Episode 124 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.

You might recognise them as they are goliaths in the world of TV

quiz shows. They are the Eggheads.

And taking on the awesome might of our quiz goliaths today are...

The team play in various quiz leagues in and around Bradford,

and along with winning the coveted League Plate this year, they've won

the Brain Of Bradford for the last four years. Let's meet them.

Hello, I'm Peter.

I'm 70 and I work as an administrator.

Hello, I'm John. I'm 58 and I am a civil servant.

Hi, I'm Paul. I'm 32 and I'm a business analyst.

Hi, I'm John. I'm 60 and I'm a retired teacher.

Hello, I'm Gary. I'm 69.

I'm a retired financial adviser.

Welcome, Four Plus One! So, Peter, you come together through quizzing?

-Yes, we certainly do, yes.

-And you love it, I guess?

-Yes, we love it.

Not really fanatical, but we do love a few quizzes.

And your various professions represented...we've a civil servant, a business analyst.

-A retired schoolteacher, John?

-Yes, that's right.

-Does teaching give you the edge with quizzing?

Well, I was a geography teacher. I sometimes avoid the geography

questions. Well, I used to when I was teaching!

I would never have put myself in this position when I was actually working!

What's it like to see this lot in the flesh, having watched the programme so many times?

-It's pretty awesome, really.

-Nerve-racking!

-We're in awe!

Well, I am anyway!

Don't worry cos they can fall apart suddenly,

without warning! Every day there's £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, Four Plus One, the Eggheads have won the last three

-games, which means £4,000 says you can't beat them. Are you ready?

-Yes.

The first head-to-head battle will be on the subject of music.

Who would like this?

THEY CONFER

-OK, I'll go music.

-I

-will.

Paul, OK.

Against which Egghead?

This is the tricky bit.

Gary? Chris?

-OK.

-I've no idea.

-Chris, please.

-That's a very long conversation

you had! Paul from Four Plus One against Chris from the Eggheads.

Take your positions, please.

Paul, it's three multiple-choice questions.

-You can choose the first or the second set. Which is it to be?

-I'll go first, please.

Paul, Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now was a UK number one hit single in 1987 for which band?

Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now? Um...

I'm a big Bon Jovi fan and know most of their songs.

I know it's not one of theirs.

Europe did another song that I really like, The Final Countdown.

I think they were former Eurovision winners or were in Eurovision.

I think this particular song was done by Starship.

Bang on! Well done, Paul. First point to you.

Chris, here we are again with music.

Yeah, total rap!

We'll see if rap comes up.

The American singer Tammy Wynette was known as the First Lady of what?

Tammy Wynette, she was the First Lady of Country Music.

Indeed she was. Well done, Chris! One apiece. Now to you, Paul.

Which singer co-wrote Kylie Minogue's UK number one hit single

Can't Get You Out Of My Head with Rob Davis?

I don't think it was Betty Boo.

I've got a feeling that Cathy Dennis

did go on to sort of become a songwriter,

so I'm going to go with Cathy Dennis.

Is that your answer?

Yes.

It's the right answer, well done!

Pressure on, Chris. Chris, Autobahn is the title

of a 1970s album by which band?

Well, um, Autobahn is a German motorway, and Kraftwerk

is a German power station, so, logically, it should be Kraftwerk.

Yes, Chris, it is Kraftwerk!

Well done. Their most famous album, I guess.

So, Paul, back to you. Get this right to keep the pressure on.

Sketches Of Spain is a celebrated album by which jazz musician?

I have to be honest and say if there's one type of music

I absolutely loathe and detest, it's jazz! So,

I'm a bit out in the open here. Um, I'll really

going to have to make a complete guess on this.

I will go for Chet Baker.

OK, it was a complete guess. It's wrong, I'm afraid. It's Miles Davis.

Chris, if you take this, you take the round.

Here's your third question.

Vince Neil, John Corabi, Tommy Lee, Mick Mars and Nikki Sixx

have all been members of which heavy metal band?

White Anglo-Saxon Protestant.

