Episode 34 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.

Hoping to beat the might of the Eggheads today are

School Of Hard Knocks.

Now, this team of teachers all work together at

Clydebank High School in Glasgow,

so let's meet them.

Hi, I'm Paul, and I'm a history teacher.

Hi, my name's John, and I'm a depute headteacher.

Hi, my name's Graeme, and I'm a modern studies teacher.

Hi, my name is Stuart, and I'm an art teacher.

Hi, my name is Michael. I'm a music teacher.

So, Paul and team, welcome. Good to see you.

-You feeling ready for this, Paul?

-Yeah. Looking forward to this, yeah.

So you're all teachers...

-Uh-huh.

-..and I suppose people always assume teachers know stuff,

but maybe just focused on your own subjects, that's the trouble.

Yeah, well, we're wondering if some of our own subjects

will come up, and, er...

We'll see how our knowledge is when it does. If it does.

Is it the nightmare to have your own subject come up?

Is that the worst thing? In a strange way.

It could be good, it could be bad, we don't know.

-We're not sure right now.

-Good luck, team.

Every day there is £1,000 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, School Of Hard Knocks, they lost the last game.

It was just one of those, wasn't it?

You'd been on a great run, and then bang, so it means £1,000

-is on the table for you to win, and would you like to try?

-Yes, please.

-Yes.

-Good stuff.

The first head-to-head battle is on the subject of History,

and you can pick Beth, or Dave, or Chris, Barry, or Lisa.

-Go against Beth, if that's OK.

-OK.

-Yeah.

-OK, I'm going to take on Beth.

-OK, cos you are the history teacher?

-Yeah.

-So this is the ultimate nightmare now.

-Yup.

-Your subject has come up.

OK. And the class are watching!

So, it's Paul from the School Of Hard Knocks versus our own Beth,

from the Eggheads. To ensure there's no conferring,

would you please take your positions in the Question Room?

Beth, your History knowledge is good?

Mm... No, it wasn't something I really enjoyed at school.

OK, well, this is sounding good, Paul.

Yeah, pressure's on, so I'll see how I get on.

So your choice - would you like to go first or second?

Er, could I go first, please, Jeremy?

Of course you can, and here we go with your first History question.

What type of weapon was the matchlock?

Erm...

That doesn't actually ring a bell with me,

but I'm thinking about flintlock,

and matchlock, so I'm going to try gun.

Gun is your answer. Gun is correct. Well done.

Beth, by what name was the mobster of the 1920s and 1930s,

Arthur Flegenheimer, better known?

Arthur Flegenheimer?

Well... Well, both Capone and Luciano...

Think they sound like they've got sort of Italian backgrounds,

rather than Germanic backgrounds,

so I'll go with Dutch Schultz, on that case.

Dutch Schultz is correct.

Paul, your question.

Roughly when was the Stone Age tomb, Newgrange, in Ireland, built?

This is definitely a guess.

Um... I am going to say...

..32,000 BC.

-I'm afraid it's 3,200, Paul.

-OK.

Beth, your question to take the lead.

Where in England did Edward the Elder,

the successor to Alfred the Great, hold court?

Hmm. It certainly wasn't Maidstone, so...

And St Albans seems unlikely as well.

The... Winchester used to be the capital of England for a time,

so I'll go with Winchester.

And you're absolutely right. Winchester it is. Well done.

Back to you, Paul.

The epithet used for Harold Macmillan's 1962 reshuffle,

The Night of the Long Knives,

was originally used to describe a 1934 purge in which country?

I do know this one, because I do teach this, so it's Germany.

Germany is the right answer. Was it Ernst Rohm and all that lot, was it?

-Yep.

-Germany it is.

OK, so you're still in it, but if Beth gets this right,

she's in the final round.

Mrs Truman, First Lady of the United States from 1945 to '53,

and the wife of Harry S Truman, was known by what first name?

Now, one of those names has come up,

which I do recognise as the name of a First Lady,

but I'm not sure whether it was her.

But, as it's the best I've got, I'll go with Mamie.

-Eggheads?

-Mamie was Eisenhower's wife. It was Bess Truman.

