Episode 23 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.

Taking on our quiz champions today are...

Plumming the Depths from Cardiff.

Team captain Nicki has assembled some of the best quizzers

she knows in an attempt to defeat the Eggheads.

Let's meet them.

Hello, I'm Nicki and I'm a freelance journalist and radio presenter.

Hello, I'm Trisha and I'm a retired adult education tutor.

Hi, I'm Will and I'm a PhD student.

Hi, I'm Hannah and I'm a genetics student.

Hi, I'm Richard and I'm a landscape conservation manager.

-So, Nicki and team, hello. ALL:

-Hello!

-Great to see you.

And, Nicki, of course, we've met before, haven't we?

-We have, Jeremy, yes.

-For Make Me An Egghead...

-Yes.

-..in which you did very, very well indeed,

because you are definitely a quizzer.

-Thank you.

-Have you quizzed since we last saw each other?

I have, yes, on several occasions, yeah, in our local pub.

Great. And the pub is crucial here, because the pub is called

-the Plum Tree.

-It is, yeah. A lovely little pub

in Canton in Cardiff and they do a lovely Thursday night...

Wednesday night quiz, as well.

The name Plum Tree has given you plumming with two Ms.

It has, yeah!

You know, because of the Plum Tree where we quiz and also,

we are going to plumb the depths of our brains

for the right answers, hopefully.

Which is always, always a good policy.

Well, listen, it's brilliant to see you again, Nicki.

-Thank you.

-Fantastic for us.

And I wish you all the best.

Good luck, Challengers.

Every day there is £1,000 worth of cash up for grabs.

However, if the Challengers fail to defeat the Eggheads,

the prize money rolls over to our next show.

So, Nicki and Plumming The Depths,

the Eggheads have actually won the last eight,

so they are playing well,

but that's quite good, because it

means there's a jackpot of £9,000.

-Shall we go for it?

-Let's go for it.

-Excellent.

The first head-to-head battle is on the subject of Arts and Books.

And you can choose between Judith, Chris, Pat, Barry and Steve.

-Right.

-What do we think?

-OK, well, Trish is our arts and books lady.

-Yeah.

-Yeah, I think...

-Who shall I...?

-Trisha, right.

-Who shall I challenge?

-Um...

-Who do you want to take on?

-Chris.

-Chris?

-Oh, right.

-Yeah.

-OK, Nicki is a brilliant strategist, I know that.

Trisha from Plumming The Depths is going to take on Chris from the

Eggheads on Arts and Books.

-Good for you, Chris?

-Pretty good, yeah.

OK. To ensure there's no conferring,

would you please go to our famous Question Room?

Trisha, Arts and Books.

-Would you like to go first or second?

-First, please, Jeremy.

And here is your first question, Trisha. Good luck.

Launched in 1926, Amazing Stories was an American magazine

specialising in which genre?

Well, I don't actually know the answer.

I think it's unlikely to have been war.

I'm tending towards science fiction,

so I think I'm going to say science fiction.

Science fiction is correct.

Well done.

Chris, surrealism was an art movement that first came

to prominence in the years following which conflict?

Well, surrealism surfaced in, well, actually during World War I,

but it came to prominence after World War I.

World War I is correct.

Trisha, back to you. Which of these materials did the Austrian painter

Gustav Klimt attach to the canvas in several of his most famous works?

I don't remember seeing anything with sheet music on it.

And I think brass rings would have made the picture

stick out more prominent.

So I think I'm going to go for gold leaf.

Yes, gold leaf is quite right, Trisha. Well done.

Chris, what is the name of the UK arts organisation that was formed in

1909 to promote a more general recognition

and appreciation of poetry?

Well, the only one of those I've heard of is The Poetry Society.

Which would make sense, so that's the answer.

Yeah. I suppose it's almost too obvious,

but it is the correct answer - The Poetry Society.

Two each. Trisha, over to you.

The British designer Abram Games is most celebrated

for his work in which area?

It's a really...

I really don't know the name at all.

Erm...

