Episode 50 Eggheads

These people are amongst the greatest quiz players in Britain.

Together, they make up the Eggheads,

arguably the most formidable quiz team in the country.

The question is... can they be beaten?

Welcome to Eggheads,

the show where a team of five quiz challengers

pit their wits against possibly the greatest quiz team in Britain.

They are the Eggheads.

Or maybe the greatest in the world?

-Or the universe.

-Never modest, are they?

Hoping to get one over on our quiz champions

today are Plastered Cast from West Lothian.

Now, this team are all members of

the Livingston Players amateur dramatics society.

So, let's meet them.

Hi, I'm Roger and I am a retired planning manager.

Hi, I'm Alex and I'm a retired civil servant.

Hi, I'm Janet and I'm an office manager.

Hi, I'm David and I'm a tax adviser.

Hi, I'm John and I'm a retired IT programme manager.

So, Roger and team, welcome.

-Hello.

-Hi, Jeremy.

-Tell us about the dramatic society.

Well, we've been established since about 1970

and we do three productions a year, two plays and one musical.

So, there's continuous working

right through the year with rehearsals.

-It's nonstop, basically.

-And what are you working on at the moment?

We're working on Sister Act, which is a...

-What, the Whoopi Goldberg?

-That's the one, yeah.

-The musical production.

-And are you all actors

or do we have other people who are doing other things?

We're all actors apart from David,

who is a partner to a very fine actress.

But the rest of us here are actors, yes.

All right. And you do the set, as well, David, is that right?

I do a bit of breaking sets but usually I'm better off

just ferrying people around.

JEREMY LAUGHS

Well, good luck. We've got, well, at least one actor in there.

CJ, you've trod the boards a few times.

-Yes.

-And I think possibly set for quite a big film career.

There's vacancies at the old Kodak plant.

-Let's hope so.

-LAUGHTER

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.

Now, Plastered Cast,

the Eggheads have just won the last game.

£2,000, therefore, is on the table to win.

-Want to give it a go?

-Yes, please.

-Yes.

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

the subject of Arts and Books. That's good for you thespians.

-It should be.

-Should be.

-It is.

-David?

-And it looks like it's me.

-The non-thespian.

-I can't... I'm trying to work that out.

David, OK. Against which Egghead?

Oh, I think I'll take Barry, please.

All right, so, David from Plastered Cast versus Barry from Eggheads.

To ensure there's no conferring,

would you please go to the legendary Question Room.

OK, arts and books, David.

And would you like to go first or second?

I'll go first, thank you, Jeremy.

Here we go. Which of these artists was well-known

for sporting a trademark moustache?

Well, I don't think it's Joan Miro.

And I had to go as Salvador Dali to a fancy dress one time,

and I had this terrible moustache

that's even worse than the one I've got at the moment.

So, Salvador Dali.

Salvador Dali is right, well done.

Barry, over to you.

The book SPQR by the academic Mary Beard

is a history of which ancient power?

SPQR stands for "Senatus Populusque Romanus",

the Senate and the people of Rome.

So, Rome is the answer.

Rome is right. Back to you, David.

In which US city is the Getty Villa museum located?

Well, I don't think it's Los Angeles.

And I know that Chicago has virtually every building

that's ever designed in America in it.

Washington DC...

I'll go for Chicago.

OK, I was expecting New York to be on here, but no New York.

It's not Chicago.

And I was thinking, "Which way would I go?"

I mean, maybe Villa suggests a bit of sea view or something,

I don't know. Los Angeles is the right answer.

It's in Malibu, Los Angeles.

So, it's overlooking the sea?

Yes, it's in the shape of a Roman villa.

So, it's basically where Getty used to live?

I don't know if he lived here.

I can't remember that, but it's a really nice museum.

OK. And he was a very rich bloke?

He was, indeed. But he famously installed payphones in his house

because he didn't want his guests to have free phone calls.

That's funny. OK, Barry.

Your question - which British artist painted the 19th-century work

The Ghost of a Flea?

Do you know, I really don't know this.

19th century...

Well, that will rule William Blake out.

Because I think he was earlier than that.

And although Turner did come into the 19th century...

I don't know. It sounds more like a Pre-Raphaelite, I'll go for Millais.

The answer is William Blake.

-Oh!

-It's a very odd subject for a painting.

Anyone help us with this?

-Ghost of a Flea?

-No.

To me, that sounds like going to be quite a small ghost, you know?

I'm sure it will come to you later, Jeremy.

OK, yeah. I will have a think about that.

