Episode 87 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.

Here they are, the Eggheads.

Was that a good enough build-up?

DAVE: Yeah, it's good. Like that. PAT: It's a start.

Have to work on toning it down, I think.

Taking on our quiz Goliaths today

are The Pioneers from Rochdale.

This team all take part in league quizzes once a week so they're pretty handy.

They're at the Spotland Social Club

and they take their name from the famous Rochdale Pioneers,

known for forming the original co-operative movement.

Let's meet them.

Hi. I'm Steve, I'm a retired postal worker.

Hiya. I'm Mick, I'm a retired health and safety consultant.

Hi. I'm Janice, I'm a retired primary school teacher.

Hi, I'm Pete, and I'm a caretaker.

Hi. I'm Paul, I'm a cladder.

So Steve, team, welcome. Good to see you. Hi, Jeremy.

So proper quizzing goes on here, right?

Proper...

I don't know whether you'd call it proper. We try.

We endeavour.

And just before we start, the original co-operative movement,

the Rochdale Pioneers, it's an interesting back reference. What should we know about them?

They were formed in 1844,

as a challenge to what was going on

with a lot of shopkeepers at the time who were

polluting the flour, putting stones in sacks of potatoes and all the rest of it,

so that the people who owned the co-operative ran the co-operative,

and made sure that all the customers got a good deal. OK.

And any profits that were made went back to the customers.

OK... And it's an idea that's spread worldwide.

Lovely. And any profits made tonight...stay with you. Yes, please.

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, Pioneers, the Eggheads are on a roll. They've won the last 11 games.

There's ?12,000 to win today.

So this is fun, isn't it, already?

The first head-to-head battle is on History.

Who would like this? Who wants to...

Might we suggest... You looking at me?

..you, Michael?

Yeah, but who should I take on?

Try Dave for History.

Tremendous Knowledge.

I'll, er...I'll take on Dave.

OK, so it's going to be Mick from The Pioneers against

Tremendous Knowledge Dave on History. A quizzy team we've got here.

To ensure there's no conferring would you both please take your positions in our Question Room?

So, Mick, it's History. Would you like to go first or second?

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

Good luck, Mick, and here we go.

Which region is widely thought to be the birthplace

of the infamous ruler Vlad the Impaler?

Well, I think that's in present-day Romania,

which is Transylvania.

You're right, Transylvania it is.

OK - Dave, your question.

For approximately how long was Richard I King of England?

Erm...

Well, he was the one with the Crusades, Richard the Lionheart.

Erm... I don't think it's a year... I think it's 10 years.

Bang on, 10 years. That's right. He was away a lot, wasn't he?

Yes, he was.

OK. Mick...

Which of these is a term

for a type of bodyguard

typically used around the time of the Norman invasion of England?

Ooh, I don't know this. Erm...

I don't think it's Serf.

So that leaves the other two.

Erm...

I don't think it's Thane, I'll go for Housecarl.

Yeah, Housecarl is spot on, well done. All right. Yeah.

So - over to you, Dave.

In which royal borough in southwest London

were seven Anglo-Saxon kings crowned?

Not heard this at all.

Right, I'm going to rule out Richmond and Kew.

And the only thing I'm going on is "King's town"...

Which could be Kingston in Anglo-Saxon times,

and it's the Royal Borough of Kingston-upon-Thames

so I'm going to go Kingston.

Brilliant logic. Yeah,

the answer was almost in the names there.

Kingston is right. Well done. "King's town."

OK, back to you, Mick.

The Battle of Actium,

at which Mark Antony was defeated by the forces of Octavian,

took place off the coast of which country?

Er, again I'm not quite sure of this. Erm...

I don't know if it was...

The only one I can really go for I think

is Greece. But that's no...

No surety there.

Well, you're playing very well, cos you got it right.

Three out of three as well.

Good play by our Pioneers,

let us see what happens to Dave now, third question.

What was the name of the Welsh adventurer, Dave,

who's believed to have been the second husband of Catherine of Valois,

and who did much to establish the Tudor family as a dynastic power?

The only one of those I've heard of is Owen Tudor, so that's my answer.

Owen Tudor.

Good play from you as well, Dave.

Owen Tudor is correct,

so three out of three for both of you.

The scores are level and we go to Sudden Death, Mick,

which is a bit harder because I don't give you alternative answers. Yeah.

To the nearest year,

how long was Franklin D Roosevelt President of the USA?

I would say...

