Episode 96 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.

Their 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 here you are.

-Hello.

-Here we are.

Looking pretty colourful and looking like you're ready for a game.

-Yes, definitely.

-Always.

-Excellent.

Taking on our awesome quiz champions today

are "Swots? Not!" from Glasgow.

Now, in forming this quintet, team captain Jeff has called up

the services of some of his oldest friends,

people he's quizzed with, someone he went to school with

and, hopeful of a music round, someone he's been in a choir with.

Interesting. Let's meet them.

Hi, I'm Jeff and I have my own jewellery and coin business.

Hi, I'm Jennifer. I'm a financial assessor.

Hi, I'm Mike and I'm a company director.

Hi, I'm Ricky. I'm also a company director.

Hi, I'm Alan and I'm a freelance journalist and author.

-So, Jeff and team, welcome. Good to see you.

-Thank you.

So it's all about you, this, Jeff, isn't it, really?

-It's all your friends and contacts and all that?

-Absolutely.

-I'm the one that got the team together, yeah.

-Well done.

Not far away from where we're recording this.

-No, very local, all of us.

-And quizzing, tell us about that.

Yeah, well, we all quiz once a week but Mike, Ricky and I

have been quizzing for about 20 years, so not a bad pedigree.

What is it about quizzing that people in this country love?

The fun of it? I don't know. It's just... It's good fun.

-So good luck.

-Thank you.

-I hope you have a great game.

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, "Swots? Not!",

The Eggheads have won the last four games,

which means there's £5,000 on the table.

-Would you like to play for it?

-Yes, please.

-Absolutely.

Let's go for it. The first head-to-head battle

is on the subject of history. Who would like history here?

-Not for me.

-Alan?

-I'd have said Alan. You OK with that? History?

-Looks like me then.

-I think you're voted.

OK. Alan, choose an Egghead to go against.

They're all sitting there expectantly.

Dave? I'll try Dave.

OK, Dave, the word has got out.

Alan from "Swots? Not!" versus Dave from the Eggheads on History.

To ensure there's no conferring,

would you please both take your positions

in our famous Question Room?

So, everyone on the Challengers' team is connected through Jeff.

Alan, you've got to tell us how you know Jeff.

I sang in a choir with Jeff last year.

All right. We're on History.

Alan, you can choose, do you want to go first or second?

I'll go second, please.

Tremendous Knowledge Dave, your first question.

Which of these historical events took place in 1975?

Right, Suez Crisis...

1956.

The Berlin Wall, I believe, fell in 1989, I think.

And the end of the Vietnam War was...

The peace treaty was signed in '75, so it's the end of the Vietnam War.

Yes, it's the end of the Vietnam War. Exactly.

OK, Alan, here's a question.

The weapon known as the bayonet,

as traditionally used by the British Army,

is often said to have been named after a city in which country?

Well, I think the town is probably Bayonne,

which would make it France.

It indeed is France. France is right.

Over to you, Tremendous Knowledge.

Approximately how many Allied troops landed on the beaches of Normandy

on D-Day in June 1944?

I don't like the look of 821 or 156.

D-Day... I've got to go...

35,000.

35,000. You're way out.

-Is it 800?

-No, no, no, it's 156.

-Oh, right. Sorry.

-It was that big.

-Yeah, sorry.

156,000 is the answer, so a bit of an advantage to you here, Alan.

In which year was the statesman, inventor and writer

Benjamin Franklin born?

Well, he would be a...

He'd be grown-up and an adult

by the time the War of Independence came around,

so I think I would put him at...

..1686.

Well, Kevin knows his dates. Kevin?

-1706.

-1706 is the answer here, Alan. OK, Dave, your question.

One point each. Which of these men died in November 1530,

while travelling south to face charges of treason?

Right. Erm...

It's not Guy Fawkes. Now then...

HE LAUGHS

I should be watching more Wolf Hall

because it had Cardinal Wolsey and different dates.

1509 to 1547.

It's just because I don't associate

Cardinal Wolsey's death with that, so...

..probably wrongly, I'll go Thomas Cromwell.

-No, it's wrong. It's Cardinal Wolsey.

-Right, OK.

OK, Alan, on to you.

What name is given to the short 1969 war between Honduras and El Salvador?

If you get this right, you're in the final, Alan.

Oh, yes, I remember this happened when I think there was a crowd riot

at a football game between the two countries

and it led to a brief war, so that would make it the Football War.

