Episode 53 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.

Challenging our resident quiz champions today

are Awkward and Large. Now this team all work together

for an international courier company and are based in Peterborough.

So let's meet them.

Hi, I'm Colin and I'm head of telesales.

Hi, I'm Rae and I'm a new business team leader.

Hi, I'm Martin and I'm a new business adviser.

Hi, I'm Sam and I'm also a new business adviser.

Hi, I'm James, I'm a new business sales advisor.

So Colin and team, hello.

-Hello.

-Welcome, good to see you.

Yeah, and Awkward and Large - why so?

We all work for the same parcel company,

and it's a play on one of the products

that we currently are selling -

and as all of us are either awkward, large or both

we thought it was a perfect name.

And how awkward can they be?

Are we talking golf clubs, here, or skis, or what?

-Absolutely.

-Stuff that doesn't fit in letterboxes.

-Coffins.

-Coffins?

-Yes.

-Do you quiz together?

-We do, we do quizzes at work, on occasions.

But we've never quizzed together,

it was a combination idea to come on the show.

Well, I'm glad you did. You're taking on the great Eggheads, here.

Good luck, Challengers.

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

for our challenging team.

If they fail to defeat the Eggheads

the prize money rolls over to the next show.

Now, Awkward and Large,

it was rather awkward and large for the Eggheads,

I'm afraid the Challengers won the last game,

the Eggheads went down - but that proves it can be done.

Maybe you can hit them for a double, here.

There's £1,000 if you beat them.

Would you like to try?

-Absolutely.

-Fantastic.

The first head-to-head battle is on the subject of Film & Television

so it's one of you, please, against either

Lisa, Steve, Barry, Pat, or Chris.

-OK.

-I think we're going to go with Sam, aren't we?

-Film & Television, it's got to be Sam.

-Yeah.

We agreed? What if Food & Drink comes up?

-I'll take it.

-We'll run it.

OK. I'll get it out of the way, then, I'll go first.

-Who do you want to take on?

-Are we going to go Chris?

-Did we decide?

-I think Chris, yeah.

Yeah. We're going to go with Sam against Chris.

Brilliant. OK, Sam, our new business adviser, taking on Chris.

-That's good, it's not a sport.

-That's right, yeah.

-For once.

If it had been Sport,

I think that would be evidence of some sort of shenanigans.

To ensure that there is no conferring, would you please both

take your positions in our legendary Question Room?

Sam, Film & TV.

-Yeah, that's me.

-I know you've got a bit of a Star Wars connection.

I have, yeah, absolutely love Star Wars.

And you had - tell us what happened at your wedding.

Yeah, we knew... The person who played the organ at our wedding

was a family friend, and he surprised me,

I didn't know he was going to do this,

and he actually played the Star Wars theme

as we were walking out of the church.

-Brilliant.

-Everyone just looked at each other and laughed,

-they knew it was so me, yeah.

-How does that go, I can't remember.

-You're not going to get me to sing it, are you?

-No, just a la-la-la.

# Da da da da dur da da da da dur... #

Oh, yeah, I've got it. Brilliant.

I can't believe you just got me to sing that.

What was the one...I read it in the papers a while back,

somebody asked for the theme to Robin Hood at their wedding?

Everything I Do, I Do It For You.

And the guy misunderstood and he played...

# Robin Hood, Robin Hood riding through the glen! #

All right, Sam, Film & TV - would you like to go first or second?

I think I'd like to go first.

Good luck. The fourth Indiana Jones film released in 2008

was titled Indiana Jones and the what?

OK, well, this is the perfect question for me.

Because of the Star Wars connection I'm a massive Harrison Ford fan,

everybody knows that. So it's pretty easy for me,

it's the Crystal Skull.

It is the Crystal Skull, well done.

And Phantom Menace, that was a Star Wars one, wasn't it?

Yeah, that was the prequel, yeah, that came out.

And Two Towers?

Two Towers is Lord Of The Rings, I think.

