Episode 134 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 recognize them as they are Goliaths in the world of TV

quiz shows. They are the Eggheads.

And taking on the might of our quiz Goliaths today are The Romantics.

The team all work at the Wordsworth Museum in Cumbria

and run the Wordsworth Trust, a charity dedicated to the romantic poet...

you guessed it, William Wordsworth. Let's meet them.

Hello, I'm Catherine.

I'm 34 and I'm an education officer.

Hello, I'm Alan. I'm 44 and I'm a press officer.

Hiya, I'm Polly. I'm 27 and I'm a PhD student.

Hi, I'm Alan.

I'm 59 and I am a finance officer.

Hello, I'm Carrie. I'm 55 and I'm a visitor services manager.

So, welcome, Romantics.

-Thank you.

-Catherine, it's poetry that connects you.

It is, sort of, yes. We certainly

all work for the Wordsworth Trust which runs Dove Cottage, Wordsworth's home

where he wrote his best and most famous poetry.

-So I suppose that is what connects us, yes.

-Polly you write poetry?

-Yes, I do.

-Cos people don't write stuff like he did any more, do they?

He used to waft around... I mean no-one would write, "I wandered lonely as a cloud," would they?

Well, it was 200 years ago. I think you'd just get thrown out if you wrote like that now.

So do you think we need to be more romantic?

Yeah, I think the romantic ethic is a good one.

You know, individualism,

you know, connection with things around you. It's good.

And Catherine, is the museum a romantic place?

It can be, yes.

Not always but yes, we try and make it a romantic place, I think.

We have lots of poetry in there for people to listen to so that hopefully people can kind of be inspired by it.

OK, let's see if you can make this a romantic place.

Quite difficult, with this lot staring at you.

Every day there is £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, Romantics, the Eggheads have won the last 13 games,

which means £14,000 says you can't beat the Eggheads.

-Do you want to try?

-We'll try.

-While you're here you might as well.

OK, first head-to-head battle is on the subject of Geography.

So, which of you wants this and against which Egghead?

-I could do it.

-Alan? Yep.

-I think so.

-Want me to do it?

-Yes.

-Go on, then.

-Who am I playing against?

-CJ?

Is he a geography lover?

Go on then, I'll do CJ. I'll try CJ, thank you.

OK, so it's Alan from The Romantics against CJ from the Eggheads.

To ensure there's no conferring,

please take your positions in the question room.

I'm going to ask each of you three multiple choice questions. Alan, you

can choose whether you take the first or second set.

I can go first, please. Thank you.

Alan, in which ocean does the sub-region of Polynesia lie?

Polynesia, I was thinking, it's not in the Atlantic.

More likely to be in the South Pacific.

Yes, Pacific, please.

Pacific is the correct answer, well done.

CJ, what is the capital of the autonomous Spanish region

of Catalonia?

The problem is I can never remember if Barcelona's Catalonia or Andalucia.

I thought that Catalonia was slightly

further north and east and I think the other two cities aren't there.

I'm not convinced about this but I'm going to go for Barcelona.

Barcelona's correct, well done.

Over to you, Alan.

With how many countries does Belgium share a border?

Belgium, right. OK, you've

got the Netherlands, Luxembourg, France certainly.

Um, I think it would be four.

I'll say four, please.

You're very good at this, aren't you?

-Four is the correct answer, well done.

-Thank you.

OK, CJ, which arm of the Mediterranean Sea sits

between Corsica, Sardinia, Sicily and the western coast of Italy?

Don't know this one either.

I see we haven't got onto America yet.

That's one of your strong subjects?

It's the only strong subject when it comes to geography.

I thought the Adriatic was on the other side, I thought that went down near Croatia.

I don't know it. I'll go for the Tyrrhenian.

Tyrrhenian is the correct answer.

How you do it, I do not know. I do not know. OK, third question - what was the name

of the former capital of Montserrat, destroyed by a volcanic eruption in 1997?