If you've got this right, you're in the final. Is he right, Dave?

-Yes, of course.

-Yes, you are right. Football War it is.

You knocked Dave out. Alan, you're in the final round.

Where you will probably be

a very handy player for your team, I suspect.

Please come back to us, both of you, and we'll play on.

This is good. "Swots? Not!" are in a good position. Lost no brains.

The Eggheads have lost a brain. And the next subject is Sport.

Who wants this?

-Mike.

-Mike will do Sport.

-Looks like it's me.

-OK.

Company director from East Kilbride. Against which Egghead?

Who there looks the least sporty?

-Judith?

-Judith?

-OK.

-I'll go for Judith, please.

-Oh, no.

-Sorry, Judith.

We've had a whole series. Let me just see the face.

-And I've been winning them.

-She's been winning them.

So it's Mike from "Swots? Not!" versus Judith from "Sports? Not!"

-Yes!

-How we feel most of the time.

Please go to our Question Room now.

So, Mike, would you like to go first or second?

Can I go first, please, Jeremy?

By all means. Here we go.

In which year did John McEnroe famously shout,

AMERICAN ACCENT: "You cannot be serious!",

at a Wimbledon umpire?

I don't know why but 1975 was the first thought

that went through my mind, so going on that assumption I'm going to go

with the one that's nearest and I'll try 1976, please.

OK.

1981 is the answer. HE SIGHS

It's later than you thought.

That was the one about "This place is the pits of the world."

It's all the same thing, SuperBrat, and all that.

He's mellowed since then.

Judith, your question.

What is the inside diameter of an NBA basketball hoop?

Well, 18 inches is that, roughly.

30 is about that,

and 42 is...

off the screen, so it's got to be 18, hasn't it?

OK. How much was 30?

30 would be about that.

-Yep.

-Is that what it is?

-No, it's 18.

-Oh! Phew!

I just wanted to make sure cos your measurements were...unusual.

Your question, Mike.

When Gareth Edwards scored what has been described

as "the try of the century" against the All Blacks

in January 1973, for which team was he playing?

I'm not too sure about this, to be honest.

I would take a guess...

I'm going to go for Wales based on nothing, really.

-I'm just going to go down the middle this time.

-OK.

Judith, do you know this one?

I would have said Wales too, with all that crowd support.

Yeah, I would have thought so, but Barbarians is the answer here, Mike.

So, Judith, if you get this one right, you've won on Sport.

The footballer Philippe Coutinho was born in which country?

Well, that sounds Brazil, Brazilian.

I mean, no, sorry, it sounds Portuguese language.

It's a Portuguese name, so it could be Brazil or Portugal.

Did you say a date or anything?

-No.

-Erm...

And he's called Filipe?

Philippe Coutinho. P-H-I-L-I-P-P-E.

Philippe Coutinho.

And it's C-O-U-T-I-N-H-O?

-Yes.

-Well, there are quite a lot of Portuguese people in France,

funnily enough.

I think, as he's called Philippe, I'm going to change tack

and go for France.

-Brazil is the answer.

-Oh.

So one point to Judith

and Mike's still to score in Sport.

Here is your question, Mike.

In cycling, what is the name of the garment that UCI world champions

are permitted to wear?

I've got to tell you, Jeremy, I don't have a clue.

Erm...

I'm going to have to guess this one again.

I'm going to go for Tri-tone Jersey.

It sounds the most logical of the three. I hope I'm right.

Rainbow Jersey is the answer, Mike. Sorry.

So, Judith, you've won through on Sport.

With one point.

Well, you still had a question in hand so you can really chalk that up.

We're beginning to build something here. Well done.

Mike, return to us, please.

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

OK, as it stands, "Swots? Not!" have lost a brain from the final round.

The Eggheads have also lost a brain. The next subject is Music.

Who would like this? DEEP SIGH

-Is that bad? A big sigh.

-I wish I'd maybe hung on now.

Me or you?

-You.

-OK. I'll take the Music round, Jeremy.

OK, team captain Jeff, and which Egghead would you like?

It can't be Dave or Judith.

Erm, I think I'll try Pat for Music.

So it's Jeff from "Swots? Not!" versus Pat from the Eggheads.

To ensure there's no conferring, please go to the Question Room.

Well, Jeff, you better tell us about the choir.

Yes, I've been in this choir now for ten years.

Big choir, there's over 100 of us, called Sounds International

and we do charity concerts.

