Episode 66 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.

I haven't given you too much of a build-up there, have I?

-You really are the best?

-Yes, on a good day.

-Yeah.

-OK.

And challenging the might of our quiz goliaths today

are Unsolicited.

Now, this team from Greater Manchester

work together at the same solicitors' practice.

Let's meet them.

Hi, my name's Chris and I'm a HR manager.

Hi, I'm Jacky and I'm an NVQ assessor.

Hi, I'm Ben and I'm a marketing executive.

Hi, I'm Dawn and I'm a receptionist.

Hi, I'm Paul and I'm a marketing manager.

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

-Thank you, Jeremy.

So, you're working at a solicitors' but you're not solicitors -

that's the point, isn't it?

That's right. We're called Unsolicited, yes.

That was the point of the name, none of us are actually solicitors.

So, you do other stuff, but what stuff?

Well, I'm a HR manager, so I look after all the staff,

do all the people stuff.

Um, Jacky is my wife so she doesn't work for us.

We're just good quizzers together.

And you've got a bit of a football division between you, I know.

-Oh, yes.

-So, Jacky is Liverpool. And Chris?

-I'm Manchester United.

Er, awkward. What happens when they play each other?

Well, yeah, it's difficult.

We have unwritten rules that say that certain things

can't happen whilst we're watching it.

We can't have a go at each other's team, we're managers.

We've got to try and be as impartial as we possibly can,

but it is very hard.

That's quite... I don't how you've manage that, that's amazing.

Good stuff, well, good luck to you.

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 Unsolicited, the Eggheads have won the last three games,

which means £4,000 says you can't beat them today.

And the first head-to-head battle is on Sport.

-I think we've already decided that.

-Is that good?

Yes. I think that...

-Ben, that will be you, won't it?

-Yeah.

-The most sporty looking.

-OK, Ben. Against which Egghead?

-Who do you think? Not CJ, I think.

-Lisa?

-Yeah, Lisa.

-Yeah, let's go for that.

-Yeah, OK.

-Go for it.

-Lisa.

-The least sporty looking!

I did hear that phrase, I did pick that up.

So Ben from Unsolicited versus Lisa, the sporty one from Eggheads.

To ensure there's no conferring,

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

-So, Ben, you support a Spanish football team?

-Yeah, that's right.

I support Real Betis. Not the most popular team, but, yes.

And why is that?

It was because a while ago, I lived in Spain a few years back

and the town where I lived, everybody was a Real Betis fan

so I kind of picked it up and started supporting them.

And I know you blog about Spanish football as well?

Yeah, I started off writing for a few different websites

and then just decided to create my own, just on Real Betis.

So, I mainly write about them.

OK, good luck in the Sport round against Lisa.

-Would you like to go first or second?

-I will go first, please.

Here is your first question.

Short corner, long corner and free hit are terms used in which sport?

Erm, I'm pretty certain it's not baseball. I don't think it's squash.

I'm pretty certain it's hockey.

Hockey is right. Well done.

Lisa, in which year was the Formula One world champion

Graham Hill born?

Given that he died in '72 and won championships in '62 and '68,

that would have been a little bit tight for '69, wouldn't it?

I think it makes it a bit tight for 1949, so I'll say 1929.

-1929 is right.

-1975, he died.

Say again?

1975, he died.

-That's very sad, so in his 40s?

-Yes.

OK, Ben, over to you.

Which England cricketer scored a 46-ball century

in a one-day international against Pakistan in 2015?

Erm, cricket is not probably my best subject.

To be honest, I've not heard of Jason Roy or Alex Hales.

I know Jos Buttler's been doing fairly well recently,

so I'll go, yeah, with Jos Buttler, please.

Yes, you're right, Jos Buttler it is!

OK, Lisa.

Mike Brown typically plays rugby union for England in which position?

See, the problem you had with the England rugby team

is that Stuart Lancaster changed them every ten seconds

so you couldn't get used to anyone playing in any position

and that's the excuse I'm using and I'm sticking to it.

OK.

Mike Brown.

No, I can't make a decent argument for this. I'll say number eight.

OK, Eggheads, is she right?

-Fullback.

-Fullback, says Dave.

-Ah, wrong end of the pitch!

-Fullback is right.