Montserrat. Now, there you go.

I studied geology at university

and I ought to know about volcanic eruptions.

Now, Montserrat. Um...

I'd say Plymouth.

Based on...

-anything?

-Instinct, I think, more than anything else.

I'm using CJ's technique on this, I think.

Well, you got it right, well done!

CJ, you'll like this. In which US city could you visit the residential and

commercial thoroughfare called the Magnificent Mile?

I've never heard of it!

All right, it sounds very...

opinionated and self-advertising

which means it's Texas so let's go for Dallas.

Dallas is your answer?

I know what you mean, 'Magnificent Mile' sounds Texan

but it is Chicago in fact.

Alan, you took on one of the Eggheads, you've emerged triumphant.

Well, done, you'll help your team in the final.

Do come back to the studio.

As it stands, the challengers have lost no brains from the final round.

The Eggheads have lost one brain, which is CJ.

The next subject is music.

We were discussing Polly as our musical expert, weren't we?

-Don't say that! 'Musical Expert' kind of pumps it up a bit.

-I think you'd be wonderful.

-OK.

-Polly, you'll be wonderful, against which Egghead?

Let's try Barry. Give Barry a run for his money.

Polly from the Romantics against Barry from the Eggheads.

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

We're doing music now. OK, three questions in turn

and Polly, the poet, you can choose first or second set.

I'll go first, please.

OK, Polly. Good luck, here we go. What name was given to a type of

musical ensemble associated with playing jazz music,

popular in the 1920s and '30s?

Well, I can answer this one because my mum is absolutely crazy about

these and this is a big thing when I was growing up. It's the big band.

Absolutely right, well done.

Barry, your question.

Which dance group had a 2008 hit

with a re-release of their 1990 single Something Good?

Oh, wonderful... dance groups!

Not only do the songs not mean anything to me but unfortunately

the groups don't mean anything to me.

So this is an absolute guess.

Which would sound more like a dance group?

I like the sound of angels, I'm always on the side of angels so

I'll go for the Ohio Angels.

OK, Barry, you're wrong.

It was the Utah Saints.

So, Polly,

-great victory for poetry, you're in the lead.

-Pressure's on!

-Here we go.

Pacific Ocean Blue is the title of the only solo album by which

of the original Beach Boys lineup?

I should know this because my ex-housemate was

a big, big Beach Boys fan and

I actually have no idea right now.

But I'm going to go for the

answer which I'm more drawn to which is Brian. Brian Wilson.

Brian Wilson was the most famous Beach Boy but not the person who brought out that album.

It was Dennis Wilson.

OK, Barry, on to you.

Who composted the comic opera Der Rosenkavalier?

Well, the words 'comic'

and 'opera' don't often come in association with Richard Wagner,

although he did write Tannhauser, which does have its moments.

Offenbach did write comic operas but I'm reasonably certain that

Der Rosenkavalier was written by Richard Strauss.

And you're absolutely right, well done. It's one point each.

Third question.

Polly, what name is given to the southern US offshoot of rap music

that features repetitive rhythms and chants?

Oh, my goodness!

My teammates are going to kill me.

I'm going to say Crunk.

-Because why?

-I don't know, for the hell of it!

-And it's wrong, isn't it?

-No, it's right.

-Is it?

-So, someone from the Wordsworth Museum got Crunk as the answer.

-Excellent.

OK, fantastic.

We're breaking new ground here.

Barry, if you get this wrong, you are out of the final round, as you well know.

Which musical instrument would be classed as an idiophone,

I-D-I-O-P-H-O-N-E?

Which musical instrument would be classed as an idiophone?

Idio...

I can't remember any Greek or Latin root that starts idio, unfortunately,

cos that would've been very helpful.

For some reason I'm drawn to xylophone because I think

that's probably the least well-known of those three instruments and if it

was one of the others I think idiophone would have come into

my memory a little more easily.

So I shall say xylophone.

Excellent logic... you're right.

