Episode 48 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, fizzing with knowledge, I think?

Hopefully!

Before we start,

if you're interested at home in answering a question yourself...

-Dave, you've got one?

-I've got one, I've got a question for you.

Which American TV soap star's leg features prominently

in publicity posters for the 1967 film The Graduate?

-You'll come to us later with the answer.

-Yes, I will.

Hoping to beat the might of the Eggheads today

are The Wembles, from Shropshire.

This team are all members

of the Wem And District University Of The Third Age.

-So let's meet them.

-Hello. I'm Paul, I'm a retired project manager.

Hello. I'm Allan, I'm a retired papermaker.

Hello. I'm Liz and I'm a retired HR manager.

Hello. I'm Roger, a retired civil servant.

Hello. I'm Glyn, I'm a retired accountant.

So, Paul and team, hello.

ALL: Hello.

And, Paul, it's crucially not the Open University,

that's something else? Right, so the University Of The Third Age is what?

University Of The Third Age is an organisation, about 20 years old now.

There are over 1,000 of them in different parts of the UK.

Wem And District is where we all met, the U3A in Wem.

As people who are in the University Of The Third Age,

your interest is learning, isn't it?

It's not learning specifically,

it's enjoying things that you do because you want to,

-not because you have to.

-Broadening the mind?

-Exactly.

-And Wem is a village in...?

It's small market town in North Shropshire.

And I know it's famous for one person in particular, is it?

You know this, Eggheads? Have you discussed it already or not?

OK, give this a go.

If I say one of England's greatest essayists and critics?

Hazlitt?

-Yes.

-William Hazlitt?

-Kevin says William Hazlitt.

He's right, again.

You never get one past him, do you?

So, have you quizzed together, then, Paul?

Not as a team. This is our debut as a team.

Allan and I, and Roger and I have quizzed in different teams,

but as a group, this is our debut.

Good luck, Challengers. Every day, there is £1,000 worth

of cash up for grabs for our Challengers.

However, if they fail to defeat the Eggheads, that prize money,

as you know, rolls over. It all adds up.

Now, Wembles, the Eggheads are on,

I don't know if it's a streak or a roll,

but they're looking a bit impressive - they've won the last five.

So it means there's £6,000 for you to win today, if you beat them.

-Do you want to try?

-Oh, yes!

OK, let battle commence.

First head-to-head is on the subject of Geography.

So it's one of you against either Dave, Steve, Beth, Kevin or Judith.

We'll go with Roger on this one.

OK, so Roger, retired civil servant, which Egghead?

Any one of the five? Who looks shaky?

None of them, really! Which one would you like?

-Steve?

-We'll go with Steve, please, Jeremy.

Very good, let's get cracking,

Roger from the Wembles versus Steve from the Eggheads.

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

Roger, when you were in your early 20s, you did one of the most amazing trips?

I did. Well, I did a trip, an overland trip, across Europe and Asia,

ending up in Australia and New Zealand, yes.

And what happened when you got to New Zealand?

My wife was also travelling with me, she wasn't my wife then,

she was a young lady I met up with on the trip, and we got married.

Wonderful! So, together 49 years, I gather?

-We've been together ever since, yes.

-How lovely. So I think Geography could be your subject,

Roger, against Steve. Would you like to go first or second?

I think I'll go first, Jeremy.

Here we go. What colour is the bottom stripe

of the national flag of the Netherlands?

Well, I don't think yellow's in it.

I can't remember green being in the flag, so it must be blue.

Blue is the right answer. Steve,

the famous Edinburgh statue

of Greyfriars Bobby depicts which animal?

I think it's some sort of terrier, so it must be a dog.

Yeah, what's the story there?

The owner died and the dog famously wouldn't leave his grave,

and it stayed there for ever.

-And became a statue.

-Ha!

Dog is the answer. Back to you, Roger.

Which of these countries is larger

than the United Kingdom in terms of area?

That's a difficult one.

I don't think it's South Korea.

Thailand's long and narrow.

I think it would be Bangladesh.

Bangladesh is your answer. Do your team mates know, anyone?

Think he's right? Not sure?

It's actually Thailand.

-Oh, dear.

-Yeah.

OK, Steve, to take the lead.

How tall is Japan's highest mountain, Fuji?

And you've given it in metres as well.

Oh, dear. Erm...

So basically I've got to treble it for Fuji.

It's big, but I don't think it's that big.

I could be completely off beam here.

I don't think it's as tall as 7,776, so I'll go for the middle one,

I'll try 5,776.

