Episode 131 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've won some of the country's toughest quiz shows. They are the Eggheads.

Taking on our quiz champions today are the Music Kids from London.

The team are all studying at the Royal Academy of Music

and they've all played alongside one another as members of the National Youth Orchestra. Let's meet them.

Hi, I'm Sasha, I'm 20 and I'm a music student.

Hi, I'm Tom, I'm 20 and I'm a music student.

Hi, I'm Hetty, I'm 19 and I'm a music student.

Hi, I'm Steph, I'm 20 and I'm a music student.

Hi, I'm Vicky, I'm 20 and I'm a music student.

Welcome, Music Kids.

So it's tuba, cello, cello, viola, clarinet?

Can you tell what instrument someone plays just by looking at them?

-They're usually holding it!

-Right!

But there's no other way?

-Sometimes, yeah.

-Sometimes people start to look

like their instrument after they've played it for a while.

So, if you win, we want you to bring your

-investments out from under the desk.

-LAUGHTER

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, Music Kids, the Eggheads have won the last 10 games,

which is quite good news for you.

It means £11,000 says you can't beat them. Are you ready to try?

-Yeah!

-Is that enough?

I think it's enough! The first head-to-head

battle is on the subject of Music!

-Who wants this?

-Hetty.

-Hetty the cellist.

-Yes.

And which Egghead would you like to smash

over the head with your instrument?

Chris.

OK, Hetty from the Music Kids against Chris from the Eggheads.

To ensure there's no conferring, please take your positions in the question room.

-So, Hetty, you're the cellist?

-Yes.

-Playing since you were seven?

Yeah, ages.

If people look like their instruments, what would Chris play?

-I reckon...

-Piccolo?

I'd say oboe.

-Good one.

-Or trombone, maybe.

What is it, Chris? What's your instrument?

Probably a sousaphone.

LAUGHTER

Good luck in this round, Hetty.

You get to choose. As you know, it's multiple-choice questions.

-You can choose the first or second set.

-Can I go first?

Good luck, Music Kids.

Which musical instrument is played by stretching and squeezing with the

hands to work a central bellows that blows air over metal reeds?

I'm not going to say sousaphone - I think that's...

A harmonica is quite small. I think you blow down it.

I think I'm going to go for accordion.

Accordion is the right answer, well done.

How strange, Chris, you mentioned sousaphone...

-Indeed.

-It's not a word I've heard for years.

It's a sort of out-sized tuba.

OK. Your question.

Simon Le Bon became famous as the lead singer of which group?

Simon Le Bon was...

lead singer of Duran Duran.

Yes, he was.

And there was no sousaphone in Duran Duran.

Hetty, your second question.

The Halle Orchestra is based in which British city?

Erm...I know it's not Cardiff.

I think it's up north somewhere,

but I'm not sure it's as far as Edinburgh.

I'll go for Manchester.

You're right - Manchester is right.

Well done, Hetty.

Chris, your question now. Before he took up the trumpet,

Louis Armstrong was a professional musician on which instrument?

Ah.

He took up the trumpet to play jazz when he was in his teens,

but prior to that he had been in the band that was then called

the Colored Waifs Home, where he lived, and I think in that band

he played the cornet.

Yes, he did. Well done. He played the cornet before the trumpet.

Two points each. Tight round.

Hetty, the form of the vocal chamber music known as the madrigal

originated during the 14th century in which country?

I should know this, cos we learned about it in college.

Madrigal... I'm not going to say France.

I'm not sure about Germany. I'm going to go for Italy.

It's a bit of a...guess.

-Bit of a guess?

-Yeah.

But you got it, though. Italy is right. Three out of three.

Storming performance by our musicians.

Chris, which character from the musical Oliver!

sings Reviewing The Situation?

# I'm reviewing the situation... #

It's Fagin.

It was indeed Fagin.

Three points each - that means we go to sudden death.

Gets a bit harder now, Hetty.

We don't give you multiple choice.

Here's your question. The musician Eddie Lang, born in 1902, also known

as Blind Willie Dunn, was best known for playing which instrument?

I don't actually know, so I'm going to go for guitar.

Guitar is correct.

Accompanied Bing Crosby.

Chris, if you get this wrong, you're not in the final.

An Old Raincoat Won't Ever Let You Down, released in 1970,

was the debut album of which solo artist?

1970...

Hmm.

About the right time for David Bowie.

But it's the wrong answer, though.

He was on his Space Oddity phase then.

-It's Rod Stewart, Chris.

-Aha. OK.

Hetty, well done - you've beaten an Egghead.

APPLAUSE

Good news for our challengers, the Music Kids. That means Hetty plays

in the final. ..Chris, you don't. Please, both of you come back and rejoin your teams.

