Episode 38 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 our awesome quiz champions today are

the Victoria Plums, from Cheshire.

This team of friends,

who are all regulars at the Victoria Social Club, in Holmes Chapel,

which each year does hold a festival dedicated to the plum.

-Let's meet them.

-Hi, I'm Phil. I'm 33 and I'm a lettings administrator.

Hi, I'm Geoff. I'm 61 and I work for a leading pharmaceutical company.

Hi, I'm Stephen. I'm 29 and I'm a claims handler.

Hi, I'm Rich. I'm 46 and I'm a quiz master.

Hi, I'm Mike. I'm 52 and I'm a financial planner.

Welcome, Victoria Plums.

So, tell me about this plum festival.

Well, it's a plum and gooseberry festival where local people in the

village, they grow them, their plums and gooseberries,

throughout the year.

And then once a year, they weigh them down at the club

and whoever's got the heaviest plum or gooseberry goes away with a prize.

OK, so it's all about size and weight, is it?

Not about how they taste.

Yeah, I wouldn't eat any of them. It's all about size and weight.

Let's talk about the quizzing side of it -

you three closest to me are part of the same quiz team?

-Yeah, that's right.

-And how do you do?

You take on Mike and part of the other team?

-Mike forms part of a team and Rich...

-I set the quizzes.

OK! And how do you do when you take on Mike's team?

-Um... It can vary.

-Be honest, be honest.

We'd say just about level.

-OK.

-I said be honest.

I'm not sowing dissent in the team, there.

You are united to take on the Eggheads today.

And 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, Victory Plums, the Eggheads have won the last six games,

so that means £7,000 says

you can't beat the Eggheads today.

Let's start, shall we?

And our first head-to-head is going to be on the subject of Music.

So, who'd like to take this one on first of all? Music.

-Well, I think we decided Mike for Music.

-OK.

OK, Mike, choose an Egghead.

-Who?

-Judith, please.

-Judith, yes, indeed.

OK, let's have Mike and Judith playing our opening round.

It's Music. You both need to go to the Question Room, please.

All right, we're going to play the music round.

-Would you like to go first or second?

-I'll go first, please.

Good luck, Mike. Here you go, first question on music, then.

Which dance move gained notoriety after being

performed by Miley Cyrus at a 2013 awards ceremony?

Yes, um...

I don't think it's twilling

or twinkling, I think the answer,

Dermot, is twerking.

Twerking.

And, yeah, well, Pat and Chris are just going to demonstrate it.

I'm afraid my contract's forbidden me from impromptu performances.

You put your back out last time you did it, didn't you, Pat?

Can't get insured.

All right.

Um, Judith.

In 2004, the Royal Northern Sinfonia became

resident in which town?

Well, the most northerly of those...

I mean, Cromer is in Norfolk,

Torquay is in Devon,

so I think it's probably Gateshead,

which is in the north.

-Is it? The north?

-The north.

Yeah, you could do that on geography, of course.

Gateshead is right, of course. OK.

Now, Mike, second question.

Which founder member of Pink Floyd left the group in 1985

and took legal action against the remaining members over

the use of the band name?

I know Nick Mason has lent cars to Top Gear.

I'm going to plump for Roger Waters.

You've got it, that's the right answer.

Yeah, well done - Roger Waters.

OK, Judith, second question.

Who was nominated for a 2013 Mercury Prize for the album

Sing To The Moon?

I have no idea.

I forgot to revise all this.

Um...

I don't know, Kristyna Myles?

I mean, it's a pure guess.

OK, it's not. Eggheads, do you know from the other two? Other Eggheads?

-It's Laura Mvula.

-It is, yes, it's Laura Mvula, with Sing To The Moon.

So, right, well...

This is a great opportunity for you, Mike.

This would ensure your place in the final round,

a correct answer here.

The dutar, popular throughout Central Asia,

is a musical instrument played by what method?

It's spelt D-U-T-A-R.

Dutar, it sounds a bit like guitar, so plucking maybe?

Um...

Blowing, hitting...

A wild stab this time, it's plucking.

A wild stab...

Prepare for the final round, it's the right answer.

Well done.

Plucking takes you through there and deprives Judith of a place.

Would you both, please, come back and join your teams?

Well, the Victoria Plums striking first.

The Eggheads have lost one brain from the final round.

Of course, the Victoria Plums are all there.

So let's play our second round, this one is Sport.

Who would like to play this from the Victoria Plums?

-You?

-Yep.

-Yep, definitely.

-Stephen.

