Episode 47 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 challenging the awesome might of our quiz champions today are

Sure And Stedfast.

This team are all associated with the Boys Brigade organisation

and are based in various companies around Scotland.

Let's meet them.

Hi, I'm Alan, I'm 42, and I'm a care worker.

Hi, I'm Brian, I'm 62, and I'm a church officer.

Hi, I'm Stuart, I'm 19,

and I'm an electronic and electrical engineering student.

Hi, I'm Donald, I'm 53, and I'm a banker.

Hi, I'm John, I'm 21, and I'm a maths student.

Welcome to you, Sure And Stedfast.

That's part of the Boys Brigade motto, is it?

It is, yes, it's from the Bible,

it's a quote from the Bible - "sure and stedfast".

OK, well, I hope you're sure and steadfast in your quizzing.

Have you done any quizzing together before?

Not as a team, but we're hoping... raring to go today.

How did you assemble all the team?

We're just gathered, as I say, from various Boys Brigade companies

in and around Glasgow mostly, and just here for this event.

So have you met before?

Well, Donald and John know each other as father and son, but, erm...

Well, they would have met before, I would have guessed!

But the rest of us, we're just, we see...

BB events, various places around Scotland.

OK, well, let's play the quiz, and good luck to you, Sure And Stedfast.

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.

Sure And Stedfast, the Eggheads have won the last two games which means

£3,000 says you can't beat the Eggheads today.

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

Who'd like to play this?

Don't think that's...

I think Brian, you're the man, I think, for that.

-I'll have a go at that.

-All right, Brian.

And which Egghead would you like to have a go at, so to speak?

Er, Dave, I think, yes.

OK, it's going to be Brian and Dave playing our opening round.

It's history, and could you both go to the Question Room, please?

OK, then, Brian, let's put your historical knowledge to the test.

Would you like to go first or second?

Er, I'll go first, Dermot, thank you.

OK, first question coming right up for you, Brian, here you go.

Which of these is a type of headwear,

usually with a frilled edge,

that became popular with women in the 18th century?

It's not rabble cap or pack cap.

It's a mob cap.

It is mob cap. Good answer, and you're off the mark.

Dave, what general name was given to the trading ships

operated by the East India Company?

I don't know. Not heard this at all. Erm...

Well, the one that sounds the best to me is East Indiamen,

but I'll go for that, but I don't know the answer.

You do now, that's correct.

OK, Brian, in the 17th century, a group of which people were

known as "the Valiant 60?"

I've never heard of this phrase before. Erm...

I would tend to rule out Witchfinders.

Erm, it sounds like...

..something that would be Quaker missionaries,

-so I'll take that as an answer.

-OK, missionaries, Quaker missionaries.

It's the right answer, Brian, well done. Two to you.

So, Dave, in what year did Alcatraz open as a federal penitentiary?

Mm. I know when it closed, 1963, don't know when it opened.

It's going to have to be a guess.

Erm...

1934.

OK.

It's the right answer, Dave, well done, good guess.

1934, well done.

It's all square, you're going well, of course, Brian,

and your third question.

Arlington House, now run by the US National Park Service,

is the former home of which Civil War officer?

Well, I know the answer to this, er,

I was on holiday in Washington DC and we went to Arlington, Virginia,

and Robert E Lee's house is part of Arlington.

-So you visited it?

-Yes.

Great stuff, Robert E Lee, as you well know, is the right answer.

Will it get you through into the final round? Puts you in the lead.

So, Dave, the ancient town of Lavinium near Rome was,

according to tradition, named after the wife of which hero?

Out of those I would go Aeneas, but it's again a guess.

I've not heard of this at all.

Well, you've got the right answer again!

-You're doing well on the ones you haven't heard of.

-Yeah.

It's all square, so we're going to take it to Sudden Death, Brian,

and remove the choices you've had to look at

in the first three questions.

So your fourth question.

The History Of The World was a book started by which historical figure

during his imprisonment in the Tower of London

from 1603 to 1616?

At a guess, trying to think of the ones who would be in the Tower

round about that time.

Erm, it is simply a guess.

Erm, Sir Walter Raleigh?

-It's the right answer, well done!

-Well done, man!

And I guess some pretty extensive knowledge of the world as well

from his travels.

Over to Dave. Which British Prime Minister was quoted as saying that

"If William Gladstone were to fall into the Thames

"it would be a misfortune -

"but if anyone pulled him out it would be a calamity?"

I would go Benjamin Disraeli.

Benjamin Disraeli is correct.

On we go. Great quizzing here.

Brian, in 1932, which American aviator became the first woman

to receive the US Distinguished Flying Cross?