Yeah, you've gone wrong as well.

-It's 3,776.

-Really?! Right.

-You wanted to do that in feet,

so you've got 11,000 feet or something.

Hmm. I thought it was bigger than that.

OK, one each after two questions.

Back to you, Roger. That was handy, wasn't it?

-It was indeed, yes.

-Good old Fuji.

Santa Catalina Island

lies approximately 22 miles off the coast of which US state?

Well, I don't know.

I don't think it's New York.

So, Florida or California?

There are a lot of islands south of Florida.

I'll go for Florida.

I think Paul knows this, Paul?

-It's California.

-California.

Is it near Alcatraz or something?

No, Santa Catalina's further south.

Just before you get to Mexico, going south.

OK, so it's off LA or San Diego or somewhere?

California is the answer, Roger.

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

Gaborone is the capital of which Southern African country?

I'm sure Roger would know this as well.

It's Botswana, Jeremy.

Botswana is quite right. Steve, you've taken the round.

Well done, two out of three.

Roger, I'm sorry. Knocked out by our Egghead.

It's just the start for you guys, you can come roaring back.

Return to us, please, and we'll play round two.

So, tricky start for the Wembles,

who've lost a brain from the final round, the Eggheads have not lost any.

Now is the time to strike back, Challengers.

The next subject is Film & TV.

Who would like this?

-That's me, isn't it? Yeah, yeah.

-OK, Liz.

Retired HR manager against which Egghead?

-Can't be Steve.

-Beth, please.

-Good news for you?

-Yeah, I don't often get these.

No, I think you're a boxset binger.

-I am.

-Yeah, like me.

So, Liz from the Wembles takes on Beth from the Eggheads.

Film and TV the subject, please go to our legendary Question Room.

So, Beth, what are we bingeing on at the moment?

Oh, Orange Is The New Black.

How about you, Liz, what do you enjoy watching?

I enjoy watching crime series.

I really enjoyed the Scandinavian crime series - The Bridge, The Killing.

All right, well, good luck against Beth, Liz.

Do you want to go first or second?

I'll go first, please, Jeremy.

Here we go. In 2009,

Fern Britton stepped down

as presenter of which TV programme after ten years?

I don't recall Fern Britton presenting Loose Women.

Or The One Show, so I would say it's This Morning.

It is This Morning, you're quite right.

And went on to do lots of interviews in a great series.

OK, Beth - what genre is the 1973 film The Exorcist?

Romantic comedy!

Oh, how hilarious. I actually went to see this

when it was rereleased in a cinema in the late '90s.

-It's a horror film.

-It is a horror film.

Is it scary, I've never seen it?

It depends on your reference point.

It would have been scary when it was first released.

OK. Question two, Liz.

The main story of the 2017 Film Kong: Skull Island

is set in which decade?

Oh, I don't know this one.

I think it's a sequel, isn't it, to the original King Kong film?

Trying to think if it was

set in...

..as far back as the 1890s.

I'm not sure, but I'm going to go for the 1930s.

No, it's the 1970s.

Is it a sequel to King Kong?

No, it's a reimagining.

So the original King Kong was in the 1930s, was made in the 1930s,

and was set contemporarily.

But this one reimagines the story as happening towards the end

of the Vietnam War.

So you get a whole load of American soldiers going in there as well.

-So, mid 1970s.

-OK.

So, Beth, your question to take the lead.

In the 1992 film Scent Of A Woman,

who plays the prep school student tasked

with baby-sitting Al Pacino's blind, ex-Army colonel?

1992.

I don't think

Matt Damon was quite on the scene just then.

Ethan Hawke, possibly.

From those,

probably Chris O'Donnell's the best percentage guess,

so Chris O'Donnell.

You're playing well, it is Chris O'Donnell.

So, Liz, you've got to get this right.

Alana Spencer found fame on which TV show in 2016?

Oh, these are not programmes I watch.

Alana Spencer, the name's not ringing a bell.

I would...

I'll go for MasterChef.

Now, let's see, anyone here know on the Challenging side?

What do we think?

I would go for The Apprentice.

-That's only guesswork.

-Yeah, it is The Apprentice.

Liz, sorry about that.

So, well done, Beth.

Liz, you've been beaten by our Egghead

and won't be in the final round.

Return to us, please. We'll play round three.

So, the Wembles have lost two brains from the final round.

Our "Wombles" over here are all intact.

Eggheading today rather well.

And the next subject is Arts & Books.

