Episode 19 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.

In fact, I think we'll say definitely,

because you are on such a roll, Eggheads, are you not?

-Yes...

-Ish.

-We've been on bigger rolls.

You don't want to count any chickens, do you?

And taking on the awesome might of our quiz goliaths today

are Munching and Crunching from Fife.

This team of friends all quiz at the Gilvenbank Hotel in Glenrothes.

Let's meet them.

Hi, I'm Robyn, and I'm an anatomy research technician.

Hi, I'm Andy, and I'm a health, safety and environmental engineer.

Hi, I'm Ross, and I'm a compliance specialist.

Hi, I'm John, I'm a retired maths teacher.

Hi, I'm Barry, and I'm a hypnotherapist and fire walk instructor.

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

-Hello!

Looking forward to this?

-Yes.

-Yes!

-Good.

Munching and Crunching, Robyn, explain this brilliant team name?

We all quiz together, usually on separate teams on a Sunday night.

Ross is our quizmaster.

Usually, for the consolation prize, he announces it as,

"Munching and crunching, doing the chewing,

"chomping cheese and onion," as the losing team wins the crisps.

Oh, I see, so the losing team get a bag of crisps,

and they're going to be munching and crunching their way home.

-Coming in with high hopes.

-Well, I hope that doesn't happen to you.

This is bad, though, because we had a team who had a similar policy

of giving out baked beans to the losing team. And if I recall correctly, they beat us.

They did beat you, I remember that.

Every day there is £1,000 of cash up for grabs for our challengers.

However, if they fail to defeat the Eggheads,

that prize money rolls over to our next show.

Now, Munching and Crunching,

I can tell you that the Eggheads have not eaten any crisps

for a while, because they've won the last 27 games.

That means £28,000 is here to be won tonight.

The first head-to-head battle, if we want get cracking,

is on the subject of History.

Who would like History?

-John.

-That's yours, John.

-Yeah, looks like me.

-John, were you a history teacher?

-No, I was a maths teacher.

-OK.

-But history is a subject you like?

-Yeah.

-Good.

-It's the one I've been stuck with, anyway.

-John, choose an Egghead.

All five of them are available.

Lisa? Yeah, Lisa.

Fine. So it's John, from Munching and Crunching,

versus Lisa from the Eggheads. With the history degree.

-Half a history degree.

-Half a history degree.

-And the other half was...?

-English.

-English.

To ensure there's no conferring,

would you please take your positions in the Question Room?

OK, History we're on, John.

Would you like to go first or second?

I'll go first and get it over and done with.

And here is your first question.

Now long defunct, the term groat can refer to a type of what?

Is it...

It's a coin.

Straight there.

It's a coin, you're right.

OK, Lisa.

For many years, up until 1801, English and then British monarchs

were also described as being King or Queen of which other country?

Not aware we've ever been allowed to be associated with the

monarchies of Austria and Sweden, so I guess it must be France.

France is quite right.

Back to you, John, with your question.

Which figure led the British forces into battle at Dettingen in 1743?

It's...

Unlikely to be the Archbishop of Canterbury.

And I can't see it being the Prime Minister.

So, presumably, the King.

-By elimination...

-By default.

Yes, by default or whatever, it's the King. The King is right.

But we need some details.

Do you know who the battle was with, or who the King was?

I'm not even going to embarrass myself by saying.

I don't know. Anyone here help us?

George II.

The last British king to lead his troops in battle.

OK, didn't realise that. And Dettingen was what?

It's in Germany somewhere.

It was against the French.

War of the Austrian Succession.

OK, John, it was the War of the Austrian Succession, says Kevin.

And George II was the last king to lead his troops into battle.

-They're good, aren't they!

-I'll try and remember that.

They're very good.

OK, Lisa, which German is credited with designing

the Bf 109 aircraft that took part in the Battle of Britain?

Right, I think they used to refer to them, actually, as 109s,

and I think there may have been some 110s in there.

A Junker was a bomber.

I think it would be Willy Messerschmitt.

Yes, it is Willy Messerschmitt, well done.

On to you, John. Third question can be crucial.

What was the name of the Czechoslovakian Foreign Minister

who's alleged to have been murdered by Communists in 1948?

Was this...?

I think that's Jan Masaryk.

Because I've never heard of either of the other two.

It is Jan Masaryk, well done.

You've got three out of three.

Very to the point, purposeful.

Over to you, Lisa.

What was the name of the son of George III who's often thought to be

the Grand Old Duke of York of the nursery rhyme?

