Episode 1 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 at the Eggheads!

-And here you are. How are you feeling? Eager?

-Yeah.

-Yes.

-Full of beans.

-Full of beans, says Dave.

And challenging our resident quiz champions today

are the Cranium Crushers from Glasgow.

Team captain Razvan has called upon the help of colleagues

and lifelong friends to form a crack quiz quintet.

Let's meet them.

Hi, I am Razvan and I'm a chief financial officer.

How I'm Boyd, I'm a self-employed management consultant.

Hi, I am Irfan, operations coordinator for Glasgow Museums.

Hi, I'm Jang, I'm a software engineer.

Hi, I am Ross, and I'm an admin assistant.

So, Razvan and team, great to have you. Welcome.

The phrase Cranium Crushers, well, I think have worried them already.

Beth's looking particularly worried there.

Where's it come from?

Well, it originated from my colleague, Ross,

who was inspired by Stan Lee, the creator of Marvel Comics.

And from there, the team name was born, Cranium Crushers.

Ross, is there a cranium crusher in the Marvel Comics?

There isn't, no, the inspiration kind of came from when Stan Lee

does his characters, the first initial of their fore name,

and the first initial of their surname were always the same.

So I took it from there, and cranium obviously is your brain,

so we are going to beat some Eggheads today.

Brilliant.

Good luck, team.

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, Cranium Crushers, formalities out the way,

I can tell you the Eggheads have won the last 23 games.

They're on a storming run.

That's why they look a little bit cocksure today.

It means there's £24,000 to win.

-Would you like to try?

-Definitely.

OK. The first head-to-head battle is on the subject of Geography.

So, Cranium Crushers, would you like Judith, Kevin,

Beth, Dave or Lisa?

-I think Boyd was...

-Do you want to go for it?

-Yeah, I'll go for it.

I know nothing about geography.

We'll nominate Boyd.

-Boyd will do it.

-OK, Boyd?

-Yeah.

-Against which Egghead? Any one of the five there.

I would like to take on Dave, please.

Boyd from the Cranium Crushers is taking on Dave from the Eggheads,

and just to ensure there's no conferring, gentlemen, please go to our Question Room now.

So, Boyd, are you quite well travelled?

That's true. Yes, I worked overseas, in America, France, Germany, Italy,

-Moldova, Russia.

-All right, we'll see if Moldova comes up.

It's Geography, Boyd,

and you can choose whether you go first or second against Dave.

I'll go first.

Here we go. Which is the world's second smallest continent?

The odds are 1-3.

I'll go with Europe.

Europe, it is.

That would have been painful if you'd gone wrong on the first one.

OK, Dave, over to you.

Which of these South African cities is the most southerly?

I don't really know.

But I would have thought, dealing with the Cape,

but I haven't really studied there, I was thinking of Port Elizabeth.

I'm going to go Cape Town anyway.

Cape Town's right. Well done.

Back to you, Boyd.

The National beauty spot called Devil's Dyke is

accessible by which National Trail?

Can you give me the question again, please?

The national beauty spot called Devil's Dyke is accessible

by which National Trail?

I'm looking for something dangerous, maybe.

I've been to the Cotswolds.

I'm going to go with Ridgeway.

Dave, do you know this one?

I would have gone South Downs Way.

Yeah, it's South Downs Way.

OK, Dave can take the lead.

Aylesbury is the county town of which historic English county?

Is not Essex, it's not Lancashire, it's Buckinghamshire.

Aylesbury duck, I suppose is what it's most famous for.

But, yeah, Buckinghamshire.

Buckinghamshire's quite right.

So he's in the lead.

Boyd, you need to get this one right to stay in.

The Los Roques archipelago in the Caribbean

is a dependency of which country?

I'm going to go with Colombia.

It's actually Venezuela.

Venezuela's the answer there. Sorry, Boyd. No way back in this round.

Well done to tremendous knowledge Dave who'll be in the final round.

Boyd, you've been knocked out.

But it's early days. Please return to us and we will play on.

OK, as it stands, the Cranium Crushers have not crushed the first brain they had in their hands.

Are we a bit too graphic there?

That's a bit Game of Thrones, I think.

You've got five craniums still.

Or is it crania, Eggheads?

It's becoming more and more acceptable to say...

I mean, strictly speaking it should be A,

but it's becoming more and more acceptable to use the other alternative

and has been for some time.

So I think probably either is OK.