Er, was it Amy Johnson?

No. Dave?

Amelia Earhart.

Yep, but not your question,

so a chance to get through here, Dave.

Who resigned as the Prime Minister of the Cape Colony

after the badly planned 1895 Jameson Raid on the Transvaal?

I don't know this at all but I'll have a guess.

Jan Smuts.

No, other Eggheads?

-Cecil Rhodes.

-Cecil Rhodes.

-Oh, right, yeah.

OK, Brian, in Winston Churchill's celebrated speech

at Fulton, Missouri in 1946,

he declared that "an iron curtain" had descended across Europe

from which port in the Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic?

Erm, my geography's not that great.

Erm...

I would say the Suez?

-No. Dave, do you know?

-I don't know, Kiel?

-I've not... No.

-No. Other Eggheads?

-Stettin.

-Gdansk.

Stettin from Kevin. Stettin,

or Stett-een, now in Poland. Bad luck, Brian.

And, er, Dave, in Russian history,

in which year did Vladimir Lenin die?

1924.

Is the right answer. 1924 is the correct answer.

So, bad luck, Brian, I could tell how good you were there.

No place in the final round.

Would you both please come back and join your teams?

Great effort there, Brian, but bad luck in the end.

It means Sure And Stedfast have lost one brain from the final round,

the Eggheads haven't lost any.

Our next subject is Geography.

-So, who'd like to play this from Sure And Stedfast?

-Me?

-Yeah, Stuart, you're our boy for geography.

-Yeah, good man.

OK, Stuart, who would you like to play from the Eggheads?

Who do you think? Any preference or...?

I think they're all fairly clever, to be honest.

They're all pretty good.

-Think I'll...

-Chris.

-Chris, maybe?

-Chris, yeah, I'll take Chris.

OK, Stuart and Chris playing the geography round.

You know where to go.

It's the Question Room, please.

So, Stuart, choose for me. Would you like to go first or second?

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

Good luck, Stuart.

Geography. Your first question.

The Reeperbahn is a famous street in which European city?

It sounds like... It couldn't...

I don't think it's French so it won't be Bordeaux.

It could be Swedish but it sounds more German to me.

I think I'll go for Hamburg.

Hamburg is the right answer. Well done.

Chris, Lake Nakuru in Kenya is

renowned for its abundance of which birds?

Well, you wouldn't find an abundance of golden eagles anywhere,

and toucans live in the South American rainforest,

so it's got to be flamingos.

All right, yes, it is.

Just dismembered that question.

All right. Stuart,

your second question.

The Erskine Bridge, opened in 1971,

crosses which body of water?

Well, you might say this is cheating because I'm from Scotland,

so it's not Loch Alsh, it's not the Firth of Forth,

it's definitely the River Clyde.

-Presumably you've been across it many times.

-Yep, plenty of times.

Well, that's the way they fall. It is the correct answer, well done.

Chris, the world's largest national park

at over 900,000 square kilometres,

is on which island?

Unlikely to be Greenland

since there's nothing up there to make a national park out of,

but, there again,

is it a Site of Special Scientific Interest or something?

Er...

Borneo, I don't think so...

..because there's so much unique wildlife there that presumably

would be protected in a national park, I'll go with Madagascar.

OK, Madagascar. Plenty of reasoning to be done there.

Dave, it's...?

-Greenland.

-It is Greenland.

-Really?

-The one you ruled out first.

OK, well, that's great news for Sure And Stedfast,

in particular you, Stuart.

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

Which city in Florida is nicknamed "the City Beautiful"?

Not really my area of expertise, I've never visited the US.

The City Beautiful.

I don't think it would be Orlando - far too many theme parks.

Between the other two, I would have to go for Key West because I think

the Florida Keys would probably be the most beautiful out of the three.

-Key West.

-OK, Key West for the City Beautiful.

I'm afraid it's not, and, er, you repeated Chris's

mistake of his question, you ruled out the right answer first off.

It's Orlando.

So, a chance for Chris to get back in it.

Chris, the Indian city founded by and named after Shah Jahan in 1639

is now known by what name?

Ah, yes, the, er...

It's the Pink City, isn't it? It's Jodhpur.

-No, it's not.

-Isn't it?

-Other Eggheads?

-Delhi.

-The Old Delhi.

It's Old Delhi.

Ah, well, the Erskine Bridge got you across in the end.

-Yeah, as it always does.

-There you are.

You're playing in the final round, Stuart, well done.

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

Well, that's evened things up.

Both teams have now lost one brain from the final round.

Round Three coming up now is Music,

so who'd like to play this from Sure And Stedfast?