I think I'm going to go for ceramics.

Let's just see. Nicki, do you know this one?

I might be inclined to say posters, because it's at least...

It's the one I've heard of the least, but only...

-I don't know.

-Yeah. Well, you're absolutely right.

-Oh!

-Posters is the answer.

-Oh, no.

And, Chris, you can take the round with this.

Which Irish writer's mother was an authority on Celtic myth and wrote

poetry under the pseudonym Speranza?

Erm, well, it wasn't Oscar Wilde.

And I don't think it was James Joyce,

but the one who was into the whole sort of Celtic myth bit

was WB Yeats, so WB Yeats.

Well, yeah, he was, but this is about the person's mother.

In this case, it was Oscar Wilde.

-Was it?

-Yeah.

How about that, Trisha? Got let off there.

That's good. A little celebration for your team.

So, it goes to Sudden Death because you're equal after three.

It gets a bit harder, Trisha, as well.

I don't give you multiple-choice options.

Here we go. In 1936, Dale Carnegie released his best selling

self-help book, How To Win Friends And...What?

Influence People.

Influence People is quite right.

Chris, to stay in, which novel by HG Wells begins with a mysterious man,

his face hidden by bandages, walking into an inn in west Sussex?

That's The Invisible Man, Jeremy.

Invisible Man is right.

Trisha, the Kentucky Derby Is Decadent And Depraved

and Freak Power In The Rockies

are the titles of two pieces in The Great Shark Hunt,

a 1979 collection of articles,

by which American journalist and counterculture icon?

Oh, dear. Erm...

Sorry, guys. This is going to be a bit of a guess now.

Er...

James Thurber?

No, it's Hunter S Thompson.

Chris, for the round -

What type of factory did Iain Banks write about

for his first novel?

That was called The Wasp Factory.

Published in 1984. It was The Wasp Factory.

Well done, Chris. You've done it on Sudden Death.

Trisha, beaten by our Eggheads, sorry.

You won't be in the final round, but it's early days.

Please return to us and we'll play Round Two.

So, as it stands, Plumming The Depths

have lost a brain from the final round.

The Eggheads are all still there.

And the next subject is Geography.

So, Nicki and team... THEY GROAN

Geography, is that good?

-Difficult.

-It was, but we've used up our first reserve in Geography...

-How annoying.

-..because it was going to be Trish.

-Richard is keen.

-Yeah.

-Rich, do you want to do Geography?

-I'll do Geography, yeah.

-OK, Richard.

-Brilliant.

-Against which Egghead? Anyone but Chris.

Well, who would you like, Rich? You're playing.

-Let's go for Steve.

-Yeah?

-OK.

Richard from Plumming The Depths taking on Steve from the Eggheads

on Geography.

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

Well, I'm thinking, you're a landscape conservation manager,

Richard, so geography probably is the kind of thing.

Yes. I mean, I've spent a lot of time travelling around the world,

looking at different places, like Borneo and China

and South America, so, yeah. It's my favourite subject.

Brilliant. So, you're up against Steve.

Geography is the topic. Would you like to go first, or second?

I'll go second.

Steve, you therefore have the first question and here it is...

For what does the letter D stand in the name of the African country

abbreviated to DRC?

It's Democratic, Jeremy.

Democratic is correct.

Democratic Republic of the Congo.

-Have you been there, Richard?

-I haven't.

I've been quite close in Uganda, but not actually into the country.

Here's your question...

In which English county is the town of Leighton Buzzard located?

Er, well, it's not from Kent,

because that's where I'm from and I'm pretty certain it's not Cumbria,

so I will go for Bedfordshire.

Bedfordshire is correct. Well done.

Steve, which of these ski resorts is in Austria?

I think the Zermatt and Davos are Swiss,

so on the basis of that, I will say Kitzbuhel.

Kitzbuhel is the right answer. Well done.

Richard, San Juan is the capital of which island?

Er, well, I was watching West Side Story recently,

where the name came up, and I think that was Puerto Rico.

Good quizzing. You're right.

