Episode 39 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.

Question is, can they be beaten?

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

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

They are the Eggheads.

And taking on the awesome might of our quiz champions today

are the Repton Reprobates.

This team of friends have amongst their number two men who have

won the prestigious Lord Mayor of Birmingham's Mega Quiz not once

but twice, no less. Let's meet them!

Hi, I'm James, I'm 38.

I run a recruitment and personnel business

and a part-time radio presenter.

Hi, I'm Roger, I'm 64 and I'm an LGV driver.

Hi, I'm Geoff, I'm a 67-year-old semi-retired laboratory analyst.

Hi, I'm George, I'm 48 years old and I'm an internet radio presenter.

Hi, I'm Chris, I'm 36 and I'm an event manager.

Well, welcome to you, the Repton Reprobates.

We'll talk about the "reprobates" bit in a moment

but what about the quizzing?

-Who is it that's won the Lord Mayor's Mega Quiz?

-Roger and Geoff.

Ah! Hello there!

And I would point out, Dermot,

that CJ finished 16th, the night we finished it.

I won't mention it again!

And I believe you quiz... You've met Pat? You've quizzed against him as well?

-Yeah, I have, yeah.

-Who won that?

-That gentleman over there.

-Oh, dear.

And Judith. We did a charity quiz and the prize was to play them.

Now, what about the team name? What do you get up to, then, Reprobates?

Well, really, we're from Repton, hence the name,

and Reprobates - we're a ragtag bunch that have come together

and thought it was quite an apt name, to be honest.

It is. Very nice indeed.

And hopefully, one that will lead to the defeat of the Eggheads today.

Let's find out what happens.

Every day there's £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, Repton Reprobates, the Eggheads have won the last seven games

and that means £8,000 says you can't beat the Eggheads today.

So let's play the game

and our first head-to-head is on the subject of Geography.

Who would you like to pick from the Reprobates to play this?

-Who's going for it?

-I'll go for it.

Shall we kick off with a winner and put Geoff in, or...?

-Geoff's better at geography than I am.

-Nobody else want to take it?

If we go with the geography and kick off with a winning start...

-I'll have a go with it.

-OK, Geoff, you're going to play.

-And who would you like to play from the Eggheads?

-I'll try Judith.

All waiting there expectantly

and the fickle finger of fate has fallen upon Judith.

Geoff and Judith, into the Question Room, please.

OK, Geoff, let's see

if you can get the Repton Reprobates off to a great start.

It's Geography. Would you like to go first or second?

I'll go first, Dermot, please.

OK. Got your first question here, then, Geoff. Here it comes.

The forest and chateau of Fontainebleau lie to the south of which European city?

Well, it's certainly not Vienna.

I don't think it's Madrid.

I think, actually, it's in France,

so I'm going to go for Paris.

Paris is the correct answer. Good start.

And Judith, your first question.

Which peninsula is situated between the Gulf of Suez

and the Gulf of Aqaba?

I think that might be the Sinai Peninsula.

It is. That is the correct answer, Judith.

OK, Geoff, second question.

The Dogon people are an ethnic group living on which continent?

So it's either Asia or Africa.

There's something in the back of my mind - I could be wrong...

I'm going to go for Africa.

OK, the Dogon people live in Africa - it's the right answer.

And Judith, in 2012,

Liverpool was put on the UNESCO list of world heritage in danger

because of proposals to build what in the maritime mercantile city?

Er...

All cities seem to have motorways and skyscrapers wrecking them

at the moment, so I think...

I mean, I have no idea, but I would...

It could be like the Thames Barrage or something like that.

It could be a dam.

OK.

No, it's incorrect. It is skyscrapers.

So, a chance for you to win through to the final round, Geoff.

The southern start of the long-distance walking path

known as the Midshires Way is in which English county?

I don't actually know this, but, er,

Oxfordshire is north of Buckinghamshire

and I think Hertfordshire is south of Buckinghamshire,

so it's either going to be Hertfordshire or Buckinghamshire,

and I'm going to go for Buckinghamshire.

OK, for the start of the Midshires Way.

It is the right answer.

You're through to the final round, Geoff.

Would you both please come back and join your teams?

Well, after the opening exchanges, the Eggheads have lost one brain from the final round.

The Repton Reprobates are all there

and our second head-to-head is Politics.

Who wants to play this, Reprobates?

-Have we got a volunteer?

-I'm glad I've already gone.

Have we got a volunteer? Christopher?