So which Wemble would like this?

I can't take it, can I, so...?

I don't think I can offer a lot on this.

I'll take one for the team.

OK, Allan. Choose an Egghead. You can have either Dave, Kevin or Judith.

Who looks like they haven't read a book?

-Yeah, go for Dave.

-We'll choose Dave, please.

All right, so Allan from the Wembles takes on Tremendous Knowledge Dave

from the Eggheads. Art & Books, could be a big moment here,

seeing if the Challengers can win one back.

Please go to the Question Room.

So, you lived in Finland, Allan?

-Yes.

-We've got a very well-travelled Challengers team here.

And you crossed the border to Russia how many times?

Around about 3,500 times, going to Russia,

and another 3,500 times coming home from Russia.

-And you enjoyed it?

-Yes, yes.

Quite a nice bunch of people to work with.

Lovely. Well, Arts & Books,

we're hoping for some Russian literature here.

Or would that not help?

-Probably wouldn't help.

-First or second, Allan, against Dave?

I'll go first, please.

Here we go, Arts & Books, your first question.

How is Shakespeare's play Hamlet usually classified?

Well, I have seen a comedy version of Hamlet.

But I don't think that's the answer you're after.

History, no.

Tragedy.

I know the ending, so, tragedy.

Yes, yes indeed.

Tragedy is the right answer.

Dave, where does the plot

of Tennessee Williams' play Cat On A Hot Tin Roof take place?

Out of those, I think it's Mississippi.

Would have the hottest roofs there.

Yes! Mississippi's right.

What's it about, Eggheads?

It's the Politt family,

very dysfunctional family in the Deep South,

but that describes quite a lot of Tennessee Williams.

So, yeah.

OK. Back to you, Allan, your question.

Who wrote the Booker Prize nominated novels The Comfort Of Strangers

and Black Dogs?

Well, Comfort Of Strangers

sounds like something a lady would write.

I don't really know, but I think I'll have to go with Martin Amis.

It's Ian McEwan.

So, over to Dave.

What is the name of the only novel to be written by Oscar Wilde?

Erm...

An Ideal Husband, I thought was a play.

-Picture Of Dorian Grey.

-Yes, absolutely.

De Profundis is, I think, a letter he wrote.

Yes.

All right, back to you, Allan.

You need this to stay in. Which of these postimpressionist painters

was only 31 when he died?

I'm not familiar with the work of Rousseau or Bonnard.

Seurat was a pointillist, which

at least makes him postimpressionist.

I don't know about the others.

I'll go with Georges Seurat.

Georges Seurat is the right answer.

OK, Dave, your question - you can take the round with this.

According to an announcement made in 2012,

what was the approximate price paid by the Qatar royal family

for a version of Cezanne's The Card Players?

Hmm. I'm going to rule out 50.

Right, 250 sounds a hell of a lot.

But it could conceivably be that.

No, I'm... I'm not sure,

but I'm going to go down the middle with 150 million, please.

What is the answer, Eggheads, do you know?

-Not sure.

-I think 150.

Yeah, no, 150's wrong.

250 million.

-Really?

-That's a lot.

-Yeah, it's a lot.

OK, Allan.

It's good this, two points each.

After three questions, we go to Sudden Death.

Get's a bit harder, though, Allan. I don't give you alternative options.

Which of Roger Hargreaves' Mr Men characters,

who often wears a blue hat,

is orange with extremely long, bendy arms?

Can't remember that long ago.

Long, bendy arms?

I suppose it could be Mr Bendy.

Yes, make that the answer.

-Mr...?

-Bendy.

Bendy. Challengers?

-Mr Tickle.

-Mr Tickle is the answer.

Oh, well.

All right, let's see, Dave, your question for the round.

Kazuo Ishiguro and his family emigrated from Japan to which country in 1960?

I thought it was Britain.

Bear with me.

He's an Anglo-Japanese author.

Remains Of The Day. I thought it was the United Kingdom,

so that's my answer. UK.

UK is correct, he was aged five at the time.

Yes, and he has written here ever since.

Well done, Dave, you've taken the round. Sorry, Allan, on Mr Tickle.

You've been knocked out, that can happen - beaten by our Eggheads.

-Yep.

-Come back to us and we'll play one more round before the final.

So, as it stands, the Wembles have lost three brains from the final round.

The Eggheads have not lost any so far.

And the next subject for you is Sport.

Yes, I'm happy to take that.

-Yeah, Glyn?

-Yeah?

-Glyn, OK.