Clutch at anything to get the answer.

That's the way to do it, that's the way they do it.

Puerto Rico is correct.

Steve, the Padma on which the city of Rajshahi is situated

is a major river in which country?

P-A-D-M-A.

Yeah, I don't know. I don't know.

Erm... Really struggling here, I'm afraid.

Erm... I will guess at Sri Lanka.

Oh, interesting. Bangladesh is the answer.

-Right.

-Get this right, you're in the final, Richard,

and you will have levelled it up.

Here we go. The south base camp used by climbers on ascents of

Mount Everest, located in Nepal, is at approximately what altitude?

Er, well, it's not going to be 2,000 feet,

because that's a bit too low.

My thinking is it's sort of somewhere up towards 5,000 metres,

which I think roughly works out about 17,000 feet,

so I'm going to go for 17,000 feet.

And you've just knocked out Steve.

Well done, 17,000 feet it is.

Very confident play from Richard.

Should've been your first choice for geography there, Nicki.

-Yeah.

-My goodness, he's the perfect person.

-Yeah.

-Well done, you've taken on an Egghead and you've booked your

place in the final and knocked him out at the same time.

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

-Well, this is rather good, Nicki, isn't it?

-Happy now, yeah!

Happy now. Plumming The Depths have lost one brain from the final round

but the Eggheads have also lost one,

so we're absolutely level going into Round Three,

which is Film and TV.

-Oh! Oh, my word.

-Shall I do it?

-OK, um, Will?

-Yeah. I'll give it a go, yeah.

-I'll take it on.

-OK, good.

Will, our PhD student, against which Egghead?

-Barry, Pat or Judith?

-Pat?

If you think so. I'm willing to defer to your judgment here, Nicki.

-Yeah, Pat.

-Pat? Pat.

OK, lovely. Will from Plumming The Depths is going to try and catch Pat

off-guard from the Eggheads.

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

Good luck here on Film and TV.

Do you want to go first or second, Will?

Richard did well going second, but I'll go first.

Here we go. What do Michael Caine and his gang attempt to steal

a shipment of in the 1969 film The Italian Job?

Right, I'm pretty sure I think I know this.

I hope it's right.

I'm going to go for gold... Gold bullion.

Gold bullion is quite right. Well done. Well done.

Great film. Pat, which writer does Johnny Depp play in the 2004 film

Finding Neverland?

I think the Neverland is a reference to Peter Pan and I think the author

is JM Barrie.

JM Barrie is quite right.

OK, over to you, Will.

Which actor's earlier career included starring

roles in the films Edtv, U-571 and Reign Of Fire?

Um...

I have seen at least two of those films.

The first and third.

And Reign Of Fire, as I remember,

I think it's alongside Christian Bale.

Matthew McConaughey stars in that,

so I'm going to go for Matthew McConaughey.

Yeah, brilliant actor and you're right.

Matthew McConaughey is the right answer.

Two out of two. Over to Pat.

Which of these comedians has been a long-running team regular

on the panel show Mock The Week?

Well, all these three chaps pop up on

humorous panel shows.

But Mock The Week, I think Hugh Dennis is one of the regular men,

and he's very good on it. I think it's Hugh Dennis.

Hugh Dennis is correct.

OK, over to you, Will.

Who voiced Barney Rubble in the 1960s cartoon

series the Flintstones?

Hmm, that, unfortunately, I'm not very close to an answer on...

I mean... Do I have any memory of watching those cartoons and seeing

any credits afterwards that I can recall?

It's going to be a guess, unfortunately.

Erm... Arnold Stang.

Pat, do you know this?

-Is it Arnold?

-I don't know, but that would've been my guess as well.

-Mel Blanc is the answer.

-Oh.

So, Pat, you can take it with this.

The Australian-born Dudley Simpson is best known for providing what for

series such as Doctor Who, The Tomorrow People and Blake's 7?

Blake's 7 I think is sort of 1970s,

Tomorrow People perhaps a bit earlier

and Doctor Who stretches from 1963 onwards.