And in the past six years,

we have raised close to £70,000 worth for charities.

-Oh, how tremendous. You must really enjoy it as well.

-Love it.

-I love singing.

-Music. Jeff, do you want to go first or second?

I'll go first.

And here is your first question, Jeff. Good luck.

"For what is a man, what has he got? If not himself, then he has naught,"

are lines from which Frank Sinatra song?

Well, I'm not going to sing it but it's definitely not

New York, New York or Come Fly With Me.

That is the lyrics to the beautiful My Way.

It is. My Way is the right answer.

OK, Pat, what is the name of the central character

in the stage musical Me and My Girl?

Well, I don't know this musical very well

but I think I'll get there by elimination.

I think Bill Sikes is the bad man in Oliver.

Henry Higgins is the linguist and etiquette coach

in My Fair Lady,

so I think I'll have to go for Bill Snibson.

Very good. Bill Snibson.

OK, Jeff, your question.

The Kanye West single Gold Digger

incorporates elements of the song I Got a Woman,

which was originally co-written and recorded by which artist?

Well, again by the process of elimination,

it's definitely not Billy Joel.

I don't think it's BB King but from seeing the movie Ray,

I'm sure that was one of the songs, I Got a Woman,

so I'll go Ray Charles.

And you're absolutely right, Jeff. Ray Charles.

Pat, Living For Love

was a UK hit single for which singer in 2015?

Well, the least likely appears to be Prince, so I'll dismiss him.

It could be Emeli Sande.

I think I'll have to go for Madonna but slightly concerned here.

Yes, you got it right, Pat. Well done. Madonna it is.

Sorry you can't shake him off, Jeff. It's always difficult with Pat.

So here is your third question.

Awarded to a promising artist due to release their first album in 2015,

which singer-songwriter won the 2015 Critics Choice Brit Award?

I can honestly say I've never heard of any of the three.

I don't know why, if it's something I've read,

but the name that's jumping out at me of the three of them

is Years and Years.

So I'll take a guess at that.

-This is James Bay, Jeff.

-Never heard of him.

But Years and Years are breaking through in the same way.

I know that's no consolation. OK, Pat, your question to take the round,

what was the last opera to be written by Mozart?

-The last opera.

-Yeah.

It was The Magic Flute.

I think the distinction of the last Mozart composition

is generally either the Requiem or The Magic Flute,

and it depends on how you look at these things.

I think The Marriage of Figaro and Don Giovanni

were during the core part of his career.

It must be the Magic Flute, surely.

Yes, I'll have to go for The Magic Flute.

Yes, you're right. You got all three answers correct.

I'm very sorry, Jeff, he's knocked you out there.

Pat will be in the final and, sadly, you won't.

Please return to us and we will play the fourth round.

Bad luck, Jeff. What was it that caused the trouble?

-Current music.

-Current music?

-Mm-hm.

Cos as a choir person you've got a better handle on the...?

-I love the standards.

-The classics?

The classics, the standards, but anything current I'm hopeless with.

Your team has lost two brains.

The Eggheads have lost just the one brain

and the last subject before final is Science.

-OK.

-Is that you, Jennifer?

-It is, yes.

-Jennifer.

-OK.

-A financial assessor. And which Egghead, Lisa or Kevin?

-Lisa.

I'm looking at Lisa. She's smiling. I think that's to put us off.

-She's smiling winningly. You're so right.

-Only to stop myself crying.

It's how we get through the day.

So, Jennifer from "Swots? Not!" versus Lisa.

To ensure there's no conferring, please go to the Question Room now.

-OK, good luck here, Jennifer, against Lisa.

-Thank you.

And would you like to go first or second?

I'll go second, please.

Here we go, Lisa, your first question.

Brent Crude is a trading classification

of which type of fossil fuel?

Brent Crude.

Oh, the off-colour jokes I could probably make and won't.

I'll just go straight for oil.

Oil is correct.

OK, Jennifer, which of these sea creatures

is the largest member of the dolphin family?

Well, I'm pretty sure it won't be killer whale,

but it is a guess, so I'm going to go for manatee.

Do you know this, Lisa?

-I think it is the killer whale.

-It's a type of dolphin, is it?

Yeah, the biggest dolphin, I think. They're big fellows.

Killer whale is right. SHE GASPS

Sorry, Jennifer.

You got it wrong. Not manatee.

OK, Lisa, pure water has a score very close to what on the pH scale?