Well, done. Now, you're level and we go to sudden death.

Polly, which Ben E King song was a UK top-40 hit single

in 1961 and 1987?

'61 and '87.

Um, I can't even think of a song

which was a hit in both those years at the moment.

Er... I'm going

to say Rock Around The Clock.

-No idea.

-No, it was Stand By Me.

Oh!

OK, if you get this right, Barry, you've taken the round and knocked Polly out of the final.

Art Garfunkel's 1979 UK number one hit single Bright Eyes

was featured on the soundtrack of which 1978 animated film.

Well, to paraphrase Wordsworth, my heart leaps when I get a music question I know the answer to

and this one was... Art Garfunkel's song Bright Eyes was the soundtrack for Watership Down.

Watership Down is absolutely correct, Barry, well done.

Polly, sorry, you won't be in the final.

Please come back and rejoin your teammates.

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

The Eggheads have lost one too.

The next subject is film and television, so who would like that?

-Do you want?

-I'll have a go.

-Yeah, you'll be fine at it.

-Carrie, Judith, Kevin or Chris?

Kevin's not a fan of entertainment.

-Kevin, please.

-Kevin.

Not a fan of entertainment, OK.

Carrie, then, from the Romantics, against Kevin from the Eggheads...

who loves films like no other person I know. To ensure there's

no conferring, would you please take your positions in the question room.

So, multiple choice, Carrie. Would you like to go first or second?

I'd like to go first, please.

-Here we go and good luck.

-Thank you.

-Amos Brearly and Alan Turner have

both been landlords of which TV pub?

I like this question.

The Rovers Return is in Coronation Street,

The Queen Vic is in EastEnders and The Woolpack is in Emmerdale.

It is the Woolpack.

I'll take the Woolpack, please.

Yeah, well done, you're right.

Krishnan Guru Murthy is best-known for presenting which

type of programme?

He's branched out into other things, I think. I remember him presenting a

quiz show, strangely enough, for a while and

other current affairs stuff.

He'd primarily be associated with news.

You'd be relieved you got it right. Well, done.

Carrie, here's your next question.

Which 1976 film, starring Michael Caine and Donald Sutherland

is mostly set in a fictional village of Studley Constable?

Well, I've seen The Eagle Has Landed and that's a war film, so

for whatever reason, I'm not choosing that one.

The Swarm must be all about...

forgive me if I'm wrong... bees and things like that.

My instinct tells me it's Sleuth.

I will take Sleuth, please.

I'm afraid your instinct is wrong.

-The Eagle Has Landed is the correct answer.

-Wow!

Sorry, Carrie.

Gives Kevin the chance to take the advantage.

Alec Harvey and Laura Jesson are the main protagonists

in which classic film romance?

They were famously filmed at Carnforth Station.

That is Brief Encounter.

Kevin, Brief Encounter is correct.

Carrie, you need to get this right to have a chance of being in the final.

To which actor was Uma Thurman married from 1998-2004?

I think I'd be quite happy to be tied up to any of these three

gentlemen in marriage, so it would be difficult.

There's absolutely no logic in my choice...

except the last two right answers have all been the left-hand one

and therefore I shall go for Gary Oldman.

OK, there is a logic in that choice, that's for sure.

It's wrong, though, it's Ethan Hawke, Carrie, sorry.

Kevin will be in the final round.

Please both of you come back and rejoin your teams.

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

the Eggheads have lost one brain. The last subject is history,

so which of you wants history?

-My history is slightly dodgy.

-Do you want to try it?

-All right, then.

-Alan, history?

Have to be. Chris, please.

OK, Alan against Chris.

Please take your positions.

Alan, you can tell me whether you want the first or second set.

Er... I'll go second.

The famous motto of the French Revolution was 'Liberte, egalite...' and what?

Well, I like the idea of decapite but it was actually fraternite.

Yeah, it was fraternite.

Liberty, egality and decapitation.