Tricky one, this. Very tricky.

I think I'll discount music,

simply because I know that for certainly a good chunk of

Doctor Who's time I can identify the musicians, the composers.

For a very long time they had the Ron Grainer introductory music.

It's pretty much a stab in the dark.

I will say costumes.

-Eggheads, do you know? ALL:

-Music.

-Music, they all say.

-Music? Oh, well.

-Yeah.

Music is the answer.

OK, three questions each you've had.

Scores are level. How about that, Will?

It's Sudden Death now, OK?

It gets a bit harder. No alternative options from me.

Which Russian-born actor starred as gunslinger Chris Adams in the

classic 1960 Western The Magnificent Seven?

I can... The only actor I think I could name who might have been in

The Magnificent Seven is, I think, Yul Brynner.

I've got a feeling he was in it, so I'm going to say that.

Yul Brynner?

Yul Brynner is the right answer. Well done.

Pat, which Woody Allen film opens with a long monologue

that concludes with the line,

"New York was his town and it always would be"?

Well, the most New York Woody Allen films are Manhattan and Annie Hall.

Well, Manhattan opens with

the jazzy music and the skyline and it's very, very New York set,

so I think of the two I'll pick Manhattan.

Manhattan is right.

This is interesting, isn't it?

OK, we go back to you, Will.

In the 2004 Michael Mann film Collateral,

hit man Tom Cruise takes cab driver Jamie Foxx hostage as he drives him

round the streets of which city?

It's a film I don't think I've ever seen the whole way through,

I've seen bits of.

Erm...

And from kind of what I remember it's all quite, sort of, open.

Kind of big highways, lots of, not, kind of, tall buildings

that you might expect in somewhere like New York.

So I'm going to say...Los Angeles.

You're right, you're quizzing really well, Los Angeles is correct.

Well done.

OK, Pat.

Which American medical comedy drama series first broadcast in 2009

is set in All Saints' Hospital in New York City?

What could this be? Nurse Jackie.

It's New York, it's about the right time.

I watched a bit of it, and I wasn't laughing very much,

but these things are subjective.

Can I think of any other better options?

I don't think I can, so I think I'll have to take my chances

with Nurse Jackie.

Nurse Jackie is the right answer.

JEREMY LAUGHS

Will, which radio DJ and television presenter

hosted the viewers' letters programme Points Of View

from 1999 to 2007?

I think it was Terry Wogan.

It was Terry, you're right.

Oh!

Do you know who followed him?

Um...I don't.

I just remember the theme tune from Points Of View.

-The person who followed him was me.

-Oh!

JEREMY LAUGHS

I'm sure it improved.

OK. Pat, this is to stay in.

Will is quizzing so well.

What was the surname of the title characters in the 1970s sitcom

George And Mildred?

I think they were Ropers.

Roper is right, well done.

So, Will, your question.

It's so good when we're Sudden Death and people are getting them right.

Here's your question... Which Disney cartoon character made his first

appearance in the 1934 animated short The Wise Little Hen?

Donald Duck, I'm going to guess.

Donald Duck is correct.

Oh, my word, well done!

So, you're on the verge of the final against Pat.

Pat needs to get this right to stay in.

Pat, in which US TV drama series

does Simon Baker star as Patrick Jane,

an independent consultant for the fictitious

California Bureau of Investigation, or CBI?

The Mentalist.

The Mentalist is right.

Back to you, Will.

Which British sci-fi TV drama, first shown in 2015,

features robotic servants called Synths?

I have been watching it.

I believe it's called Humans.

Humans is right.

Sudden Death. Pat, your question.

Which member of the Rat Pack and star of the original Oceans 11 film

was the brother-in-law of US President John F Kennedy?

I have, I think, got this sort of thing wrong many times.

So I'm going to have to pick carefully between Peter Lawson

and Joey Bishop.

I think I've done this before, now who is the brother-in-law?

Peter Lawson.

It's Peter Lawford.

-You're out, Pat.

-Oh!

We have to be tough on it.