Yeah. OK.

All right. Chris. See if you can catch up.

In the TV reality show The Jump,

celebrities take part in which sport?

I don't think they'd risk horse racing.

It wouldn't be the triple jump, that's an athletics speciality,

but I think they get them ski jumping.

Ski jumping is the right answer.

You ever been tempted by that show?

Well, no, it seems a rather silly way of getting downhill fast.

OK. Sam.

Joe Pesci won an Oscar for his role in which film?

OK.

I love him, he's a good actor.

I've seen all these films. Goodfellas is brilliant,

I love that, but I'm pretty sure it's My Cousin Vinny.

Challengers, do we know?

-I think it's Goodfellas.

-It is Goodfellas.

-Oh, I'm really annoyed with myself.

-Oh, sorry.

Don't worry, at the moment you're still level.

Chris, your question.

In which film does Janet Leigh play the role of Marion Crane,

a woman on the run after stealing 40,000?

Ah, she's very famously killed off halfway through, it's Psycho.

Yes, Psycho is correct. OK, Sam, you need this to stay in.

-I do, right, OK.

-OK, here we go.

Jim Carter, who played Mr Carson in Downton Abbey,

married which actress in 1983?

Oh, goodness.

I said, when I said TV & Film,

I said, I hope a Downton Abbey question doesn't come up,

because I've just never seen it.

I don't think it's Julie Walters.

I'm going with my gut feeling, I honestly don't know this,

so, Imelda Staunton?

Imelda Staunton is the right answer.

-Oh, thank you.

-Well done, Sam.

Chris, your question, to take the round.

The 2017 film Free Fire was directed by which man?

I think, I'm not sure, but I think that's Shane Meadows.

-Yes!

-Martin, you know?

-Yes, Ben Wheatley.

-Ben Wheatley is the answer.

-Oh, right.

-OK, so this is good, Sam.

You're off the hook, there, and we go to Sudden Death

because you're equal after three, so it gets a bit harder.

-I don't give you different options, OK.

-OK.

-Here we go.

Hank Schrader and Mike Ehrmantraut

are supporting characters in which TV series first shown in 2008?

They're not ringing any bells at all, haven't got a clue.

They sound American.

Hank...

I'll go for Dexter.

American show. I don't know.

Not a bad shout.

-Steve, do you know?

-Well, thanks to Barry, it's Breaking Bad.

-Breaking Bad.

-Oh.

-OK.

-OK, Chris, you can take the round with this.

In which 1980 film does Bill Murray play a character named Carl Spackler

who is at war with The Gopher.

That's Caddyshack.

Caddyshack is the right answer, you've taken the round. Sorry, Sam.

Knocked out by Chris.

He'll be in the final - but it's early days for our Challengers.

Please return and rejoin your teams.

So, as it stands, Awkward and Large have lost one brain

from the final round, the Eggheads haven't lost any yet.

And the next subject for you is Arts & Books.

So, Colin, who wants this?

Er, right OK.

-So...

-I think it's the girls.

-Yeah.

Rachel is our Arts & Books expert.

OK, Rae against which Egghead? It can't be Chris.

Personally, I'd say Barry or Steve,

but I wouldn't choose Lisa, personally.

No, she's really good at that, isn't she?

So we know who we're not going to choose.

-Who would you want to play?

-Let's go with Steve.

OK. Rae from Awkward and Large

playing Steve on Arts & Books from the Eggheads -

and just to ensure there is no conferring,

please take your positions.

It says here you've got 13 piercings and tattoos, Rae.

And counting, yes.

So, do the tattoos follow a theme?

Unfortunately not yet, but I'm working on it. I'm getting there.

What, you're thinking you could build up a bit more?

Yeah, I'm going to get a few more, yeah.

And you recently gained a degree in English literature, Rae.

Er, literature and language.

And what was your best, your sort of discovery,

what was the thing you loved the most?

I am in love with the English language.

I loved the language part of it, and I'm very linguistic-based.

