Episode 50 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 hoping to beat the might of the Eggheads today are The Oakies.

This team of friends are all members of the Major Oak Barbershop Chorus,

based in Nottingham. Let's meet them.

Hi, I'm Trevor. I'm 66 and I'm a retired teacher of English.

Hi, I'm Paul. I'm 57 years old and I'm a disclosure officer.

Hi, I'm Adrian. I'm 61 and I'm a kindergarten teacher.

Hello, I'm Roger. I'm 64 and I'm a retired NHS manager.

Hi, I'm Bob. I'm 67 and I'm a retired pharmacist.

You're very welcome here, Oakies. Very good to see you.

We love having singers here.

Could we kick off, do you think you could give us a tune?

ALL: # Pass me by one summer day

# Flash those big brown eyes my way

# I wanted you for ever more

# Oh, now, baby

# I'm the one that gets around

# Swear my feet stuck to the ground

# But oh, I never did meet you before. #

Lovely.

Thank you very much indeed. What a nice way to kick of this episode.

You obviously practise a lot, where do you perform?

We practise a lot, as you say, we sing every Tuesday evening

for two-and-a-half hours under the direction of Joe Knight,

our musical director.

Some of us are in quartets and it does take up quite a bit of our time.

Given what we're about to do today, have you done any quizzing?

-Do you quiz together at all?

-We are not a quiz team, as such.

Whether this will be an inspiration to us in the future, I don't know.

We are simply a group of guys and here we are.

It's very good to see you. Let's see how you do against the Eggheads.

Every day there's £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.

Oakies, the Eggheads have won the last five games

and that means £6,000 says you can't beat the Eggheads today.

Our first head-to-head battle is on the subject of Arts and Books.

Who'd like to play this from The Oakies?

-I wonder whether that's...

-I think English teachers are right for that.

-I think the captain.

-Yes, I think that's probably me, Dermot.

-OK.

You get to choose any Egghead you like because it's the opening round.

I'd go for...

Tremendous Knowledge Dave.

Can we ask Dave to accept our challenge?

-I'm sure he will.

-Yep, delighted to.

All right, it's Dave and Trevor playing Arts and Books.

Could I ask you both to go to the Question Room

just to make sure you can't confer.

Trevor, as a retired English teacher,

you should be fairly comfortable with the literature side of this.

-Let's hope so.

-OK, would you like to go first or second?

I'd like to go first, please.

Best of luck, Trevor. Your first question.

For what does the second M stand in the acronym MOMA -

M-O-M-A - in reference to a New York institution?

Been to New York and I remember very well wanting to go to this place

and the second M stands for Modern. The Museum Of Modern Art.

You've given me it all and that second M is "Modern".

It's the right answer, and a good start.

Dave, whose 2013 autobiography is called Recipe For Life?

It could conceivably be Jamie Oliver.

Or Delia Smith.

But I do seem to remember Mary Berry putting out a book

so I'll go Mary Berry.

Mary Berry, yep, you're right. Well remembered, Dave.

All square and Trevor's second question.

In George Eliot's novel, what is the profession of Silas Marner?

Silas Marner, as I recall, was, in the novel, a miser.

I think he led a pretty solitary existence one way or another.

Not totally happy about this but I'll say he's a weaver.

Silas Marner. A weaver, you think.

He's a weaver, it's the right answer.

Well remembered, Trevor. Here you go, Dave. Second question.

Which novel by Joseph Conrad is set in the fictional

South American country of Costaguana?

I like the look of The Secret Agent as a title, even though...

Nostromo's the only Joseph Conrad novel that I associate with.

I don't know what it's about.

Going to go The Secret Agent, just as a mischievous guess.

OK, a mischievous guess. I'll just see what the other Eggheads think.

Nostromo. Secret Agent is Conrad but that's actually set in Britain.

-OK. It is Nostromo.

-Right, fire on.

Bad luck. Not The Secret Agent.

So... Swinging very much your way, Trevor.

This is the quickest way into the final round for you,

a correct answer. Tales Of The Alhambra is a collection of writings

by which American author?

Without really knowing why, I'm looking at Washington Irving.

I'm going for Washington Irving.

OK, without really knowing why.

-Just an instinct.

-Bit of excitement amongst the other Oakies.

It is the right answer. You are in the final round.