OK, Ben, get this right,

you're in the final.

Between 1957 and 1961,

Jimmy Greaves scored 124 league goals

for which London football team?

I should definitely know this.

Pretty sure it's not Fulham.

I thought before the answers come up, I did think Chelsea.

I'll go with Chelsea, I think. Yes.

Could be a tough one to guess, this.

Did he play for all of them, Eggheads?

No, he played for two of them.

Played for Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur.

Right, Chelsea and Spurs he played for.

Ben, you're quite right, though. Well done. It is Chelsea. Yeah!

I love the reaction, that's good.

Well done, Ben. That's very good given that you're only 26 years old.

So, come back to us and we'll play on.

So, as it stands, Unsolicited have not lost a brain.

-Well done, Ben.

-Thank you.

And the Eggheads have lost one and we play on with Arts & Books.

-Who would like this?

-Shall I do it?

-Yeah, I'll give it a go.

-OK, Dawn.

-Against which Egghead?

-Oh!

-Go for Dave, go for Dave.

-No, no.

-What do you think?

-I think Dave. Because I think he's a sporty bloke.

-Yeah, OK.

-What do you think?

-I agree with that.

-Dave, please.

OK, our receptionist Dawn from Unsolicited

versus Tremendous Knowledge Dave from the Eggheads.

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

-And Dawn, you're a Stephen King fan.

-I am, yes.

-I think he's brilliant too.

-I do.

-You think the books are scarier than the films?

-Yes, definitely.

-What's your favourite of his?

-Oh, crikey, now you're asking.

I love the Dark Tower series, actually. I've read all those.

And I know they're going to hopefully make a film soon,

which I can't wait to see.

He wrote a great book just called On Writing,

which is about how he writes everything and it's amazing,

-it's like an autobiography.

-Yeah.

-Really amazing.

-I'd love to meet him, actually. I really would.

-Yeah.

And find out where he gets his ideas. I think it's fabulous.

I remember he nearly died, didn't he? He was in...

-He was walking by the road and I think a van hit him.

-Yes.

And he came round and he said there was a guy, the van driver,

just sitting there drinking beer with this really evil-looking dog.

And he said, "I think I've been killed by one of my own characters."

-So, good luck, Dawn.

-All right, thank you.

Do you want to go first or second against Dave?

I'd like to go first, please.

Arts & Books, here we go.

In which year was the artist Salvador Dali born?

Right, OK. Well, it's too late, 1964. And I don't think it's 1934.

I'll go 1904.

Yes, bang on. 1904.

Well done.

Dave, which of these works of art was created first?

Just got to be careful here.

I've got to go Mona Lisa.

-Yeah, which was, I guess, 1500s?

-Yes.

-And the middle one, Vermeer, was what, 1700s?

-Yeah, I think so.

-Well, maybe earlier.

-No?

-About 1650.

-OK, Eggheads say 1650.

-Yes.

-And Starry Night is about 1870s, 1880s maybe.

-Yes.

Mona Lisa is the right answer.

Back to you, Dawn.

Count Olaf and the Baudelaire children

are characters in which series of children's books?

OK, it's definitely not Harry Potter.

And I don't think it's Goosebumps.

I think it's A Series Of Unfortunate Events.

It is A Series Of Unfortunate Events, well done.

Dave.

Cavalcade and The Vortex are plays by which writer?

Don't think it's William Shakespeare.

Don't think it's George Bernard Shaw.

Not really heard about Cavalcade.

Was The Vortex the one about drug addiction?

Not sure but it's Noel Coward.

Noel Coward is right.

All right,

-you're very tight here, Dawn.

-OK.

Get this one right, see if you can knock him off his perch.

Which of these is a famous poem by Walt Whitman?

Ooh, now that is hard.

Erm, I must admit it's going to be a total guess.

I don't think it's To A Mouse.

I will go Deaths And Entrances, please.

-Eggheads?

-I Sing The Body Electric.

-I Sing The Body Electric is the answer.

-Oh, OK.

OK, Dave, your question.

To which of her characters was Jane Austen referring

when she wrote, "I'm going to take a heroine

"who no-one but myself will much like"?

Not sure on this.

Oh, unfortunately. I'm not going to go for Emma Woodhouse.

Not going to go for Elizabeth Bennet.