As it stands, Eggheads have lost one brain from the final round. Challengers have lost no brains.

Next subject is Science.

How are musicians on Science today?

It's not me! >

Tom's going to do it.

Who do you want to take on on Science? Who looks the least scientific?

-I think Daphne.

-CJ.

I'm going to go for Daphne.

Tom from the Music Kids, Daphne from the Eggheads, please take

your positions in the question room.

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

-Tom, you can choose the first or second set.

-I'll have the first set, please.

Tom, in an isosceles triangle, how many sides are the same length?

An isosceles triangle...

I'm fairly sure it's not none.

I think an isosceles, they're all the same length. I'm going to say three.

That's the wrong answer. It's two.

Three would have been an equilateral triangle.

And none is a scalene.

A scalene triangle?

-Everyone go "Ooh".

-Ooh!

Over to you, Daphne, with your scalene triangles.

What's the mathematical probability

of two coins flipped together both landing heads up?

-One in four?

-Is that a question or an answer?

I hope it's the right answer, but I haven't got a clue.

I hate questions like...

-You're right, one in four is right.

-Oh.

One in two...times two.

Tom, how long does it take Uranus to make a complete orbit of the sun?

Well, it's towards the outer...

out of the...

so I'd say it's probably longer rather than shorter.

I'm going to go for the middle, 84 years.

84 years, I think.

It's a complete guess, though.

It's interesting how the going for the middle approach works

for a lot of people. It's worked for you. 84 is right.

Daphne, what's the name of the gravity-defying action

responsible for the spread of rising damp in buildings

that causes liquids to pass upwards through porous materials?

I think that's capillary motion,

is it?

Yes, it sounds right.

If I left you to your own devices,

you'd eventually be overcome by doubt. But anyway, you're right.

It's capillary. Pulls liquid upwards.

Over to you, Tom. You need to this question or you're out of the final.

Where in this human body is the pisiform bone -

P-I-S-I-F-O-R-M -

..pisiform bone located?

Right. Well, I'm fairly sure

it's not in the knee. Famous last words!

The skull rings a bell somehow.

I don't think it's the wrist.

I'm going to go for skull.

You're going for skull? If it's wrong, you're not in the final.

I'm sorry to say it is wrong - it's the wrist.

So Daphne will be in the final. Tom, you were beaten by our Egghead.

Please both of you come back and rejoin your team-mates.

APPLAUSE

As it stands, the Eggheads and the challengers have lost one brain each from the final round.

Our next subject is Geography.

Who wants Geography?

-I'm going... Do you mind?

-No.

-I think you'll be awesome.

-Is that Vicky?

-Yeah.

Which Egghead looks lost?

-CJ, I reckon.

-CJ, please.

OK, it's Vicky from the Music Kids versus CJ from the Eggheads.

To ensure there's no conferring, please take your positions in the question room.

So, another musician, and it's your life, is it, Vicky?

-Absolutely. It has been forever.

-Good luck here.

-Thank you.

Three questions on Geography. Multiple choice, as you know. Do you want the first or second set?

First, please.

After Brazil, which South American country has the largest area?

I'm pretty sure it's not Peru.

I'm going to go with Argentina.

You're spot-on, well done.

Your question, CJ. In which English county

are the seaside resorts of Ilfracombe and Dawlish located?

I'm only laughing cos I know your love of the English map.

There are a lot of "Combe"s down in the south-west, aren't there?

Yes, of course, it's the sort of thing I should know.

But you know me and English geography are absolutely useless.

Um, Devon.

Is correct.

On which Mediterranean island would

you find the city of Paphos?

OK, I'm not really sure about this one.

For some reason, I've got a feeling about Crete.

Yeah, I'm going to go for Crete.

It's actually Cyprus. I'm sorry.

You're wrong.

So, CJ, you have the chance for the advantage for geography, now.

Which Australian city is built on the Torrens River?

Well, Melbourne's the Yarra.

Sydney, I can't remember, but Torrens isn't ringing a bell.

I know nothing about Adelaide, so that's what I'll go for.

Adelaide is absolutely right.

Vicky, you need to get this right.

What's the average regularity of an

eruption of Old Faithful, the famous geyser in Yellowstone National Park?

I really don't have a clue about this one at all.

Once an hour seems very often.

I'm going to have a complete guess at once a year.

On this occasion, the guess hasn't worked.

I only know this because I've seen it.

You stand around and, believe it or not, they say it should be coming up

in about 35 minutes. It's once an hour.

It's very, very regular. So, Vicky, you're wrong, I'm afraid.