Um, not really my thing, heavy metal, unless we're talking Meat Loaf.

But I don't think they were in WASP.

And I have never heard of Hanoi Rocks, so I'll go with Motley Crue.

I don't know how you do it, but you're right!

You've never heard Motley Crue?

It doesn't matter. Chris, you've won the round. Sorry, Paul.

You were just a point behind him, beaten by our Eggheads,

so as a result you won't be able to help your team in the final round.

Please, both of you, come back and rejoin your teams.

OK, as it stands, the Challengers have lost

one brain from the final round. The Eggheads have lost no brains.

Our next subject is science.

Who from the Challengers wants to play in this round?

Science.

-You don't fancy science?

-I certainly don't. I know nothing about science, no.

-Definitely not!

-You're pretty good on science.

-You were brilliant on science.

-I never thought of myself as a scientist!

-Well, but...

-OK, I'll do it, then!

-John, it's you against which Egghead?

-Is Judith into science?

-Are you suggesting Judith?

-I suggest Judith, yeah.

We'll say Judith, please.

OK, so it's Judith from the Eggheads, John from Four Plus One.

And to make sure there's no conferring, please take your positions in the question room.

I'm going to ask each of you three questions on science in turn.

-John, do you want the first set or the second set?

-I'll take the second set.

So, Judith, spinnerets are important

organs in the bodies of which creatures?

Well, spiders spin, don't they?

I mean, this is the first question in the round, it must be an easy one.

So, I think it must be spiders.

You think spiders have spinnerets?

-Well, they spin webs, don't they?

-You're right as well - well done!

John, by what name is the waste matter

from the smelting of metallic ores known?

I'm sure that snuff goes up your nose.

I've no idea what stub is, apart from putting out a cigarette.

Slag...yes, I'm sure the answer is slag.

-I'm going to go for slag.

-As in slag heap.

Yes, you're right! Well done.

One apiece. Back to Judith.

Emphysema is a condition that directly

affects which of the body's systems?

It's definitely respiratory. I remember thinking

I've got to give up smoking,

because my lungs were getting so bad

and I was terrified of getting emphysema. So, it's respiratory.

It is respiratory, you're right. Well done!

John, back to you. The autochrome process, patented

in 1904, was the first practical process for producing what?

Autochrome? Could you spell that, please?

Yes, A-U-T-O-C-H-R-O-M-E.

I'll go for mirrors. It's probably not right, but I'll go for mirrors.

I'm afraid it's wrong.

It's colour photographs.

So, Judith is in the lead. Now, if you take this, Judith, you've got

the round. You've knocked another Challenger out from Four Plus One.

What is found at the front end of the item of surgical equipment

known as a laparoscope?

Well, anything "scope" is, is...

..to do with looking, isn't it?

Microscopes, telescopes, et cetera.

Which would make me think that it...

Wait.

Not necessarily light, actually.

I may regret it, but I think it might be a drill.

-OK.

-Yeah.

-Is that your answer?

-Yes.

-Because the laparoscope goes in,

-looks around and then starts cutting?

-Yeah.

It's a light, Judith.

-Blast! That's what I thought was going to be.

-I know you thought that!

Bother! But then I thought of endoscope

and other scopes, which have other tools attached to them.

-It's all that smoking, isn't it?

-Probably!

What, dulled the brain, you mean?

So, John you have a chance now to draw level and here's your question.

Virga is the name meteorologists give to precipitation that does what

before it reaches the ground?

Well...

I shall go for evaporates.

And your answer is right.

Well done!

So, three questions each. You're level.

We move now to sudden death and to make it that bit harder, these questions are not multiple choice.

Judith first. Which Soviet artificial satellite

takes its name from the Russian for fellow traveller?

Um, all satellites have gone out of my head.

I mean, quite literally!

I can't think of any of them!

Um, I'm trying to think of the first one, because I think

that's what it might be.

Sputnik.

Perhaps it's Sputnik.

-So, is that your answer?

-I feel I'm sitting in the back here talking complete nonsense!