..15.

No, 12. Oh!

Dave, you can book your place in the final

if you get this right.

Who was the last Emperor of Ethiopia?

Let me get that in my head.

Haile Selassie.

Haile Selassie is the right answer, Dave, he was indeed

the last Emperor of Ethiopia

and you will be an emperor in the final round.

Mick, I'm sorry, you've been knocked out.

Come back to us, both of you. We will play on.

So, as it stands The Pioneers have lost a brain

although Mick played very well there.

The Eggheads have not lost a brain yet, so let's see what happens next.

Music is the subject for you, Pioneers.

Steve wanted this, but...

Yeah. I fancy it.

Let Steve have it, he wants it.

Now, who are we going to try and take out?

Lisa? Try Lisa. I'll challenge Lisa, please.

Okey-dokey. So Steve from The Pioneers, Lisa from the Eggheads.

We might even get you to burst into song at one point.

Let's just see what comes up, I'm not promising. Let's see.

To ensure there's no conferring, please take your positions.

Well, you're up against Lisa on Music,

and would you like to go first or second?

I'd like to go first, please.

Here we go with your first question.

All Day And All Of The Night was a UK hit single for which band in 1964?

It was certainly prior to the first Pink Floyd release

which I think was 1967...

..but I believe the answer is The Kinks.

The Kinks is correct. Well done.

OK, Lisa...

The stage musical Kiss Me, Kate is based on which Shakespeare play?

Directed a production of this once, actually,

when I was still at university, it's The Taming Of The Shrew.

The Taming Of The Shrew is correct.

Is it politically incorrect now?

Erm...yeah, quite probably but it's still ever such good fun. Mm.

OK, Steve, your question.

What is the literal meaning of the title of the Mascagni opera

Cavalleria rusticana, when translated from the Italian?

Er, the "rustica" bit, that gives it...

So the other bit is Cavalleria.

Cavalleria?

Yes, C-A-V-A-L-L-E-R-I-A.

That sounds sort of military as in "cavalry".

But it also sounds a little bit like "chivalry". So...

have an absolute guess at rustic chivalry.

You're absolute guess is absolutely right, well done. Rustic chivalry.

Lisa...

El Camino and Turn Blue

are albums by which band?

Right... I might have to do this by elimination.

Fairly certain it's not Coldplay...

..and I'm semi-certain it's not The Killers.

They don't sound like Killers albums...

I'll go for The Black Keys.

Yeah, you're right. And it's funny, I would have done it the same way -

I don't know what The Black Keys do or what they're about

but they're the right answer.

Steve...

The rock bassist Michael Balzary,

a founder member of the Red Hot Chili Peppers,

became famous under which one-word name?

Fish, I believe, was the lead singer of Marillion

before setting out on his own career.

Fawn doesn't sound quite as rock-ish and aggressive

as the Red Hot Chili Peppers, so I will go with Flea.

Yeah, you've got three out of three, it is Flea.

OK, Lisa, over to you.

If you get this right we go to Sudden Death.

The jazz pianist Oscar Peterson was born in which country?

Do you get many jazz pianists from New Zealand,

can I rule him out solely on that?

Canada and I as we know are not friends. Erm...

But I can't rule it out. Let we just have a little think.

I mean, I've certainly heard of him.

I sort of want to say Ireland.

Well, I sort of want to say Canada too.

I think we best hope somebody

keeps this seat warm for me for later, and I will go for...

Canada.

Ha-ha-ha-ha! Oh, the struggle.

But you've got it right. Wow! Canada it is.

Three points each. Sorry, Steve.

We go to Sudden Death.

Steve, your question.

Which Stephen Sondheim musical

features the numbers No Place Like London and God, That's Good!?

I have absolutely no idea.

Stab in the dark - Guys And Dolls.

No, it is Sweeney Todd.

So Lisa, if you get this right you are in the final round.

Here is your question.

The piece of music by Beethoven

known as the Ode To Joy features in which of his symphonies?

I think it's comes somewhere at the end of the Ninth Symphony.

Yes, No.9 in D minor. Or the Choral Symphony,

but I can accept Ninth Symphony - you're right, Lisa, you've won on Sudden Death on Music.

But it is one of her favourite subjects, Steve.

Sorry you've been knocked out there.

Return to your teams, please, both of you, and we'll see what happens next.

So as it stands, The Pioneers

have now lost a second brain from the final round.

The Eggheads haven't lost any so far so they are playing well.

