. Both of you doing very well here.

Joan, third question.

"Was it a vision, or a waking dream?

"Fled is that music - Do I wake or sleep?"

is the last line of which work by John Keats?

Well, to be truthful, I don't know. But...

Mmm... Certainly a Grecian urn doesn't run well at all...

Ah...

I'd like to go for Nightingale.

Ode to a Nightingale.

Ode to a Nightingale.

"Was it a vision, or a waking dream?

"Fled is that music - Do I wake or sleep?"

Concludes...

The Ode...

To a Nightingale! It's correct!

Yes! Come on, Joan!

You have three.

OK, Chris. Which British author wrote the 1904 short story

the Country Of The Blind

about the discovery of a community of sightless people in Equator?

Yeah, it's not Rudyard Kipling, that much I do know...

It's a wee bit early for Aldous Huxley, I think.

I think it belongs to HG Wells, and his sort-of science-fiction-y

period so I'll have to go with HG Wells.

HG Wells for the Country Of The Blind.

It's the right answer!

Well done, Chris. We go to sudden death again.

OK, Joan, you know what that involves

after you saw Martin playing it.

No choices are going to be offered to you.

Lloyd Dallas and Dotty Otley are characters in which

play by Michael Frayne?

Nope. I'm sorry. I really can't think of an answer to give you.

You don't know any Michael Frayne plays?

-I don't. I'm very sorry, I don't.

-Can't have a guess.

OK, Chris, do you know?

-Er... It's not Noises Off, is it?

-Yes, it is. Noises Off.

Lloyd Dallas and Dotty Otley.

So, a chance for you, Chris.

The name of which river appears in the title of a work of literature

written between 1928 and 1940 by the Russian writer Mikhail Sholokhov?

Quiet Flows The Don.

It's the Russian Don, not the one in Sheffield.

It is, yes, the right answer.

Well, you didn't have to specify, you could have just said,

"The Don" and left us guessing,

but we probably would have worked that out.

It's the right answer, Chris, yes. You're through to the final round.

Good quizzing, there, Joan, but no place in the final round.

Sorry about that, Joan, would you both please

come back and join your teams?

Well, it's all square after that round.

Both the Amnesiacs

and the Eggheads have lost one brain from the final round.

Our third subject today is Music.

Who would like to play this one? Music. It's Fiona, Simon or Nicky.

-I think Simon.

-Simon?

-Simone?

-I'll go for that one.

OK, Simon, who do you want to take on?

Chris and CJ have played so you can have Barry, Judith, or Pat.

-Which one? Pat or... You choose.

-I'll take Barry.

-OK, Barry.

It's Simon and Barry for this one, it's Music,

and into the question room both of you, please.

So, Simon, you choose for us, you're the challenger.

Do you want to go first or second?

I'll go first again.

All right, good luck, Simon. Here's your first question.

Which song did Gareth Gates cover as his first UK single?

Well, I don't think it was Silver Lady. Um...

I'm pretty sure it wasn't the old Slade song.

I'll go for Unchained Melody.

That would fit, wouldn't it?

And it was! Yes, Unchained Melody for Gareth Gates.

One there to Simon.

Barry, which of these composers was born most recently?

Well, the earliest there is Johann Sebastian Bach,

who was fairly soon followed by Mozart in the middle

of the eighteenth century, 1756 I think Mozart was born.

The most recent by far is that great British composer Edward Elgar.

OK, not hard for an Egghead, that one. Edward Elgar is correct.

Simon. Rock-A-Hula Baby was a chart-topping single in the UK

for which for which singer?

Right. I don't think it's Ray Charles.

Frank Ifield I'd also think it's possibly not.

So I'll go for Elvis Presley.

Elvis Presley.

-Yes! It's the right answer. Well done, Simon.

-Yay!

Simon got it! And Barry, your second question.

Which rock star turned 70 on the 26th of July 2013?

I don't think The Boss is 70 yet, so I'll discount Bruce Springsteen.

David Bowie or Mick Jagger...

Of the two, I think Mick Jagger is slightly the elder,

so I'll go for Mick Jagger.

It's the right answer. Sir Mick at 70 on the 26th of July 2013.

And your third question, then, Simon.

Which opera in Wagner's Ring Cycle was originally titled

Siegfried's Death?

Right. Goodness me, this is way out of the comfort zone. Erm...

As I have absolutely no idea on this one, it's going to be a total

stab in the dark, and I shall go for The Rhine Gold.

It's not the right answer, Simon.

-Do you know, Barry?

-Well, I think The Rhine Gold

and The Valkyrie are two of the early ones out of the four

in the Ring Cycle, so I'd have gone for the Twilight Of The Gods.

Yeah, that's the one we wanted. Twilight of the Gods. All right.

Try this, then.

Barry, what is the English meaning of the term "Empfindsamer Stil,"

the name of a movement in German music in the eighteenth century?

The eighteenth century...

Never heard this term, but I can't believe it's Seeking Style...

