Episode 2 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 five quiz challengers pit their wits

against possibly the greatest quiz team in Britain.

They are the Eggheads.

Challenging the awesome might of our quiz Goliaths today

are Krang's Android Body, from London.

We definitely haven't had a team called that before.

This friends and family team quiz together

at The Star of Bethnal Green pub. So, let's meet them.

Hi, I'm Matt and I'm a software analyst.

Hi, I'm Clare and I'm a nanny.

Hello, I'm Edward and I'm a software developer.

Hi, I'm Simon and I'm an information analyst.

Hi, I'm Jessica and I'm a PHD researcher

in death and memorialisation.

So, Matthew, team, welcome. Good to see you.

-Hi, you too.

-Hi.

-Help us with the name,

Krang's Android Body.

We're named after a character from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

The brainless body of the villain in the piece.

And it was just an odd phrase that we chose years ago

and ran with, and are slightly regretting now.

And is the brainlessness, is that relevant?

Erm... We'll see, I think.

I'm just slightly worried for you here.

Would you know the reference there, Eggs?

-PAT:

-No.

-CJ:

-Never heard of it.

All right, you've got them outside their comfort zone.

Already they're worrying. So, good luck.

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, Krang's Android Body, the Eggheads have won the last ten games,

that's why they're smiling.

It's good for you, cos it means £11,000 says

-you can't beat them today.

-Oh. Wow.

-So, shall we go for it?

-Yeah.

-OK.

-Yes.

All right, the first head-to-head battle

is on the subject of Film & TV.

So, Krang's, who wants to take this?

All right, who was it on the list?

-I think it was either you or...

-It was me on the list.

-I think it was Clare on the spreadsheet.

-Yeah.

-I don't mind getting it over early, that's fine.

-All right.

-Are you going to go for it?

-Yeah, think so.

-OK.

-Very brave of you,

-go for it.

-Thanks.

So Clare, from Krang's Android Body, versus who?

Maybe Pat doesn't watch too much TV?

He reads a lot of books.

Although who was it...? OK, yeah. Erm...

-Yeah, we'll go with that, cos I've got nothing. Yeah, perfect.

-OK.

-Pat.

-Pat.

Right, Clare against Pat, Film & TV,

head to the Question Room now, please.

You're up against Pat on Film & TV, Clare,

and would you like to go first or second?

I'll go first, please.

Here we go with your first question.

Which of these characters appears in the film Avengers: Age Of Ultron?

OK, I haven't seen it, but as a nanny of a seven-year-old boy

I do...

You know, it comes in by osmosis.

So I'm going to go for Iron Man.

Iron Man is quite right.

-Phew.

-Well done.

Pat, over to you.

George Clooney plays a character called Frank Walker

in which 2015 film?

I think Edge Of Tomorrow,

I think that's a Tom Cruise science fiction vehicle.

The Day After Tomorrow and Tomorrowland...

I have a suspicion that Tomorrowland was a really big budget,

half sci-fi, half children's film, with Clooney in it,

that disappointed at the box office.

So I think I'll go for Tomorrowland.

Have you seen any of them?

I've seen none of those films.

I've seen Edge Of Tomorrow - you're absolutely right,

it is Tom Cruise and it is that "kill, die, repeat" film,

and it's not that, it is Tomorrowland.

well done, Pat, you got it right.

Clare, which of these BBC TV sitcoms, first shown in 1975,

was written by John Esmonde and Bob Larbey?

Erm... OK, this is really outside my comfort zone.

I would say that Fawlty Towers was written by John Cleese, I think.

Citizen Smith, I have never seen.

Good Life I quite liked, but I've got no idea who wrote it.

I'm going to go for the one that I like, which is The Good Life.

Clare, you're right, well done. The Good Life it is.

So, Pat, your question.

Who hosted the 2015 Academy Awards ceremony?

I know that Billy Crystal has hosted a whole load of the ceremonies,

I don't think he was in action in 2015.