Have a think, yeah, see if it...

See if I can just rack my brains on that.

All right. So, this is handy.

-David...

-Mm-hmm.

-..if you get this right,

put a bit of pressure on Barry the Brain.

Who was the recipient

of the Crime Writers' Association Gold Dagger award in 2015?

Ooh. Now, that's an awkward one.

Erm...I'm not sure on this one, but I'll go for Michael Robotham.

Michael Robotham is the right answer.

-Well done.

-Well done!

Good stuff. OK, Barry, over to you.

You've got to get this right to stay in.

What is the title of the sixth book

in the Shardlake series by CJ Sansom published in 2015?

I've not heard of this series.

The sixth book...

Well, because it's well into a into a series, I'll go for Revelation.

So, you think it's kind of at the end of a series?

I'm hoping it is.

Yeah, no, it's Lamentation.

-Ah.

-Barry, two wrong answers have knocked you out there.

-David, well done.

-Thank you.

-You're in the final round.

There we go. That's how you do it.

Just get one more than the Eggheads and you're through.

So, Barry is knocked out, David is in the final.

Let's see what happens next.

We got a bit caught up on our paintings there

and I've had a long think, so I can help you.

It's a very small painting by Blake, this Ghost of a Flea.

It's basically a sort of rather scary-looking

insecty thing gorging itself on a bowl of blood.

So, there's a bit of a horror film element there,

-which you expect, I suppose.

-Yes, with Blake.

And...1827. Now, you were right, Barry,

1700s for Blake normally, but this was a late work.

-Right.

-So, it seems he was a bit exhausted,

he was a bit old, gets up,

thinks, "Oh, what can I paint?" No ideas.

Ghost of a Flea, tiny canvas - bang, that's your lot.

And all that is left of you in this contest is the ghost of a flea,

now, I'm afraid. You've been knocked out, Barry.

As it stands, Plastered Cast have not lost a brain.

Good start. Well done.

And that's how you act excitement, isn't it?

-It was amazing, that.

-Ecstatic!

Erm...the Eggheads have lost that one brain.

And the next subject is Science.

MAN GROANS

Not good for actors, science.

Janet, I think, is...

Janet?

I don't mind. Sacrificial lamb, yes.

Do it, do it. OK. Against which Egghead?

-You'll be great.

-CJ.

OK. On Science.

I don't mind Science.

He's been the subject of many scientific experiments.

-Yeah!

-Yeah, they've all gone wrong.

Yeah, they have all gone wrong, you're right!

So, Janet from Plastered Cast versus CJ from the Eggheads on Science.

Please go to our Question Room.

So, Janet, Science is the subject against the great CJ.

Would you like to go first or second?

I'd like to go first, please.

Here is your first question.

Which of these is a popular data compression format

used in computing?

I'm not 100% sure.

I don't think it's zoom.

I think it will be zip.

Zip is your answer.

-Yes.

-And it is correct.

OK, CJ.

What are young hedgehogs commonly called?

Well, I'm a patron of the British Hedgehog Preservation Society,

so I should know this. I think it's hoglets.

Hoglets is the right answer.

All right, Janet, which native British tree

is sometimes called "the Venus of the woods"?

I don't think it's Holly.

And out of the other two I'd probably say it was the ash.

You are quite right.

I like the way you're playing.

Really good.

CJ, the name of which chemical element

is derived from the Latin for "sky blue"?

Well, chromium just comes from the word "colour", I think.

And I think caesium is blue.

Erm...I'm not entirely sure, but I will go for caesium.

Caesium is the right answer, CJ.

Well done. So, two points each.

Janet, back to you. See if you can get your third one right.

The Great Man-Made River is the name given to a water supply project

in which African country?

I don't think it will be Libya.

Egypt has the Nile, so I would imagine that's a great waterfront.

Algeria...

I'm not 100% sure.

Erm...I'll say Egypt.

CJ, do you know this?

I don't. I probably would have gone for Libya, but I don't know it.

Libya is the right answer, Janet, sorry. So, two out of three.

Let's see if CJ can book his place in the final with this question.

Which of these is a crustacean that stuns its prey by firing a bubble

of air at high velocity?

Well, I hope I'm not making things up here,

but I think I have heard of a pistol shrimp. Erm...

never heard of a cannon crab.

Shotgun prawn sounds a bit improbable.

But I'm fairly sure I've heard of a pistol shrimp,

so that will be my answer.

Pistol shrimp is the right answer, CJ, well done.