-George?

-I could do, but I don't think I would get any.

Politicians don't know a lot about politics -

-I don't know why we should.

-We need a volunteer, boys.

Not me for politics. I got three out of three the other day, but it were luck.

Do you want to be a sacrificial lamb on this one, or...?

Yeah, if we want to get three wrong, I'll happily...

-It's about taking part. Go on.

-OK.

-Yes, I'm the lamb to the slaughter.

All right, Chris, who would you like to take into the Question Room?

Any suggestions, guys?

I don't know - it's up to you.

-Shall we go with Chris?

-Yeah, Chris.

-We'll go with Chris and Chris.

All right, a double Chris. Both of you into the Question Room, please.

So, Chris from the Reprobates,

you set your expectation levels pretty low.

So just one on the board will be an improvement on what you predicted.

Would you like to go first or second?

Er, I'll go second, please.

Chris from the Eggheads begins.

Chris, for what does the letter N stand in the name

of the South African political party the ANC?

It's the African National Congress, so it's National.

National is correct.

Off to a good start and I'm sure Chris from the Reprobates

would have got that.

-Oh, yes!

-Let's see if you get this.

Which First Lady of the United States

led the Just Say No anti-drugs campaign of the 1980s?

1980s...

Um...

I don't think it was Rosalynn Carter.

I'm feeling it's between Laura Bush and Nancy Reagan.

I've just got a stronger gut feeling for Nancy Reagan,

so I hope and wish that that is the correct answer.

It's the right answer.

Already surpassed your predictions.

OK.

Chris from the Eggheads, Natalie Bennett became

the leader of which party in England and Wales in 2012?

Well, it's not UKIP.

Well, a girl became leader of Plaid Cymru,

but I don't think her name was Bennett.

So, it had to be the Green Party.

Natalie Bennett became the leader of the Green Party, yes.

And, Chris, from the Repton Reprobates,

what name is given to the unsuccessful attempt

to stage an insurrection against the government in

the south of Scotland in 1820?

Um...

Again, I don't have a clue.

But...

I'm sure I remember something about the Rebel War

in history lessons at school,

whereas Radical and Real War don't ring as many bells for me.

So, I'm going to go with the Rebel War.

The Rebel War in 1820.

It's not. It's incorrect.

Do you know, Chris?

Yeah, they were political radicals, so it was the Radical War.

Well, a chance for Chris from the Eggheads to win the round here.

Chris, in which year did the 21st amendment to the US Constitution

repeal the prohibition of alcohol imposed by the 18th amendment?

The Volstead Act was 1919 that brought it in

and it was repealed in 1933.

OK. Well, a full answer there, clearly you know it.

It is the right answer,

Chris, from the Eggheads,

which means you are through to the final round.

No place for you, Chris, from the Reprobates.

We'll never know, cos I don't get to put in another question to you.

-I'll say you got two.

-Oh, brilliant.

I'm sure you'll have got your third one.

But I'm not going to ask you.

Would you both please come back and join your teams?

Mr Hughes from the Eggheads winning the battle of the Chrises,

which means, as it stands now,

both teams have lost one brain from the final round.

Round Three is Sport.

Who would like to play this? It can't be Jeff or Chris, of course.

-No.

-Foreign language.

-It would have been me.

-It must be me, then.

-Yeah.

That will be me.

James, who will you choose from the Eggheads?

Judith and Chris have played, so it can be Dave, Pat or Barry.

OK, I'll take Barry on, please.

Let's have James and Barry into the Question Room now, please.

James, you're playing Sport.

I believe you met Muhammad Ali a very long time ago.

It was. My father used to be a professional referee.

And bizarrely enough, Muhammad Ali came over to Nuneaton Town to watch

Nuneaton Town versus Bedworth in a charity-based game.

Long story.

But he went round the pitch throwing tennis balls out with his name on

and, luckily, I was able to get back scene and have a photo taken.

Fond memories.

Let's play the Sport round.

Do you want to go first or second?

I'll go first, please.

James, here's your question.

What is the name of the home ground of the football club Aston Villa?

What's the name of the home ground of Aston Villa?

Coming from the Midlands, although a Derby County fan,

I shouldn't really know this, but certainly not Villa Bridge,

it's not Villa Cottage, it's Villa Park.

It is, yes. Villa Park.

Good start.

Barry, which of these sports involve

people competing on motorised vehicles?

Well, they certainly go fast enough

to look as if they're competing on motorised vehicles in luge,

but I'm sure the answer to this must be speedway.