Great start for The Oakies. Trevor into the final round, ejecting Dave.

Would you both please come back and join your teams.

The Oakies haven't lost any brains, knocked one Egghead out.

Our second subject today, it's Science.

Who from the team would like to play this, Oakies?

What about our scientist, Bob?

ALL AGREE

-You up for it?

-Yeah.

-OK, I'll be victim.

-All right, Bob, and pick an Egghead.

Who would you like to take to the Question Room?

-Good question. I'll try CJ, please.

-All right.

Let's have Bob and CJ playing this one.

To the Question Room, both of you, please.

Bob, would you like to go first or second on this round?

I think I'll risk going first, please.

Best of luck, Bob. Here's your first question.

Which of these refers to the technology that allows computers

to be connected to form a local area network?

I think pathnet is entirely logical, giving a pathway.

But I think the answer is Ethernet.

As things disappear off into the ether.

So Ethernet would be my answer.

OK, and that's what you're trying to attempt with CJ,

make him disappear up into the ether. It's the right answer.

One step closer to that happening.

CJ, in aviation, what name is given to the manoeuvre often used

when learning to fly that involves landing on a runway

then taking off again without coming to a complete stop?

I don't know.

I really don't know. Not stoop-and-raise.

Um... Hm. You can make a case for either of the other two.

I'm sorry, I just haven't heard this,

-so I will guess at touch-and-go.

-OK.

I think you're right to be careful cos touch-and-go is a phrase

meaning in a critical condition, sometimes,

touch-and-go, but it is the right answer. Well done, CJ.

The logic really there dictated it, didn't it?

All square. Back to Bob.

The park that in 2009 was the first in the UK to be designated

a Dark Sky Park for its lack of light pollution is in which country?

Good question.

My gut reaction, and I don't know,

but my gut reaction would be Scotland.

-Scotland's my answer.

-OK, gut reaction, going with that, Scotland.

And giving me the right answer. Well done, Bob.

All right, second question for CJ.

The Russian physiologist Ivan Pavlov received

a 1904 Nobel Prize for his research on which part of the body?

I'm not doing very well cos I've got no idea on this one, either.

I'm leaning towards one

but this is nothing more than an absolute blind guess.

It's a one-in-three.

Um...digestive system.

OK, digestive system.

Very honest of you saying

it's a one-in-three, but it's the right answer.

OK, it's all square. Both of you having to work at those questions

but getting the right answers.

Bob, what is the name of the monthly magazine

of the Institute of Physics?

Again, physics, not my speciality.

-I don't know but I'll go down the middle with Physics Now.

-OK.

The name of the magazine is Physics - I'll give you that,

it's in it - Physics World.

A chance, CJ, to go through.

Which of the following is a set of criteria used by physicians

to decide if a patient requires an ankle X-ray

and is named after the city in which the theory was developed?

Well... There's no point trying to think this through.

It's one of those things you either know or you don't.

Um... Vancouver is way over on the west coast

and I don't particularly associate with that being a...

powerhouse of technology or anything.

Montreal...is.

And Ottawa...

probably is but less so, possibly more financial in Ottawa.

-So...I will try Montreal.

-OK, Montreal ankle rules.

As you say, if you don't know it you're guessing again.

Montreal ankle rules is incorrect.

-Does any...? Have any idea?

-ALL:

-No.

It is the Ottawa ankle rules.

OK, it's all square, Bob, so we're going to go to Sudden Death,

remove the options, so it's harder if you have to guess.

Bob, which planet in the solar system

is named for the Roman god of War?

If I take my lead from Holst, it would be Mars.

Would be, that's the right answer.

And, CJ, deuterium is a form of which gas?

Deuterium is used in heavy water, isn't it, which is H20.

So I would assume it's either hydrogen or oxygen.

Ah. Ah! Ah!

-DE...

-Right.

-Could mean double, two.

And you've got O for oxygen and O3, which is ozone,

so I wonder if O2 is deuterium.

Don't know this but I will try oxygen.

HE WHIMPERS

HE CHUCKLES

I'm sorry, CJ, it's just the sight of the other Eggheads.

They're beating their heads off the desk,

banging them against each other.

-It's hydrogen.

-Good.

-Bad luck, CJ.

It is hydrogen, not oxygen. It's great news for you, Bob.

-Let's reflect on that. You're in the final round as well.