I think MacFarlane was probably 2014 or 2013.

I think I'll go for Neil Patrick Harris.

You are right, it is Neil Patrick Harris.

All right, Clare, your question.

Which English actor plays the role of the villainous governor

in the US TV series The Walking Dead?

OK, again it is not one I have seen,

but I know that Andrew Lincoln is in it. Erm...

So I'm just going to go with that, cos he's the only one I know

is definitely in the programme.

Yeah, but it's wrong. It's David Morrissey actually.

OK, Pat, yours for the round.

Who delivers the famous line "You're gonna need a bigger boat"

in the 1975 film Jaws?

Oh...

I think it's uttered by the actor

Roy Scheider or Schneider.

That doesn't help me here.

Quint, I think, is the owner of the boat,

the Orca, and I think that's Robert Shaw.

Brody and Hooper...

I think Scheider played the policeman, from Amity.

But was he Brody or was he Hooper?

I think I'll go for Brody.

So you're thinking... Who's our choice here?

Quint you've ruled out, who was Robert Shaw...

I think the captain doesn't say it.

Yeah. Now, Hooper was played by Dreyfuss, no?

-Was it Richard Dreyfuss? BARRY:

-Yeah.

-OK.

It's definitely Roy Scheider who says it.

It's Roy Scheider who says it and you're quite right,

he's playing the police chief, Brody.

I only know this with great conviction

cos I've read the actual book, Jaws,

in the last six months and really enjoyed it.

And, with that, Pat, you've taken the round.

Sorry, Clare, he's just knocked you out there.

And you will be in the final, Pat.

Clare, you won't, but early days.

Please come back to us and we'll play on.

So we have lost a little bit of Krang's Android Body.

Which limb has gone?

Not a very important one. Lower leg?

That's quite important. All right,

-something less...

-Early days here, early days.

-Yeah.

And the next round is Science.

So who would like this?

-If no-one objects, I would like...

-Yes.

-Yeah.

Yourself? OK, Matthew, choose an Egghead.

-CJ, maybe?

-Maybe, I think they're all pretty strong on Science.

-Yeah, they're all quite good at Science.

-Yeah, I think so.

For no strong reason - Lisa, please.

OK, so, you had CJ in your sights and you veered?

We did. We're not sure why.

So many people do.

Matt from Krang's Android Body versus Lisa from the Eggheads.

To ensure there's no conferring,

would you please both take your positions in our Question Room?

Well, Matt, it seems like this is a great round for you,

because you are really a scientist, aren't you?

-By training, yeah.

-Would you like to go first or second?

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

Here we go with your first question.

What is the scientific term for the process of water turning to steam?

Er... I would go for Evaporation.

I'm really glad you did, it's right. Evaporation is correct.

Lisa, your question.

In which part of the human body is the sternum located?

The sternum's the proper name for your breastbone,

so it must be in the chest.

It is indeed in the chest, well done.

Back to you.

Matt, the billionaire entrepreneur and inventor Elon Musk

was born in which country?

I was reading something about him yesterday. Erm...

And it didn't go into this much detail.

Well, he doesn't have an accent from any of those places,

which is annoying. Erm...

So I might have to...

..just sort of toss a coin between South Africa and New Zealand.

I think it's... I'm going to go for South Africa.

Well, you've got it right.

-OK.

-Well done. Gosh, you're good.

Lisa, caustic soda is the more common name for which chemical?

Caustic soda...

Now, is that like baking soda or...?

What do you use it for?

See, I sort of want to go for Sodium Hydroxide

but I think that might be called something else.

I'll try Sodium Hydroxide.

Barry is pleased.

It is Sodium Hydroxide, well done. And what is it used for, Matt?

-Is it a cleaning product? I'm not sure.

-Is it bleaching?

-Barry?

-Yes, bleaching. It's very alkaline,

-Sodium Hydroxide, it's nasty stuff.