You got the name wrong. Well done, Will.

Well done.

-Thank you!

-That's a good round.

That's a good victory for you.

You hung on in there, didn't you?

Yeah, I don't quite know how, but, yeah!

Knocked out a great quizzer as well.

Please return to us. One more round to go.

Well, this is quite a contest.

Plumming The Depths have lost one brain from the final round but the

Eggheads have now lost two.

-The last subject before the final is Politics.

-Oh, my word!

Nicki, who is this for?

The boys we had down for doing Politics.

And I'm sorry, but I couldn't...

We want Nicki in the final, so... I'm going to do terribly, but...

-OK, Hannah.

-Be brave.

President of the Cardiff University Quiz Society.

That's promising. Against which Egghead?

It can be Barry or Judith.

-What do you think?

-Judith.

-Judith.

-Yeah?

-Judith.

-Very good.

So, Hannah from Plumming The Depths, versus Judith,

who's going to hit the heights.

-Well, maybe. We'll see.

-Maybe so.

On Politics. Let's see.

Please, for the last time, go to our famous Question Room.

Hannah, I know politics isn't your first choice necessarily.

-Do you want to go first or second?

-I'll go second, please, Jeremy.

So, Judith, here's your question.

Fighting Bull is the title of memoirs by which politician

who became a member of the European Parliament in 1999?

Fighting Bull? I think it must be Nigel Farage.

Nigel Farage is quite right.

He's the only one who's the MEP.

-Exactly.

-OK.

Over to you, Hannah.

Which of these is the parent organisation

of the International Monetary Fund?

So, I'm not sure about this one, which isn't really a surprise.

But I would have to go with the WTO.

Yeah, logical but wrong, I'm afraid.

UN is the answer.

Judith, Charlie Falconer, the former Lord Chancellor,

was once a flatmate of which British Prime Minister?

I think that was Tony Blair.

-Tony Blair's quite right.

-Why you laughing?

Well, it wouldn't have been with David Cameron or John Major,

would he, thinking about it?

-The question didn't say he was Labour.

-Well, no, that's true.

OK. Hannah, that means you need to get this one right.

Which former Secretary of State for Education first became

Conservative MP for Surrey Heath in 2005?

Just thinking this through.

I've never actually heard of Nicky Morgan,

so I'm not sure whether that means I should discount it or...

I'm going to go for Michael Gove.

Michael Gove is correct.

Nicky Morgan's the one who criticised

-the Prime Minister's trousers...

-Right, OK!

..for being too expensive.

OK, Judith, you can take the round with this.

How old was David Owen when he became Foreign Secretary

under James Callaghan?

I know he was very young,

he was one of the youngest for a long time,

but I don't think he was 28.

And 48, there's nothing special in that.

So I think he was probably 38.

The correct answer is 38.

Well done, Judith.

You've taken the round with three correct answers.

Sorry, Hannah, beaten by our Egghead and no way back.

You won't be in the final. Come back to us, Hannah and Judith.

We will play the final round for £9,000.

So, this is what we have been playing towards.

It is time for our 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, that's Trisha and Hannah from Plumming The Depths,

and also Steve and Pat from the Eggheads.

Would you please now leave the studio?

Nicki, Will and Richard,

you are playing to win Plumming The Depths £9,000.

Barry, Chris and Judith, you're playing for something else -

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

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

This time, they're all general knowledge.

Nicki and team, you can confer.

So, Plumming The Depths, the question is,

can your three brains defeat these three over here?

Nicki, Will, Richard, would you like to go first or second?

-We'd like to go first, would we, guys?

-I think so, yeah.

-Yeah, sounds good to me.

-We'd like to go first, please, Jeremy.

Nicki, Will and Richard, it's General Knowledge. Good luck.

The American resort of Atlantic City is situated in which US state?

-WHISPERS:

-New Jersey.

-I think...

-New Jersey.

-Yeah, I don't think it's California

and I'm pretty sure it's not Rhode Island.

I wouldn't have thought Rhode Island.

-Pretty sure...