It could be robot horses in dressage.

Well, maybe that's in years to come.

It is the right answer.

James,

which former England cricket captain

became president of the Marylebone Cricket Club in 2013?

Ooh...

Now, not too sure on this.

I'm going to rule out Mike Atherton

simply because I think he's too young for it.

I'm going to take a guess at one of the Mikes,

and hopefully I'll be right with that part, Mike Gatting.

Yes, I can confirm it's a Mike.

A lot of England captains called Mike, aren't they?

Gatting is the right answer.

Well picked out.

Barry, which Australian tennis player partnered Britain's

Ann Jones to win the Wimbledon Mixed Doubles title in 1969?

Oh, I've not heard of Cliff Richey.

I'm going to rule him out straightaway.

McMillan or Stolle?

They were both good, fine tennis players in the '70s.

So, which one is it?

I'm going to go for Fred Stolle.

Fred Stolle and Ann Jones...

..is the right answer. Well done.

It's all square. Both quizzing very well.

Third question for you, James.

Which track event did the athlete Kevin Young

set a world record in 1992?

The name just doesn't ring a bell...

with certainly the 110 metre hurdles.

Possibly the 400 metre hurdles.

Which leaves it the steeplechase.

Process of nomination, I'll have to go for the 3,000 metre steeplechase.

OK, the steeplechase for Kevin Young.

It's incorrect.

It's not the right answer, James. Barry?

I would have gone for the 400 metre hurdles.

Yeah, it is the 400 metre hurdles.

There's a chance for you, Barry.

You get through if you give me a correct answer here.

Barry, the Tirreno-Adriatico, known as the Race of the Two Seas,

is an event in which sport?

I can't see anybody swimming between the Adriatic

and any of the seas on the other side of it, obviously.

And...

Ballooning, that's a bit hit and miss

as to where you go with the winds.

So I can see somebody cycling across Italy

from the Adriatic to the Ligurian Sea, so I'll go for cycling.

Cycling for the Tirreno-Adriatico...

..is the right answer, yes.

You've got it, Barry, so you are in the final round,

depriving James of a place.

Sorry about that, James.

Would you both please come back and join your teams?

As it stands, the Repton Reprobates have lost two brains

from the final round, the Eggheads have lost one.

So let's play our last head-to-head before the final round.

It's Film & TV.

Who wants to take this on?

You've only got two players eligible - Roger or George?

THEY CONFER

-George.

-Yeah, I'll take it.

All right, George. And who will you play from the Eggheads?

-You've got Pat or Dave there.

-Who do you want in the last round?

Shall we take...

Shall we take Pat on?

Yeah, I'll take Pat on.

All right, let's have George and Pat into the Question Room now, please.

OK, George, let's see if you can even it up and knock Pat out.

Would you like to go first or second?

I'll go second, I'll go second.

That means Pat faces the first question.

Who played Danny Ocean in the 1960 film Ocean's Eleven?

I think Danny Ocean was the title character.

He was the hub of the gang.

And I think it was Frank Sinatra.

Frank Sinatra is the right answer, yes.

And, George, your first question -

in 2003, who won the second series of the talent show Pop Idol?

Hmm...

I know Gareth Gates was in the first Pop Idol

and he came second after Will, so...

Rik...

It's between Rik and Michelle, really.

I'm going to have to go for Michelle McManus.

I can remember it,

but can't remember if it's second or third series.

OK, Michelle McManus

-is the right answer.

-He's got it.

Pat, the BBC News 24 channel was launched in which decade?

Well, it sounds like a digital channel.

The appetite for round-the-clock TV and news TV

is a fairly modern thing.

Definitely not the '70s.

'80s versus '90s. I think it's '90s.

OK, 1990s.

It's the correct answer. Well done, Pat.

OK, and to draw level,

George, The Man And The Hour

was the title of first episode

of which long-running TV comedy programme

first broadcast in 1968?

I don't know this one, so I'm just going to have to go

for a bit of logic and a bit of guess, I think.

I don't think it's Dad's Army.

I think Steptoe And Son have always been called that,

so I'll just have to go for Till Death Us Do Part.

It's got to be a guess, I'm afraid.

OK, Till Death Us Do Part, with The Man And The Hour.

It's not. I'm sorry, it's wrong. Pat?

I'd be guessing, I don't know.

-Other Eggheads?

-Dad's Army.

It's Dad's Army. Right, well, Pat,

this could win you the round.