I think pure water is pH neutral or we would be suffering greatly

when we drank it, so it must be 7.

You're right. That's exactly where pH neutral is, so 7 is the answer.

Cracking on here. Jennifer, you've got to hold back the tide.

Freon is a name given to several organic compounds

typically used in what type of household device?

Freon is F-R-E-O-N, Jennifer.

OK.

I'm pretty certain it's not a vacuum cleaner and I'm going to go...

Between the other two, I'm going to go for refrigerator.

Excellent, you're right. Refrigerator it is. Well done. A point to you.

But, Lisa, if you get this right, you're in the final round.

What name is given to animals at the top of the food chain

that are not preyed upon by any other creature?

So the Kevin Ashmans and the Pat Gibsons of the eating world.

I think they must be Apex predators.

You said the eating world, did you mean the quizzing world?

Well, that's where you'd put Mr Ashman and Mr Gibson

-in the quizzing world, certainly.

-Right, yeah.

The answer is Apex predators. Well done, Lisa. Three out of three.

Sorry, Jennifer, cos you let her go first

she has taken the round and taken the initiative

and the Eggheads may have the edge in the final, but let's see.

Please, both of you, return and we'll play it.

So, this is what we have been playing towards.

It is time for the final round.

As always, it's 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, Jeff, Jennifer and Mike from "Swots? Not!",

and also Dave from the Eggheads,

would you please now leave the studio?

Well done, Ricky and Alan, for getting to this point.

You're now playing to win "Swots? Not!" £5,000.

Pat, Lisa, Kevin, Judith, you're playing for something

that money can't buy, which is the Eggheads' precious reputation.

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

This time the questions are all General Knowledge

and you are allowed to confer.

So, "Swots? Not!" the question is,

are you able with your two brains to defeat these four?

Would you like to go first or second?

Well, we'll take our chances going first, Jeremy. Thank you.

So, here we go and good luck to you

with your first question.

Ricky and Alan, which of these TV soaps celebrated

its 30-year anniversary in early 2015?

OK, it can't possibly be Coronation Street cos that's older.

1985, Jeremy?

Which of these TV soaps celebrated its 30-year anniversary

in early 2015?

Definitely Emmerdale or EastEnders. I'd go for EastEnders.

-Yeah, they've had specials and so on.

-OK, we'll go... EastEnders?

-EastEnders, yeah.

-We'll go for EastEnders, Jeremy.

EastEnders is the right answer. Well done.

Next question to the Eggheads.

Which of these characters from Greek mythology was famous

for his musical skill,

and is traditionally said to be the son of a muse?

-Orpheus.

-Orpheus was famous for his musical ability, wasn't he?

-Yeah.

The other two...

Whilst Achilles had musical connections, the other two,

Achilles and Heracles were most famous as warriors.

The one who was particularly noted for his musical skill was Orpheus.

Because he played the harp, did he?

-The lyre.

-The lyre.

-Orpheus is the right answer.

-Orpheus and his lute.

OK.

I was willing them to get that one wrong

cos I think that would have really helped.

Your second question.

Which of the Beatles had a UK number two single in 1987

with Got My Mind Set on You?

Definitely George Harrison.

Definitely George Harrison, Jeremy.

It is definitely George Harrison.

Well done. Two out of two.

Playing well. Eggheads, what type of clothing is a mantle?

-It's a cloak.

-Cloak. Yep. M-A-N-T-L-E?

-M-A-N-T-L-E.

-It's a cloak.

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

That's a type of cloak.

Cloak is correct.

2 - 2. Oh, I'm feeling the tension here.

£5,000 we're playing for.

No-one has made a mistake in the last round so far.

And your third question.

Get this right, you may not have to do anything else to win the money.

What name is typically given to silver-coloured alloys of gold

with nickel, platinum or another metal?

-Definitely not fool's gold.

-No.

-That's something else.

So it's one of the other two.

I know... I've heard of white gold, but...

White gold, actually, I thought would be platinum.

-Jeremy, would you mind just repeating it, please?

-Sure.

What name is typically given to silver-coloured alloys of gold

with nickel, platinum or another metal?

Platinum is normally white gold, isn't it?

I don't know about nickel or...

-And to be honest, I've never heard of colloidal gold.

-No.

Well, if platinum is part of white gold...

-I'd normally know platinum as white gold.

-Yes.

-Shall we go for white gold, then?

-White gold?

-White gold.

For better or worse, we'll go for white gold.