Against which Egghead?

And it's either Kevin or Judith.

-On Sport.

-Would you like to go with Judith?

Whichever you wish, yeah.

I think I'll take Judith, please, Jeremy.

You're not brave enough for Kevin.

That's gone down well. Glyn from the Wembles is taking on Judith on Sport.

I think you did Sport in the last programme?

-I did.

-So, a lot riding on this.

Last round before the final, please take your positions.

On Sport, Glyn, would you like to go first or second?

Should be ladies first, Jeremy, but I would like to go first, please.

So here we go, with your first question, Glyn, good luck.

In which position did the Manchester United footballer

Roy Keane usually play?

I think Roy Keane was quite a feared midfielder in his time.

-Let's check that with Dave, Dave?

-Oh, one of the greats, yeah.

Midfielder, box-to-box.

Magnificent footballer.

Yeah.

Judith, which men's rugby union team

won its second successive Six Nations Championship in 2017?

England.

-England's right.

-Phew.

So, back to you, Glyn.

In which year where the World Athletics Championships first held?

It's not a sport I follow particularly closely.

I'm just trying to tie them in with the Olympics and so on.

I don't think they're that old.

I think World Championships is a more recent event, actually.

Which rather excludes 1963.

I think I'd like to go with 1983, please, Jeremy.

1983 is quite right.

-It's getting harder, Judith, isn't it?

-Yes.

Tony Bellew inflicted a surprise defeat

on which heavyweight boxer in March 2017?

I know that Anthony Joshua fought lately.

Tyson Fury, I don't think, has.

In March...

-March?

-March 2017.

Oh, I think that's Anthony Joshua.

OK. Beth, firstly, Anthony Joshua, what happened with him?

He beat one of the Klitschko brothers.

-So it was.

-Klitschko.

-Bother!

-Yes, so the answer's David Haye.

David Haye's the answer.

Yeah, I know now.

Eggheads 1, Challenger 2.

This is looking good at the moment, Glyn, but she can strike back.

Which English fast bowler was purchased for £1.4 million

by the Royal Challengers Bangalore in the 2017 IPL auction?

Yes, the one that got all the publicity was the purchase

of Ben Stokes, wasn't it? Which was for slightly more than that.

I didn't think Anderson played in India.

That leaves me with two.

Is it Jake Ball?

I'll go with Jake Ball, I think.

Let me check with Paul here, Paul?

-Tymal Mills.

-It's Tymal Mills.

Every 50/50, you guys just go the wrong way.

OK, so, Judith, this is quite exciting now.

You've got a chance of levelling it up.

Callum Skinner won a gold medal for Team GB

in which sport at the 2016 Olympics?

I don't know. I don't know.

-Callum Skinner?

-Callum Skinner.

I'm just trying to think.

Just visualising.

I think it's swimming.

You've got a vision of him in the pool?

-No, not at all.

-Breast stroke, is it?

-Might be.

-What colour trunks?

Black? No, sort of Union Jack ones.

Yeah. He's a cyclist.

Oh! Thanks very much.

Sorry. Cycling.

So, Glyn, you've just turned it around now

and Glyn is in the final round and Judith has been knocked out.

Well done. Please come back and we will play the all-important final round for £6,000.

So, this is what we've been playing towards.

It's 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 is Allan, Liz and Roger from the brilliant Wembles.

And also Judith from the Eggheads.

Would you please now leave the studio?

OK, Paul and Glyn,

you are playing to win the Wembles this handy jackpot of £6,000.

Dave, Steve, Beth, Kevin -

you're playing for something money can't buy, which is to shore up -

no, to strengthen - the Eggheads' precious and much-vaunted reputation.

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

They're all general knowledge and you may confer, gentlemen.

So, Wembles, the question is, can your two brains defeat these four?

Something that will be talked about in Wem for the next thousand years.

Would you like to go first or second?

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

All right. General Knowledge, the final round, for £6,000, your first question.

A Moscow Mule cocktail traditionally contains which alcoholic ingredient?

It's vodka. I think it's vodka.

You seem pretty certain, so...

We think that's vodka.

-Have you had one?

-Not recently.

Well, the Russian connection is the pointer.

Vodka is right.

Eggheads, your question.

S is the chemical symbol of which element?

-Sulphur.

-Happy with sulphur?

That's sulphur, Jeremy.

Yes. I suddenly went mad and thought it was sodium, but you're right,

it is sulphur. SO2 is sulphur dioxide, right?

Yeah.

The other two don't begin with S.