Sorry, Janet. He's knocked you out there.

On the Science...

The pistol shrimp, he just fires a little bubble of air, don't you, CJ?

-Always.

-That's what he does. So, he will be in the final round.

Please come back to us, rejoin your teams and we'll play on.

So, Plastered Cast have now lost a brain from the final round.

The Eggheads lost one earlier. Where do we go from here?

The answer is Film and TV.

Who would like this?

-That was David.

-Not me.

-"Not me"!

-Right, it's either you or John.

-I don't think John wants to do it.

-Not me.

-John - "Not me."

OK, you're going to have to do it, then.

OK, I'll go the... the sacrificial lamb.

-Yes, I'll do it.

-Yes, OK. Against which Egghead?

You can have Pat, or Lisa, or Dave. So, all on the left.

-Try Lisa.

-Lisa.

-I'll go with Lisa, please.

-Sounds good to me.

-Good choice.

Yeah, Alex from Plastered Cast versus Lisa from the Eggheads.

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

Alex, you are a volunteer puppy walker for guide dogs.

-That's correct, yes.

-What a lovely thing to do.

Oh, it's been a wonderful year for us.

And still, guide dogs for the blind are hugely important.

Absolutely. We just have to concentrate on

what that puppy hopefully is

going to go on and change somebody's life.

Wonderful. So, we're Film and TV here, Alex.

Would you like to go first or second?

I'd like to go first, please.

And your first question is...

Which of these does Marty McFly

use as a form of transport

in the Back to the Future series of films?

I don't think it's a hovercraft or a hover mower.

I seem to remember a hoverboard.

I'll go for hoverboard.

Hoverboard is right. Good stuff.

OK, Lisa, which 1980s heart-throb played the title role

in the first series of the TV drama Robin of Sherwood?

I think it might be a stretch

to describe all of them as eighties heart-throbs.

I'm pretty sure Robin of Sherwood was Michael Praed.

It was indeed, Lisa.

Well done, and you were not even born then.

I was born in 1980, Jeremy, I was there

all the way through the decade.

And how do you know? From looking at books and stuff?

Well, you know, Michael Praed, the pictures stayed with you.

Yeah, that's true. OK, Alex, your question.

Which British playwright and actor played the role

of Private Charles Godfrey

in the classic TV series Dad's Army?

Well, Arthur Lowe played the captain,

John Le Mesurier played his second in command...

so I'll go for Arnold Ridley.

Yes, absolutely right.

By elimination, it is Arnold Ridley.

And his grand-niece, I think it is,

is probably the biggest film star in the world at the moment.

Daisy Ridley, who plays the lead in Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

-Ah! BARRY:

-Oh, I never realised.

I didn't know there was a relationship.

Runs in families, doesn't it, this acting thing?

There is a gene, for sure.

Lisa, who plays the role of the Bounty Hunter Dr King Schultz

in the 2012 film Django Unchained?

Idris Elba wasn't in it and the other two both were,

but King Schultz was played... Hang on, hang on.

No, no, no, I'm sure King Schultz was Christoph Waltz.

Yeah, Christoph Waltz is right.

OK, 2-2.

Alex, over to you, get this right and maybe a bit of pressure -

maybe Lisa will topple.

Which 2014 Tom Cruise film was renamed

Live. Die. Repeat. for its DVD release?

I really have no idea.

I really don't know, so I'm going to go for...

Rock of Ages.

Ah, it's Edge of Tomorrow.

-Ah.

-OK, Lisa, if you get this right, you're in the final.

Who plays the author Bill Bryson

in the 2015 adaptation of his book A Walk in the Woods?

Ooph.

Now, it's one of the few Brysons I've read.

And I have read about the casting of this.

Of the three of those...

I'd be inclined to go for Robert Redford.

-Is that your answer?

-Yes.

Robert Redford is correct.

Lisa, you're in the final. Sorry, Alex. Give these...

these people - as I will describe them -

even just a little line of daylight and they take it.

-Yes.

-They are very good at what they do.

Lisa, in the final. Alex, knocked out.

Do, please, come back and rejoin your teams.

So, Plastered Cast have lost two brains from the final round,

the Eggheads have lost just the one.

The last subject before the final is Sport.

Who would like this?

-John.

-John?

-John.

Good, good, good. Against which Egghead, John?

-Pat, please.

-OK.

John from Plastered Cast gives Pat from the Eggheads

a run out on Sport.

Please go to the Question Room for the last time.

So, John, would you like to go first or second on Sport, then?