-Steve.

What do you reckon?

-Um...

-I think Chris.

-Chris, yeah?

-Chris.

-Go Chris.

-Chris, please.

-Yeah, I'll go Chris, please.

OK, Chris, do you like plums?

That's a loaded question, isn't it, Dermot?

Yeah.

Let's have Stephen and Chris into the Question Room, please.

Stephen, would you like to go first or second?

Can I go first, please?

Here you go, first question on Sport, then.

What name is given in tennis to a set in which the score is 6-1?

Right, this is something I've never actually heard before.

I know, obviously, '6-love' is a bagel.

So, off that, I will go for...

Breadstick.

OK. Bagel to breadstick.

It's the right answer, well done.

Chris, in baseball,

SS is the abbreviation for which fielding position?

That's the guy just behind the pitcher's mound, isn't it?

It's the shortstop.

It is the shortstop. That's correct as well. OK, one each.

And, Stephen, second question.

Which League Two club reached the final of the 2013

Football League Cup, where they were beaten by Swansea City?

Um, that is something that I'm big into, football, obviously,

with playing, and I believe that was Bradford City.

Yes, it was, Bradford City.

Gives you two on the board.

Chris, in indoor athletics competitions,

the 400-metres race takes place over how many laps of the track?

Uh, well, it's about 100...

Each side of the track is about 100 metres, so it's...twice round, two.

Yes, it is.

Two for the 400 metres.

OK, third question each.

And, Stephen, John Curry won a figure skating gold medal

in the Winter Olympics held in which city?

Right, this is something I'm not very clued up on at all.

Um...

For the life of me, I can't remember where

the Olympics took place, so...

I will go for a shot in the dark - Grenoble.

OK, shot in the dark.

Chris, do you know, is it Grenoble?

I thought it was Lake Placid.

No, it's neither, it's Innsbruck.

-Oh, wonderful(!)

-It's Innsbruck.

So, a chance for Chris, though, in spite of not knowing that one.

It wasn't his question.

Chris, what is the surname of brothers Ian, Andrew and Kevin,

who all represented Scotland at the 2008 Rugby League World Cup?

I think they're the Howe brothers.

That's what I'll go with.

Ian, Andrew and Kevin...

-Henderson.

-Henderson, oh.

OK, it's all square still, after three questions.

So, for the first time in the game, we go to Sudden Death.

Stephen, just to underline it for you,

we removed those choices you've been able to look at so far.

Here's your question.

The US golfer Justin Leonard won his first major title

at the Open in which decade?

I've got to think

Leonard was early 2000, late '90s,

so I'm going to go with 19...

Well, the '90s, 1990s.

OK, 1990s just needed. OK. And that is the right answer.

Well done.

Do you know the precise year by any chance? It doesn't matter.

I'd guess about '97.

Yeah, it is, '97. Well done.

Don't get an extra point, though, but...

Chris, which Grand Slam single's title did Martina Hingis win

three times during her tennis career?

The French Open?

OK.

It's not.

-Eggheads?

-Australia.

It's the Australian Open.

So, not the French, which means...

It's great news, Stephen, you're through to the final round.

Sudden Death victory there for Stephen,

which means Chris won't be there.

Would you both, please, come back and join your teams?

Well, on a roll at the moment, Victoria Plums.

You've knocked two Eggheads out of the final round,

you're all still there. Can you keep it up? Round Three, Arts and Books.

Who'd like to play this one, then?

It's Phil, Geoff or Rich.

Do you want me to take one for the team?

You're the captain, you decide.

As captain, I'll have to take one for the team, unfortunately.

OK, who would you like to play?

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

Who do you think? I don't think it's going to matter.

I think... Pat, I think.

OK, Pat, please.

OK, the two Ps, Phil and Pat, in the Question Room, please.

Would you like to go first or second, Phil?

I'll go first, please.

All right, Phil, here's your first question.

What is the historical setting for the Dickens novel

A Tale Of Two Cities?

Um...

Literature is not a big, strong subject of mine.

I probably should know this, really,

but I'm going to have to guess.

And I'll go down the middle and I'll say French Revolution.

Good guess, it is the right answer. Well done.

Pat, the first book in a famous series by Laura Ingalls Wilder

is called Little House...where?

Her books eventually were made into the television series

Little House...Little House On The Prairie, I think.

Those books were certainly North American setting,

so I'm assuming it'll be Little House In The Big Woods.

Yep, In The Big Woods.

Laura Ingalls Wilder and Little House In The Big Woods. It's right.