Yeah, Mamie was Eisenhower's wife. It's Bess. So, scores are level.

-Oh, Paul, you can sigh with relief! That's fine.

-Yeah!

You had a let-off there, so we go to Sudden Death.

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

On his exile to an island in the South Atlantic in 1815,

who famously protested, "I appeal to history"?

Erm...

I'm thinking of people who've been exiled to islands,

and Napoleon Bonaparte comes to mind, so I'll try that.

Napoleon is quite right. Well done, you got a question right.

So, Beth, Sudden Death. You need to get this one right.

Falcon was the middle name of which famous explorer,

born in Devon in 1868?

Well, I'm... It's...

It's terrible that the only explorer I can think of,

that I can garner the first name for, is Ernest Shackleton.

But I'm pretty sure it's Scott, but I can't think of his first name.

-OK. So your answer is Ernest Shackleton?

-Ernest Shackleton.

OK, well, you are sort of wrong and right,

cos it's not Ernest Shackleton, it is Scott, and first name, Eggheads?

-Robert.

-Robert.

-Robert!

-Robert Falcon Scott is the answer

on Sudden Death. Well done, Paul, you've taken the first round.

And you are in the final, and Beth has been knocked out.

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

So, as it stands, the School Of Hard Knocks have not lost

a brain from the final round. The Eggheads have lost one.

The next subject for you is Arts & Books.

-So, Paul, who wants this?

-It's going to have to be Stuart.

-You want me to do it?

-Go for it.

-Stuart?

-It'll be Stuart against...

-Who do you think?

-Lisa?

-Lisa?

-Lisa?

-Lisa.

OK, so let's see what happens here.

Stuart from School Of Hard Knocks versus Lisa from the Eggheads.

To ensure there's no conferring,

please take your positions in the Question Room.

All right, Arts & Books, and, Stuart,

do you want to go first or second?

I'll go first, Jeremy, thank you.

All right, here is your first question. Good luck against Lisa.

According to the opening words of the Jane Austen novel,

Pride And Prejudice, "It is a truth universally acknowledged that

"a single man in possession of a good fortune must be

"in want of a..." what?

I haven't read that.

Erm...

My instinct is to go for wife.

Job, house...

I don't think so. I'm going to go for wife.

I think you should break the news, there, Lisa. It's correct, isn't it?

-Absolutely.

-Yeah.

-Quite right.

Lovely opening line. Wife is right.

OK, here's your question.

In which century was the artist Pablo Picasso born?

I think he just sneaked into the back end of the 1890s, birth-wise.

He died in, I think it's '73, and he was pretty long-lived,

so 19th century.

19th is correct.

Back to you, Stuart, with your question.

In which Shakespeare play is the Duke of Clarence murdered

by being drowned in a butt of wine?

Well, it certainly isn't Romeo And Juliet.

I don't think Clarence is in Hamlet.

Oh, I'm really at a loss. Ham...

I don't think it's Hamlet, that doesn't ring a bell, but somehow...

I'm going to plump for Richard III.

Yep, nice work. You're correct. Richard III.

Lisa, "George suggested walking back to Henley

"and assaulting a policeman,

"and so getting a night's lodging in the stationhouse,"

is a quote from which popular Victorian novel?

I'd have loved to have read that version of Wuthering Heights.

But I think, with the references to Henley and everything else,

I think it must be Three Men In A Boat.

Three Men In A Boat is quite right. Yeah, well done.

Back to you, Stuart.

The 2011 novel Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children

is a work by which author?

I haven't a clue, looking at those three names.

There's a bit of alliteration going on,

with Lois Lowry and Ransom Riggs.

I'm going to say Daniel Handler, since that's the odd one out.

Daniel Handler is your answer. Anyone know on this side?

-It's Ransom Riggs.

-Ransom Riggs, yeah.

Couple of your team-mates know that. Ransom Riggs is the answer.

So, Lisa, you have a chance to take the round now.

What is the subtitle of the American writer

Henry David Thoreau's famous 1854 book, Walden?

Argh!

I think Walden is all about his sort of splendid isolation.

I think you can sort of go to the physical place.