How wonderful. OK.

So, Arts & Books, perfect, I hope, for you -

and, Rae, do you want to go first or second?

I'll go first, as well, please. Thank you.

Here we go. The strange Case of Doctor Jekyll and Mr Hyde

is a book by which author?

Bram Stoker was Dracula.

I desperately want to say that Robert Louis Stevenson was...

..the...the giant...

I'm going to go with HG Wells,

I'm not 100% convinced, but I think it's HG Wells.

I might have gone the same way, to be honest with you.

But it is actually Robert Louis Stevenson.

They are all known for other stuff - so, HG Wells is The Time Machine

and War Of The worlds

and Louis Stevenson is Treasure Island.

Treasure Island, Kidnapped, Catriona.

OK - but he also did Jekyll and Hyde.

Steve, which of these works by Shakespeare

is largely set in Britain?

That's King Lear, Jeremy.

King Lear is right. Hamlet is where?

-Denmark.

-Romeo and Juliet?

-Verona.

-Correct.

OK. Back to you, Rae.

The Odyssey is an epic poem by which writer?

As soon as you said the Odyssey, I wanted to say Homer.

And then as soon as I saw Virgil, I questioned myself.

Aesop was the fables, so not even counting that.

I'm going to go with Homer.

Good, yeah, Homer's Odyssey. Well done. Absolutely right.

Steve. What is the name of the main female character

in Henry James's novel The Portrait of a Lady?

Well, there's only one of those options

actually in a Henry James novel,

and that's Isabel Archer.

Isabel Archer is quite right.

Anyone help us with Bathsheba, is she a real person?

-Far From The Madding Crowd.

-Far From The Madding Crowd.

Catherine Morland...?

-Anybody?

-Northanger Abbey.

Northanger Abbey.

All right, so you need to get this one right to stay in, Rae.

Which of these French dramatists is best known for writing farces?

Definitely not my strength, in terms of farces.

I think... I erred towards Feydeau when I saw the names come up.

I'm going to go with my initial instinct, and go with Feydeau.

Georges Feydeau.

Georges Feydeau is correct.

-Well done!

-Nicely done.

Cos that's not an easy question at all.

So, level...but Steve can take it with this question.

Steve, which of these is a work by Edouard Manet?

I'm just not going to jump in here.

I'm pretty sure that's Le Dejeuner sur l'Herbe.

Apologies for the accent.

Le Dejeuner sur l'Herbe...

is the right answer.

Let's just think. Impression: Sunrise, is that...?

-Monet.

-Monet.

And Seurat did La Grande Jatte?

Yes. So Manet did paint Le Dejeuner sur l'Herbe, which means, what,

"picnic in the forest" or something?

"Lunch on the grass."

There's a naked lady with the party, having a picnic.

You're so right, and it was famously put on an album cover by...?

-Bow Wow Wow.

-Bow Wow Wow, Pat.

Absolutely. OK.

Sorry, Rae. Fascinating round,

it's just that first answer tripped you up.

Do come back to us, and we will play on.

OK. As it stands, Awkward and Large

have lost two brains from the final round,

the Eggheads have still not lost any -

and the next subject is History.

So, who would like this?

-This is...

-James, are you happy to take History?

James? All right, business sales advisor.

It can be either Lisa or Barry or Pat.

Your choice, mate.

Who would you like to go with?

-Go with Lisa?

-I will go with Lisa.

-Let's go with Lisa.

-Yeah?

-Lisa.

Good. James from Awkward and Large taking on Lisa from the Eggheads.

To ensure there is no conferring,

please go to the famous Question Room.

Lisa, your favourite period of history?

Very, very boringly, mainstreamly, I'm afraid it's the Tudors.

-Everyone always says the Tudors, don't they?

-Yeah. Love them.

And Henry VIII and all that, jousting...

Mostly Elizabeth, I think's my favourite.

What about you, James, are you a Tudor person?

No, I'm more of a Queen Victoria kind of man.

Right!