-Thank you.

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

Getting even better for The Oakies.

They haven't lost any brains yet and the Eggheads have lost two.

We play Round Three now and this one is Film and Television.

Who'd like to play this from The Oakies? It's you three gentlemen

-in the middle.

-I definitely don't want to do Film and TV.

OK, that makes it pretty straightforward, I think.

Me? OK. Who do I choose?

Who shall we knock off next?

Film and TV...

-Try Chris.

-Yeah?

-I think you're right.

-Can I take Chris, please?

-OK, it's going to be Adrian from The Oakies

playing Chris from the Eggheads.

And Roger there saying who shall they knock out next?

LAUGHTER

-Let's see about that.

-I didn't say that.

-No, you didn't, in fairness.

It's fine to say if you're not going into the Question Room.

It's Adrian and Chris who are heading there for me, please.

Adrian, I know you're not tempting fate by predicting any outcome

to this round, so let's just play it, shall we?

Would you like to go first or second?

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

OK, good luck, Adrian. First question.

In 2009 Tom Ellis took on the role of the chef

Gary Preston in which sitcom?

I haven't even got anything to be able to rule out on this,

so all that thinking's gone.

I'm just going to take a wild guess at Miranda.

THEY LAUGH

OK, wild guess. Well, you've landed it, it's the right answer.

Chris, first question. In 2013 who became the first coach to announce

their departure from the TV series The Voice UK?

Am I thinking Pygmalion...

or was it Eliza Doolittle? Who I'll have to go with.

OK, Eliza Doolittle.

There was only one of them that was on it and it's...

Jessie J who left.

Good start, Adrian. Second question.

Lucie Green and Chris Lintott became the regular presenters of which

TV programme in February 2013?

I'm going to rule out Sky At Night - probably wrongly.

I'm going to rule that out. Erm...

I've heard bits and bobs about MasterChef,

so I'm not going to go for that. I'm going to stab at Countryfile.

OK, you think Countryfile presenters.

It's not the right answer.

-Chris?

-Didn't they take over The Sky At Night after Patrick Moore died?

Yep, Sky At Night.

OK, a chance to get in the game, Chris.

Which actress co-starred with Jack Nicholson in the 1980s films

Heartburn and Ironweed?

It's between Meg Ryan and Michelle Pfeiffer. Um...

Michelle Pfeiffer.

It wasn't between either of them, it's Meryl Streep.

All right.

Well, you'll win the round if you give me a correct answer, Adrian.

In the 1989 film Indiana Jones And The Last Crusade,

who played Dr Elsa Schneider?

I don't know why I'm going to say Orla Brady

but I'm going to say Orla Brady.

OK.

It's not.

It is Alison Doody.

Chris can still get in the game with a correct answer here.

If not, you're in the final round.

Chris, the 1965 film Shenandoah starring James Stewart

is set during which conflict?

Yeah, he's a pacifist Quaker caught up in the American Civil War.

Is the right answer, yes.

Low scoring but it's all square, 1-1, and we go to Sudden Death.

Adrian, which TV show's famous theme tune includes the lyrics,

"Making your way in the world today takes everything you've got"?

I have not a clue.

I can't even do a wild guess on that.

Erm...I've had a complete blank.

-Are you going to pass, Adrian?

-I'm going to pass on that one.

-Eggheads?

-CJ:

-It's Cheers.

-Cheers.

"Making your way in the world today takes everything you've got."

Chance for Chris. This would be a turnaround.

Been staring at ejection for most of the early exchanges

but this to win it, Chris.

What is the surname of both of the top billed actors

in the 2013 sci-fi film After Earth?

That's Will Smith and his son, so it's Smith.

-Do you know his son's name?

-Er...

-Jaden?

-Yep.

-Ooh!

-Will and Jaden Smith.

All we needed was Smith,

which means you have pulled one back for the Eggheads.

Chris, you're in the final round and Adrian, you won't be.

Would you both please come back and join your teams.

The Oakies have now lost one brain from the final round.

The Eggheads have lost two and it could be all square

in the final round, depending on the outcome of this final head-to-head.

It's Sport, so which Oakie would like to play it?

Roger or Paul?

-Roger, this is your...

-Captain says me.

I'm rubbish at sport.

All right, Roger, who would you like to choose, Barry or Kevin?

-Try Barry.