Who have we got? Alan, Donald or John.

Yeah, I think I'd like to do that one, Dermot.

All right, Alan, and from the Eggheads,

Dave and Chris have played, so you can have

-Kevin, Pat or Judith.

-What d'you think?

-I'm not sure.

-Totally up to you.

Och, I would like to play Judith, then, please.

All right, Alan and Judith, into the Question Room, please.

Well, let's see if you can follow Stuart into the final round, Alan.

Would you like to go first or second?

I think I'll go first as well, Dermot.

OK, first question.

Hodges and Peacock are the surnames of which musical duo?

Well, Sonny & Cher, that's Sonny Bono, isn't it, er,

and it was Robson Green and Jerome Flynn,

so by a process of elimination it must be Chas & Dave.

Yes, it is, well done.

Imagine if they'd gone by their surnames,

Hodges & Peacock.

Judith, the 2011 debut single by Christina Perri was called

"Jar of..." what?

I'm afraid I don't know.

Erm, I don't think it would be a great selling point to call it

Jar of Depression, erm, so,

Jar of Thoughts, Jar of Hearts.

I think it might be Jar of Hearts.

Yes, it is Jar of Hearts, well done, well worked out.

Alan, in 2013,

a BBC poll voted music from which movie as the best film soundtrack?

Hmm, tricky one. I don't know the answer

but, er, Psycho, I think that was, er,

Herrmann's score, the famous score in the shower room.

Godfather has a famous Godfather Theme,

Star Wars, famous theme.

Suppose if it's a poll, maybe the biggest one there would be Star Wars,

so I'll maybe go for Star Wars.

Yeah, it is the right answer. Do you agree with it?

Well, you can certainly hum along to that one, can't you,

the old trumpets going.

I'd go for The Godfather myself

but there we are, you got the right answer, Star Wars.

OK, Judith. The Soldiers' Chorus comes from which opera,

first performed in 1859?

I don't know. I've never heard of Louise.

I think it might be Carmen.

But I have a feeling that might be too early for Carmen.

-Anyway, I've said it.

-OK, Carmen...

It's not. D'you know, other Eggheads?

-Faust.

-It's Faust.

-It's Faust, oh.

And when was Carmen?

1875, so it's, yeah...

Carmen's 1875, the other Eggheads are saying.

I had a feeling it was too early.

OK, well, not too early for Alan, you getting one wrong.

That means you go through to the final round if you give me

a correct answer here, Alan.

Which Rodgers & Hammerstein musical is based on a novel by

the Chinese-American author CY Lee?

Righty-ho, well, of course, Anna and the King of Siam, that sounds like

it should be the obvious one, erm, but did she write the book?

Did Anna write the book that it was based on?

Oh, gosh, erm...

And I'm a fan of musicals as well, but I'm struggling here.

I don't think it's State Fair,

that's a sort of more of an American-set thing, isn't it?

Flower Drum Song, I don't really know that one.

Oh, gosh, well, I think I'm just going to go for The King and I,

and hope for the best.

OK, The King and I.

It's not. Judith?

Well, if it's Chinese, it must be Flower Drum Song.

Flower Drum Song, yeah.

And, er, your third question to get back in it.

Judith, the Australian Barry Tuckwell is a virtuoso

on which instrument?

I think it's either French horn or oboe.

Erm...

I think it's oboe.

Bad luck, Judith, it's French horn.

Oh, God, it's always like that!

Oh, dear, erm, which means once again, well,

same pattern as Stuart there, Alan.

Didn't get your third question right

but made it into the final round anyway.

-Well done.

-Thank you.

Would you both come back and join your teams?

What a comeback. Sure And Stedfast have now knocked two Eggheads out,

and one member of your team is out of the final round as well.

So, our last head-to-head before the final round is film and television.

-So it's Donald or John to play. Film & TV.

-Think it'll be Donald?

-Yeah, go for it, Donald?

-Yeah, OK.

-Your category.

Stay with us, Donald. Remember you need to choose an Egghead,

and you can choose from Kevin or Pat.

-Oh, what a choice!

-Go for Kevin, he's your double.

-Kevin.

-Yeah.

OK, Kevin, please.

OK, let's have Donald and Kevin into the Question Room, please.

Donald, I know you're from Scotland, but have you got any relatives

in the south of England near Winchester?

Not that I'm aware of, no.

Have you been watching Eggheads for a long time?

Off and on, yes.

D'you model yourself on any particular Egghead?

Are you hinting at something, Dermot?

I'm just going, "Tzz-tzz-tzz!"

Separated at birth!