If you get them down to one cranium at the end,

then there won't be a problem with any of this plural business.

So good luck. Knock 'em out, guys.

You've lost a brain.

We play on. The next subject for you is Film & TV.

So which of you would like this?

I think I'll take that category.

OK, team captain Razvan against any Egghead except Dave.

Any Egghead except Dave.

I will try Judith.

-Judith.

-Why aren't you doing Sport?

Here we are, we've never seen this before.

Judith upset not to be playing Sport. We've never seen that.

Razvan from the Cranium Crushers is playing Judith from the Eggheads.

Not on Sport, but on Film and TV.

Please go to the Question Room.

All right, Film and TV is the subject.

Judith, your favourite film of all time?

I think it's the Deer Hunter.

That was Michael Cimino, wasn't it?

-The director?

-Yes, Michael Cimino.

Razvan, what about you?

I have to say, my favourite film of all time has to be The Dark Knight.

I thought Christopher Nolan's portrayal of the Batman character

was just a phenomenal experience.

I feel awful now, I don't think I've seen it.

I need to watch that film.

You've shown me up there. Razvan, do you want to go first or second against Judith?

I'll go first, please, Jeremy.

Here we go with your first question.

What was the name of John Thaw's character in the 1970s

TV drama The Sweeney?

Right, definitely can't be Jack Sparrow.

Very popular television series back in the day.

Is it Jack Regan?

It is Jack Regan. Well done.

Judith, your question.

And not Sport.

Westley and Buttercup are characters in which 1987

fantasy adventure film?

Westley and Buttercup? They sound like cows.

To me. Buttercups always are cows.

I don't know. I haven't seen any of those.

Er, The Neverending Story.

The Neverending Story? This was a 1987 fantasy adventure film.

-It is The Princess Bride.

-Oh, right.

Lisa's enjoying this. Help us out.

Was there a cow visible?

In total fairness to Judith, there are some cows at the beginning

because the initial scenes are set on a farm.

So there are a few. But Buttercup is not a cow,

it was one of Robin Wright's earliest screen roles.

OK, Buttercup is The Princess Bride of the title, and human, Judith,

-just in case..

-And human.

-..any confusion.

But Lisa says a cow drifts into shot at the start of the film.

Perhaps that's Westley.

You're on the right...

Westley is her love interest.

They are shot in close-up against a background of cow.

Westley is not a cow!

Sorry, Razvan, we're all now a year older.

Here's your second question.

It seems like quite a long time ago that I last spoke to you.

Which of the following is the title of a 2016 sci-fi film

that topped the UK box office?

I reckon, from my movie-going experience and the movies

that I tend to love and watch,

although I didn't see this one, I did read the reviews

and I think, given it's sci-fi,

that the movie was called Arrival.

Razvan, that's right. Arrival it is.

Well done. So he has two now, Judith, and you have yet to score.

You need to get this one right to stay in.

Who plays the human lead role in the 2016 film

A Street Cat Named Bob?

I've sort of seen stories in the paper about it but the actor...

I'm going to go Ben Barnes.

And it's Luke Treadaway.

It is Luke Treadaway, Judith.

Sorry, no points for you, but well done to you, Razvan.

You're in the final round.

The captain survives.

The Eggheads have lost a cranium.

Please return to us and we'll see what happens next.

It's level now. The Cranium Crushers have lost a brain from the final

round, the Eggheads have also lost a brain. They've lost Judith.

And the next subject for you is Science, gentlemen.

Who would like science, of the three remaining?

My thoughts go to Jang.

-For the science.

-What do you think?

-How are you feeling?

OK, I'll go for it.

OK, our software engineer taking on which Egghead?

We've got Lisa, Beth and Kevin left.

Jeremy, could I take on Lisa, please?

I'm sensing some really deliberate decision-making here.

I can see you're very purposeful.

It's Jang from the Cranium Crushers taking on Lisa from the Eggheads.

It wasn't a science degree, was it?

No. All of my science degrees are below zero.

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

You're a software engineer, Jang.

-That's right.

-And I guess it's very hard to keep up with what

software is doing, even week by week.

Yeah, it is always changing, it's evolving.

Keeping abreast of it is quite a challenge.

But at the same time you're learning new things all the time.

Brilliant. Science, Jang. Would you like to go first, or second?

I would like to go first, Jeremy.

You sounded very serious about that.

Good luck. See if your team can take the advantage here.

Which is the only planet in our solar system to be named

after a Roman goddess?