I think it must be Life In The Woods.

You've got it right. Life In The Woods is correct.

Well done, Lisa. Sorry about that, Stuart.

It's that blooming home for peculiar children, wasn't it?

-Yeah, yeah.

-That did it. So, Stuart, you've been knocked out.

Lisa, you've got yourself knocked in.

-JEREMY LAUGHS

-Knocked up.

Knocked up and knocked in! I think we can say that.

Please come back and rejoin your teams.

So, it's now even.

The School Of Hard Knocks have lost a brain from the final,

the Eggheads have lost a brain too, and we play on with Sport.

Who fancies Sport?

-Graeme.

-Yep.

-That's for you, isn't it?

-And who do you want? Chris?

-Yep, I'm going to take Sport, Jeremy.

-OK, Graeme.

Now, you can have any Egghead except Beth or Lisa,

so it's the three gents in the middle.

I think I'll try Chris, please.

Yep, he's had his moments with Sport, I think.

I have won the occasional Sport round.

-You have!

-Yeah.

-That's right.

So, Graeme from the School Of Hard Knocks versus Chris Hughes

from the Eggheads. The Locomotive.

To ensure there's no conferring,

would you please take your positions in the Question Room?

OK, Graeme, Sport against Chris.

Would you like to go first or second?

I'll go first, please, Jeremy.

And here is your question.

At the Royal Troon Golf Course, what is the postage stamp?

It is...

..the 8th hole, I think.

I'm pretty sure it's a golf hole, so I'll go with the 8th hole.

The 8th hole is the right answer.

-OK.

-Put you out of your misery there. Well done.

OK, Chris, your question.

How many teams took part in the Euro 2016 football tournament?

Too many is the answer to that, in my book, but, er...

Let's go for the big one - 24.

-Yeah, 24's right.

-Mm.

-Well done.

Graeme, what is the name of the annual

best of three match series in Australian rugby league

between New South Wales and Queensland?

Erm, rugby league's not one of my big sports that I like.

It's not State of Excellence.

If it was State of the Nation, I would think it would be

between two different countries.

I have heard of State of Origin,

so I'm going to go with State of Origin, please, Jeremy.

What do your team members think? Do you think he's right?

-We're not sure at all.

-Not sure. But you are right, Graeme, well played.

Chris, over to you.

Which sportsman caused controversy in July 2016 when he said

he would "watch the stuff that matters" at the Rio Olympics,

but probably not golf?

Ah.

Well, Tiger Woods had already blotted his copybook,

so he was more or less persona non grata by then anyway.

Don't think it's Justin Rose, but Rory McIlroy was probably

a bit fed up of golf by then, so I'll say Rory McIlroy.

-Eggheads, is he right?

-Yes.

-You are right. It is Rory McIlroy.

So, 2-2. Nothing to choose between you.

This can be the important question, this third one, Graeme.

Here we go. Jake Ball made his debut for England in 2016 in which sport?

Erm... That's three sport... All three are sports that I follow.

Jake Ball made his debut for England in cricket, Jeremy.

Cricket is right. Three out of three, you're playing well.

OK, let's see if the Challengers take the lead here.

Chris, you have to get this right to stay in.

The tennis player Milos Raonic represents which country?

Well, with a name like that, with the "ic" ending,

it's probably Croatia.

Croatia is your answer.

A couple of Eggheads have got their heads in their hands here.

-It's as close as we ever get to a trick question here.

-Mm.

He sounds Croatian, but he's not. He's Canadian.

Sorry, Chris.

There's a great big hole in the pavement, and you walked into it.

Well, you dug it, I didn't.

Yeah, but you didn't see it!

Chris, you're out, and better luck next time. Well done, Graeme.

You turned the tide here, maybe. This is getting exciting.

Come back to us and rejoin your teams.

As it stands, the School Of Hard Knocks have lost a brain.

The Eggheads have lost two. This is... Paul, this is looking lively.

-This is good, yeah, we're...

-The classes are cheering out there!

-So far, so good.

-Started throwing the chalk around.

The next subject is Film & TV.

So who wants this?

-Could be a big moment.