I'm going to go Marianne Dashwood.

-It's the wrong Answer. Emma.

-Emma?

-Yeah, Emma Woodhouse.

-OK.

So, the score's level after three.

And we go to Sudden Death. It gets a bit harder.

-I don't give you alternative answers.

-OK.

In which play by William Congreve does the following line appear -

"Heaven has no rage like love to hatred turned,

"nor hell a fury like a woman scorned"?

Oh, no! I should know this.

But I don't.

I'm sorry. I don't know.

-Passing?

-I'm passing. Yes, please.

The answer is The Mourning Bride.

OK, thank you.

Dave, for the round.

Goblin Market is a work by which Pre-Raphaelite poet?

Rossetti.

I need a first name and a surname. HE LAUGHS

Er, I could go wrong here.

Christina Rossetti.

Is the right answer, Dave. You've taken the round.

-Dawn, sorry.

-That's OK.

You've been knocked out

by Dave there, on Sudden Death.

And as a result, won't be in the final.

Come back, rejoin your teams, we'll play on.

So, as it stands, Unsolicited have lost one brain from the final round.

The Eggheads have also lost one and the next subject for you is History.

Who would like this?

-It's either me or...

-I'd have done History.

-Jacky or Paul.

-Go on, I think you can do it.

-OK, I'll do it.

-I'll take the last round.

-If it's food and drink.

-You can't guess.

-OK, it's me, then, yeah?

-Jacky.

Jacky? All right.

On History, against which Egghead?

I'm going to pick Pat cos I like Pat.

-We all like Pat.

-But I like him a lot.

-You like him a lot?

-Yeah.

You like him even more than us!

OK, Jacky from Unsolicited versus Pat.

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

So, History. Jacky, would you like to go first or second?

I'll go first, please, Jeremy.

Here is your question.

Which of these battles was a crushing defeat for a British force

fighting against an army of Zulus in 1879?

I really don't know the answer but I almost think I do.

I think it's Balaclava, I think.

-Now, I suspect... I think that's Crimea area, is it?

-Yes.

That's the Crimean War.

-I've been to Isandlwana, it's in South Africa.

-Oh!

And it's the site of the famous defeat.

Right, Pat.

The United States War Of Independence

lasted approximately how many years?

Hmm, how long did they spend fighting?

They issued the Declaration of Independence

and that's 1776.

George Washington was in as President in 1789.

That's a 13-year gap.

So, how long? I know they spent quite a while.

Washington had his famous miserable overwintering at Valley Forge,

so it was a multi-year dispute.

Would it have dragged on for eight years? That's quite a long time.

I'm dismissing 24 years, it certainly didn't take that long.

Two years or eight years?

Eight years is a good substantial war though, isn't it?

Certainly by modern standards.

What do we have?

It finished at places like Yorktown, we had a couple of Saratogas.

There's Bunker Hill.

Have we enough battles to fill eight years?

I don't think we have, I think I'll have to go for two years

but with some misgiving.

How interesting.

You were heading directly for the right answer

-and then you veered away.

-Oh, dear, dear.

Everything you said added up to eight years.

Eight years is the answer.

-Oh, silly me.

-OK, Jacky.

Which of these English kings was made a saint after his death?

Erm, I'm going to go right down the middle

just because it's in the middle and go for William the Conqueror.

-Any challengers know this one?

-I think it's Edward.

Yeah, Edward the Confessor is the answer. Edward the Confessor.

OK, Pat.

Your question.

Bloody Mary was the nickname of which historical figure?

I think it was Mary I of England.

And under her reign, there were religious persecutions

and martyrdoms and all sorts, so Mary I of England.

Mary I of England is the right answer. Pat, well done.

So, Pat has a point and Jacky,

you need to get this one right.

Napoleon defeated the armies of which country

at the Battle of Rivoli in 1797?

Do I know? No.

I'll go Russia.

I'm really sorry, it's Austria.

Sorry, Jacky.

So, Pat has taken the round

and will be in the final.

But don't worry, Challengers. You've got time to turn this around.

Come back and let's start.

So, as it stands, Unsolicited have lost a couple of brains now.

Bad luck, Jacky. And the Eggheads have lost one.

And the last round before the final is Music.

Who would like this?

I think we've already decided that one, haven't we?