If you two weren't wearing different shirts,

I wouldn't know who to ask a question to!

Goodness me! Right, Donald, it's Film & Television.

Would you like to go first or second?

I think there's a consistent pattern there, I think I'd better go first.

OK, good luck, Donald. Here's your first question.

Artem Chigvintsev and Pasha Kovalev found fame appearing

regularly on which UK TV show?

Don't think they sound as if they're from EastEnders, and I'm pretty

sure they're not Geordie names, so I'll go for Strictly Come Dancing.

Exactly, it's the right answer, well done, good start.

Kevin, "If it weren't for those meddling kids..."

is a phrase associated with which dog?

Well, Toto was Dorothy's dog in The Wizard of Oz, I don't recall

any great lines from him.

Er, I think this must be Scooby-Doo.

-Yeah. It's obviously not Scooby-Doo saying them, though, is it?

-No.

No, no, it's the villains.

Yeah, it's the villains as they cart them off at the end,

as they rip their masks off and find it was always the caretaker

in the first place, who says, "If it weren't for those meddling kids..."

OK, Donald... I really am getting confused here!

I swear. I'd turn around and think, "No, OK, right, got you."

Right. It's Donald.

Which of the four Baldwin brothers did not appear in the film

Born On The Fourth Of July?

It's not a film that I'm familiar with

so this is going to have to be a guess.

And of those three names there, I think Daniel is probably the least

well-known so I'll go for Daniel.

OK, Daniel Baldwin you think did not appear in

Born On The Fourth Of July.

Kevin, are you more familiar with it?

-It's Tom Cruise, isn't it?

-Yeah. I don't know.

I don't recall Alec being in it but I may be wrong there.

Yeah, it is Alec that's missing from Born On The Fourth Of July.

Alec, not Daniel, so a chance for Kevin to go into the lead. Kevin,

which actress has played Denise Osbourne in Coronation Street

and Joanie Wright in Emmerdale?

I've got a faint idea there that Denise Black has

appeared in both series but I may be...

I don't know the character names.

I'll go for Denise Black.

Denise Black. You've got it. It's the right answer, Kevin.

OK, are the Eggheads fighting back?

Donald, I must get an answer here.

Which actor starred in the 1932 film Red Dust

and its 1953 remake Mogambo?

It's a bit before my time but I think if 1932 was the first film...

..the most obvious choice to me would be Spencer Tracy.

All right.

Spencer Tracy for Red Dust and 21 years later the remake Mogambo.

-Kevin, Spencer Tracy, is it?

-No, it's Clark Gable.

It's Clark Gable which means that Kevin has won the round.

Bad luck, Donald. You won't be in the final round,

would you both please come back and join your teams?

And this is what we've been playing towards.

It's time now 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, Brian and Donald from Sure And Stedfast,

and Chris and Judith from the Eggheads, would you leave

the studio now, please?

So, Alan, Stuart and John, you're playing to win

Sure And Stedfast £3,000.

Pat, David and Kevin, you are playing for something which

money cannot buy, the Eggheads' reputation.

And, as usual, I'm going to ask each team three questions in turn.

This time the questions are all general knowledge

and you are allowed to confer.

So, Sure And Stedfast, the question is,

are your three brains better than the Eggheads' three?

And Alan, Stuart and John, would you like to go first or second?

We'll go first again, please.

OK, first set of questions for Sure And Stedfast. Good luck to you.

Here's your first question.

On what part of the body is a sombrero usually worn?

On what part of the body is a sombrero usually worn?

THEY LAUGH

-Go on.

-Yeah, I think we'll go for head.

Think you'd be right to, yes, correct answer.

Eggheads, the Golden Shears Sheep Shearing Competition,

first held in 1961, was founded in which country?

The Golden Shears Sheep Shearing Competition,

first held in 1961, was founded in which country?

-Go New Zealand, do you think?

-It's got to be New Zealand, hasn't it?

Yeah, yeah. We're going to go for New Zealand.

I'm sure there's a lot of sheep in all those countries.

A great many sheep in New Zealand.

It's the right answer, well done.

OK, and Sure And Stedfast second question.

Oofy Prosser, Tuppy Glossop and Bingo Little are characters

created by which writer?

-I'll stand back.

-They're all pals

of Bertie Wooster in the Drones Club. PG Wodehouse.

PG Wodehouse, I think. I don't know, Alan.

-I trust him.

-PG Wodehouse.

-OK. PG Wodehouse is the right answer.

Alan mentioned the Drones Club as well and Eggheads,

Glossophobia is the fear of what?

-Public speaking.

-Public speaking.

-Public speaking definitely, yeah.