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

Right. Here is your first question.

Which of these terms is often used to describe a sporting contest

between two teams from the same district?

I think that'll be derby, Jeremy.

Derby is quite right.

Pat, your question.

Which south-coast football club was promoted to the Premier League

for the first time in 2015?

I think that must be Bournemouth.

Bournemouth is the right answer.

You're right.

Back to you, John.

Cricketer Misbah-ul-Haq has captained which country in

test match cricket?

Misbah-ul-Haq. Could you spell that for me, please, Jeremy?

Of course. M-I-S-B-A-H hyphen U-L hyphen H-A-Q, Misbah-ul-Haq.

Asking a Scotsman a cricket question is, er...

Makes it difficult. I'm going to have to guess.

I'm going to go straight down the middle for Sri Lanka.

Anybody know on the Eggheads?

-Pakistan.

-Pakistan.

-Pakistan, they all say.

OK. Pat to take the lead.

A full-court press is a term often used to describe

a tactic in which sport?

Well, it's a... It's a team thing, a full-court press,

so, it doesn't really apply in tennis.

You just don't have the scope to get stuck into each other.

And, in fact, in volleyball, the teams are separated by a net.

It's just an upping of intensity and, I think, of marking.

I think it's basketball.

Basketball is the right answer.

Well done. All right. He's playing well, John, that's the bad news.

-Hmm.

-Good news is that you can rescue it,

but you do need to get this question right.

Which of these nations has been a losing finalist three times

in Rugby Union's World Cup?

Losing finalist three times.

That doesn't hang right with Australia -

they don't do that kind of thing.

Again, it's going to have to be 50-50.

France.

Is correct. Well done, John.

Well done. On the edge, there.

So, Pat, if you get this right,

you are in the final, because John missed one earlier.

In which year did James Cracknell win his first Olympic gold medal?

Let's see, where can I place him?

The great era of rowing sort of, I think,

kicked off in Los Angeles '84,

people like Redgrave and then it went on for many Olympics.

Was it in Beijing in 2008?

Sydney 2000?

I'm not sure.

His first... Well, I think we can dismiss 2008.

That's too recent.

Well, if Redgrave had had two pair medals

under his belt when he moved up to a four-man boat in '92,

Cracknell could've been part of that.

I'll go for 1992.

Oh, interesting. You went the wrong way.

Coxless four in 2000, won it again four years later.

-Oh, well.

-Cracknell was 2000.

So, John, you're getting the rub of the green here.

This is good. Not punished for your error. Pat's made one, too.

We go to Sudden Death, OK?

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

-Yep.

Between 2007 and 2014,

on which European city's marathon course was the world record for the

men's race broken five times?

I'll try London.

No, it was Berlin.

OK, Pat, this for the round.

Which Rugby League team play their home games

at the Stade Gilbert Brutus?

Hmm.

Well, that certainly sounds French.

One's immediately drawn to Catalans Dragons.

Montpellier... I don't think Montpellier play Rugby League.

They play Rugby Union.

Toulouse, they're Rugby Union.

Well, Rugby League - I think I'll have to dismiss the various other

candidates as being Rugby Union teams and go for Catalan Dragons

or Catalans Dragons as they're called.

Catalans Dragons...is the correct answer, Pat.

Well truffled out there by you.

I thought that might be difficult. So, you're in the final.

You're playing a very good player here, John,

-as you can tell.

-Afraid so.

So, come back to us and we will play the final round.

So, this is what we have been playing towards.

It is time for the final round or should I say final act?

Given that we are with thespians, actors here.

As always, it's General Knowledge,

but I'm afraid those of you who lost your head-to-heads

are not allowed to take part.

So, we look mainly on this side at Alex,

Janet and John from Plastered Cast, but also Barry from the Eggheads.

Would you, please, now leave the studio?

Roger and David, you're playing to win Plastered Cast £2,000.

Dave, Lisa, Pat and CJ,

you're playing for something that money can't buy -

the Eggheads' reputation and just to get this show back on the road.

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

This time they're all general knowledge and you are allowed to confer.

So, Plastered Cast, the question is

can your two brains defeat these four?

And would you like to go first or second?

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

Here we go, then. Good luck, guys.

What term is often used to describe the process by which an urban area

is rendered middle-class?

Is it...

-Gentrification.

-Gentrification.

-I think that's gentrification.

Gentrification is correct.

OK.

Which of these institutions, Eggheads,

is nearest to St Pancras railway station in London?

Is it...

-British Library is on top of it, yeah.