Is it...?

Oh, goodness.

I'll go for Frederick.

And why so?

It just sounds the most Germanic of them.

I haven't really got a particularly good reasoning for this.

Frederick is right.

OK, Sudden Death we go to, John.

And you know what happens here - I don't give you alternative answers.

What two-syllable word, meaning lightning war,

is given to the German bombing of the UK during World War II?

That would be Blitzkrieg.

Blitzkrieg is correct.

Lisa, in the 1930s, the fascist followers of Oswald Mosley

were known for wearing shirts of which colour?

Do you know what, this is the sort of question

that should instantly snap back to you.

And I'm now paranoid,

because I can't remember whether it's Blackshirts or Brownshirts.

Let's see. If somebody had said to me...

Blackshirts or Brownshirts, what would I have said straightaway,

given no other time to answer?

Blackshirts. Black.

Black is right.

Still level. Back to you, John.

In which year during World War I did the RMS Lusitania ocean liner sink

after being hit by a German torpedo?

That's going to be somewhere between 1914 in 1918.

What do the Eggheads say, go straight down the middle?

So that'll be 1916.

It's almost a multiple choice, this one, isn't it!

No, it's 1915. SIGHS

Lisa, your chance for the round.

In 1549, the city of Salvador was founded as the capital

of which Portuguese colony?

Portuguese colony?

I wonder how many of them there were knocking around at the time?

Shall I try Brazil?

For the round, the answer is Brazil, you've got it.

Well done, Lisa.

Ooh, tight play.

John, sorry, you've been knocked out. Lisa will be in the final and not you.

Please, both of you, return and join your teams and we'll play on.

As it stands, Munching and Crunching have lost a brain,

but the brain fought hard, John, well done.

Eggheads have still got all five,

and let's move to our next subject, which is Music.

So, who would like Music?

Between Barry and Andy, I guess.

Barry or Andy?

-I'll take that one.

-OK.

Barry on Music. OK, against which Egghead, Barry?

Obviously can't be Lisa.

Pat, please.

All right, so Barry from Munching and Crunching

is going to play Pat from the Eggheads.

And the subject is Music, and please go to the Question Room now.

Barry, did I hear right that you introduced yourself as a fire walker?

Absolutely, yes. A fire walk instructor.

And that's about confidence training, is it?

Yes, empowerment for people of all ages and backgrounds.

-And is there any magic involved in fire walking?

-None at all.

It's all about being present in the moment and being in the right state.

-So as long as you move quick enough, you're not going to get burned?

-Absolutely, yes.

I tell people, once they get on the coals,

when it feels hot, keep moving until it feels cold.

I'm sure I've seen people, maybe in India or something,

who seem to spend an awfully long time standing on them?

But are they still moving?

They are moving, but there is also a technique called fire standing,

which can be anything up to ten or 15 minutes standing on the coals.

Which is only for very advanced instructors, obviously.

But how would you do that? By wrinkling your feet up?

No, it's all about the state of mind.

There is a little bit of science, but a lot of it is state of mind.

That's amazing.

Pat, have you ever looked at fire walking as a possible hobby?

It hasn't crossed my mind. Not even for a moment.

I could do fire running. I'd be happy with that.

If you could just run in one side and out the other.

It's more dangerous to run than it is to walk.

-Oh, yeah, because people fall over!

-Yeah.

OK, Barry, Music it is, and would you like to go first or second?

I'd like to go first, please.

So your first question is this. According to the lyrics of the Beach Boys song,

"I'm picking up good vibrations, she's giving me the..."

What?

Now, although the Beach Boys were a little before my time,

I have listened to quite a bit of their stuff.

I like the whole idea of surfing and the beach.

And I'm quite confident that this one is excitations.

"She's giving me the excitations", that's right.

Pat, what nationality was the disco singer Donna Summer?

I'm pretty sure she's American.

I'm trying to remember where she was actually born.

Definitely not British, and I don't think she was French.

She was American.

Yeah, I should have called her Donna Summeur.

She's American. She is not French. Or British.

Barry the fire walker - Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page have,

at various times, served as guitarists for which band?

I'm certain that Eric Clapton, at one point, was in the Yardbirds.

Not being overly familiar with the line-up of the other two,

I am going to go with the Yardbirds.

The Yardbirds is right. Good stuff.

OK, back to you, Pat.

Johann Sebastian Bach wrote over 200 examples of which

type of musical work, some now lost?

Well, neither the symphony nor the waltz were really

relevant types in his period of history.