-OK.

So, you've got two each.

Third question, to our challenger, and here it is...

The musk deer, from which the substance musk is obtained,

is native to which continent?

Erm...

Seems like musk-themed questions.

I've recently been to Africa

and don't recall

musk deers being mentioned in sort of a rundown. Erm...

I think sadly

I'm going to have to...

pick once again without a great deal or knowledge on this, erm,

and choose...Asia.

But I may regret that.

Asia is right.

-OK!

-Nice one.

Your question will be about musk as well, no doubt, Lisa.

Can only hope.

Which American scientist, born in 1896, is credited with developing

and producing nylon in the 1930s?

Now, you see, I thought nylon was a French thing, so

this isn't helping, terribly.

Erm... I've got a vague feeling for Philo Farnsworth.

He's got the coolest name, we'll go with that. Philo Farnsworth.

-CJ:

-No, no, no.

Philo Farnsworth is your answer. If you've got it wrong, you're out.

I heard a groan here - Who is Philo Farnsworth, first of all?

Something to do with television and valves and tubes and things.

He did something to do with television valves, we think.

-The answer is, Eggs? ALL:

-Wallace Carothers.

"Wallace Carothers", they all chorus.

Lisa, you're a goner.

-Well done, Matt.

-Thank you.

Well done, you're in the final round.

Looking good for our Challengers.

Please come back, and we'll play on.

As it stands, Krang's Android Body, the brilliantly named,

have lost a brain, but also taken an Egghead's brain away as well.

So, very evenly balanced and now we have Arts & Books for you.

So who would like this, of the three on the far end?

-Who's our second...?

-I guess I was the second on that list.

-Were either of you the second?

-It wasn't me.

-No.

-All right, then it's going to be me.

-It's going to be you.

-Yeah.

-OK, Jessica.

-OK.

Which Egghead? You obviously can't have Lisa or Pat.

Well, they're all formidable at Arts & Books,

but I will go with Dave.

Sure. So it is going to be Jessica from Krang's Android Body -

we're calling in Dave on the end there,

Arts & Books. Feeling good, limbering up?

Er - limbering up. Feeling good's another matter.

OK. Just to ensure there's no conferring,

please go to our Question Room.

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

I would like to go first, please.

Here we go.

In the Harry Potter books, Jessica, what is a Nimbus 2000?

Ooh... Well, it has been quite a while since I

watched or read any Harry Potter.

I'm going to say it is a broomstick.

-Well done, you got it right.

-Thank you.

-Good stuff.

OK, Dave. In theatre, a passage spoken by one character

is known by which of these names?

Well, I presume it's er...

one, "mono" So, Monologue.

Monologue is right.

OK, Jessica. Which of these novels was first published in 1847?

Oh...

Right now I am going to...

I'm leaning between Wuthering Heights and Frankenstein.

I feel like Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

may have been in the late 1830s.

My first instinct was Wuthering Heights.

That's what I'm going to go for.

-You're right.

-Yes!

-Well done.

-Excellent.

-And let's do some dates,

anyone do us some Frankenstein dates?

I think they were in Italy, Byron and Shelley,

about 1810, 1811, somewhere around that time.

-Yeah, almost, it's about 1818 actually, yeah.

-Oh, even earlier.

Yeah. And Doctor Zhivago? Just while we're at it.

-Oh, that's modern, it's about 1940s. Late '40s, early '50s?

-1957, yeah.

-So well done, Jessica...

-Thank you.

..cos you could've been drawn to Frankenstein there,

as so many of us are.

Right, Dave. Edgar Allan Poe

wrote a famous poem about which of these birds?

Don't think it's Albatross, don't think it's Cuckoo,

I think it's The Raven.

It is indeed The Raven, well done. So two points each.

Third question, Jessica -

oh, this is a tight contest. SHE LAUGHS

All the way down the line. Here it is.