-It's next door to it.

-British library is our answer, is it?

-Yes.

We're going for the British Library, please, Jeremy.

British Library is quite right.

One each. Final round.

£2,000 we're playing for.

Challengers, the year 2015 was the 600th anniversary of which battle?

Well, it wasn't Bannockburn.

So, it's Edgehill or Agincourt.

-600?

-600, so 1415.

I think that would be, er...

-Agincourt.

-Agincourt.

-Agincourt?

-I think so.

Agincourt.

Well...educated guess, Jeremy.

We think it's Agincourt.

Agincourt is correct.

So, Agincourt is correct.

600th anniversary in 2015.

Eggheads, to catch up.

For what does the H stand in the name of the novelist HG Wells?

Herbert George. Are we happy with Herbert George, yeah?

Er, we believe that to be Herbert.

Herbert is right. 2-2.

Third question can be crucial.

In a story from ancient Greek mythology,

which beautiful youth was supposed to spend part of his year with

Aphrodite and part with Persephone?

Narcissus is the one that kept looking in the water.

-Yeah.

-Adonis is supposed to be godlike.

And I don't know Ganymede.

-I, out of the three...

-Uh-huh.

Yeah, I would dismiss Narcissus, certainly.

Erm, I would go for Adonis.

Yeah, I agree. Go.

Our answer is Adonis, Jeremy.

Yeah. Brilliant.

You just were so brisk through these three questions,

like a knife through butter. Adonis is correct.

So, well, they put the frighteners

on you, that's for sure.

Ada Lovelace and which other prominent British woman

feature on the design of the new UK passport unveiled in 2015?

-I think it's Elisabeth Scott.

-It is, it's Elisabeth Scott.

She's the architect who designed the big Royal Shakespeare headquarters

-in Stratford.

-OK.

-Elisabeth Scott.

Reliably informed by two gentlemen to my left,

the answer is Elisabeth Scott.

Elisabeth Scott is correct.

-Well done.

-Ah...

My, my pained expression is only because it's never

that easy with this lot.

OK, we go to Sudden Death.

It gets a bit harder - I don't give you alternatives.

Here's your first. In which country did the AKP regain a parliamentary

majority in the national elections held on November 1, 2015?

-Oh...

-Greece?

-AKP.

-AKP. I think...

-I think that was Portugal.

-Do you think so?

-I think so.

-OK. Well, I...

-I don't think it's Gree...

-Oh.

-My first thought was Greece.

-Cos they both had elections.

That's right, yeah.

Go on, go for Greece. Go for Greece.

Portugal, it was just because they happen to be a...

Ahem. Well...

obviously we are not totally sure,

but we're going to give our answer as Greece.

Let's see if either of you is right.

You've given your answer as Greece.

I think it's Turkey.

-Oh.

-Is it?

-You're both wrong.

-Ah.

-Turkey.

All right. Turkey was the answer. Eggheads have a chance

to take the contest.

Which writer and noted hedonist

had his ashes fired out of a cannon after his death in 2005?

Yeah, I'm going the same way.

Erm...

Hunter S Thomson. What did he do?

Yeah, he did Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas.

-He was a writer - was he a hedonist?

-His dates are right.

Writer and hedonist, I think he qualifies.

Yeah, he's a very good...

-Very good answer.

-Mmm.

I'm not coming up with any alternatives to this.

The more I think about it, the more I like Hunter S Thompson.

-OK. We'll go with it.

-Right, I think we've got to go with that.

-Go with it.

-Thanks to Pat, we're not sure...

but we're going to go with Hunter S Thompson.

Well, the explosives were paid for by Johnny Depp.

-Yes, that sounds right.

-Johnny Depp was bezzy mates with the writer and

noted hedonist Hunter S Thompson.

We say congratulations, Eggheads. You have won.

You got there in that circuitous way that you do, but it was very good,

-Eggheads, wasn't that?

-It was, yeah.

-Did you know that at all?

-No.

-No, but now they've said it, of course it make sense, yeah.

And Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas, and it seems like the kind of thing

he'd do, but he's not the best-known person, so...well done, Eggs.

Commiserations, Plastered Cast.

The Eggheads have maybe got back into the winning habit now

and they reign supreme over quizland once again.

It does mean you won't be going home with the £2,000,

so the money rolls over to our next show.

And we say congratulations, Eggheads.

Who will beat you? Join us next time to see if a new team of challengers

have the brains to defeat that lot.

£3,000 says they don't.

Till then, goodbye.