But he was commissioned by his employers to write many sequences

of cantatas to be sung at various dates during the liturgical year.

I think they reckon a great many were completely lost,

but they are cantatas.

Cantata is quite right.

Third question for you, Barry.

Which artist gave her 2015 major-label debut album

the title "Title"?

Is that...

2015 debut album?

The only one I'm fairly confident that has debuted that recently is

Meghan Trainor, so that will be the one I go with. Meghan Trainor.

Meghan Trainor is the right answer.

OK, Pat, your question now to stay in.

On the edge, Egg.

Which band, who found fame in the 1990s,

released an album called Bloodsports in 2013?

Was this...?

My first inclination is that it's Suede.

I remember them going back on tour after a long period of being

pretty much inactive.

I think I'll have to go with Suede.

Suede is the right answer. So three points each to both of you again!

Goodness me, what a tight contest this is.

-OK, Barry, we go to Sudden Death. You know the form?

-Yep.

I don't give you alternatives. Here we go.

What was the surname of Booker T,

leader of the R&B band Booker T and the MGs?

I'm going to assume the T is the initial of the surname,

and I'm going to have to take a bit of a guess.

I am going to go with Thomas.

Yeah, I can completely follow the logic, but you're wrong, it's Jones.

Booker T Jones.

Pat, for the round.

In which city did the composer Handel die in 1759?

He was born in 1685 in Halle.

But I think, fairly early on, he decamped to London.

I even suspect that he's buried

in either St Paul's or Westminster Abbey.

I think I'll have to say London.

The answer is that Handel did die in London. Well done, Pat.

Sudden Death, you've won.

Sorry, Barry, second challenger to be knocked out.

Got to turn it around soon, team.

Come back and we'll play on.

So Munching and Crunching have lost two brains now from the final round,

but it's not over, not by any means.

In fact, the very last team were in exactly this position

and almost took you to the cleaners.

The next subject is Geography.

Who would like this? Geography?

-Shall I do it?

-Yeah, go on.

-I'm going to do it, Jeremy.

-OK, Robyn, on Geography.

Against which Egghead?

It's got to be Chris or Dave or Kevin.

I'd like to play against Kevin.

Kevin, please.

-Ha-ha, I can tell you watch the show.

-I'm a big fan.

Robyn, from Munching and Crunching,

is going to take on Kevin, from the Eggheads.

And please go to our Question Room now.

OK, good luck in this round, Geography.

And you're against Kevin, who is, I may say, quite good.

But you'll know that because I know you watch, Robyn.

-So would you like to go first or second?

-I'd like to go first, please.

And here we go with your first question. Good luck.

The town of Coleraine is in which part of the UK? Is it...?

Well, that narrows it down. It's not Scotland!

Which is where most of my Geography knowledge is.

I am going to go with Wales.

It's actually Northern Ireland.

So, let's see if Kevin can get this one right.

Which of these countries has a coastline on the South China Sea?

That is the Philippines.

The Philippines is the right answer.

Back to you, Robyn.

Which of these Mediterranean islands is furthest north?

Is it...?

I'm afraid this is going to have to be a total guess.

But I'm going to go with Corsica.

Yeah, you're bang on, well done. Corsica it is.

Kevin, over to you.

The resort of Southsea lies within which city?

Not so very far from me, actually. It's in Portsmouth.

You're right, it is Portsmouth. So you've got two.

Robyn, you've got one, you need to get this one right.

What is the meaning of Tarbert, or Tarbet?

The name of several places in Scotland.

Including the main port of the Isle of Harris,

a fishing town at the northern tip of Kintyre,

and a village on Loch Lomond.

Does it mean...?

And, Tarbert, you'll know this,

is spelt either T-A-R-B-E-R-T

or T-A-R-B-E-T.

I know how it's spelt, but I don't know what it is.

I will go with...

Cliff.

Let's see if Kevin knows this, Kevin?

It's isthmus.

Allegedly because it was a crossing point where Vikings,

for instance, would carry their boats across...

They'd find the narrowest stretch of land

and then carry their boats across.

And that obviously fits, if you...

Tarbert, on Harris, is at a very narrow neck of land.

So is the one...

Which was the second one you mentioned there?

The main port on Harris,

fishing town on the northern tip of Kintyre?

Yes, that's right, because, again, there's

a very narrow neck of land there.

So meaning almost a tiny peninsula, is that right?

Not really a peninsula, it might be at the top of the peninsula,

but it's the narrowest bit of land

-were you don't have to carry the boat so far.