-What's your answer?

-I am going to say Sputnik.

The Eggheads are delighted here!

-Are they?

-Yeah.

-Hooray!

-Because you got it right. Well done, well done!

So, John, get this wrong and I'm afraid

you won't join us in the final. Here we go.

The bee Xylocopa, which nests in tunnels excavated from solid wood,

is known by what common name?

Bee?

Xylocopa.

Well, it's not the bumblebee because that has

a Latin name Bombus terris, or something like that.

It nests in solid wood?

Is there something called the burrowing bee?

-Is that your answer?

-Yes.

OK, it is wrong. Do any of your team-mates know, by any chance?

It's something to do with wood.

-Something to do with wood, yeah.

-The carpenter bee?

The carpenter bee is the correct answer.

Sort of a clue in the question, but still a hard one. John, I'm sorry.

You won't be in the final. You have been beaten by Judith on science.

Judith, you will be. Please come back and rejoin your teams.

Well, as it stands, the Challengers have lost

two brains from the final round. The Eggheads have lost no brains.

The next subject is film and television,

-so which Challenger wants film and TV?

-Gary.

-I'll go for that.

-Gary.

-Gary. Against...?

-Not Judith, not Chris.

-I think we'll go for CJ.

-No, not CJ.

-Not CJ?

-No, he knows everything about television.

-Does he?

-Yeah.

-He's loving that!

-I think the rest of them probably do as well!

Who are we going for?

-Daphne?

-Shall we go for Daphne?

Yeah, Daphne. Come and join me.

-Oh, well!

-You sure?

-Yeah.

-Gary from Four Plus One against Daphne from the Eggheads!

To ensure there is no conferring, please take your positions.

-OK, three questions, multiple choice. You can choose the first or second set.

-I'll go first.

Gary, who was the host of the TV game show Supermarket Sweep?

That was certainly not Paul Ross.

Not Tom O'Connor. I am pretty certain that was Dale Winton.

It was, the great Dale! Well done!

Daphne, what is the name of

the super-villain played by Thomas Haden Church in Spider-Man 3?

Well, I don't think it's Bananaman.

I think He-Man is something else, so, fingers crossed, it must be Sandman?

Is right! One each.

Over to you, Gary. Who provided

the voice of Darth Vader in the original Star Wars trilogy?

That was the velvety-voiced James Earl Jones.

Not a moment's hesitation!

Well done, well done!

OK, Daphne. Who is the regular female judge

on the TV series Britain's Got Talent?

I think that's Amanda Holden.

I remember her crying.

So, yeah, Amanda Holden.

The person who was crying is most likely to have been the judge.

You're right! Well done!

Two each. Playing well here.

Over to you, Gary. The alien Klaatu and his mighty robot Gort are the

two main characters of which science fiction film released in 1951?

It wasn't Them,

because that was about giant ants, and it wasn't Forbidden Planet.

It was most certainly, definitely The Day The Earth Stood Still.

Brilliant work. Absolutely right!

Daphne, get this wrong and you're out!

In which country was the actor told Donald Sutherland born?

I...

I don't know.

I am going to guess that he is Canadian?

-So, your answer is Canada, is it?

-Yeah. I don't know. I'm really sorry.

-No, you're right, well done!

-Oh! Right!

Three out of three for you both.

So, tight round!

Two great players here, and with the scores level, we go to sudden death.

The questions are not multiple choice now.

-Are you ready, Gary?

-Yep.

In Buster Keaton's classic 1927 silent comedy The General,

what is the General?

A locomotive.

Yes, I can accept that.

A steam locomotive, well done.

Daphne, over to you.

In 1978, Philip French

became the main film reviewer on which national newspaper?

I don't know.

Absolutely no idea.

If you get this wrong, you're gone. You're not in the final round.

I think I'm well gone!

-Um...

-And it's been very close.

I don't know why...the Daily Mirror.

I know it's wrong.

I suppose you're on the right side of the political fence, but it's the wrong paper.

-It's the Observer.