I'll take this one.

OK, Paul, against which Egghead?

I'll go Barry, please.

So, Paul from Unsolicited versus Barry from the Eggheads.

Please go to the Question Room now.

So Music, Paul. Would you like to go first or second?

I will go second, please.

OK, Barry, your first question.

Dixieland jazz is often said to have originated in which city?

Oh, I absolutely love Dixieland jazz,

it really gets my feet tapping.

And it came from New Orleans.

New Orleans is quite right.

Back to you, Paul.

Which of these songs was never a UK top 40 single for the Beatles?

Erm, The Beatles isn't my favourite choice of music.

Erm, I'm probably edging more towards...

..When I'm Sixty-Four.

That's, yeah, When I'm Sixty-Four.

When I'm Sixty-Four is correct.

Well done.

-That's a little while before you were born, I think, Paul.

-Yeah.

Barry, Sax is the title of a 2015 UK hit single

for which former X Factor contestant?

Oh, that's wonderful. They were all on the X Factor.

Fleur East certainly released one in that year.

In fact, I think possibly they all did.

Was it Ella Henderson, though?

I'm going to go for Ella Henderson.

Do you know, Challengers?

We think it's Fleur East.

-Fleur East.

-Ah!

So, Paul, get this right

and you're in the lead.

Tom Petty and Jeff Lynne were added to the songwriting credits

of which Sam Smith single after its similarity

to their song I Won't Back Down was pointed out?

I'm just trying to sing their song in my head.

I don't think it's Writing's On The Wall.

I'm going to go straight down the middle,

I think it might be Stay With Me.

That's what I'll go for.

And do you know the original song?

I think it's like...

# Won't back down! #

Yeah, a bit like that, yeah.

So, yeah, well done.

OK, Barry.

What is the job of the title character

in the Verdi opera Rigoletto?

Ah, one of my favourite operas.

Rigoletto was the court jester.

Jester is correct.

So, you have two, both of you.

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

OK.

The Bridal Chorus or, as it's popularly known,

Here Comes The Bride,

is a piece of music from which Wagner opera?

I know the piece of music that you're talking about.

I'll go with the first one, Tannhauser.

-Do you know, Barry?

-Lohengrin.

Lohengrin is the answer.

So, two each after three questions.

We go to Sudden Death, I start with Barry.

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

Pinball Wizard is a song that originally featured

on which concept album by The Who?

Ah, it must be from Tommy.

Tommy is right.

So, you need this to stay in.

Paul, which famous 20th-century opera is based on a poem

called The Borough by a writer named George Crabbe?

Unfortunately, I think opera is certainly not

one of my interests in music.

I don't know, I don't even know an opera.

I'll say the Flying Dutchman just because that came up before.

Well, that would be good if it was. Barry, do you know?

-Yes, it's Peter Grimes.

-It is Peter Grimes.

Barry, you've taken the round on Sudden Death. You're in the final.

If you come back to us, both of you, 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, Jacky, Dawn and Paul from Unsolicited

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

So, Chris and Ben, you're playing to win Unsolicited £4,000.

Dave, Pat, CJ and Barry, you're playing for something

that money can't really buy, the Eggheads' reputation.

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

This time, the questions are all General Knowledge.

You are allowed to confer.

So, Unsolicited, the question is,

are your two brains better than the Eggheads' four?

Would you like to go first or second?

I think we'll go first, please, Jeremy.

And good luck.

What name is given to the day after Thanksgiving,

a day that's become a focus for Christmas shopping in the USA

and more recently the UK?

It's Black Friday, isn't it?

We know this one, it's definitely Black Friday.

Yeah, Black Friday.

OK, Eggheads.

Bill Hicks, who died in 1994 at the age of 32,

was a leading figure in which field?

-Stand-up comedy.

-Yes, brilliant.

Bit close to the wind, admittedly. We are happy with stand-up comedy?

He was, yes.

We think he was a leading

and sometimes quite controversial

name in stand-up comedy.

Stand-up comedy is the right answer.

OK, Challengers.

Which astronaut famously said, "Houston, we've had a problem"?

-I don't think it's Michael Collins.

-He was on the first one.

It's Jack Swigert, I think. Isn't he the one that Tom Hanks played?