The German architect Walter Gropius

set up and ran which famous design school

in Weimar from 1919?

It's erm... I recently wrote a piece about this

and I'm hoping to go to the museum dedicated to the subject in Berlin.

And I am pretty sure it's Bauhaus.

It is, absolutely, Bauhaus, well done. Well done.

OK, Dave, this is looking sticky now.

Bleak. Looking bleak.

Which American author wrote the novels From Here To Eternity

and The Thin Red Line?

I'm going to rule out James McBride.

Michener doesn't appeal to me...

I'm going James Jones.

Yeah, you've got it. Bang on, James Jones it was.

This is a really, really good round.

We go to Sudden Death, Jessica.

-OK...!

-Right up your street, yeah.

-So it's a bit harder now, I don't give you alternative answers.

-OK.

In the Charles Dickens novel Oliver Twist,

Jack Dawkins is better known by what nickname?

Is it the Artful Dodger?

It is the Artful Dodger, well done.

Over to you, Dave.

Which children's author, born in 1866,

created the character Mrs Tiggy-Winkle?

Beatrix Potter.

Beatrix Potter is correct.

-Jessica...

-OK.

OK! Here's your question. Which controversial 20th-century author

shot and killed his common-law wife Joan Vollmer in Mexico in 1951?

One of my teenage favourites -

probably shouldn't have been reading it at 15 -

it's William Burroughs.

It is indeed William Burroughs.

So, pressure on, Dave.

Hamm and Clov are the two main characters in which play

by Samuel Beckett?

Hamm and Clov?

Yes, H-A-M-M and then C-L-O-V.

I should know this...

Hm.

But I don't. Erm...

-Endgame.

-Yes!

What do you think, Jessica, is he right?

It's the only Samuel Beckett play I can think of,

so it's what I would have gone with as well.

There's Waiting For Godot and...and all that.

Were you tossing up between different ones, Dave, or...?

-No. No, I'll just go for that one.

-You got it right, it is Endgame.

Jessica, early versions of parts of which classic novel by Leo Tolstoy

were first published under the title 1805?

It... I believe it's War And Peace.

It is War And Peace, well done.

OK. Dave,

in the early 1980s, which play by Howard Brenton,

was the subject of an unsuccessful private prosecution

by Mary Whitehouse on grounds of gross indecency?

The Romans In Britain?

The Romans In Britain is correct,

famous story at the time.

I'm suspecting you weren't in this country, Jessica?

-Or indeed, probably, born.

-I think I was born,

-but I was not in this country.

-JEREMY LAUGHS

Here's your question.

Who painted the 1784 portrait

of Mrs Siddons as the Tragic Muse?

Well, Mrs Siddons sounds like a British subject,

so I imagine it may have been a British painter.

And now I'm just trying to think of somebody

from the late 18th century.

Maybe a Georgian court painter...

The only name that keeps popping into my head is erm...Turner.

I'm not sure if Turner was even that century.

But I realise that I don't know Turner's first name.

I'll say... And this is so bad,

I apologise to my team if I really muck this one up

but I'll say...Henry Turner?

It wasn't Turner.

-Joshua Reynolds is the answer.

-Would've had no clue.

OK, Dave, your chance for the round.

Which author served in the Royal Navy during World War II,

and published is first novel, entitled HMS Ulysses, in 1955?

I've got to go Alistair MacLean.

Alistair MacLean is right, Dave, you've taken the round.

Jessica, sorry, you played really well there.

-SHE SIGHS

-That's OK.

Sudden Death has taken you down, I'm afraid,

Dave will be in the final. Please, both of you,

rejoin your teams and we'll see what happens next.

As it stands, Krang's Android Body have lost two brains

from the final round, the Eggheads have lost one.

The last subject before the final is Politics.

So who would like this? Edward or Simon?

-I'm afraid...

-Going back to the spreadsheet, I think it's Ed.