And the next object is Arts Books.

So who would like this?

I think we're going to nominate Janice, we pretty much decided that.

Unless anybody else wants to have a go? No.

All right. I'll take that one. Janice? OK.

Retired school teacher, against...?

PETE: I'd take CJ. Personally!

OK. Can I challenge CJ, please?

Course you can.

That seems to have made you happy.

I'm thrilled!

Because of the subject or just cos you're getting a run now? I'm... just thrilled at being me, frankly.

THEY LAUGH

So, Janice from The Pioneers versus CJ from the Eggheads,

and to ensure there's no conferring, please take your positions.

OK. Janice, would you like to go first or second?

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

So here is your first Arts Books question, Janice.

The artist Claude Monet

is most closely associated with which artistic movement?

Well, he's definitely not Pop Art.

And...I don't think he's Surrealism.

I'm fairly sure he is

into Impressionism.

Impressionism is quite right, yeah.

OK. Well done,

first one to you.

CJ - which of these is a children's book by Dodie Smith?

Watership Down is Richard Adams, Black Beauty's Anna Sewell

so it's A Hundred and One Dalmatians.

It is indeed The One Hundred and One Dalmatians, well done.

OK, your question, Janice.

Newland Archer and Ellen Olenska

are central characters in which novel

set in New York in the late 19th century?

A Room with a View I think is EM Forster.

I don't think it's that one.

Wings of a Dove I don't know.

I'm going to plump for The Age of Innocence.

And you've plumped correctly.

Well done. The Age of Innocence it is.

OK, CJ, you are lagging behind.

This one to catch up.

In which year did the Dutch painter Vermeer die?

Well, I didn't KNOW this,

but he's 17th century so I am assuming it's 1675.

There we are - you're right, CJ.

So, two each.

Third question, could be crucial. Hold focus.

Which American playwright, who died in 1963,

wrote the plays Awake And Sing!,

Waiting For Lefty and Golden Boy?

Hmm... Not sure about this one.

Clifford Odets I have not heard of.

I've heard of Eugene O'Neill but those titles don't ring any bells...

I'm going to go for Neil Simon.

It's not Neil Simon. Now, let's just check -

Eggheads, what did Neil Simon write?

The Odd Couple. PAT: Biloxi Blues.

DAVE: Biloxi Blues. KEVIN: Sunshine Boys. California Suite.

OK. It's Clifford Odets. Oh. OK.

So CJ,

you have a chance to take the round.

Which Jane Austen novel

begins with a line that says of the central female character,

"No-one who had ever seen Catherine Morland in her infancy

"would have supposed her born to be a heroine"?

I don't know Jane Austen very well. Erm...

I'm not aware of that character in Pride and Prejudice,

that's er... Catherine Bennet, I think.

Northanger Abbey, I vaguely know

the lead character in that -

I'm assuming Catherine Morland is

the lead character if she's mentioned in the first sentence.

The heroine of Northanger Abbey I can't quite remember

but that name doesn't ring a bell.

So simply because I haven't heard of it, I'm going to go for Persuasion.

Persuasion is wrong, CJ.

Oh... It's Northanger Abbey.

Janice, a slight let-off there,

we go to Sudden Death. Yes.

The Richelieu Wing, Sully Wing and Denon Wing

are sections of which art museum?

I'm not sure about this one, it's going to be a guess.

I'm going to go for the Uffizi Gallery...?

It's the Louvre.

Oh.

Over to you, CJ,

Sudden Death.

The Cricket On The Hearth, published in 1845,

is the third in a series of Christmas books by which author, born in 1812?

Well, assuming he died...

..in 1880 I think,

writing a lot of Christmas books, would be Charles Dickens.

The correct answer is Charles Dickens, you have taken that round -

sorry, Janice. OK.

CJ's in and you're out, but hope is not gone, not at all.

Please come back, and we'll play the next round.

So the last round before the final now.

The Pioneers have lost three brains, and the Eggheads haven't lost any - let's see if you can just

maybe winkle one out in this final round.

It's going to be Sport.

Is that any good for you?

Oh... Head in hands. I don't do sport.

You can't do Sport? No.

Well, I'm going to have to do it, aren't I?

Paul, sport? You're good at sport.

You'll be better than me. Depends what the sport is! Well... You don't know, do you? No.

If it's trampolining I'm knackered. THEY LAUGH

We had a question on trampolining I think a couple of days ago,

didn't we? "What is a Rudolph"?