Alan, your question - from the late 16th century,

what name was given to soldiers trained to fight on foot but who

transported themselves on horseback?

Well, Sappers is a more modern term, isn't it, for the Royal Engineers?

Grenadiers I believe are foot-soldiers.

The horseback men are Dragoons.

Dragoons is your answer?

Yes, dragoons.

And it's right, well done.

Your question, Chris - what type of weapon was the 'potato-masher', used by German troops in World War II?

Now the German stick grenade was a fairly stubby canister on a wooden handle.

Now, because it's got a handle,

it looks as if you could do that with it, I'd say it was the stick grenade.

That's right.

Back to you, Alan.

What type of animal was Obaysch who caused a stir when he arrived

at the London Zoo in 1850,

as he was the first of his kind to be seen in Europe since Roman times?

It's going to have to be a pure guess.

I really have no idea at all.

Hippo. Hippopotamus.

OK. Romantics, is it right?

It's unlikely to be an Emperor Penguin because

they're quite deep into the interior of the Antarctic

and I'm not too sure if they'd got that far in at that time. Maybe...

I'm not sure. What do you think?

I'd have gone for hippopotamus or giraffe but I don't know which one.

I'm afraid this one is up for grabs.

It is but he's got it right. Hippopotamus.

So, Chris, your question - what was the name of King George V's horse in front of which

the Suffragette Emily Davison threw herself during the 1913 Epsom Derby?

Well, it was one of the few racehorses of any renown that wasn't

commemorated in the name of an A3 Pacific on the LNER. It was Amner.

And I bet this is a classic question for you quizzers, isn't it?

Amner is the answer, correct. Well, done, Chris.

Over to you, Alan.

Who was the older brother of Charles I who died aged just 18?

The only thing I can go on...

I don't know the answer... the only thing I can go on is

the fact that

William and Arthur's

are more modern.

Prince Henry, only because it sounds roundabout the time.

I'm not entirely certain but I'll go for Prince Henry.

Your guesswork is astonishing.

You're right, Prince Henry is right.

So, you've had three questions each, the scores are level.

We go now to sudden death.

Chris, which famous naturalist, President of The Royal Society

for over 40 years, sailed around the world with James Cook and helped organise the voyage of HMS Bounty?

Ah, yes. That was the chap that Banksy is named after, isn't it?

Joseph Banks.

Joseph Banks is correct, Chris, well done. So, advantage to you and if

you get this one wrong, Alan, I'm afraid you won't be in the final.

Here's your question - what name is given to the planned march from Manchester to London in March 1817,

instigated by John Baguley and Samuel Drummond

to draw attention to the problems of unemployed spinners and weavers?

Um...

Spinners and weavers? Cotton?

The Cotton March?

Cotton March? No, it's the March of the Blanketeers

because they apparently wore blankets to show that they were

weavers and to keep them warm.

Which means, Chris, you'll join us in the final and, Alan, you won't.

Please come back to the studio.

This is what we've been playing towards... it's time for the final round. As always, general knowledge.

Those of you who lost your head-to- heads won't be allowed to take part

in this round, which means Polly, Alan and Carrie from The Romantics

and CJ from The Eggheads, you have to please leave the studio now.

Catherine and Alan, you're playing to win The Romantics £14,000.

Chris, Barry, Judith and Kevin, you are playing for something

which money can't buy, the Eggheads' very precious reputation.

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

This time the questions are all general knowledge.

You are allowed to confer.

So, Romantics, the question is are your two brains better than The Eggheads' four?

First or second?

Shall we go first? You went first, didn't you, and won?

-Yeah, let's go first.

-We'll go first, please.

Here we go.

What is the term for an aggressively

managed investment fund that concentrates on making high returns?

That's... a little easier than I thought.

Yes, I was expecting trouble there!

But I think we're fairly certain, yeah. Hedge fund,

we'd like to go hedge fund, please.

Quite right, right answer, well done. Eggheads,

which prime minister introduced the Citizen's Charter in 1991?