Yeah, they all sound...

They all sound very goddessy.

Venus, Jupiter...

My answer is Neptune.

Neptune. Let's see if your team-mates know.

-Is he right?

-Venus.

You think Venus. Venus is the right answer, Jang. I'm sorry. OK.

Your question.

Lisa, which large shark is named after its habit

of swimming or floating near

the surface of the sea?

Of course, in common parlance a lolling shark is

one that just sits there and goes...

All the time. It's a basking shark, Jeremy.

Basking shark is the right answer. Well done. Not lolling.

The sharks never lol.

OK, Jang. Get on the scoreboard now.

Which word is now commonly used to describe a lecture

presented over the internet?

I've actually experienced this, actually.

So my answer to this is Webinar.

Webinar's right. You've experienced it in the sense that you've been on

-the receiving end of one?

-That's correct, yeah.

-Yeah? Webinar.

OK, level, one point each.

Lisa with the advantage.

Your question, in astronomy, what term, Lisa,

the opposite to the zenith, refers to the point on the celestial sphere

directly below an observer?

Just thinking about them in terms of pairs of words,

I would've thought that was the nadir.

Nadir it is. And it's used to say he was at the nadir of his fortunes.

I think zenith and nadir

are used more generally now for apex and bottom.

So it's just a standard word pairing, really.

OK, she's ahead.

Jang, let's hope this is not your nadir now.

You've got to get this one right or I'm afraid we say goodbye.

Which of these types of plant found growing in the UK

is also known as shaggy moss?

I'm going to take a pop at this,

so I'll say Electrified Cat's Tail Moss.

Almost the craziest name.

Now, Judith loves her crazy plant names, don't you?

So I'm going to ask you.

I think I'd go for Witch's Whiskers.

Would you? Judith thinks it's Witch's Whiskers.

But you've got it right, Jang.

Well done. It is Electrifying Cat's Tail Moss.

OK, Lisa to take the round.

Here's your question. Which British scientist is the co-author of the

2010 book The Grand Design?

Now, the Grand Design sort of seems a bit universe-y to me.

Which would incline me to move away from Dawkins.

I'm trying to think whether I've ever heard of Stephen Hawking or

Richard Dawkins co-authoring a book.

And I don't think I have.

Doesn't mean they haven't, obviously.

But on that basis I will try Brian Cox.

Let's see. Beth, do you know this?

I was going for, actually, Stephen Hawking.

But I could be completely wrong.

-Stephen Hawking is the right answer.

-There we go.

-Stephen Hawking.

So you've both got two out of three.

The score's level.

Jang, we go to Sudden Death.

Well done for taking her this far.

It gets a bit harder, I don't give you choices.

-OK.

-By what alternative name is the Andean bear commonly known

due to the light fur around its eyes?

I will go for a silverback bear.

It's the spectacled bear.

Lisa, for the round on Sudden Death.

What is the nickname of the plaster of Paris dinosaur skeleton

which the Natural History Museum announced in 2016

would be going on a UK-wide tour?

Named by schoolchildren, I think.

I think he's called Dippy.

The answer I was looking for is Dippy.

And well done, Lisa. You've gone through to the final round.

Sorry, Jang. Knocked out.

So your team now may be struggling a bit but still with a round to go

before the final. Please come back to us and we will play

that last round.

As it stands the Cranium Crushers have lost two brains

from the final round. The Eggheads have just lost the one so far.

Good moment now, Challengers, to level it up going into the final.

And the last subject round is History.

Who would like this?

You've got to go for it.

-Irfan or Ross?

-I'll go for it.

-Irfan.

-OK. Against which Egghead, Irfan?

-I'll go with Beth.

-Irfan from the Cranium Crushers

versus Beth from the Eggheads.

For the last time, please go to our Question Room.

So it's History, Irfan.

Would you like to go first, or second?

I'll go first, Jeremy.

OK, good luck against Beth. And here we go.

The surrender of Robert E Lee in 1865 effectively brought

which conflict to an end?

It's definitely not the Boer War, that was in 1905.

It's not the Franco-Prussian...

I would say it's the American Civil War, Jeremy.

Irfan, you're right. American Civil War is correct.

Well done.

Beth, your question.

Which of the following was a Germanic tribe

who eventually settled in Italy in the 6th century AD?

Oh, well, the Celts were

in Scotland, the Angles came over from the low countries.

But the Lombards would, I assume,

found Lombardy in Italy, so Lombards.