-I see.

So the shortest distance you can carry a boat,

get back on to water again.

OK, fascinating, Kevin. Thanks for that.

The answer is isthmus.

Robyn, sorry, you got it wrong.

No way back to you. You've been knocked out by Kevin.

And he will be in the final round.

Do come back, and we'll play one more round before the final.

Munching and Crunching have lost three brains from the final round.

The Eggheads have still got five. And they are playing well.

In mitigation, they're playing well, that's why they've won so many games in a row.

The next subject is Arts & Books.

So who would like this?

Andy or Ross?

I'll give it a stab, but I won't be very good.

Well, there's not much choice, so you're going.

LAUGHTER

Ordered into combat, Andy!

And you can take either Dave or Chris with you.

Dave or Chris?

-Chris.

-Yep, Chris.

OK, so it's Andy from Munching and Crunching,

and he's going to go against Chris from...

-Where are you from? Crewe?

-Crewe.

Yeah.

To ensure there's no... LAUGHS

To ensure there's no conferring,

please take your positions in the Question Room.

So, Arts & Books, Andy - I know, not your choice, perhaps.

-But you've been placed into the cannon here.

-Absolutely.

So would you like to go first or second?

It doesn't seem to have worked so far for us, but I think I'll still go first.

All right, good luck.

What was the real name, Andy, of the writer known as Mark Twain?

Was he...?

Yeah...

The Mark Twain thing, I believe, comes from when they were

throwing ropes off the end of ships,

or, rather, river cruisers.

And Mark Twain means three marks, or something like that.

But it was, I believe, Samuel Langhorne Clemens.

Samuel Langhorne Clemens is the right answer. Well done.

Over to you, Chris.

Which term refers to an assembly of images related to each other

to create a single work of art?

Is that...?

That is a montage, Jeremy.

Montage is quite right.

Andy, the writer Elmore Leonard became best known

for which genre of fiction?

I think it was Elmore Leonard that wrote LA Confidential, wasn't it?

So that would be crime, I think.

Crime is the right answer.

Actually, it was James Ellroy who wrote LA Confidential.

Chris, over to you.

The Oxford Bar,

which achieved literary fame as the pub of choice for the fictional

detective John Rebus, is an actual pub in which British city?

Well, Rebus hangs out in Edinburgh, doesn't he?

He's an Edinburgh detective, so it must be Edinburgh.

Edinburgh is quite right.

OK, Andy, your third question.

The artist Paul Gauguin died in Atuona,

on the island of Hiva Oa,

part of which island group in the South Pacific?

Is it...

Hmm, tough one. Don't know the answer to this.

Let's have a think about it.

Marquesas Islands, Windward Islands, Leeward Islands.

I'm going to go straight down the middle and say the Windward Islands.

Sure. Now, we all associate Gauguin with Tahiti,

and I was expecting Tahiti to be here.

Eggheads, can you help us out here, do you know the answer?

-It's Marquesas.

-Kevin says Marquesas,

is that in Tahiti or not?

No, it's a separate group of islands.

Cos he had two separate trips to the South Seas.

Initially he was in Tahiti, then he went back to France for a while,

and then he went back to the Marquesas.

OK, so he was in the Marquesas, Andy, sorry.

You've got two out of three there.

Chris can take the round.

Chris, your third question.

Nora Roberts, the author of more than 200 novels,

was born in which country?

Well, it's a good Welsh name, so I'll hazard a guess at Wales.

No, the guess is wrong, it's taken you astray. It's United States.

Nora Roberts was from the USA. So we go to Sudden Death.

Andy, you've seen this happen already.

Let's see if we can get a different result this time for your team.

Memoirs of a Fox-Hunting Man is a work by which author,

well-known as a war poet?

The only two war poets I can think of are

Siegfried Sassoon and Wilfred Owen.

Which one?

I'm going to go for Wilfred Owen.

Siegfried Sassoon is the answer.

And I guess, I don't know,

thinking about this, you would be better at this than me,

maybe Wilfred Owen was so traumatised by war he wasn't able to get back to fox-hunting...?

He was killed right at the end of the war. Literally the last... Yeah.

So Sassoon got out of the war and was able to live again?

OK, Chris.

Which Italian name meaning little dyer, as he was the son of a dyer,

was given to the artist born Jacopo Robusti in Venice in 1518?

He was known as Tintoretto.

He was. Little dyer, Tintoretto, well done.

You've taken it, Sudden Death, and you're in the final.

And it's bad news for our challengers.