Back to you, Phil.

Which iconic figure was posed for by

the artist's model Eleanor Velasco Thornton?

Um...

Again...

It is going to have to be a stab in the dark. Um...

I think I might have seen something recently about Britannia.

-I'll have to go for Britannia.

-OK.

Eggheads, what do you think?

EGGHEADS: Spirit Of Ecstasy.

It's the Spirit Of Ecstasy.

Right, well, nothing there.

Will Pat take the lead, then?

Pat, the French artist Paul Signac was

one of the originators of which technique?

Well, Georges Seurat was normally...

He's the main example of this,

but I think Signac was also a pointillist,

-so it's pointillism.

-OK.

It is the right answer, you'll be pleased to hear,

and I think you knew it was right anyway.

It means you need this, Phil.

Sarah Layton, Ronald Merrick

and Harry Kumar are central characters in which novel sequence?

Um...

Again...

Not too sure. Um...

I don't think it is the Forsyte Saga,

which probably means it probably is.

I'm going to go for The Raj Quartet.

The Raj Quartet.

-Pat, is he right?

-I think he is correct, yes.

It is the right answer, yes. You are still in it.

OK, Pat, here is your question.

The Hireling and The Betrayal are novels by which author?

The Hireling sounds...

It just rings a bell. It's a very English book.

Of those three, I think I'll have to go for LP Hartley.

OK, LP Hartley for The Hireling and The Betrayal.

It is the right answer. Pat, you are through to the final round.

But good performance, there, Phil.

As you said, taking one for the team,

and you particularly didn't like books.

Well, you got both of your novel questions right,

so well done on that.

But not enough to get in the final round.

Would you both, please, come back and join your teams?

Pat pulling one back for the Eggheads there.

As it stands, the balance is this - the Victoria Plums have knocked

two Eggheads out, but one of them has now gone from the final round.

So, let's see what is going to happen in that final round.

Our last head-to-head is Science.

Two of you remain to play, Victoria Plums -

Geoff or Rich.

I think I'll take that one, yeah. I'll take that one, Dermot.

OK, Rich, and who would you like to play from the Eggheads, CJ or Barry?

-I'll take CJ, please.

-All right, so Rich and CJ to play Science.

Into the Question Room, you two, please.

Science. Would you like to go first or second, Rich?

I'll go first, please, Dermot.

Good luck. Here you go, first question.

Rich, the two breeds of Fox Terrier are the smooth and which other?

I'm afraid I'm going to be guessing at this one.

I'm going to rule out rope.

And I'm going to have a stab down the right for wire.

Wire...

Is the right answer, yes. Well done.

CJ, the waxy substance spermaceti,

previously used in cosmetics and candles,

is obtained from what type of creatures?

It's from whales.

Yes, it is obtained...

was obtained from whales.

OK, Rich,

what is the English translation of the word 'soyuz'

used in Soviet space exploration?

-Could you spell that for me, please, Dermot?

-S-O-Y-U-Z.

Um... I'm afraid I don't know this either.

Um... I'm going to rule out atom.

And I'm going to strategically go straight down the middle.

Which means you're going for knowledge?

OK, it not. It's... CJ?

It's atom.

-No.

-Oh!

-It's union.

'Soyuz' means union.

All right, CJ, your question, for a lead.

The Museum Of Science And Industry, known as MOSI,

is in which city?

I don't know of it, I'm afraid. Uh...

Ugh...

You think of industry, you immediately think of Manchester,

don't you? Um...

It is also the biggest of the three,

but that doesn't necessarily mean anything.

I don't know, this is...

I was going to say, this is little more than a blind guess.

This is a blind guess. Manchester.

OK.

Well, going on industry, but of course,

all three used to have major, major industries.

But it is Manchester, you've got it. Well done, CJ.

OK, it means

if you get this wrong, you are out of the game.

Here you go. The Scottish surgeon James Braid was a pioneer

of which form of treatment in the 19th century?

I've heard of the name.

Um...

I'm going to rule out acupuncture.

And I'm going to...

It's going to be a guess,

hopefully an educated guess.

Chiropractic.

OK, chiropractic for the Scottish surgeon James Braid.

It's incorrect. Sorry, Rich.

Yeah, I think it is the other one you were considering -

hypnotism, down the middle there.

Hypnotism.

Well, there we are.

The round is over. CJ, you are in the final round.

No place for you, Rich.

Would you both, please, come back and join your teams?

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

It's time now for the final round, which, as always,

is General Knowledge.