Hanoverians. Right through to modern day.

OK, well, let's see where this goes.

James, would you like to go first or second?

I shall go second, please.

OK, nobody's gone second for ages, so, Lisa, your first question.

Which of these historical figures was born first?

I think we can fairly safely say that is...

-You did say born first, didn't you, Jeremy?

-Born first.

Yeah. Pretty sure that was 1600, yeah.

Robert the Bruce.

Robert the Bruce is correct.

James, your question. In which ancient civilisation

were the wealthy ruling classes called the patricians?

I think you can take out Aztec.

Between Greek and Roman...

..I would go Roman.

-Roman is correct.

-Well done!

-Well done.

Not easy. Lisa.

Your second question. The historic country of Prussia

was located on which body of water?

How did geography get where it's not supposed to be again?!

I think it's putting the word "historic"

before the word "country", makes it a history question.

Can I have the question one more time, please, Jeremy?

The historic country of Prussia was located on which body of water?

Yeah, OK.

Yeah, Prussia I think is modern-day Germany,

so I think that would be the Baltic Sea.

Baltic Sea is correct, well done.

So, Lisa's ahead, James.

Get this right to catch up.

What was the first name of the 19th-century Scottish explorer

and missionary Dr Livingstone?

Dr Livingstone...

I believe was an African adventurer.

Definitely not Henry.

Definitely don't think it's Clive, so I will go with David.

David Livingstone is correct.

Well done.

2-2.

Lisa. Sargon II, who lived in the eighth century BC,

was a ruler of which ancient kingdom?

Get under the desk, Barry.

Just get under there now, this isn't going to be pretty, OK?

I don't know. I'll try Macedonia.

Barry has collapsed.

-Barry?

-"The Assyrian came down like a wolf on the fold,

"and his cohorts were gleaming in purple and gold."

-It is Assyrian.

-So, Assyria is the answer,

so that gives you a little bit of a let-off here, James.

Get this right, you are in the final round.

Of the five good emperors who ruled over the Roman Empire

for most of the second century AD, who was the last?

Oh...

I don't think it is Marcus Aurelius, cos I think he was Caesar.

Hadrian...

Possibly, it is kind of when the wall was built.

It is either between Hadrian and Antoninus Pius.

It's a guess, but I am going to go Antoninus Pius.

No, it is Marcus Aurelius.

-Never mind.

-So, level after three questions.

Lisa, we go to Sudden Death, it gets a bit harder,

I don't give you alternatives. You know the form! Here we go.

Barry's not collapsed any more, he is sitting up.

He is behaving himself.

In Vietnamese, what do the letters VC stand for

in the name of the Communist-led army and guerrilla force

who fought US troops during the Vietnam War?

Is that as straightforward as Viet Cong...?

Viet Cong.

Viet Cong is correct.

James.

The Hay-Pauncefote Treaty of 1901, signed by Britain and the US,

gave the latter the right to build and manage what waterway?

That time, colonies...

Panama? Panama Canal.

Well done. Panama Canal.

Good answer.

OK. Lisa.

The Battle of the Eureka Stockade

took place in Australia in 1854 between British colonial troops

and workers mostly engaged in mining what?

I don't know. I've not much to go on, shall we try gold?

Gold is correct.

Cos they didn't like the prospecting licence fees.

James, you need this to stay in.

What was the popular name of the commission set up in November 1963

to investigate the assassination of John F Kennedy?

American history, not my strong point.

I haven't got a clue.

I don't know. Dallas Commission, I don't know.

Dallas, no.

-Eggheads?

-Warren Commission.

-Warren Commission.

After Earl Warren, who was the US Chief Justice.

Sorry, James, knocked out by Lisa.

Nip and tuck in the Sudden Death round, but Lisa took it.

The Egghead is in the final.

All right, Challengers, you've got to turn it around.

Let's play the next round.

As it stands, Awkward and Large having a slightly awkward time here.

But you can definitely still win, no question.