-That's public speaking, Dermot.

-Public speaking?

It wouldn't be a good thing to have if you were a spokesman.

It is the fear of public speaking, yes.

-And what are the linguistic roots there?

-The tongue.

Glossop from the tongue.

Right, well, all your tongues working really well.

We've right answers all the way so far.

Third question for Sure And Stedfast.

Which Italian resort was scheduled to host the cancelled

Winter Olympics of 1944?

One day I tried to see if I could name all the host cities.

I had a look at them and I can't.

I want to say Cortina d'Ampezzo but...

I don't think Turin's very cold, is it?

Turin hosted them in 2006,

so I don't think...then again...and Livigno doesn't even ring a bell.

-I don't know if either of you...?

-Go for it.

-Cortina d'Ampezzo then, let's go for it.

-Er, Cortina d'Ampezzo.

-OK.

Cortina d'Ampezzo for the cancelled

Winter Olympics of 1944, cancelled for obvious reasons.

It is the right answer. Well done. Well, Stuart,

you said you'd done some homework on Winter Olympic venues.

Yeah, just, I'm quite sad, I think.

I just decided to see if I could name all the host cities and

see what ones I missed out and that rings a bell as the cancelled one.

Well, it might just win you the money, it might.

Eggheads, third question.

In which Buckinghamshire town is it traditional to weigh

the incoming and outgoing mayor?

High Wycombe definitely, yeah, definitely.

Make sure they haven't filched any of the proceeds of office, yes.

I think it was the measure to make sure they weren't leaving with

more than they arrived with and it's High Wycombe.

What, so they weren't leaving with the mayoral silver

-or something like that?

-Yes.

-OK.

-Presumably started quite a few years ago.

-Last year!

No, no, it's not.

High Wycombe is the right answer, Eggheads. We go to Sudden Death.

All right, Sure And Stedfast,

who in 1865 became the first man to climb the Matterhorn?

Who in 1865 became the first man to climb the Matterhorn?

Oh, dear. I don't know many mountaineers in that era. Do you?

-Couldn't tell you.

-I'd say that's not my thing.

Who was the one that climbed up mountains in their tweeds and stuff.

Erm...what was his name? Oh, I can't think.

No, Shackleton was the sea, the ice man down the Antarctic, wasn't he?

Oh, I can... No, I can't think of his name, no.

-I wish I could.

-I don't know it. Never heard of that.

Is it Rutherford? No, I don't know. Go for it.

-I can't...

-Think of a first name?

-John.

-John.

-John.

-We'll guess at John Rutherford.

-OK.

The first man to climb the Matterhorn. John Rutherford.

-It's not the right answer. Eggheads?

-Edward Whymper.

Edward Whymper is correct and rather a...

rather a tragic attempt, though, can you tell me why?

Well, Whymper survived and I think the two guides who were

father and son survived but all the other members,

British members of the climbing party, I think

there were four of them, all died on the climb.

-They fell, the ropes broke, they fell down crevasses.

-That's right.

One member slipped and pulled the three others down.

And the rope actually broke. It was attached to Whymper but it broke

and, er, saved him. OK, well, Eggheads,

if you get this right, you've won it. Photo 51,

one of the keys to understanding the structure of DNA, was taken

in the laboratory of which female scientist at King's College London?

Photo 51,

one of the keys to understanding the structure of DNA, was taken

in the laboratory of which female scientist at King's College London?

Well, I assume this must have been Rosalind Franklin.

I mean, she wasn't the only female scientist involved with this,

but she's obviously the famous one.

-Rosalind Franklin?

-Rosalind, yeah.

-OK.

So, I think, erm, I can't... I'm trying to think.

There was a colleague, a Wilkins, or something?

Yeah, there was another woman who was involved in part of it

but I think I'd be surprised if this isn't Rosalind Franklin.

-We think that's Rosalind Franklin.

-Rosalind Franklin.

It's correct. Eggheads, you've won.

We've had a great quiz today and, Sure And Stedfast, well,

you stayed true to your motto there during the course of this game,

really stuck with the Eggheads, hung in with them there,

all square in the final round, some great head-to-heads.

Some really good head-to-heads and some great answers from you in the final round.

I think particularly that one coming ultimately from Stuart

on the cancelled Winter Olympics but not to be on the day but

thank you very much indeed for giving the Eggheads such a good game.

But the Eggheads have done what comes naturally to them

and they still reign supreme over Quizland, I'm afraid.

You won't be going home with the £3,000

and that means the money rolls over to our next show.

So, join us next time to see

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

£4,000 says they don't.

Until then, goodbye.