Lombards is right, Beth.

Well done. Irfan, here is your question.

What was the codename for the German invasion of Russia

during World War II?

It wasn't Genghis. I'll go for Barbarossa.

Barbarossa is correct.

You're playing well.

Beth.

How old was Charles II when he was restored to the throne in 1660?

Charles II, Beth. Was he...?

I'm not like my colleagues on the bench there

who could quickly rattle off a date.

But I don't think he was as young as 20.

Let's go with 30.

30 is the right answer.

Well done. Two each, and we go back to you, Irfan.

Defeated by the French in the 1890s,

Behanzin was the last monarch of which historical African kingdom?

I'll go for Benin.

Going for Benin.

It's actually Dahomey.

I need a bit of help here, Eggheads. Anyone know about Dahomey?

He's unlucky there because Dahomey,

as it was known at that time,

is what subsequently much later,

when it became an independent country, took the name Benin.

-Oh, right.

-Benin is the name of the current country and it was part of

the wave of colonial conquest at that time

and the French took that area.

Right. Poor old Behanzin was the last monarch of Dahomey.

All right. So two out of three for our Challenger.

Beth, let's see if you can take the round with this question.

The Gerousia was the name for the council of elders

in which ancient city state?

This is really going to be...

It was my first thought when those came up.

The word didn't sound like it belonged to either of the other two.

So I'm going to go with Carthage.

Carthage is the wrong answer.

-It's Sparta.

-That would be the one I would have never picked.

OK, that is a comfort. Three questions each you've had

and scores are level. A bit of a let-off there, Irfan.

Let's see if you can get yourself into the final now.

OK? That would really level it up.

And it would be game on with £24,000 to play for.

Here's your question. It gets harder, I don't give you options.

Harald III, also known as Harald Hardrada,

was king of which Northern European country from 1046 to 1066?

Norway.

Norway's right. Well done. Good quizzing.

Beth to stay in.

Octavian, Lepidus and which Roman general made up the so-called

Second Triumvirate in 43 BC?

The only one I could think of would be Mark Antony.

Mark Antony's right. Well done, Beth.

Back to you, Irfan.

Which English king issued a proclamation known as the

Coronation Charter, or Charter of Liberties,

upon his succession in 1100?

I'm just trying to think.

It could be either...

Henry II or Henry I.

I'll go for Henry I.

You really are a good quizzer. You're right, well done, Henry I.

It's excellent.

So Beth on the back foot.

But you need this to stay in.

In which royal palace was Elizabeth I born in 1533?

I think she was born at Hampton Court Palace.

Let's check with the Eggheads. Is that right?

-I think it's Greenwich.

-Kevin says Greenwich.

-Oh!

-Greenwich is the answer, you've been knocked out. Irfan, well played.

Good quizzing. You really stormed that.

And you will be in the final round, which is now looking very,

very evenly balanced.

So please come back and we'll play it.

So this is what we have been playing towards.

It is time for our final round.

Which, as always, is General Knowledge.

I'm afraid those of you who lost your head-to-heads won't be allowed

to take part in this round.

So, Boyd and Jang from the Cranium Crushers,

and also Beth and Judith from the Eggheads,

would you please now leave the studio?

Razvan, Irfan and Ross,

you are playing to win the Cranium Crushers £24,000.

Lisa, Dave and Kevin, you're playing for something that money can't buy,

which is the Eggheads' reputation, and to keep this amazing roll going.

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

This time they're all General Knowledge, you can confer, OK?

Cranium Crushers, the really big question, I think,

is whether your three brains can defeat these three here.

And would you like to go first, or second?

We'll go first, please, Jeremy.

OK, good luck.

£24,000 you're playing for.

The first issue of the coarsely humorous magazine Viz

was published at the end of which decade?

I'd say maybe the '50s.

-It's quite old.

-Go for it.

1950s.

We'll go for the '50s, please, Jeremy.

1950s.

It's the 1970s.

Two decades later. Eggheads, your question.

In which film are Bill Murray's closing lines, "It's so beautiful,

"let's live here. We'll rent to start."

OK, now I, logically speaking, would have gone for Groundhog Day,

on the basis I think that's the only one where he ends up with a love

interest who he might want to say, let's live here with.

Because in Lost In Translation he walks off on his own.

-Yes, he does.

-And in Rushmore, I've never seen Rushmore.

Doesn't he have this sort of professor-type role?

Yeah, yeah.

I don't really see how that would fit with Rushmore.