The American director and screenwriter Joss Whedon

directed a film version of which Shakespeare play

released in the UK in June 2013?

I've read reviews about this,

about this film.

And yet, I, um...

..I'm not sure I'll be able to...

answer with confidence.

I'm tempted by Much Ado About Nothing.

I'm just a bit concerned that there was the big version

in the '90s, I suppose, with Emma Thompson and Keanu Reeves

and all those sort of people.

This is a strange one - I've read all about this,

and yet the key fact has slipped from my memory.

I'm going to go for Much Ado About Nothing.

The answer is...

Much Ado About Nothing, you did remember it, Pat,

so you have got through to the final round.

Bad luck, George. Again, we don't get to put another question to you.

It means Pat has ensured his place in that final round.

Would you both please come back and join your teams?

And 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 James, George and Chris from the Repton Reprobates

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

So, Roger and Geoff, you are playing to win the Repton Reprobates £8,000.

Barry, Chris, Pat and Dave,

you are playing for something which money cannot buy -

the Eggheads' reputation.

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

This time, the questions are all general knowledge

and you are allowed to confer.

So, Repton Reprobates, the question is,

are your two brains better than the Eggheads' four?

Roger and Geoff, do you want to go first or second?

We've took a vote amongst the team and he's told me we're going first.

Right, let's get on with it, then.

Final round and your first question.

The novelty song from the early 1920s

by Frank Silver and Irving Cohn,

apparently inspired by the words of a Greek fruit seller,

is called Yes, We Have No...what?

I think that might be bananas.

I've never heard a novelty songs, Yes, We Have No Melons, or Plums.

-I think it would be...

-It's bananas.

-..bananas.

Yes, I think,

if you're of my age, Dermot, you associate this song

with slightly being inebriated, and it might be Yes, We Have No Bananas.

OK. Yes, We Have No Bananas is the right answer.

Yes, of course. All right, Eggheads,

for what does the letter A stand in the military acronym AWOL?

For what does the letter A stand in the military acronym AWOL?

ALL: Absent without leave.

-We all "absent"?

-Yeah.

Yeah?

Like me at school a lot of the time,

I think that's absent.

-Absent without leave?

-Yeah.

-OK.

It is, yes. A for absent.

And second question for the Repton Reprobates -

Newsbeat is particularly associated with which BBC radio station?

Newsbeat is particularly associated with which BBC radio station?

It's not Radio 2, it's not Radio 4.

It's got to be Radio 1.

Don't they have it on about quarter to the hour or something like that?

We're going to go with the process of elimination on this.

Again, age inspired - Radio 4, I don't think so,

Radio 2, I can't remember hearing it.

And I never listen to Radio 1,

so it must be Radio 1, then, Dermot.

OK, he eliminated the other two,

and it is Radio 1, it's the right answer.

Eggheads, the pseudoscience phrenology studied

which part of the body to determine people's personalities?

The pseudoscience phrenology studied which part of the body

to determine people's personalities?

-ALL: Skulls.

-We're on for skull, aren't we?

-Mambrino or somebody.

-Yeah.

Skull. Skull, we're all agreed, yeah?

We're going to go for skull, Dermot.

OK, phrenology relating to the skull -

it's the right answer, Eggheads.

So, it's all square, and a third question coming your way,

Repton Reprobates.

What name was given to a raucous procession formerly

common in village and country districts,

typically designed to ridicule a husband or wife

for marital mistreatment or infidelity?

What name was given to a raucous procession

formerly common in village and country districts,

typically designed to ridicule a husband or wife

for marital mistreatment or infidelity?

I don't know. I've never heard of any of the three.

It would be a complete and utter guess.

Yep. What are we going for, then?

-I think it's the middle one.

-Sorry?

-I think the middle one.

If you're more confident, we'll go for that.

Based on the fact it's a pure guess,

we'll go for the middle one.

Skimmington.

A skimmington.

Punishing a husband or wife

for marital mistreatment or infidelity...

it's a skimmington, it's correct.

Well done, nice one.

Listen, you are in the lead at 3-2,

and it means the Eggheads need to get this.

In the children's book by Eleanor H Porter,

what is the surname of Pollyanna?

In the children's book by Eleanor H Porter,

what is the surname of Pollyanna?

-I don't know.

-Well, she's Canadian, isn't she?

-Yeah.

-So that tends to suggest probably Whittier.

-That tends to suggest Whittier to me. ALL:

-Mm.