-Yeah, I'll go for Barry.

OK, let's have Roger and Barry into the Question Room, please.

Roger, would you like to go first or second?

I'll go first, please, Dermot.

Good luck, Roger. First question.

Which English Premier League football team plays home matches

at the Etihad Stadium?

Well, it's not West Ham, they play at Upton Park,

sometimes called the Boleyn Ground.

I think it's Manchester City that play at the Etihad.

It is. Right answer. Good start, Roger.

Barry, which sportsman,

who announced his retirement from Olympic sailing in order to

concentrate on the America's Cup was knighted in the 2013

New Year's Honours List?

This was Ben Ainslie, who performed the remarkable feat

in the America's Cup.

He was brought in to help the Oracle Team who were trailing 7-1.

And first to make 8. And when Ben Ainslie came in they turned

a 7-1 deficit into an 8-7 victory. Truly remarkable.

-No, that's not right.

-OK, well, he did turn it round

but the Eggheads are disagreeing about the scale of the turnaround.

-It was 8-1 to 9-8.

-It was 8-1 and he turned it around to 9-8.

-Ah.

-Knew it was something like that.

-That wasn't what we were asking,

just wanted to know it's Sir Ben Ainslie.

Well done, Barry.

Roger, in July 2013, Maria Sharapova hired which former Wimbledon

winner as her new coach, but then sacked him after only one match?

Oh, I don't know. I don't know.

Um...I'm going to go for...

..Pat Rafter.

OK, Pat Rafter, hired and rapidly fired by Maria Sharapova.

It's not.

-CJ?

-Pat Rafter never won Wimbledon, I'm afraid, it was Jimmy Connors.

Jimmy Connors.

Will Barry capitalise?

Barry, in Rugby League,

which stadium hosted the 2013 Super League Grand Final?

There's been no Super League Grand Final ever been hosted

at Hampden Park.

I believe this was at Old Trafford.

It was, so you have capitalised by taking the lead there,

and you need this, Roger.

The former track and field athlete Gillian Cooke won a gold medal

at which winter sports World Championships in 2009?

It's quite a switch from track and field to winter sports.

And the kind of build that you need for track and field

probably doesn't fit figure-skating.

Bobsleigh or ski jumping.

The Europeans tend to be better at ski jumping.

I'm going to go for bobsleigh.

OK, you ruled out figure-skating and you were right to do so.

You then came down to those two and ruled out ski jumping,

which is the right decision as well. It's bobsleigh, well done.

Barry, the Congolese-born sportsman Dikembe Mutombo

found fame in the United States playing which sport?

I've never heard of a Congolese ice hockey player.

I mean, that would be an utter surprise and shock to me,

so I'm going to rule that out straightaway.

A lot of fine Africans have come to the States

who have played basketball.

But I can't think of many that have come and played baseball.

So, on that principal alone, I'll go for basketball.

OK, basketball.

Agreement from the Eggheads. It's the right answer, Barry.

You have got through,

in spite of that very good answer by Roger on his third one

but had that slip up in the middle, which you did capitalise on,

which means you will be in the final round, Barry,

and, Roger, you won't. Would you both come back and join your teams.

And this is what we've playing towards -

it's time for the final round, which is General Knowledge.

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

allowed to take part in this round,

so Adrian and Roger from The Oakies, and Dave and CJ from the Eggheads,

would you all leave the studio, please.

Trevor, Paul and Bob, you're playing to win The Oakies £6,000.

Kevin, Barry and Chris,

you are playing for something which money cannot buy -

the Eggheads' reputation.

I'm going to ask each team three questions in turn.

The questions are all general knowledge

and you are allowed to confer.

So, Oakies, are your three brains better than the Eggheads' three?

Trevor, Paul and Bob, would you like to go first or second?

Stick with our plan.

Dermot, we're going to stick to the plan and go first.

OK, good luck, Oakies. First question.

Which Canadian Province has a shoreline on Lake Erie?

British Columbia's the other side of the country.

Toronto is just up from Niagara, isn't it?

-You've just been.

-Yeah, just up from Niagara.

Which is on...

One of the... The lakes. Lake Erie?

Lake Ontario that's on.

Yukon seems to be out in the sticks somewhere.

-My guess would be Ontario.

-Yeah.

I think we've got to go for that.

Dermot, I think we're going to go for Ontario.