Definitely John Major.

That was John Major.

You're right.

Over to you, Romantics.

What name is given to the wedge-shaped block at the summit of a stone arch?

-Well, the cornerstone's on the corner?

-Yeah.

-Isn't a whetstone what you sharpen a knife on, I think?

-So, it's keystone.

We think it's keystone, by a process of elimination.

You're sounding confident, you guys. OK, keystone is right...

another point to The Romantics.

Eggheads, at which Australian cricket ground is the Boxing Day Test Match traditionally held?

-Gabba... MCG...

-I've no idea at all.

WACA... Western Australia?

It's a bit unfortunate, I was hoping...

What's the MCG?

-Melbourne Cricket Ground.

-The more confusion, the better for you.

The discussion's a good sign.

That's Brisbane.

WACA's Perth, Western Australia.

-I would bet it's Melbourne.

-It says traditional'.

-Melbourne's the oldest-established.

-Yeah, exactly.

I'd go for Melbourne, myself.

Well, using the logic that Melbourne is the most traditional

place in Australia, traditionally-minded place in

Australia, we'll go for MCG, which is the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

That's right, MCG.

Well, done.

Romantics?

In Greek mythology, what are Pelion and Ossa?

-How are you on Greek?

-Not great...

-Words, deconstructing.

Yeah, what they mean. Not good.

Ossa means stone, doesn't it? Like an ossuary, where you heap stones.

Ossified, ossified means turned into stone. Mountains.

Does that make it more likely to be mountains? OK, shall we go for it?

We're going to go, tentatively, for mountains, please.

There's no tentatively round here.

-Positively.

-We're going to go for mountains.

I'm glad you did... you're right.

Which means if the Eggheads get this question wrong, you have won £14,000.

OK, your question, Eggheads. Which city was chosen as the Unesco 2008

Arab Capital of Culture?

Tehran is Iranian, which isn't Arab, so it won't be that.

No, that's a good point. I don't know if I have seen anything about this.

I had an instinct for Damascus when they came up

Did you?

But that means nothing, really.

With nothing to go on whatsoever, I'd vote for Damascus but I don't know.

I'd go for Damascus as well for much the same reasons.

-We don't really know...

-We don't know at all!

so we're going to plump for Damascus and hope for the best.

Eggheads, you got it right.

-It's Damascus.

-Well done, Kevin.

We move to sudden death, now.

Your question, Romantics -

the architect Oscar Niemeyer is best-known for his work

on which new city in the late 1950s and early 1960s?

-New city?

-Yeah, new city.

-What parts of the world have got

new cities built? South America.

What is there in South America?

-No, I don't think it's South America.

-North America.

-Everything there's new, isn't it?

-Far East.

Yeah, somewhere.

Where's the Twin Towers, is that Kuala Lumpur?

Go on, guess a city.

Go on, pick one. I don't mind.

It's not a new city.

Kuala Lumpur.

Oscar Niemeyer designed many of the municipal buildings, cathedral

-and the overall construction in Brasilia.

-Oh, it was South America!

-It was South America.

-It was...

and when you ruled it out, I was thinking ah, no, don't do that.

So, Eggheads, you get this right, you've snatched away the prize money

and sent them home with nothing.

Here's your question - which popular term for a state of

unrealistic or over-the-top fantasy is a translation of the Greek name

for the city that features in Aristophanes' play The Birds.

Cloud cuckoo land.

That's cloud cuckoo land.

-You know what the name of the city is?

-Nephelokokkygia.

Oh, I am impressed, Chris.

That answer, quite right, and Eggheads, you've won it.

Well, knowing the name of the city on this side wasn't bad but tough.

Brasilia, tough one.

Sorry, commiserations, challengers. The Eggheads have done what comes

naturally to them. Their winning streak continues.

I'm afraid you won't be going home with the £14,000, which means

it rolls over to our 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.

£15,000 will say they don't. Till then, goodbye.

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