Well, as it's German, I feel almost obliged to go for the Strident Style.

OK.

It's Sensitive Style.

You deserved that.

That will teach me to stereotype.

Yeah, that will teach you. Absolutely.

OK, it's all square, and we go to sudden death again.

Simon, which comedy group had a UK hit single in 1975 with

Funky Gibbon?

Well, that's got to be The Goodies.

OK, The Goodies you say. Funky Gibbon.

-You're right!

-Yes! Go on!

OK, Barry.

John Flansburgh and John Linnell are the two main members of which

American alternative band whose biggest hit in the UK was

the 1990 single Birdhouse In Your Soul?

Haven't a clue!

I haven't heard of either of these two gentlemen,

or I haven't even heard of the hit.

Though it does have an intriguing title, Birdhouse In Your Soul.

I think there's a birdhouse in my soul now.

Oh Gosh... I'll pick one out the blue and apologies

if it's a British band, but I'll go for The Prodigy.

OK. The Prodigy.

Who are British.

-No, Barry.

-You surprise me!

Anyone from the Eggheads know? Other Eggheads?

They Might Be Giants?

Pat's got it. They Might Be Giants.

They Might Be Giants, which means you're not going to be

a quizzing giant in the final round, Barry. Simon, we hope you will be.

You're in the final round.

Would you both please come back and join your teams?

Come on!

Well, the Amnesiacs clearly remembering why they're here.

Doing very well, now. Two Eggheads gone from the final round,

and only one gone from the Amnesiacs team.

So we play our last head-to-head before the final round.

This round is going to be on Science.

And we have Nicky or Fiona left.

It's going to be me, because we're saving Nicky for the final,

so it was going to be me whatever the subject.

All right. You're not even thinking about what the subject is.

OK, Fiona, who would you like to play, Pat or Judith?

-Judith.

-Judith. I think I'll play Judith, please.

OK. Fiona and Judith to the question room, please.

So, Fiona. Let's see how much you know about science.

Do you want to go first or second? I'll go first, please.

OK, Fiona. Good luck with this question.

What name did the English inventor Charles Babbage give to the

early computer he worked on until his death in 1871?

Well, looking at the options, I would've though the most obvious

one in view of what computers are supposed to do would be...

Analytical Engine. So I'll go for that one, please.

Right answer. Yes, well done, Fiona.

Judith. Which of these is roughly 100,000 light years across?

Erm... 100,000 light years. I think it must be The Milky Way.

Yep. Kind of got to be, hasn't it? Of those.

Yes, it's the right answer. Well done, Judith.

And Fiona. The frontal bone forms what part of the human body?

I can only guess that it's connected to the frontal lobe

and therefore, it is a guess, but I would say the forehead.

Frontal bone forms part of the...

Forehead! Yes. Well done.

Yay! Well done.

And Judith. What type of bird is an aracari?

A-R-A-C-A-R-I.

A-R-A-C-A-R-I, aracari...

Well, a toucan's a Toucan.

I know there are lots of birds of paradise,

but they're all called something like Prince Frederick of Hohenstaufen...

I mean, they've all got rather extraordinary names... Erm...

I don't know. Magic right. Parrot!

Magic right, Parrot.

It's a Toucan!

Oh, no. Honestly. The most unlikely one.

The third one you would have gone for.

OK. Great news potentially for Fiona.

The diet of a phytophagous creature consists mainly of what?

I would certainly rule out stones...

On phyto... Phytoplasm... I think I'll go for plants.

Plants is the right answer. Well done.

OK, well that's very good news because you're through!

You're through to the final round, Fiona.

Great news for the Amnesiacs.

Would you both please come back and join your teams?

And 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 just Joan from the Amnesiacs and CJ and Barry

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

So Martin, Fiona, Simon

and Nicky you are playing to win the Amnesiacs £5,000.

Chris and Pat, you are playing for something which money cannot buy!

The Eggheads' reputation.

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

This time the questions are all General Knowledge, anything

can come up, and you are allowed to confer in the final round.

So, Amnesiacs, the question is

- are your four brains better than the Eggheads' two?

Amnesiacs, how do you want to play this round, first or second?

Well, I think we'll stick with the winning formula so far,

and we'll go first.

OK. Going first.

In the final round. Playing for £5,000.

Amnesiacs, your first question.

What term was coined in the late 1990s to mean a young woman

with an independent, liberated, and brash lifestyle?

-Are we all agreed?

-Ladette.

-Ladette.

Well, I think we're all agreed on that one, Dermot, and it's Ladette.

OK. You've gone for Ladette.

Which, I think we can all confirm, is the right answer. Well done.

OK.

Eggheads.

A state of agreement between people is sometimes described as what?

That's a meeting of minds, isn't it? I think so, yeah.

That's a meeting of minds.

Yes, indeed. Of course it is, which you've had on that one.

We hope you don't have on some of the other questions coming up.

Second question for both teams. Amnesiacs first.