But it is not over. And there's a very big jackpot

to play for in our final round, so please come back and we'll do it.

So, this is what we've 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.

So that's Robyn, Andy, John and Barry,

from Munching and Crunching.

Would you please now leave the studio?

Ross, you are playing to win Munching and Crunching £28,000.

Your colleagues are watching, and they are excited for you,

I can tell.

Eggheads, you are playing for something money can't buy,

which is your reputation, and to continue this amazing streak.

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

This time they're all General Knowledge.

I normally say you can confer,

but obviously not useful to you, where you are.

But, Ross, the question is, can you, with your one brain, defeat these five?

-And would you like to go first or second?

-I'll go first, please.

So, good luck, and it's General Knowledge,

and it's our final round, for £28,000.

Omicron is the 15th letter of which alphabet?

Yeah, I don't think it's Hebrew or Russian, I think it's Greek.

It is Greek, well done. That is not an easy question.

OK, Eggheads.

Heathery (In) and Heathery (Out)

and Cartgate (In) and Cartgate (Out)

are features of which sporting venue?

-It sounds like St Andrews.

-It does sound like St Andrews.

They have double greens, so you can play them on the way up

or play them on the way back?.

-It sounds like that.

-Heathery sounds appropriate.

I think I've heard of Cartgate as well.

-But I'm not 100%.

-Just ask this again,

can we have the question again, please?

Heathery (In) and Heathery (Out) and Cartgate (In) and Cartgate (Out)

are features of which sporting venue?

Out and in is, because you've got the front nine out. In and out.

-I'm not certain.

-I'm not certain at all, no.

-I think it's the one to go for.

-St Andrews seems like a good bet.

-Chris, you happy with that?

-I'm happy with St Andrews, yeah.

The heather.

We're not sure, but we're going to go for St Andrews, Jeremy, please.

Right, Dave.

Wondering if I was hearing you unravel on question one there!

But you've got it right, St Andrews it is, and heathery,

yeah, that does take you there.

OK.

See, they're not invincible, Ross.

Your second question.

The New Horizons space probe that performed a flyby of Pluto in 2015

was launched in which year?

I think...

..it was 2006.

2006 is the correct answer.

Playing for £28,000.

We've got a quizzer here.

I can see you're suddenly realising that, Eggheads.

Your second question.

In 2011, who became the first woman to be

head of the International Monetary Fund?

Was it...?

-It's Christine Lagarde.

-Christine Lagarde, we all happy?

Yeah, there's no...

Christine Lagarde, isn't it?

We all happy?

That's Christine Lagarde, please, Jeremy.

Christine Lagarde is the right answer.

OK, third question, £28,000.

Get this right and all you have to do is wait.

And watch.

But you've got to get this right first.

In 2005, Wayne Eagling became artistic director

of which organisation?

What was the name again, please?

His name is Wayne Eagling, which is E-A-G-L-I-N-G.

I have no idea.

I'll need to have a guess, I'll go straight down the middle,

Royal Shakespeare Company.

Royal Shakespeare Company is your answer.

Let me check with the Eggheads, do you know?

-It's the ENB, the ballet.

-The National Ballet.

English National Ballet.

So you've got it wrong. You've got two out of three, Ross.

You played well, but is it well enough to stay in?

If the Eggheads get this right, the contest is over.

And the £28,000 is moved to the next game.

The Kikuyu is the largest ethnic group in which African country?

Kenya.

Is it...?

-We're all happy with Kenya?

-Yep.

-We're all happy with Kenya, yeah?

We believe that to be Kenya, please, Jeremy.

I heard someone say Kenya before I'd even read the options,

so you do seem to be quite certain. You didn't take much time over that.

-I'm sensing you probably know this, Ross?

-Yeah, it's Kenya.

So I will put you out of your misery, the answer is Kenya.

And we say congratulations, Eggheads, you have won.

Well, you held the fort well there at the end,

after the rout that went before. I hoped you enjoyed it.

I did, I did, it was thoroughly enjoyable, thank you.

Interesting bits of knowledge coming out here and there.

We don't have any crisps, unfortunately,

so no munching and crunching on your way home.

But there we are, the Eggheads have done what comes naturally.

Felt quite natural today.

And this major winning streak you're on continues.

It does mean that you won't be going home with the £28,000.

We take the money, we roll it over to the next show.

Eggheads, congratulations. Who will beat you?

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

have the brains to bring them down.

£29,000 says they don't.

I'm wondering if we might even get to 30?

Until then, goodbye.