-Jeremy, I'd like to do it, please.

OK, John, depute headteacher.

And which Egghead would you like to send to the back of the room?

-Dave?

-Yeah, probably Dave.

-I'd like to challenge Dave, please, Jeremy.

Good stuff.

John from the School Of Hard Knocks versus Dave from the Eggheads.

To ensure there's no conferring, for the last time,

please go to the Question Room.

So, John, good luck. Film & TV against Dave.

If you get this round, then you've got a bit of an advantage...

Well, a major advantage going into the final.

Do you want to go first or second?

I think I'll put the pressure on Dave, and go second.

Here is your question, Dave.

Who announced his decision to leave the television programme

Top Gear at the start of July 2016?

I think James May had gone.

Erm... I don't think it was Matt LeBlanc. I think it was Chris Evans.

Yes, it was Chris Evans.

Back to you, John.

Which of these actors appears in the 2015 films The Martian

and Steve Jobs?

I've seen both of these films. Erm...

I'm struggling to think for sure which one it is,

but I can certainly remember...

Jeff Daniels being in at least one of them,

so I'm going to plump for Jeff Daniels.

Jeff Daniels is quite right.

OK, Dave, on to you.

In which year did John Noakes leave Blue Peter?

That's a good question.

Erm, I don't think it's as early as 1974,

cos you had Peter Purves, Val Singleton and Lesley Judd.

I think they were certainly around in the '70s.

It's a gamble...

but I think he was the last one of those left...

..and I think it could be as late as '82, so that's my answer. 1982.

-'78!

-Would never have gone for that.

So you flummoxed him, John. You made him go first.

He's panicking.

To take the lead, here's your question.

The actress Aubrey Plaza played a bored intern called April

in which American sitcom?

The only one I think I've really heard of, and therefore my

answer, my guess, I should say, is going to be Brooklyn Nine-Nine.

Let's see. Team-mates, is he right?

-Thought it was Parks And Rec...

-Yep.

-Parks And Recreation.

OK, yeah, you're right. Parks And Recreation is the answer.

-So now you're level, and we go back to Dave.

-Yep.

Which British actor was the star of the 1979 sequel to

The Poseidon Adventure, entitled Beyond The Poseidon Adventure?

Well, I'll rule out Olivier.

I did think Caine as a first instinct, but Connery is...

nagging.

No, I've got to stick with my first instinct,

and take the punishment - Michael Caine.

No, you're right. Michael Caine it is. Well done.

OK, on we go to you, John. You need this to stay in.

Which of Charlie's Angels,

in the original 1970s television series, was played by Kate Jackson?

This is just a little before my time.

It certainly wasn't a programme I was watching. Erm...

So this will be a complete stab in the dark...

..and I will try for Kelly Garrett, please.

It's not Kelly Garrett. It is Sabrina Duncan.

So, sorry, John, you've been beaten by Dave.

Dave will be in the final round,

which levels up the final as well, actually.

Please rejoin your teams, and we will play that final round.

OK, 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 John and Stuart from the School Of Hard Knocks,

and also Chris and Beth from the Eggheads -

would you please now leave the studio?

Paul, Graeme and Michael,

you're playing to win the School Of Hard Knocks £1,000.

Lisa, Barry and Dave,

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

to get your reputation back on track after that awful defeat.

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

They're all going to be General Knowledge, and, gentlemen,

you can confer.

So, School Of Hard Knocks, the really big question is -

can you, with your three brains,

take down these three super-brains over here?

And would you like to go first or second?

We'll go first, please, Jeremy.

OK, Michael and team, here we go.

What is the name for the branch of medical science

concerned with the nature, function and diseases of the blood?

-Well, haema...

-Haematology is blood.

-Toxicology is poisons or something.

-Yeah.

-Something to do with poison.

I don't know cosmology.

-Yeah, it's haematology.

-Haematology.

-Uh-huh.

We're going to go for haematology, please, Jeremy.

Haematology's right. Well done.

First question for the Eggheads.

Over which part of the body is a codpiece worn?

I was just waiting to see how they'd put that in the answers,

-weren't you?

-Yeah, yeah, totally.