-I'll make the sacrifice.

-OK.

-Against which Egghead?

-Who do we have left?

-Hm.

-We've got CJ and Barry.

-Barry and CJ. OK.

-Yeah.

Think it's got to be CJ.

It has to be really, doesn't it?

OK, so Edward, from Krang's Android Body, on Politics against CJ.

To ensure there's no conferring,

would you please take your positions in the Question Room?

OK, Politics, Edward, and would you like to go first or second

against the great CJ?

I think I'll have to go first, please.

Here we go and good luck.

Norma is the first name

of the wife of which of these British prime ministers?

OK...

I seem to think it was er...

Harold Wilson's wife was Mary?

And I'm pretty sure it was Norma Major.

So I'll go for John Major, please.

You're bang on, well done. Norma.

CJ,

which of these political parties won the most seats

at the 2015 UK General Election?

Well, I think Liberal Democrats were... How can I put this politely?

..decimated.

And ended up with, I think, eight seats.

UKIP just have the one.

Scottish National Party, I think, have 57,

so I think 57's bigger than the other two,

so I'll go for the Scottish National Party.

-You've got the answer right. I think 56, probably, for SNP.

-Is it?

-Yeah. LISA:

-56 of 59 in Scotland.

56, cos the way to remember

is that the other three were the other three parties.

-So the Lib Dems got one, Labour got one, the Conservatives got one.

-Fine.

Scottish National Party's quite right. One each.

Back to you, Edward.

Which former TV presenter contested the constituency of Erewash

in Derbyshire at the 2005 General Election?

Well, I think it might've been for a short-lived party called Veritas,

and I think it was Robert Kilroy-Silk.

It was Robert Kilroy-Silk, well done.

OK, CJ,

in which town did Margaret Thatcher spend her childhood?

Now, is this one of those little trick questions?

I mean, she was born in Grantham.

Her father, Alf, I believe was a grocer there.

So, unless she moved and I know nothing about it

I'll have to assume she spent her childhood in Grantham.

Grantham is the right answer.

OK. Edward,

in which year did Nancy Astor become the first woman

to sit as an MP in the House of Commons?

Nancy Astor... Erm, I think she was Lady Astor.

And I seem to remember some...

banter between her and Winston Churchill.

Erm... That doesn't exclude the first two dates,

but it would suggest to me

the latter one.

Erm... So, it's a bit tenuous

but I'll go for 1939.

It's wrong, actually, it's 1919.

That's a shame.

CJ, your question, for the round.

Who was the first Roman Catholic president of the USA?

Well, I'm on a little happier ground here, being US presidents. Erm...

No point messing around here, it's John F Kennedy.

It was indeed John F Kennedy, you're right, CJ. You've taken it.

Edward, you were playing really well. I could see you love your politics.

Yeah. But CJ's a good competitor, isn't he?

He's on the right territory, and on the right day

and with the wind in the right direction, yes, he is hard to beat.

So you have been taken out, I'm afraid, by our Egghead,

and that means it's a slightly depleted

challenging team in the final.

Come back to us, both of you, and we will play that 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, Clare, Edward and Jessica,

from Krang's Android Body,

and also Lisa from the Eggheads, would you please leave the studio.

OK, Matt and Simon, good luck.

You are playing to win Krang's Android Body...

Best team name ever, I think, on Eggheads.

-Thank you.

-..£11,000. You ready?

-As we'll ever be.

-Yes.

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

which is the Eggheads' really precious reputation

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

they're all going to be General Knowledge,

you can confer with each other.

So, Krang's Android Body, the question is,

can you, with your two brains, defeat these four?

-And would you like to go first or second?

-We'll go first, please.

Here we go, with your first question. Good luck, final round, £11,000.

How many sides does a hexagon have?

-Six.

-Yeah.

Six, please.

-Six is correct.

-That's a good start.

-And seven is a... What is a seven? A septagon?

-A heptagon.