You have lost three brains from the final round,

the Eggheads have not lost any so far.

And we've got one more round before the final, and it's Music.

So it's going to be Colin or Martin.

-Preordained, isn't it?

-Preordained. Off you go, my darling.

I will take Music.

OK, Colin. And you can take on either Barry or Pat.

Barry, known as the Brain, Pat, known as the Shark.

It's a tough one.

I think I will take on Pat, please.

Righty-ho. Colin from Awkward and Large

playing Pat from the Eggheads. Just this round before the final,

let's see if the Challengers can win one back.

Please take your positions.

Music for you, Colin, then.

Would you like to go first or second?

Can I go first, please, Jeremy?

You can indeed, against the great Pat.

Here we go. Which of these singers released the album 100 in 2017?

Right.

I don't think it was Tony Bennett.

So I am going to go down the middle and go for Vera Lynn.

Yes, because she had turned 100.

Vera Lynn is right.

Pat, the American jazz singer Ella Fitzgerald

was nicknamed the First Lady of what?

I think she's made sort of benchmark recordings

of the music of Gershwin and Cole Porter,

and the entire American song book.

So I think she's the First Lady of Song.

Yes, she is the First Lady of Song.

Back to you, Colin. The musical acts Everything But The Girl

and The Housemartins both formed in which English city?

OK.

Based on the fact that The Housemartins,

I believe their first album was London 0 Hull 4, or another city,

I'm going to go for Hull.

Your answer's spot on. Hull is right.

OK, Pat.

Chained To The Rhythm is a 2017 hit single by which singer,

in collaboration with Skip Marley?

Lorde has tended to release solo songs.

Katy Perry certainly likes collaboration,

and Lady Gaga has done them in the past, with Tony Bennett and Beyonce.

Chained To The Rhythm...

I can remember a music video

with Katy Perry walking through some sort of theme park.

That could possibly be that song.

I think I will have to go for Katy Perry.

Katy Perry is right.

So, 2-2.

And back we go to you, for your third question, Colin.

The composer Antonin Dvorak died in which century?

This was the fear that classical music would drop in there.

As the last two answers have been the middle one and the right one,

I am going to go...

..down the middle again. 19th.

Now, let's see. Anyone on your side know?

Personally I'd have probably said 20th, but I really don't know.

-Pat, do you know?

-I have a suspicion

he may well have just crept into the 20th century.

Yeah, it is the 20th century. Colin, you have got two out of three.

Let's see if it's enough to get you to Sudden Death.

Pat, if you get this one right, you are in the final.

Allan Pineda Lindo, or apl.de.ap,

became famous as a member of which American group?

I think he's a long-standing friend of will.i.am,

with the extra full stops.

Erm... So I think he's a member of the Black Eyed Peas.

Black eyed peas it is. Pat, you are in the final round.

Colin, the captain, has been knocked out.

But there is a way back from here for the Challengers,

they can still win.

Return to us, please, we will play the final for £1,000.

And this is what we have been playing towards,

it is time for the final round,

which, as always, is General Knowledge.

But I'm afraid those of you who lost your head-to-heads

will not be allowed to take part,

so I'm afraid all from this side -

Colin, Rae, Sam and James from Awkward and Large,

would you now please leave the studio?

Martin, here you are playing to win Awkward and Large £1,000.

Lisa, Steve, Barry, Pat and Chris,

you are trying to shore up the Eggheads' reputation -

after the incident we mustn't discuss in the last game.

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

This time they are all General Knowledge.

Normally I say you can confer -

sorry that doesn't help you today, Martin,

with them all sitting back there,

but at the heart of it the question is,

can your one brain defeat these five?

-Do you want to go first or second?

-I've been saying all along I think

second's the way to go, so second, please.

All right. Your first question, Eggheads.

In 2015, Slaven Bilic became manager of which English football club?

-West Ham.

-West Ham, yeah.

All happy with West Ham?

Yeah, the big stadium.

We're all agreed on this, we believe it was West Ham United.