-I think...

-Are we all agreed on crotch?

-I think so.

-I think so.

It would be unusual to see it on any other part of the body.

Yes, definitely, yeah.

I think we have to go for the crotch here.

Yes, it is the crotch.

Right, your question.

School Of Hard Knocks. In Paris, what is the Promenade Plantee?

What's that? Like, "platoon park"?

Plants. There's a clue in the name.

My gut's telling me park, boys, but... That's just a gut instinct.

Mine's saying promenade, which makes me think "water".

-Marina.

-There's no marinas in Paris.

-No?

-I mean, certainly the River Seine, that flows through it,

but I don't think there would be a marina.

It's too central.

-Not...

-What do you think? What do you think?

I think the best guess we've got is the park, isn't it?

-I'm ruling out marina.

-Right, OK.

We don't know this, Jeremy,

but we're going to go for elevated park.

Elevated park is the right answer. Well done.

You've got two right. Over to you, Eggheads.

".ch" is the internet top level domain extension

for which European country?

-Switzerland. Confoederatio He...

-Yeah, it is Switzerland.

-Helvetica.

-Yeah.

-I'm pretty sure it must be dot...

Yeah, it must be "ch" there.

-Yeah.

-We're fairly happy on this one. We'll go for Switzerland.

Switzerland is right. 2-2.

OK, can be crucial, this third question.

Keep your nerve.

Who reached the number two spot in the UK singles chart

in 1993 with What Is love?

(I know this. It's Haddaway.)

I know this. It is Haddaway.

-We all happy with that one?

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

We think we know this one, Jeremy. We think it's Haddaway.

Totally right. Haddaway is right.

-Well done, boys.

-OK, Eggheads, this to stay in.

-We do not want two defeats in a row, do we?

-No.

Well, to be honest, I quite enjoy it.

In Greek mythology,

what was the name of the person who gave Theseus a ball of thread

to help him escape the labyrinth after killing the Minotaur?

-It's Ariadne.

-Ariadne.

-Ariadne, yeah.

-We're happy with that?

-Definitely, yeah.

-Well, the answer to this is Ariadne.

But the ball of thread that she gave him was actually called a clew,

and that's the derivation of the word "clue",

because it led him the way out of the labyrinth.

Ariadne's the right answer, well done. 3-3.

Tight final round here. We go to Sudden Death. No options.

Here's your question.

In winter, a stoat's coat turns predominantly what colour?

-What colour is it normally?

-I have no idea.

In terms, then, of camouflage...

-And in terms of winter - white?

-Should it be white or yellow or...?

-Grey?

-White or grey, if it's in winter.

-Snow, frost.

-White? Worth a guess, isn't it? White's all we've got.

-We going to go with white?

-We've got nothing else.

We're going to say white, Jeremy.

White is correct.

Well done! Oh, these Eggheads are sweating again.

To stay in, and avoid the second defeat, Eggs.

In English history, which monarch was born in 1457?

Right, let's have a think here. Cos Henry VIII would be...

-No, he's...

-He's too...

-I think it's Richard III.

-Richard III.

-1457-1485 is...

-25... 28 years.

-Puts him at 28. He was older than that, wasn't he?

-28... I think he...

-I think he was older than that when he died.

-Yeah, but who else could it be?

-OK, let's have a think.

Right, so 1461 was when Edward IV became king, so that's not right.

-It could be - COULD be - Henry the...

-Could be Henry VII.

-Could be.

-That would make more sense.

-Richard III, I think, was in...

-I'm pretty certain was in his 30s.

-Mid-30s when he died, about 36.

So it's got to be Henry VII, because it can't be anybody else.

Well, if you think about it, it's Richard III, Henry VII,

and Henry VIII, and it ain't Henry VIII, cos he would have been 90,

-so that's...

-It's got to be Henry VII.

-I think that's probably right.

-OK.

-I think...

-Happy with that?

-Yeah, go on, then.

After some calculation on dates and ages and whatever,

we've decided to go for Henry VII.

Henry VII is right. Well done. You did...

I thought you were going to go to a Richard and...

Yeah, we were all over...