Heptagon. And five is a...pentagon.

OK! I'm getting the hang of this.

Eggheads, minus Lisa,

the Bering Strait separates Siberia from which US state?

-BARRY:

-Are we all happy with Alaska?

-OTHERS:

-Yes.

-We'd like Alaska, I think.

-Yes, I think we're all agreed on this one,

it's Alaska.

Alaska is the right answer.

All right. One each.

Your question. Which member of the royal family was knighted

for services to the Sovereign in June 2015?

What do you think? Is it Harry, didn't he get something recently?

-I don't know.

-What's your gut saying?

I'm really between...

I think Edward's had a rough ride of it recently,

so it's probably not him.

I'd say Harry or Philip, but...

If they're going to give Philip anything, it'll be now.

I guess so.

-Have you heard...anything to the contrary?

-No.

-Yeah. Prince Philip, final answer?

-Well, it's...

Prince Philip.

-Eggheads? BARRY:

-They're right.

-You think they're right? DAVE:

-I think it's Harry.

-PAT:

-I think Edward.

-Oh.

The answer is Prince Harry.

-BOTH:

-Oh.

-But you can see

it's a tricky one. It might've caught YOU,

I would've loved to see that discussion.

-Yeah. Gosh.

-But, Eggheads, you have a chance to take the lead.

Which of these England players retired from international cricket,

in May 2015?

-DAVE:

-It's Trott, isn't it?

I've not heard Harmison's retired. Flintoff was a lot earlier.

-CJ:

-Jonathan Trott was 2015.

Yeah, Jonathan Trott.

If it's May 2015 it's Jonathan Trott.

Again, we're all agreed - Jonathan Trott.

Jonathan Trott is correct.

That's a shame, I wish they'd had the Harry question,

it might have divided them...

-CJ:

-Yeah.

-CJ would've had the casting vote...

OK. You've fallen behind, you must get this one right.

£11,000 we're playing for.

What was the original colour of the Incredible Hulk,

when it first appeared in comic book form in 1962?

It's either Red or Grey.

-Maybe Red?

-Or it would've been grey

-cos it would've only been a black and white comic.

-Oh, yeah.

Possibly. Erm...

My first reaction was grey.

But red seems more snazzy,

-Mm.

-..but that's probably why they went for grey.

You OK with Grey?

Erm... We're wondering if maybe it's a trick question

cos maybe the comic was in black and white. But er...

I don't know. I really don't know, I would think red, cos of rage.

You know, "You don't want to make me angry," but I don't have

-a strong opinion.

-Oh, yeah. "You won't like me when I'm angry."

-No.

Erm...

-I've got a feeling about Grey, so I'll go for it.

-OK. Go for it.

Grey.

Grey is correct.

Well done.

So it's level...

but Eggheads, if you get this one right,

the round is over and the contest too.

In bricklaying, what name is given to the various overlapping

arrangements of one course of bricks in a wall with another?

-BARRY:

-Well, they're bonds.

-CJ:

-Bonds is bricklaying.

-DAVE:

-I've not heard of the other two.

-Never heard of the other two.

-Not in bricklaying.

There's Flemish bond and English bond,

which are the two different methods of laying it.

So I think it has to be Bonds.

-Has to be bonds.

-Yeah. Not heard of the other two.

OK, well, we know there's Flemish bond and English bond

the two different methods of laying bricks,

so our answer is Bonds.

You're quite right, Eggheads, the answer is Bonds.

And we say congratulations, you have won.

Urgh!

Another day, you'd beat them, no doubt about that.

So commiserations and thanks for playing.

The Eggheads have done what comes naturally to them,

your winning streak continues.

Looking pretty lively now, Eggs.

It does mean you won't be going home with the £11,000

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

And we say, Eggheads, will you ever be beaten?

Join us then to see if a new team of challengers have the brains to take them down.

£12,000 says they don't.

Till then - goodbye.