Silver is Ag and sodium is Na.

OK.

We love the periodic table here.

Your question. In Greek mythology,

which of these monsters had the head of a lion?

Hydra had more heads.

Minotaur was a bull.

It was, yeah.

So we think it's Chimera?

-I think so.

-We'll go with Chimera, please, Jeremy.

Yes, it is Chimera, well done.

They're ahead, Eggheads.

The £6,000 and your reputation on the line.

Which British group released the album Wonderland in March 2017?

Is it Take That? Take That.

One Direction are on a break.

I think One Direction are still...

It's not Boyzone.

One Direction are on a break.

They aren't recording anything at the moment.

They're all doing solo things.

I think it is Take That.

Take That, yeah.

We'll go for Take That, Jeremy.

Take That is correct.

You've levelled it, 2-2.

£6,000 to play for.

Third question can be crucial.

Challengers, here it is.

Which publishing company was set up in 1972

by Carmen Callil primarily to publish books by women writers?

I was thinking of Virago before it came up.

Paladin is longer established than that.

You happy if we go with Virago, then?

If you've got it in mind already, then, yes, absolutely, yes.

We think that one's Virago.

Virago is correct.

You're steaming through these answers.

Well done, no uncertainty whatsoever.

OK. Eggheads, if you get this wrong, the contest is over.

Which former President of Finland was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize

in 2008 for his important efforts on several continents

in over three decades to resolve international conflicts?

-Is it Kekkonen?

-It's Ahtisaari.

-Sorry, OK.

-Not arguing with that.

-I'm not arguing with you.

-No.

That is Martti Ahtisaari.

Well, I heard an early Kekkonen, but, no, that was withdrawn.

Martti Ahtisaari is the right answer.

Without Kevin, that could have gone wrong, who knows, who knows?

All right, 3-3.

Sudden Death now. We don't give you alternatives, here we go.

Gentlemen, keep the focus.

In medicine, the abbreviation DOA usually means "dead on..." what?

Arrival.

Arrival. Definitely arrival.

We think that's arrival.

Dead on arrival is quite right.

Eggheads,

the July Plot, part of a wider operation known as Valkyrie,

was a plot to assassinate which world leader?

-Hitler.

-Hitler.

-Yeah.

Well, it was 1944, a plot to assassinate Adolf Hitler.

Adolf Hitler is the right answer.

Over to you, Challengers.

The hippocampus is located in which human organ?

All one word, hippocampus.

I was thinking the same thing.

Hippo is horse, is there some connection with...

..the bone in the ears?

I think it's the shape of the bone, yeah.

-Yeah.

-We think it's in the ear.

It's not, it's the brain.

That's two different places there.

It's not to do with hearing.

Where is it, Eggheads, front or back or...?

-In the middle.

-The middle, yeah.

-Sort of underneath.

-Brain was the answer,

that gives the Eggheads a way in to take the contest.

Which Billy Joel song starts with the lyrics,

"Harry Truman, Doris Day, Red China, Johnnie Ray"?

-We Didn't Start The Fire.

-We Didn't Start The Fire.

-We Didn't Start The Fire.

-Yeah.

OK. Just...

a long litany of people and things, it's We Didn't Start The Fire.

It is a long litany, and it is We Didn't Start The Fire.

So we say congratulations, Eggheads, you have won.

And you knew that one, didn't you?

Should have known hippocampus as well.

A stray fact about the ear is what did it for the Wembles.

Commiserations. The Eggheads have done what comes naturally to them,

so now you're powering forwards a little bit, Eggheads.

You had a few bad games a while back, we've forgotten about them,

you're back on form, no question.

It means the Challengers are not going home with £6,000.

We roll that money over, this jackpot is getting bigger and bigger,

and I'm starting to wonder if you can ever be beaten.

Before we go, Dave, that question, what was it?

Which American TV soap star's leg featured prominently in posters

for the 1967 film, The Graduate?

OK, so we can visualise the poster, the leg is...

..single leg in the foreground.

Yeah, and everyone assumes it's Anne Bancroft's.

-Yeah?

-When in actual fact, it's Linda Gray's.

-From Dallas?

-From Dallas, the lady who played Sue Ellen.

Because Anne Bancroft wasn't available that day when they did the shot.

Brilliant. I hope you enjoyed that question at home.

-Hope you enjoyed playing the game.

-We certainly did.

-Always fun.

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

to defeat them. Looking good at the moment, aren't they?

There's £7,000 to play for. Until then, goodbye.