Are they right?

-Yes.

-Richer for poorer.

-Yes, you are right, you are right.

White gold it is. Three out of three.

Storming play. You just pulled it out at the right moment.

OK, Eggheads.

Which economist wrote the influential 1958 book The Affluent Society?

-Galbraith.

-Galbraith.

-Galbraith, yeah.

-Yeah.

-Always double check - 1958, Affluent Society?

-Yes.

That's JK Galbraith.

JK Galbraith is correct.

OK, so, three out of three for both of you.

Long line of green ticks, which means we go to Sudden Death, guys.

Gets a bit harder cos I don't give you alternatives.

Here we go. £5,000, we're playing for.

What type of window, typically one that projects vertically from

a sloping roof, takes its name from the French word meaning "to sleep"?

Well, dormer, French for sleep. So got to be dormer.

Dormer, Jeremy.

Dormer window is correct.

Eggheads, to stay in.

The Watts Riots of 1965 took place in a neighbourhood

of which American city?

-Los Angeles.

-Los Angeles, yeah.

That's Los Angeles.

It is Los Angeles. The year I was born.

Sudden Death.

Back to you, Alan and Ricky.

Which London Tube station was originally called Gillespie Road?

Do you know anything about London?

-I don't know, I've never heard of that.

-Neither have I.

Total guess.

Gillespie Road.

Does that ring any bells?

Nope.

And why would one be renamed something else?

Yeah, that's a point.

Why would one be renamed at all?

I don't think something like King's Cross, St Pancras

or something like that, because they're...

-Erm...

-Total guess. Erm...

-The ones along the city embankments.

-Bank?

They're, erm, they're older lines.

-Yeah.

-Could be one of them, anyway.

What about something right in the middle?

Piccadilly or something like that.

No, I think that's probably...

-Circus, because there's more than one of them.

-Yes, but there's...

-Oh, yeah.

-Right in the middle like that, that's pretty central.

Piccadilly Circus?

Leicester Square? Again, right in the middle.

-We've got to pick one, Alan.

-OK, Leicester Square, then.

-Leicester Square?

-Or Piccadilly. What do you think?

-Shall we go for the first one I came up with?

-OK, Piccadilly Circus.

It's a complete guess - Piccadilly Circus.

Piccadilly Circus. A hard question.

I mean, I spend a lot of time in London, I didn't know this one.

I'm just wondering if there's any way of getting to it.

Before you say it, if you know it,

how many Tube stations are there, Eggs?

-About 200 and something.

-Really? That many?

I'm not certain.

-You can get to it...

-Lisa, help us.

You can get to it if you're on the line.

I used to live on the Northern Piccadilly Line and it's actually

a ceramic sign still embedded into the wall of the station,

so every time you go past you can see it under the standard sign.

And it was changed...

Why was it changed from Gillespie to the new name, before you say it?

Now, that I couldn't tell you.

-Successful lobbying with an eye to publicity.

-I see, OK.

The answer is Arsenal.

Oh.

So, essentially, it's...

I suppose it would be like Fulham Broadway changes its name to Chelsea.

-Yeah, in a way, yeah.

-Which is the nearest to Chelsea Football Club.

It was essentially clever marketing by...I think it was Herbert Chapman,

-who was the great Arsenal manager of the interwar years.

-Yeah.

And it was just successful lobbying with what was then

London Underground to get the name changed to advertise

the fact that the stadium was nearby.

So problem there for our Challengers -

not the end of the contest.

It's your question now and here it is.

The Men Who Stare At Goats

and The Psychopath Test are books by which British author?

-Jon Ronson.

-Jon Ronson.

-I don't know.

-Yeah, Jon Ronson.

Erm, the journalist and writer Jon Ronson.

If you've got it right the contest is over.

The answer is Jon Ronson.

We say congratulations, Eggheads, you have won.

-Arsenal, Arsenal.

-A toughie!

-What can I say? What can I say?

-But well played.

-Thank you.

-Thank you.

And thanks for coming in and playing. Commiserations to "Swots? Not!".

The Eggheads have done what comes naturally to them

and they reign supreme over quiz land still.

It means you won't be going home with the £5,000,

so the money rolls over to our next show. Eggheads, congratulations.

Knowing the Arsenal thing as well, that's impressive stuff.

Who will beat you, I wonder?

Join us next time to see

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

£6,000 says they don't.

Good contest today. See you next time. Goodbye.