-Oh, right.

Philip French, 1978.

Well done, Gary! Well done.

You did really well there.

It was a very tight round. You took on an Egghead, you emerged triumphant.

So, Gary, you will play in the final round and, Daphne, you won't.

Please, both of you, come back to us.

As it stands, the Challengers have lost two brains from the final round,

whilst the Eggheads have lost one brain.

-The last subject, geography. Who wants this?

-I'll take that one.

John will take that!

-John, such conviction!

-I'll make a fool of myself!

-Your former subject as a teacher.

-Absolutely.

-So, who do you want to pick? CJ or Kevin?

-Kevin.

I'll commit hari-kari and have a go at Kevin!

OK, well, that is dangerous play.

John from Four Plus One against Kevin from the Eggheads.

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

So, three questions on geography in turn.

-John, do you want the first or second set?

-I'll go first.

The town of Grangemouth, perhaps best known for its major oil refinery,

is in which part of the UK?

Yes, I'm quite confident with this. A good friend of mine actually lives

just outside Grangemouth. It's in Scotland.

You are confident and you're right! Well done. ..Over to you, Kevin.

Which sea in the Atlantic Ocean takes its name

from the proliferation of a type of gulf weed on its surface?

The other two both are separate seas, whereas the Sargasso

forms part of the Atlantic. So, Sargasso.

Sargasso is the right answer, Kevin, well done.

John,

the Alpine federal province of Corinthia forms part of which country?

Right, um, my first thought when it came on was Switzerland.

I'm not absolutely sure, though. Austria does ring a bell.

I don't think it's Italy at all.

I'll stick with Switzerland. I'll go with Switzerland.

It's the wrong answer, I'm afraid.

It's in Austria. Does anyone know, is it in the south of Austria?

Yeah, southern Austria.

Bad luck there, John. ..Back to you, Kevin.

Which city is home to the famed

Massachusetts Institute Of Technology?

Um, I think MIT is not all that far

from Harvard. Springfield is over in western Massachusetts -

I don't think it's that.

Lowell is closer in towards Boston.

But the educational hub there,

where Harvard and other institutions are based, is Cambridge.

So, I don't know it for sure, but I'll go for Cambridge.

I love your logic. Spot on, as well! Cambridge, Massachusetts.

So, to stay in the contest, John, here is your third question.

Cat Island and Rum Cay form part of which island group?

How was the first one spelled?

Cat is spelt C-A-T.

And Rum Cay is R-U-M and then C-A-Y.

Um, I've not heard of either of them, um.

Rum Cay...

Cay, spelled C-A-Y, gives me perhaps the clue

that it might be in the Cayman Islands,

which could of, course, be leading me down an incorrect alley.

I'll go with the Cayman Islands.

Yes, it was an incorrect alley, because it was the Bahamas, John.

Bad luck there. ..Kevin, you take the round, because John can't come

back from that position. So, Kevin, that means you join us in the final.

John, I'm sorry, you don't. Do both come back and rejoin your team-mates.

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 join us in this round. So, that is John G,

Paul and John M from Four Plus One, and then Daphne from the Eggheads.

Please leave the studio.

So, this is exciting, isn't it?

You are playing to win, Four Plus One,

£4,000 with your colleagues looking on here.

Judith, Kevin, CJ and Chris, you're playing for something money can't buy - the Eggheads' reputation!

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

the questions are all general knowledge and you can, of course, confer.

So, Four Plus One, the question is,

are your two brains better than the Eggheads' four?

Peter and Gary, do you want to go first or second?

We'll go first, please.

First question for Four Plus One.

If you were ordered to splice the mainbrace, on what type of vehicle

would you traditionally be?

Sailing ship.

-Yeah, well, the mainbrace is a...

-Main spar.

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

-So, we are definitely going to say a sailing ship.

-Are you sure it's not tank?

-No, no, no.

One never knows!

Well done, first point to you.

Eggheads, in JK Rowling's Harry Potter books,

what do the Seekers attempt to catch in the game of Quidditch?