You got the right answer, well done.

Ontario, with a shoreline on Lake Erie.

Eggheads, what is the meaning of the old-fashioned term "ack-emma"?

Before noon.

It's a reference to AM, so it's before noon.

OK, before noon is the right answer.

OK, Oakies, who starred as the vocalist with the group

The Weird Sisters in the film Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire?

-Not a Harry Potter fan.

-I've never seen Harry Potter.

Never seen any Potter films.

We'll have to work out who's the best...or the weirdest one.

Who would have had a role in a film like that?

-If I was going to cast someone in a film to look...

-Weird.

..weird, it would be Jarvis Cocker.

Because he's a little bit on the...

-eccentric side, left field, maybe.

-Yeah.

-Shall we go for that? Are you happy?

-I'll go with you.

Dermot, I think we're going to go for Jarvis Cocker.

OK, and you haven't seen it, so you're just trying to

cast in your mind who would fit with The Weird Sisters.

Think Jarvis Cocker would be the best fit.

Well, so did the producers, it's the right answer.

Jarvis Cocker.

OK, Eggheads, Cautley Spout,

one of England's highest waterfalls

is in which national park?

I would have said the Yorkshire Dales.

The Tees comes over the escarpment.

-There's a few Spouts in the Dales.

-Yeah.

-Pretty certain it's not Exmoor.

-None on Exmoor at all.

-The Peak District hasn't really got any waterfalls.

-No, it hasn't.

I'm pretty certain it's the Dales.

We're going to go for the Yorkshire Dales.

Cautley Spout is in...

the Yorkshire Dales, correct, Eggheads.

Third question for the Oakies.

How many different constituencies did Winston Churchill represent

during his political career?

I was going to say one.

..I think it was Woodford Green but that doesn't help at all.

-Nine seems...

-Nine seems excessive, doesn't it?

Five's a gut feel.

Shall we go for five?

-Feels more comfortable.

-I feel more comfortable with five.

Five.

I think we're going to give the answer as five.

OK, you're going for five.

And the answer is...

five. Correct.

You need to get this one, Eggheads.

The writer Beatrix Potter bred and won many prizes

at agricultural shows for which creature?

She... Well, later in life

she farmed in the Lake District.

And it was Herdwick sheep.

Yes, that's right, Eggheads. We go to Sudden Death.

OK, Oakies, don't wince, you're doing well.

But it is a lot harder without those options. We're taking those away.

Here's your question.

Which member of the Monty Python comedy team was appointed

the Provost's Visiting Professor at Cornell University in 2006?

The first one I would rule out, cos I think he died some time ago,

earlier than 2006, is Graham Chapman.

-Think he died quite a long time ago.

-He died way back.

-That leaves four.

-That leaves four.

-Who was the cartoonist, the American?

Terry Gilliam.

He was the cartoonist.

If I was going to guess it would be John Cleese.

-But...would the location of Cornell be any help?

-No, I don't think so.

I'd still go for the American guy.

I think we're got to go with you. I can't better that.

Dermot, we're going to...

We're going to go with Bob on this one.

We're going to go with Terry Gilliam.

OK, Terry Gilliam.

It's John Cleese.

The other one you said.

Eggheads, to win it.

No Thoroughfare is a stage play

and novel written by Charles Dickens and which other Victorian author?

Unless you know otherwise, his great friend

-and collaborator was Wilkie Collins.

-Oh, of course, yeah.

But I don't know that that's right for this particular work.

-That makes perfect sense.

-But they did work on both plays and novels.

Two or three things together, yeah.

So...

-It makes, doesn't it?

-Makes sense.

-Makes sense.

Don't recognise the title of the work for sure

but Dickens was great friends with, and collaborated on a number

of stage and literary works with Wilkie Collins.

-So, we'll say Wilkie Collins.

-No Thoroughfare is a stage play

and novel written by Charles Dickens and...

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

That was very close. Thank you very much for playing the Eggheads.

Thank you very much for entertaining us twice

because you entertained us musically, of course,

and best of luck with all that singing in the future

and you entertained us with your quizzing knowledge as well.

-So thank you for that as well.

-Our pleasure.

-Pleasure.

But 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 £6,000 and that means the money rolls over to the next show.

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

to defeat the Eggheads. £7,000 says they don't.

Until then, goodbye.