It could be. It's a long time since I've seen any of them.

I don't think it really works for Lost In Translation at all.

-No.

-The logical thing is Ground...

At the end of Groundhog Day it's him and Andie McDowell.

It's a happier ending, certainly than Lost In Translation.

-Yeah.

-I think we've got to go Ground....

Are you happy with that?

Well, I think logically.

I'd have to go for Groundhog Day.

Go with that.

We think probably, logically

it leads to Groundhog Day.

So we'll try Groundhog Day.

The logic is good. Groundhog Day is the right answer.

Eggheads, you've taken the lead.

£24,000 we're playing for.

I won't say you need to get this one right, but it would be very handy.

Which journalist, author and presenter married

fellow journalist Jackie Ashley in 1987?

He's a journalist, author and presenter.

It's either Paxman or Marr.

It's one of those two.

1987.

Go for Marr?

-Andrew Marr.

-We'll go for Andrew Marr, please, Jeremy.

He is the right answer.

Andrew Marr is the right answer.

Well done. It's one each.

But the Eggheads have a question in hand.

£24,000 on the table.

Which Italian word is often used to describe the golden froth

on top of an espresso coffee?

It's crema, isn't it?

-I have never heard that ever.

-I've never heard of it.

I'm sorry, Kevin.

It's the golden froth on top of a...

The golden froth on top of an espresso coffee.

It looks like a cream, doesn't it?

Because it's not like it's foam, like a cappuccino.

-Not at all.

-I mean, panna is a general term.

Panna is cream, full stop.

-I've certainly heard crema in relation to coffee.

-OK.

-Whereas I haven't heard panna, as such.

-No.

Lozione just sounds horrible.

And lozione I must confess to not...

Which means, of course, it could be.

-Yeah.

-I like the idea of crema because when you get an espresso

you just...

Foam is a misleading term, I think, with an espresso

because you just get that little golden smudge on the top.

-Yeah.

-I think crema is probably fair enough.

-And it's the only one you have heard in relation to coffee?

-Yeah.

OK. We'll go for it.

Not too sure on this.

My first instinct on,

crema is the word that's used in relation to the way in

which these things are made.

Panna is just a general term for cream that's used anyway.

We don't know lozione but we'll try crema.

Crema it is.

Eggheads, you've taken the lead.

And that means you must get this question right, Challengers.

Which hyphenated expression did Oxford dictionaries declare its

international word of the year in 2016?

Flip-flopper's the most obscure one.

I think flip-flopper, as well. There's just something about it.

Something makes me think people would be saying that.

I don't know, I'm thinking Alt-right.

Alt-right?

You two think flip-flopper?

Just that's the one that stands out at me.

It's the most obscure.

-Alt-right...

-I've never heard of alt-right.

What is that supposed to be short for?

-Maybe a computer expression.

-Something to do with a keyboard.

It's a keyboard expression, alt-right?

I presume post-truth is obviously post-truth.

It's between alt-right or flip-flopper, I think.

I'm not sure.

It could be either of the two.

You'd think if it was alt...

I know people say all right, but then alt-right?

If that's something to do with computers, like we're assuming,

then it would have come out before last year.

Do you know what I mean? It wouldn't be a new...

They've classed it as a new word.

They've classed it as a new word. I don't know.

It's swings towards alt-right, I think.

-We'll go for alt-right.

-All right.

We'll go for alt-right, please, Jeremy.

Alt-right is associated with Mr Trump and some of his supporters

and others. Flip-flopper, you're right, has been around for a while.

It's not that big a phrase.

Post-truth is the answer we wanted.

The post-truth world.

We have to say congratulations, Eggheads, you have won.

-Does that make sense now, that post-truth one?

-Yeah.

Which was tied in with the US election and the idea people

can say anything now, I guess.

If they assert it with enough power it is true.

-I hope you enjoyed it.

-It's been an absolute pleasure.

For us, too. Really nice to see you.

The craniums went uncrushed today.

We say commiserations to our Challengers,

the Eggheads have done what comes naturally,

this winning streak continues. Will you get to 30,000, I wonder?

Not now you've said that we won't!

I'm so sorry, I've done it again.

-I'm really sorry.

-That's you jinxed.

It does mean our Challengers don't go home with the jackpot of £24,000,

so we roll the money over to our next show.

Eggheads, very well done.

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

to defeat the Eggheads. £25,000 will be here for them to win.

Until then, goodbye.