But those of you who lost your head-to-heads won't be

allowed to take part in this round,

so it is Phil and Rich from the Victoria Plums and Chris and

Judith from the Eggheads who have to leave the studio now, please.

And so, Geoff, Stephen and Mike, you are playing to win

the Victoria Plums £7,000.

CJ, Barry and Pat, you are playing

for something which money cannot buy -

the Eggheads' reputation.

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

This time the questions are all general knowledge

and you are allowed to confer.

So, Victoria Plums, the question is,

are your three brains better than the Eggheads' three?

Geoff, Stephen and Mike, what do you want to do,

go first or second in this round?

We'll go first, please, Dermot.

OK, off you go. First question for the Victoria Plums.

What title is held by the wife of an earl?

It's a countess.

I wouldn't know, myself.

My weaker part.

-Should we say countess?

-Countess, yeah?

-Countess, Dermot.

-Countess, you think.

It is the right answer. Yes, good start.

Well negotiated.

Eggheads, which subject is covered by the website Bleacher Report?

-Presumably, it is sport.

-Well, bleachers are...

-Bleachers are the stands.

-The seats in this baseball field.

I've not heard of it, but surely it's just the stands for sport.

Happy with that?

OK, well, we're not totally certain on this, but the

bleachers is another name for the stands in American stadiums.

And on that basis, we'll go for sport.

Sport is correct.

Yes, Eggheads, got it.

OK, Victoria Plums,

the Radio 4 comedy programme in which celebrities are

encouraged to try new experiences is called I've Never Seen...what?

-I'm going to guess and say Star Wars.

-Yeah, I don't know.

And I don't know either.

I'd be inclined to...

It would make more sense, Star Wars, out of the three.

Yeah, we don't know, Dermot, but we are going for Star Wars.

I've never seen Star Wars...

Yes! It is the right answer. You worked that out.

OK, two to you.

Then, Eggheads' second question.

In 2013, Emma Willis and Marvin Humes were named as the new regular

presenters of which television show?

I've got a feeling it was The Voice UK.

It is certainly not Cash In The Attic.

It's not Cash In The Attic and The Voice...

Both of The Voice presenters left.

So they both would have to be replaced.

-They have got two presenters, don't they?

-Yes.

-It's not The One Show.

-No, surely not.

-Pat?

-I think it is The Voice.

-Yeah, well, we're happy?

OK, we're going for The Voice UK.

The Voice UK...is correct.

Well done, Eggheads. Two to you.

And back to the Victoria Plums, then.

Which road in Britain follows the Great North Road

for much of its route?

-It's the A1.

-Yeah, A1 for the North.

The A1, Dermot.

The A1...

is the right answer, well done.

You've got three. OK, well,

just could win you the money, that alone,

if the Eggheads don't get this.

Estoc is a term for what type of historic weapon?

I've got a feeling...

Is there an 'estocado' in bullfighting?

I don't know.

It's not... I don't think it is a pistol.

You think there's a bullfighter called an Estocado?

-No, I just think it is a term.

-OK.

No, what rings a bell with me is to bullfighting.

I don't really like pistol at all, so it is just between the other two.

Well, swords are far more common in bullfighting than lances are.

There are many more varieties of sword than there are of lances.

-Of course.

-There's 50, 60 or 100

different types of sword,

and lances, there's only two or three different types,

so the percentages soar.

We do like our percentages.

It should ring some sort of bells, shouldn't it?

-It doesn't for me.

-No.

It's the vaguest of bells

for me, it really is, but I've got nothing else.

Yeah, it's very vague for me, I'm not confident at all.

-But we will have to go for it, then, shall we?

-Sword?

I've got nothing, so I'm happy to go with both of you.

Well, we are really quite stumped on this, but both Pat

and I have the vaguest of inklings that it might be something to

do with bullfighting and a sword, so we are going for sword.

Have the Victoria Plums won the money?

No, they haven't. It is the right answer.

Sword.

An estoc is a sword with no cutting edge, just a point,

for piercing armour.

Ah! Piercing armour.

OK.

Well, well done, you guys.

As you know, we go to Sudden Death now,

three all after three questions. Let's sort out a winner.

In 2013, the Plantagenet Alliance ran

a campaign for the remains of which king to be buried in York Minster?

-The guy that was found in Leicester.

-Is that Richard III?

-Richard III, I think it was.

-I think it was.

Go with Richard III? Yeah.

Richard III, Dermot.

Richard III is correct. Well done.

OK, Eggheads, you need this, then.