What is a Rudolph? I'd imagine that's some kind of jump. Yeah, it is.

That's where you land on your nose! I'll have that one.

Don't go yet - you've got to choose one of them.

I'll take Pat.

All right, so Paul from The Pioneers and Pat from the Eggheads,

please go to the Question Room now.

Sport. And would you like to go first or second, Paul?

I'll go...first, please.

Your first question.

In which position does the Argentinian footballer Lionel Messi usually play?

HE CHUCKLES

One of my favourite players.

Got to be a forward.

He's a forward, Paul, well done.

What shape ball, Pat,

is used in the sport of Gaelic football?

Er... I played a little bit when I was a lad.

I wasn't very good at it.

It's a spherical ball, so I suppose you'd describe it as round.

A round ball is correct.

Bigger than a cricket ball but smaller than a football, right?

It's about the same size as a soccer ball.

OK, back to you, Paul.

Who won the world snooker title

in 1972 and 1982?

Did Higgins only win it once...?

I think I'm going to go with...

..Alex Higgins.

CJ will know this. CJ?

Ray Reardon won it six times,

John Virgo never won it - Alex Higgins won it in '72 and '82.

Yeah. See, you're absolutely right, Paul.

Pat, your question.

The English rugby player Chris Robshaw

typically plays in which position?

Well, he's a big guy...

Physically I think he's probably too big to be playing at fly half.

I really don't know. It's pretty much 50-50 - I'll say Flanker.

Flanker is the right answer.

So back to Paul, see if you can get three in a row.

In which year did the boxer

Sugar Ray Robinson first win a world title?

Sugar Ray Robinson... Sugar Ray Robinson.

It's not '26.

I'll say...

..'66.

Eggheads, is he right?

KEVIN: '46. '46 is the answer.

'46. I thought it were '50s. Yeah.

So Pat, you have a chance on your third question

to go through to the final.

Who was the first British driver

to win two Formula 1 World Championships?

Hmm.

Jackie Stewart won three,

round about the end of the '60s, start of the '70s.

Graham Hill and Jim Clark each hold all sorts of motor racing records.

I think Tim Clark is fractionally earlier than Graham Hill,

and I think Jim Clark was absolutely sensational

while he was driving so I'll go for Jim Clark. But it's a bit dodgy.

Jim Clark is the right answer - three out of three again, well done.

So you are through to the final, and Paul,

you've been knocked out. So it's been a pretty torrid time for our Challengers.

Let's see what happens next, we're going to play the final round.

So this is what we have been playing towards,

it is 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 we say goodbye to Steve, Mick, Janice

and Paul from The Pioneers - please leave the studio.

Well, sorry, Pete, you've been left alone here at the end.

You're playing to win The Pioneers ?12,000. Good jackpot today.

CJ, Pat, Lisa, Dave, Kevin, you're playing for something that's

almost impossible to put a price on, which is the Eggheads' reputation.

As usual I will ask each team three questions in turn.

This time the questions are all General Knowledge,

you are allowed to confer - but Pete, I'm sorry,

that doesn't really help you with the four team-mates behind you. Not much.

So Pete, the question is can you with your ONE brain

destroy these five?

Will you go first or second?

Erm... I may as well continue going first

as the rest of us have I think, please.

Good luck. Here is your question, Pete.

What name is given to a type of barn without walls,

typically used for storing hay?

Well, I'm pretty sure that's a Dutch barn so I won't beat about the bush.

Dutch barn is the right answer, well done. Yeah.

OK. Over to the Eggheads.

Where was Wild Bill Hickok

fatally shot in 1876?

KEVIN: OK... DAVE: Deadwood.

Yeah.

Er, he was shot while playing cards in Deadwood.

Yeah, Deadwood is the right answer.

OK. Pete, on to you.

Which of these is closest

to the meaning of the word "obfuscate"?

Erm... Obfuscate.

I think my questions are a bit obfuscating sometimes.

So I'm going to go... Just give them again, Jeremy, if you would.

Swear, Destroy or Confuse.

I think Confuse would be the answer there.

Confuse is the right answer, well done. Two out of two.

OK, Eggheads, your second question.

The acronym "Nolita",

usually said to derive from "North of Little Italy",

refers to a district of which city?

CJ: Well, Little Italy's in New York... DAVE: Yeah.

There is an area of London that became known as Little Italy

but they don't tend to use those kind of acronyms. LISA: Not really.