-Yeah, we just had to work it out...

-Well done.

All right, sorry, they're quite good on kings and queens.

Your question. Which county cricket club has a stag as its badge?

-Something's drawing me...

-Is it to do with the crest?

On the badge, yeah. Something's drawing me towards Nottinghamshire.

-Yeah?

-I'm leaning towards that. I'm trying to go through them all.

It's not Essex. I can picture the Essex one.

-It's not Gloucestershire.

-It's not ringing a bell for you, Michael?

-No.

I don't think it's Leicestershire.

I'm between Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire.

-We trust you...

-No, no, don't worry. We don't have a clue.

I'm leaning towards Nottinghamshire, just from trying to eliminate

a lot of county cricket badges, and there ARE a lot of them.

I think Nottinghamshire.

Nottinghamshire is quite right. CHALLENGERS LAUGH

-Well done, Graeme.

-Well played, sir.

-Well done.

-Well played.

Well done, Graeme.

A Scotsman going through English county badges.

-I've never seen that before!

-I know my cricket.

OK, Eggheads, on the back foot here. Get this wrong, it's theirs.

This is a quote.

"Well now, I've always believed that, if done properly,

"armed robbery doesn't have to be a totally unpleasant experience,"

is a quote from which 1991 Ridley Scott film?

-Good grief.

-Oh, yeah, it's got to be Thelma And Louise, hasn't it?

That's 1991, and that's Ridley Scott.

Yes. I'll take that in the absence of anything else I can think of.

-Well, I don't have anything else.

-I think it must be. Go on.

-Give it a shot.

-Well, I'm reliably informed,

from the gentleman on my left, that it's Thelma And Louise.

-It is Thelma And Louise, right.

-Go, Dave!

-Good answer.

Your question, Sudden Death.

Nix is the name of one of the moons of which object in our solar system?

-Nix is N-I-X.

-It's planets, presumably.

-Could be planets.

-Neptune begins with "N". There's that.

What could it be if it's not a planet?

Cos he didn't say "planet".

-That's true.

-Did he not say...?

-No, he just said "object".

But I don't know what else it would be, though.

Is that the clue, then?

Because he didn't say "planet," should we be thinking the sun?

As an object?

-Mm. Maybe.

-You want to try that?

-Cos he didn't say "planet"?

-Yeah.

-Will we go...?

We're going to go with the sun.

I see. No, it's not the sun.

-Anyone know?

-Pluto.

-Pluto.

So, Eggheads, you have a chance to take the final round with

this question. Sudden Death. Here it is.

The Shepherd's Crown, released in August 2015,

was the last book by which author?

Let's have a think.

-It's got to be somebody who's died recently.

-Yeah.

It's 2015, so the last book...

-Oh, it's not...

-I've heard this.

-It's not Pratchett, is it?

-Could be Pratchett.

-Ah, of course!

-Terry Pratchett makes sense.

Yes, that makes perfect sense.

I don't know if that's a Pratchett-y title.

I think it is. That rings a bell with me.

-I'm happy to go for that.

-I'm happy with that.

-Is that date right?

-Yeah, yeah.

-Yeah.

-OK. Go Terry Pratchett.

-Give that a shot.

OK, well, we're not absolutely certain,

but we're going to have a shot, thanks to Lisa, at Terry Pratchett.

The answer is Terry Pratchett. Congratulations, Eggheads.

-Well done, Lisa.

-You have won.

-Well played. Superb.

Watching them... It's interesting watching them, isn't it?

They kind of just beetle around,

and take a few wrong answers and throw them out, and...

You played well. In the final round, particularly.

You really did, you were pressing hard there. Well, commiserations.

I hope this wasn't one of the hard knocks

for the School Of Hard Knocks.

The Eggheads have done what comes naturally to them, most of the time.

They're back at the top of Quizland once again.

I'm afraid you won't be going home with the £1,000,

so we roll the money over to our next show.

Eggheads, we say "well done".

Scrapping, fighting your way through, but my goodness,

you did it again.

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

have the brains to take them down. Rattle their confidence.

Make them pay. £2,000 says they don't. Till then, goodbye.