What role did Russell Crowe play in the film Les Miserables?

-Was it Valjean?

-No.

-No, he was the main character.

-That was whats-his-face...

-Erm... Wolverine.

-Hugh Jackman.

-Yeah.

-So it's either Marius or Javert...

Javert. Would he be the military one that condemned them

to death or something?

-Going back to his Gladiator roots.

-Yeah.

Of the three, possibly that one. I've not seen the film, but...

Well, we're not 100% sure because none of us

have seen the film which is not exactly helpful...

..but we're going to give it a whirl at Javert.

Javert. For Russell Crowe.

It's the right answer! Well done.

-Ooh!

-Well done!

-Strike one! That was lucky.

OK, Eggheads. What is the name for the imaginary mystic lines

running across Britain that are said to connect places of ancient power?

What is the name for the imaginary mystic lines

running across Britain that are said to connect places of ancient power?

THEY CONFER

They were... They are ley lines.

Ley lines. They are. That is the right answer. OK.

Well, it's all square at two all.

Very finely poised. Amnesiacs.

Which of these cheeses was invented by a German company in the 1970s?

-Lymeswold's British, is it not?

-Yeah.

-So count that out.

-Is Cambazola Italian?

-I thought it was Italian.

-Sounds Italian, doesn't it?

-Yeah, it does.

THEY CONFER

But I think Cambazola is Italian, as you say,

and Lymeswold's British, so...

But it's certainly a manufactured cheese, it's a...

It's not a classic cheese, Cambazola.

So do we go for Herve?

Erm... Well, Dermot, again we're not 100% sure

but we're kind of edging towards Herve's Adventures of Cheese...

Herve, Herge, I see yes. Adventures of Cheese.

No, it's not. Lymeswold, as you say, is British.

It is Cambozola.

Well, a chance for the Eggheads to win the game.

Eggheads, in which year did the BBC radio station

known as the Light Programme begin broadcasting?

1922 was 2LO, wasn't it?

When it was just the British Broadcasting Company?

That was the first BBC station to go on the air.

It was certainly going all through the war, so it rules out 1945.

So...

The Light Programme 247m. Light Programme Home Service 330m.

Light Programme 247m.

1922's too early.

-It's got to be 1937, Pat.

-OK, OK.

I don't have any strong information on the matter.

Yep, OK, I'm happy with that.

We're going to go for 1937.

Well, Chris knows the frequencies, knows everything...

..Apart from the date.

Which was 1945.

Oooh!

"Ooohs", from the Amnesiacs, there.

1945. You're still in it! We go once again to sudden death.

Many of you are familiar with that, played it in your head-to-heads.

So, Amnesiacs,

what was the name of the amusement centre

opened on Coney Island in 1903 that presented

a world of fantasy in which the moon figured prominently?

Just...

There's a Lunar Park in Sydney.

-Right.

-Did they pinch the name from...?

Yeah... Well, it's certainly something to do with the moon.

Astral World, Lunar World...

That's the only thing I've got to go on is this Lunar Park in Sydney.

Sydney's a long way from Coney Island, though.

-Yes, I know, but...

-It's the same principle.

-We'll go with that?

-Yeah.

Erm... We're not sure but we're going to go with Lunar Park.

Lunar Park on Coney Island in 1903...

-And... It is Lunar Park, it's the right answer!

-Yes!

Lunar, obviously with their reference to the moon there.

Eggheads, you need to get this one.

What is the newspaper term "op-ed" short for?

-Hmm. Doesn't spring to mind.

-Well, ed's obviously editor or editorial.

Is it something to do with opposite? Does it refer to...

Material being printed on the opposite page, no?

No.

At the editor's discretion.

Hmm. That sounds plausible.

Option of the editor.

-Hmm...

-Don't quite... Not quite sure...

Well, I suppose the editor has loads of discretion, hasn't he?

So what would the phrasing of the answer be? Option Of The Editor?

-Yeah.

-Yeah?

OK, we're uncertain about this.

We're going to go with Option Of The Editor.

Option Of The Editor. OK, well, "op-ed"...

And you solved it in the first 30 seconds

but you haven't given me that answer, it's Opposite Editorial,

which is what you said in 30 seconds, but it means you've lost.

-Amnesiacs, you've won the money!

-Yes!

That was fantastic. Amnesiacs, well, I hope you haven't forgotten that.

No, no, no, no, no, no, no!

Definitely not!

We'll certainly long remember that appearance on Eggheads

and especially that turning point where

they had a chance to win it there, with the Light Programme and...

Well done!

And congratulations on beating the Eggheads, and beating them

in the head-to-heads as well, so it's a comprehensive victory.

Very good to see you, Amnesiacs, as I say,

we won't forget your appearance for a very long time.

So, Amnesiacs, you are officially, for today anyway,

cleverer than the Eggheads. You've proved they can be beaten.

Join us next time on Eggheads to see

if a new team of challengers will be just as successful.

Until then, goodbye!