Er, that's New York, Jeremy.

New York is correct.

Back to you, Pete.

Third question, very important, take your time.

Who played the title role of a shoe shop owner

in the David Lean film Hobson's Choice?

Right, definitely wasn't Jack Hawkins.

I'm just going to have to take a...

a bit of a stab at that.

I think I'd go for Charles Laughton.

Charles Laughton is your answer?

Let's check with the Eggheads, do you know? KEVIN AND DAVE: Yeah.

Yeah, you've got three out of three. Oh!

What a great performance. OK...

And we are in this very interesting situation

where the Eggheads have played an absolute storming game,

but could go down here on one wrong question.

Here's your question.

As what was Robert Trent Jones

a leading name in the 20th century?

PAT: Great golf course designer.

KEVIN: Yeah, cos it's Bobby Jones.

DAVE: Yeah. Bobby Jones.

CJ: Oh, is it...? Sorry, what was his name?

As what was Robert Trent Jones a leading name in the 20th century?

CJ: If it's Bobby Jones, then yes.

KEVIN: Pat, you said golf course designer...

PAT: Well, we've got Robert TYRE Jones and Robert Trent...

Sorry, you're right, Robert Tyre Jones is Bobby Jones.

Yeah. But Robert Trent Jones is also a great golf course designer.

LISA: Not confusing at all, then, excellent. KEVIN: OK.

Yeah. OK?

Er, we think he was a golf course designer.

Very good knowledge from the Eggheads, very good play -

he was indeed a golf course designer.

So three-three.

The ?12,000 is still un-won...

but it CAN be won.

We go to Sudden Death, Pete.

Gets a bit more tricky here cos I don't give you alternatives.

Which English city was the original home

of the confectionery business

run by Henry and Joseph Rowntree?

Er... Well, that's where I went to uni

so that's definitely York, I think. Yeah.

York is the answer.

Back on Sudden Death to the Eggheads.

Which West Indian umpire

retired from test cricket in March 2009,

after standing in his 128th match?

DAVE: Steve Bucknor. KEVIN: Steve Bucknell?

Buck-NOR. He's Bucknall, isn't he?

With an A-L-L. There's no other umpire

who stood as much. Yeah, it's got to be. It's got to be him.

Steve Bucknall. Steve Bucknor. Buck-NOR? A-L-L. LISA: Bucknall?

Bucknor. Bucknor.

Well, N-O-R. OK, it's definitely N-O-R? Yeah.

I don't know why I was thinking Bucknall then. OK. Bucknor.

Er, Steve Bucknor.

Steve Bucknor is correct! JEREMY CHUCKLES

OK, Pete. Your question.

Which novel by Jonathan Franzen,

which focuses on a family of five whose members endure

unsuccessful marriages, strained familial relationships

and failed careers, won a National Book Award in 2001?

Oh...

Right, this is where I go to the dogs, and I have actually read it.

And I can't just bring the title to mind.

Fairly sure it's a two-word title, isn't it? "The something or other."

No, it's not er...? No.

The Enlightened.

The Enlightened? Mm.

That's the wrong answer. Mm-hm.

I've read it too, and it's a funny old title, this,

it's quite easy to forget it. So I see what's happened here.

The Corrections. The Corrections, yeah.

It's the one where somebody falls past the window of a ship,

in a very dramatic moment, upside down. Yeah.

Pete has got an answer wrong.

He's been playing brilliantly so far.

If you get this right the contest is over. ?12,000 on the table.

Discovery, Laxton's Superb

and Ellison's Orange

of writers of which fruit?

DAVE: Apples. CJ: Sounds like apples.

Laxton's Superb is apple. KEVIN: So is Discovery. LISA: And a band. But apple. Yeah.

Erm, I think were fairly happy that those are apples.

The correct answer is apple -

we say congratulations, Eggheads, you have won.

Well played, Pete.

Brilliant quizzing by you, Pete,

you salvaged it to the point where I thought you were going to win for a second.

Well, it's not all that long since I read the book, to be truthful!

Well, that's annoying. It is annoying, yeah.

But commiserations to The Pioneers, real commiserations, Challengers,

the Eggheads have done what comes naturally to them.

This winning streak continues, gets ever more exciting.

It means the Challengers don't go home with the ?12,000 -

we take the money and we roll it over on the next show.

Eggheads, very well done. Who will beat you?

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

?13,000 says they don't.

Till then, goodbye.

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then look no further.

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