It's once an hour and that means you won't be joining your team in the final. ..CJ, you will.

Please, both of you, come back.

As it stands, the challengers have lost two brains

from the final round. The Eggheads have lost one brain.

The last subject is Food and Drink.

Which of you wants this?

I'll do it.

On the basis he eats a lot.

That's a good reason!

So you've got Kevin left and Barry.

-I reckon Kevin.

-All right, we'll go with Kevin.

I reckon you watch this programme, don't you?

You've chosen him on his weakest subject, although he's still strong on it.

OK, Sasha from the Music Kids against Kevin from the Eggheads, please take your positions.

It's Food and Drink. Three questions, multiple choice, and you can choose,

-Sasha, the first or second set.

-I'll go first.

Sasha, what type of sauce is usually used as the basis for a pizza?

Being a student, I do tend to eat

a lot of pizza, so I'm going to have to go with tomato.

It's absolutely right, well done.

Kevin, a butty is a colloquial term for what?

As in chip or various other varieties,

I suppose you could call it a sandwich.

A couple of slices of bread

or two halves of a roll.

Chuck a lot of stuff in there.

So, sandwich.

And it is sandwich, well done.

Back to you, Sasha.

What type of food is the famous Bath Oliver?

Bath Oliver...

Well...

I have absolutely no idea.

Anchovy paste sounds more disgusting than Bath Oliver, to be honest.

So I'm going to cut that out. I'm going to go with sausage, because

it sounds like a sort of posh version of a sausage.

Sausage is your answer?

It's actually biscuit.

Sorry, Sasha.

Kevin, back to you.

Not often we see Kevin pull clear on Food and Drink,

but this is the moment you can.

-Kevin doesn't have an oven or a fridge.

-Oh, no!

So he's constantly looking in bins.

It's amazing what you find in them! I'm not going to tell anybody what I found in yours.

Kevin, what's the basis of the Chinese dish chop suey?

I've never actually had chop suey, so...

Well...I'm pretty sure it's egg noodles.

I hope I'm not mixing it up with anything else.

Egg noodles.

I assumed you were having takeaways every night.

Oh, no, no, no. I eat out, but eating out covers a whole variety of sins.

I don't generally take much food home. Just occasionally.

-It figures, because it's bean sprouts.

-Is it?

-Ah.

-You're wrong.

So, Sasha, here's your next question.

What name is given to the colourless

or pale, straw-coloured Scandinavian spirit which is

distilled from potato or grain mash and flavoured with caraway seeds?

I wish Tom were here, cos he's a barman.

I'm going to go with Haxn because

it's got too many consonants in it, so it should be Scandinavian.

I love the logic, and the

logic sounds so right, but the answer is wrong.

Aquavit is the answer.

Kevin, your chance to take the round and make sure

you've booked yourself a place in the final.

Puzzone di Moena...

I'll spell it for you. P-U-Z-Z-O-N-E

then D-I

then M-O-E-N-A.

Puzzone di Moena, from the Trentino region of Italy,

is what type of foodstuff?

Puzzone di Moena?

It doesn't sound like a pasta.

Most varieties of pasta tend to have one-word names.

I don't know. It could be a...

I've never heard of it, so it could be either of the others.

I'm trying to get any kind of... Puzzone di Moena?

It doesn't sound...

It may well be, but it doesn't sound to me

as though it should be a mushroom.

When in doubt with these things, say "cheese",

because there are so many varieties of cheese, so I'll go for that.

Another bit of quizzers' logic

that we learn on the programme - "When in doubt, say cheese."

And it's worked, you're right.

I'm sorry you didn't have a cheese question yourself, Sasha.

It means you're not in the final round, and Kevin is.

Please come back and rejoin your team-mates.

This is what we've been playing towards.

It's time for the final round, which, as always, is General Knowledge.

Those of you who lost your head-to-heads

won't be allowed to take part in this round.

That's Sasha, Tom and Vicky from the Music Kids,

and Chris from the Eggheads.

Please would you take your positions backstage?

Hetty and Steph, you're playing to win the Music Kids £11,000.

-Do I sense you're slightly nervous?

-A little bit.

-A lot!

"A little bit. A lot"!

Kevin, CJ, Daphne and Barry, you're playing for something which money can't buy, the Eggheads' reputation.

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

The questions are all General Knowledge.

You are allowed to confer. ..Music Kids, the question is

are your two brains better than the Eggheads' four?

Hetty and Steph... Don't answer that one! Do you want to go first or second?

-First?

-First.

-..First, please.

Here's your first question, good luck.

The actress Demi Moore married which actor in 1987?

I'm pretty sure it's Bruce Willis.

-Yeah.