-New Jersey sounds good to me.

-Yeah.

-Jeremy, we are going to say New Jersey.

New Jersey is the right answer.

-Well done, boys.

-Well done.

OK, Eggheads,

popular in the early 2000s,

what was the Dido flip an example of?

-JUDITH:

-It was a hairstyle.

-Yeah?

-In the imitation of Dido, the singer?

I have no idea. I just have a feeling...

There was a sort of fashion for having hair and flipping it

around that sort of time.

OK, well, that's good enough for me, Judith.

I mean, please don't blame me.

No, there's no blame, there's no blame. We all do our best.

OK? Settled.

We're not entirely sure on this one,

but we're going to go for hairstyle.

Hairstyle is your answer.

If it's wrong, you're going to blame Judith.

No, we're not going to blame Judith!

-They are, quite rightly.

-Definitely not.

-It was my idea.

-But it's right!

-It's right!

-Hooray!

-Well done, Judith.

-Well done. Hairstyle it is.

OK.

Challengers, which name from classical mythology is the common

name for the Lockheed C-130 military transport aircraft?

Hercules, I think.

Yeah, I've got no idea what it is but I have heard of Hercules.

-It's like a helicopter, is it?

-No, it's a huge, big plane...

-Massive.

-Massive, yeah.

Jeremy, we think that is Hercules.

-Hercules is correct.

-Yay!

Two out of two. Well done, Nicki and team.

OK. Eggheads, which of these comedians was knighted

in the 2017 New Year's Honours?

-ALL:

-Ken Dodd.

-Yeah, we're all happy with that one.

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

It's the king of the Diddy Men himself, Ken Dodd.

Ken Dodd is correct.

So, nothing to choose between you at the moment.

And we move on.

A Monster Calls is a book for young adults

written by which author?

-Have you read this book?

-I think...

I don't know if this is one they've released the film of, is it?

If the book is by a woman...

I'm just trying to think if that's somewhere in my head,

and if that name's there.

-Veronica Roth.

-Yeah, I'm kind of torn between Patrick Ness

-or Veronica Roth.

-Yeah.

If I have heard of one of them, it would have been Patrick Ness.

Do you think you might have heard somewhere that it might have been

-written by a woman?

-I don't know.

-I don't know why I've got that...

-Shall we go for Patrick Ness?

-Oh, no!

-We're going to have to leave it to you, Nicki.

Oh, gosh, we're just going to have to say one

and then just hope that the Eggheads get the next one wrong.

-Nicki...

-But then we're through to Sudden Death.

Oh, gosh. Jeremy, we've been round the houses.

We think, just because Will's got a teeny, tiny inkling,

that it might be Veronica Roth.

It is a film, came out at the start of 2017.

A Monster Calls.

Eggheads, are they right?

I think it's Patrick Ness.

-Patrick Ness is the answer.

-Oh, no!

I thought you almost had decided Patrick Ness

and then you just swerved.

-Yeah.

-Never mind.

£9,000 we're playing for.

A chance for the Eggheads to take the contest now.

Eggheads, this is your question.

The singer Katy Melua was born in which country?

She was born in Georgia.

-Georgia.

-I'm 100% certain she was born in Georgia.

-OK.

-Yeah.

Katy Melua was born in Georgia.

If you're right, the contest is over.

The correct answer is Georgia.

We say congratulations, Eggheads, you have won.

Oh, don't clap them too loudly, it just encourages them!

Oh, Nicki and team,

that was... I know how close you were to saying Patrick Ness

-on that last question. Anyway...

-We had lots of fun anyway.

-It was fun to come back.

-I'm glad you enjoyed it.

Thank you. You ran them very close today.

Commiserations to Plumming The Depths.

The Eggheads have done what comes naturally to them.

This impressive winning streak continues.

I'm afraid it means you won't be going home with the £9,000,

so the money rolls over to our next show.

Eggheads, congratulations.

Who will beat you?

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

have the brains to do it.

£10,000 will be here for them if they win.

Until we quiz again, goodbye.