It was West Ham United.

Martin. What is the name of the child whose birth in 2013

was greeted on the front page of Private Eye magazine

with the headline "Woman Has Baby"?

Knowing Private Eye,

and certainly the joy Hislop takes in lampooning people,

I'm pretty sure it was an allusion to the massive hype

about Prince George being born.

Yeah, cos North West and Blue Ivy Carter, to be completely honest,

don't mean a lot, so I'm going to go Prince George.

Prince George is correct.

One each. Eggheads, back to you.

By what name was the modern city of Milan known in Roman times?

-Lutetia was Paris...

-Mediolanum?

-Mediolanum

-looks promising, doesn't it?

-Mediolanum makes sense, yeah.

Most modern names start with

the same first letter as the Roman names...

I'm fairly confident it is Mediolanum.

I'd have gone for that one myself.

We'll go for that. Are we happy with that?

-Mm-hm.

-OK, well,

the current names of Roman cities generally start with the same letter

as the first letter of the Roman name.

So on that principle, we will go for Mediolanum.

Mediolanum is correct.

So they are ahead, and this to catch up.

Martin, the UK traffic sign for no waiting

consists of a red circle with a red diagonal line through it,

on top of what colour background?

OK.

I was thinking white.

I'm pretty sure it is not black.

I'm going to discount that.

I'm going to go with blue.

Blue is correct, Martin, well done. You are level.

Eggheads, your third question.

The Hang Seng index is an indication

of share prices on the Stock Exchange principally located where?

-Hong Kong?

-Hong Kong.

-Hong Kong?

-Hong Kong.

I had four voices all around me, all saying Hong Kong at the same time,

so that's our answer.

Hong Kong is correct.

Martin. To take it to Sudden Death - but you do need this.

In 1924, Malcolm Campbell in his car Bluebird

set a world land speed record of 146.16 miles an hour

at which UK beach?

Pendine Sands is traditionally where the speed records were set.

Malcolm Campbell, Malcolm Campbell...

There were a lot of documentaries recently about Donald...

I'm going to go Pendine Sands.

If you are right, it goes to Sudden Death.

If you are wrong, the contest is over.

-Eggheads?

-Right.

Correct. Pendine Sands, South Wales.

Well done. After three questions each the scores are level,

we go to Sudden Death.

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

Jonathan Bartley became the co-leader of which political party

in September 2016?

-Greens.

-Greens.

-Part of the job share.

-Yeah. With Caroline Lucas.

We believe he was the co-leader of the Greens,

alongside Caroline Lucas.

Green Party is correct.

Over to you, Martin.

Katharine Viner became the editor in chief

of which daily newspaper in 2015?

So it keeps the Independent still on the table,

cos that was still going in 2015...

It's not the Mail.

Not the Sun, I don't think.

I'm really not sure.

The only newspaper I read is one of the big Sunday ones,

and it keeps me going all week.

I'm really an online news gatherer now,

but something's telling me the Mirror,

so I'm going to go the Daily Mirror.

If you've got it right, we play on. If you've got it wrong, it is over.

Let's see if the Eggheads know, is it the Mirror?

-No.

-What is it?

-The Guardian.

Martin, I'm so sorry, The Guardian is the answer.

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

Yeah, I'm trying to remember the circumstances.

Who is the guy...? Rusbridger left.

-Yes.

-Alan Rusbridger...

I got the right side of the political spectrum, didn't I?

Yeah, that's true.

You did, you did - and you are right that newspapers

are not where everyone gets their news now.

Commiserations, Martin, and the whole team of Awkward and Large.

The Eggheads have done what comes naturally to them,

and they reign supreme over quizland once again.

Back on your feet, Eggs. It's good, isn't it?

I'm afraid you will not be going home with the £1,000.

So we roll the money over to our next show.

Eggs, well done.

Who will beat you? Join us next time to see if a new team of Challengers

can stop them in their tracks.

There will be £2,000 waiting for them.

Until then, goodbye.