-And she's married to Ashton Kutcher now, isn't she?

We're going to go for Bruce Willis.

I'm glad you did, you're right. Well done.

Eggheads, what term refers to an advertising campaign that relies

on the public voluntarily passing on the marketing message,

often via the internet?

-I assume it's viral.

-I would think so.

-I've not heard of it.

I think I might have, somewhere.

-The other two...

-It can't be the other two.

-Bacterial? No. In the same sense as a computer virus.

-Yes.

Consensus of opinion is that it must be viral.

It is viral. We might have

had one of the great moments of the show if you had said fungal.

Fungal advertising? A lot of it is!

One apiece. Music Kids, which US state

is known as the Land of Lincoln?

-I'm pretty sure it's not California.

-No, I don't think it is.

I want to say Illinois just cos it's got an L in it!

-I think we should take a stab at Illinois.

-Erm...Illinois?

Is that how you say it?

You took a stab at Illinois because it had more than one L in it?

Because we don't think it could be the other ones.

I don't think it's California, but we're not sure. Just a guess.

You're right. Well done!

Well done, brilliant!

Eggheads, which London area is sometimes referred to as Banglatown?

It has to be Brick Lane.

Monica Ali wrote an excellent book called Brick Lane,

about the Bangladeshi community.

So we're saying Brick Lane.

Brick Lane is correct.

Two each. Keep that £11,000 within your grasp.

La Danse, featuring five naked

forms dancing in a circle, is a 1909 work by which artist?

-I think it's Matisse.

-Do you?

-I think. My brain is...

-Salvador Dali is really abstract.

-Surrealist.

-All of those clocks and things.

-It's not a Dali.

Duchamp... My art teacher is going to kill me!

I've never heard of Duchamp.

-I've heard of Matisse. I don't know.

-Do you trust me on Matisse?

-I trust you.

-It might be wrong.

Just go for it - we've got nothing to lose. Well...just £11,000!

I really don't want to get it wrong.

If you get it wrong, there's always a chance these guys skate away.

-They do that.

-Matisse...

I should know!

I know the picture, exactly, but I think it's Matisse.

-If you know the picture, you'd have read...

-OK, I think it's Matisse.

-Great, you're right. Well done.

-APPLAUSE

Very strong play by the Music Kids.

You got three out of three.

Eggheads, if you get this one wrong, they've got £11,000.

What was the first name of the

millionaire father of John F Kennedy and his brothers Edward and Bobby,

a man who did much to further their political careers?

I think we're all happy with Joseph.

Yes, as CJ puts it, we're all happy with Joseph.

He reputedly made his money by smuggling booze.

-Allegedly.

-Well, I said "reputedly"!

He's long gone now. You think his name is Joseph?

-Yes.

-You're right, it's Joseph.

Three points each, which means we move to sudden death.

The stress and tension increase somewhat.

Which American singer and actor

starred in the films Pal Joey and The Manchurian Candidate?

I don't know.

-I've heard of The Manchurian Candidate. I don't know the other film.

-No.

I have no idea. Singer and actor?

There are quite a lot of them!

Just say names, who you think.

J-Lo!

-I think it's...a male.

-A male?

Singer and actor.

It's not Elvis or something like that? Is that stupid?

-Elvis was an actor, wasn't he?

-Yeah, but Manchurian Candidate...

-Never seen it.

I think it's before we were born.

I want to say Marilyn Monroe.

-Shall we just go with it?

-Just go with anything.

-You say it.

-No, you say it.

OK, Elvis Presley. We have no idea.

-Frank Sinatra was the answer.

-Oh!

Eggheads, if you get this right,

you've taken the money away from our musicians.

Not that I want that to rest heavy on your conscience or anything.

I can assure you it won't.

Which former Manchester United footballer is known as the baby-faced assassin?

That's Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

It's the perennial substitute, Ole Gunnar...Solskjaer.

-Excuse my pronunciation!

-Ish!

-Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is your answer?

-Yes.

And it is the right answer.

Sorry, Music Kids. I feel for you.

Eggheads, congratulations. You've won.

You came really close - you got three out of three in the multiple choice.

We've seen teams beat them with just the first three answers correct. So, well done.

Have you got a moment of let-down, here?

I don't think we were expecting to win.

We weren't expecting to get to the final round.

We thought we'd get everything wrong!

Well, commiserations to you. The Eggheads have done what does seem to come naturally to them.

Their winning streak continues. You won't be going home with the £11,000.

That money now rolls over to the next show.

Eggheads, congratulations. Who's ever going to beat you, I wonder? Join us next time

to see if the new challengers have the brains to defeat the Eggheads. £12,000 says they don't.

Until then, goodbye.

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