That's right, I don't think it's Michael Collins.

-Yes, it's either Fred or Jack. I think it's Jack.

-Yeah, go with that.

-You happy with that?

-Yes.

We think it's the middle one, Jack Swigert.

Jack Swigert is right.

Well done.

OK,

back we go to you, Eggheads, to draw level.

In which year was the politician Arthur Scargill born?

-Got to be '38, surely.

-He's about 70 now.

Yeah, it's got to be 1938.

The miners' strike is '84.

No, he's older than me

so it's got to be 1938.

It's got to be 1938.

He was already quite advanced by the time the miners' strike started.

84, which is what, 36 years after the middle figure.

1948 + 36 is 1984.

He was more than 36?

He's older than me so it must be the earliest one.

-We're not making too much of a stake there. It's 1938.

-'38?

1938, definitely.

-PAT:

-Looks like it.

Erm, didn't know it but we're just basing on how whole he is now

and how old we think he was at the miners' strike, so 1938.

1938 is quite right.

So, third question could be

crucial, guys. Here it is.

What is stevia, derived from a plant native to South America?

You know this, do you?

I thought sweetener before cos it's a replacement

in food recipes. Instead of putting sugar in, you can put stevia in.

-Yeah, I'm sure it's sweetener.

-We'll go with that.

OK, our answer is sweetener.

Impressive, yeah. You're right.

-He's a scientist.

-You're a scientist? OK.

So, Eggheads, up against it once again.

Get this wrong, the contest is over and they take the jackpot.

Who directed the 2015 Cate Blanchett film Carol?

-My initial instinct is Todd Haynes.

-Todd Haynes.

I think it's Todd Haynes.

Certainly not Lynch and Gus Van Sant, I don't think did it.

-I'm fairly sure Todd Haynes did Carol.

-I'm happy with that.

-I have nothing to add.

-Are you happy with that, Pat?

-Yeah.

-OK.

We think it's Todd Haynes.

-Todd Haynes is correct.

-Well done.

So, equal on three, well done.

Well played, both of you.

Chris and Ben, we go to Sudden Death.

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

And here is your first question.

In which board game, similar to ludo

and sometimes called the national game of India,

do four players in opposing partnerships of two

attempt to move pieces around a cross-shaped track.

-Any idea?

-Absolutely no idea.

Board games, no.

-I'm trying to think ludo.

-Nothing.

I don't think I know. I mean, I know ludo

-but I don't know any Indian board games.

-No.

I'm sorry, we don't know the answer, Jeremy. We'll have to pass.

-Want to take a stab?

-No, we haven't got a clue.

Let me see if the Eggheads know?

-Pachisi.

-Parchisi, parchesi.

Pachisi is the answer.

Could have taken chaupar

or twenty-five, it's called as well.

So, Eggheads, get this right on Sudden Death

and you're champions again.

What type of institutions are Black Beach in Equatorial Guinea

and Angola in the United States?

-Angola State Penitentiary.

-Prison, definitely.

I think it's in a bend of the Mississippi.

Didn't know that, that was good enough.

Angola has a famous annual rodeo where the prisoners put on a rodeo.

-Oh, really?

-In a little stadium.

I don't know much about Black Beach in Equatorial Guinea.

I'm sure, we're both OK?

-I knew Angola is a prison.

-Absolutely fine.

Erm, I am reliably informed they are prisons.

If you have this right, the contest is over.

The answer on Sudden Death is prisons

and we say congratulations, Eggheads.

You have won.

-I'm sorry, guys.

-Hey-ho.

-Played well there.

-Yeah, I thought we were doing all right.

-Oh, you were pushing them.

And the Indian board game, it's a tough question.

-I've heard of pachisi as well.

-Have you?

But I didn't realise that's what it was. I have heard it but hey-ho.

-Hey-ho, lovely to meet you all and thanks for playing.

-Thank you.

Been really good. Commiserations to Unsolicited.

The Eggheads have done what comes naturally to them

and they still reign supreme over Quiz Land.

It does mean you won't be going home with the £4,000,

so we roll the money over to our next show.

Well done, Eggs.

Only lost one today. You're playing well. Who will beat you?

Join us next time to see if a new team of Challengers

have the brains to end this streak.

£5,000 says they don't.

Till then, goodbye.