Trotter...well...

Pollyanna Trotter? No, it doesn't ring any bells, that.

Pollyanna Hatcher - no.

Pollyanna Whittier?

Hm.

It could be Hatcher, but I doubt it.

Doesn't sound... Whittier does feel authentically Canadian somehow.

Mm.

-It was definitely Canadian, wasn't it?

-Oh, yeah.

-Yeah.

Oh, we could go on for ever about this, couldn't we?

-Yeah.

-We could. And this is the only instinct we've got.

-Yeah.

-Mm-hm.

So are we all agreed, Whittier?

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

We don't know this, as you can hear from the debate...

..but we're going to go for Whittier.

Whittier. You were reduced to saying, "What sounds Canadian?"

Yes.

OK.

It's correct.

Well done, Chris.

OK, well, it's all square. I rather expected this, given

the quality on your side, Repton Reprobates.

We are going to Sudden Death.

So, we are going to remove the options.

We need to sort out a winner,

so you've just got to tell me straight out.

You won't have anything to have a guess at, should you need to guess.

Here you go.

Oh What A Circus is the title of the first volume

of which British lyricist's autobiography?

Oh What A Circus is the title of the first volume

of which British lyricist's autobiography?

-Rice.

-Yes.

-I would think.

-He wrote Evita.

-He wrote the lyrics, didn't he?

-Yeah.

-That would be my guess.

Well, we're not sure, but we know that that's from Evita,

so we'll go for Sir Tim Rice.

Sir Tim Rice...

is the right answer, yes.

Picked up on the title, there. Oh What A Circus.

Will that answer mean you lose the money here, Eggheads?

Your question, you need to get this, as you know.

Who directed the films Three Days Of The Condor and Tootsie?

Who directed the films Three Days Of The Condor and Tootsie?

I think Tootsie is Sydney Pollack.

-Sydney Pollack.

-I think it was Sydney Pollack, yeah.

-I think it was Sydney Pollack, yeah.

-It's Sydney Pollack.

-Is it? Yeah? We're all agreed?

-Yeah.

-Happy.

-We're going to go for Sydney Pollack, yeah?

-Yeah.

Sydney Pollack.

Sydney Pollack is the right answer, Eggheads.

You've got it. On we go.

What a round. OK, Repton Reprobates,

La Movida was the phrase used to describe

the flowering of popular culture in which European country

in the 1970s and '80s?

La Movida, M-O-V-I-D-A, was the phrase used to describe

the flowering of popular culture in which European country

in the 1970s and '80s?

-You've got to look at the definite article, that's "la".

-Sounds Latin.

Yeah.

Portuguese?

Did Portuguese culture...?

-I don't know.

-Is it Italy, though?

I don't know. It just sounds Latin-ish.

It's got to be a guess...

Well, we don't know, but we're going for the Latin definite article,

and we're going to say Italy, Dermot.

OK, Italy for La Movida -

the phrase used to describe the flowering of popular culture in...

I'm afraid it's incorrect.

It's the first one you got wrong in the final round. It's not Italy.

Do you know, Eggheads?

Post-Franco Spain.

It was Spain we were looking for.

So, a chance for the Eggheads here.

Mary of Guise was the mother of which Scottish monarch?

Mary of Guise, G-U-I-S-E.

Mary of Guise was the mother of which Scottish monarch?

-Mary Queen of Scots, wasn't it?

-Yeah...

Did she feature in the film Elizabeth?

Fanny Ardant plays...Mary of Guise.

They had her assassinated, which didn't happen in real life.

-I'm sure it was Mary Queen of Scots.

-OK, yep.

-Mary Queen of Scots.

-Yeah. Mary Stuart, yeah.

Right, Mary Queen of Scots.

We're going to go for Mary Queen of Scots, Dermot.

Mary of Guise was the mother of...

Mary Queen of Scots, it's correct. Eggheads, you've won.

Just a bit of extra information for Geoff, asking if she was murdered.

Well, in one of the films, in Elizabeth,

it showed her as being murdered, but she wasn't.

-Yeah, I think that's a fact.

-Oh, I see.

Well, you can continue those discussions -

I see you're both hungry for the facts.

It shows what a good quizzing side you were and are,

Repton Reprobates.

Thank you very much indeed for giving the Eggheads a good run for

their money today, particularly that final round, but it wasn't to be.

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 £8,000.

That means the money rolls over to our 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 - £9,000 says they don't.

Until then, goodbye.