A Golden Snitch.

The Quaffle is the ball. The Golden Snitch

-is the tiny little thing.

-Yeah.

-The Quaffle is the normal Quidditch ball

and the Golden Snitch is little thing with the wings,

-because Harry Potter is the first Seeker in the first book.

-Right.

We think the Quaffle is actually the ball in Quidditch, but the Seekers,

of which Harry Potter was in the very first book,

go after the little Golden Snitch.

-And you know that because you...?

-Because we're sad, lonely people!

Sad, lonely people. ..Chris, you... That's passed you by?

It has rather, yeah.

The answer is correct.

It is Golden Snitch. Well done.

Second question to you.

Ron Pickering was best known for commentating on TV on which sport?

Athletics. Athletics.

-It's definitely not football.

-Definitely not,

-neither is it snooker.

-No.

So, that just leaves the athletics.

Athletics is correct. Well done, two points to you.

Eggheads, which is the only country in

continental Europe to share the same international time zone as the UK?

Portugal.

Portugal.

-Portugal.

-Portugal is your answer.

It's correct. Daphne's nodding back there!

Two each.

Now, you've really have to get this

right because then, if you don't, they suddenly run away with it, OK?

Poisson distribution is an important element specifically in which field?

Could you repeat the question, please, Jeremy?

Yes. Poisson - P-O-I-S-S-O-N - distribution

is an important element specifically in which field?

Well, poisson is fish.

Do you think it might be statistical analysis?

Yes, right.

-I can't help, because I haven't a clue.

-Do you play chess?

No, but I've not heard that

-in the context of chess.

-And you're not a cardiac surgeon, are you?

-No, and I've not received it yet either!

-Neither have I!

So...

We don't really know, Jeremy, but we're going to have

what we hope is an educated guess at statistical analysis.

Spot on. Well done!

Three out of three.

Great play. So, Eggheads, here we go with your third question.

You get this wrong and they've taken the money

and you are humiliated again!

No, that is too strong! Here is your question.

Which creature features on the flag of Kazakhstan?

Which creature features on the flag of Kazakhstan?

-It's an eagle with outspread wings.

-A double eagle?

-And stars underneath?

-No, no. It's an eagle

with outspread wings and the symbol of the sun.

We think that's the eagle, Jeremy.

Eagle is the correct answer, well done. Three apiece.

You're playing well against these Eggheads. Keep it going.

So, it now goes to sudden death.

To make it that bit harder, as you know, it's not multiple choice.

Good luck, guys.

Which dystopian novel, published

in 1953, opens with the line, "It was a pleasure to burn"?

-Uh, dystopian novel...

-1953...?

1953.

It's not 1984.

The only other one I can think of is Brave New World by Huxley.

-OK, I'll go with that.

-This is a pure guess - um, Brave New World?

That's the wrong answer. ..Do you know the answer, Eggheads?

Fahrenheit 451.

-Fahrenheit 451.

-For goodness sake!

-The temperature at which books catch fire, by Ray Bradbury.

-Yeah.

Eggheads, if you get this right, you have taken the contest.

A very tight contest, too.

If an object is described as ophidian,

watch creature is it said to resemble?

Could you spell that, Jeremy?

O-P-H-I-D-I-A-N.

-Yes, a snake.

-I will just read that one more time.

If an object is described as ophidian, what creature is it said to resemble?

We think that's a snake, Jeremy.

-From which word?

-Ophidian!

Yeah.

That means snake. Snake-like.

You've got it right. Congratulations, Eggheads, you've won.

John and Peter, what about that? You played great.

-Really well.

-Very close.

-It's been great to have you. Commiserations to you.

The Eggheads have done what comes naturally to them. They reign supreme over quiz land.

I'm afraid you won't be going home with the £4,000,

which means that the money rolls over to the next show. ..Eggheads, congratulations.

Who will beat you?

Join us next time to see if the new Challengers have the brains to defeat the Eggheads.

£5,000 says they don't.

Until then, goodbye.

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd

E-mail [email protected]