What is the name of the annual holiday first held

in Nebraska in 1872,

where participants are encouraged to plant and care for trees?

Is there an Arbor Day in America?

-There is.

-That rings a bell.

-That has a tree link.

-Arbor...

-There is a Labor Day, certainly.

-Yeah.

-Is there an Arbor Day?

-I've heard of an Arbor Day.

-That rings a bell.

We've also got the old Johnny Appleseed thing in America.

-That's not a holiday, though, is it?

-No.

No, that's more a cultural myth.

Yeah.

-You could obviously have some very boring National Tree Day.

-Yeah.

-No, I'm happy to go with that.

-Have a go with that?

-Arbor Day sounds good to me.

-OK.

Once again, we are struggling a little.

But Pat believes there is an Arbor Day in America

and I'm inclined to agree with him, there is.

So we'll go for Arbor Day as the holiday.

Arbor Day is the right answer, Eggheads.

Well, you are doing everything you can, Victoria Plums, which is

keep getting the questions right and hope for them to get one wrong.

Try another one.

The character Samuel Powers, known as Screech,

first appeared in which American sitcom?

The only Screech I know was Saved By The Bell.

But that was sort of a kids, teenage...

I'm quite happy to go with it, cos I haven't got any idea. Mike?

Yeah, that's the only Screech I know of, so Saved By The Bell.

Hang on. Just think. Screech... Screech...

-Anybody?

-That was sort of, like, early '90s.

-Go on, then, I think we'll go with that.

-We'll go with it?

-Yeah.

OK, well, Mike and I don't really know,

but Steve is going for Saved By The Bell.

Saved By The Bell.

Saved by Stephen, it's the right answer. Well done.

-Well done, mate.

-OK, well, Eggheads, work to do AGAIN.

Who topped the UK singles chart in 1969 with the song

Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da?

Wait a second.

Might not be Marmalade.

The Overlanders, they did Michelle.

-They did Michelle.

-They did Michelle.

So I think it is Marmalade for Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da.

-Who else could it be?

-It's a Beatles song, obviously.

I can't think of any names before, other than that.

-Yeah, I think it is Marmalade.

-OK?

-Just the one word?

-Yeah.

-OK.

-All right, well, we are going for Marmalade.

-Marmalade.

And I also heard you saying there, originally a Beatles song.

Top of the charts in 1969, the group - Marmalade.

Well, what a round!

Fantastic quizzing by both teams.

We expect it from them, but this is fantastic, Victoria Plums.

Another question.

Thomas Jefferson served as vice president of the United States

under which president?

It's down to you, Geoff.

He drafted the Declaration Of Independence.

So it has got to be one of the very, very early ones.

Could it have been Washington or is that too early?

I'm not sure whether was Washington or whether it's...

-Was it John Adams that came after that?

-Yeah, I don't know.

-I don't know.

-I'm not sure either.

Not really.

-So it is down to Geoff, I think.

-We'll go for Washington?

Go Washington? Yeah? OK.

We don't know again, Dermot,

but we are going to go for George Washington.

OK, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson serving as vice president.

It's not the right answer. It is not George Washington.

-Eggheads will know.

-BOTH: John Adams.

-John Adams.

-You said that, didn't you?!

Oh, bad luck. Yeah, I heard you say it.

OK, well, a chance for the Eggheads.

Spy Hook, Spy Line and Spy Sinker

is a trilogy of books by which author?

-It's in the style of Len Deighton in terms of naming.

-John le Carre?

It's more Deighton than le Carre.

I've vaguely heard of him, that's it.

Well, Deighton did Game, Set and Match.

London, whatever, Berlin and...

It sounds more like Deighton than le Carre.

It could be either of them, I think.

But... Yeah, I'd be more inclined to go for Deighton.

-Len Deighton.

-I would be as well.

-OK, fine.

All right, well, we have a couple of candidates for this,

but of those two, we're going to go for Len Deighton.

Spy Hook, Spy Line and Spy Sinker

are by...

Len Deighton. Eggheads, you've won!

Well, our congratulations to you, Victoria Plums.

That is about as close as you get without winning the money.

But listen, not to be on the day.

Thank you very much indeed for playing the Eggheads today.

Enjoy what you have achieved, which was considerable.

You just didn't win the money in the end. Good luck with the plums.

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 £7,000,

which means the money rolls over to the next show.

So, Eggheads, congratulations. Who will beat you?

And join us next time to see

if a new team of challengers have the brains to defeat the Eggheads.

£8,000 says they don't. Until then, goodbye.