Episode 152 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 Bald and the Beautiful.

Team captain Rob has recruited his dad, good friend and two colleagues

to take on the Eggheads, a group who he says enjoy the finer things in life:

a pint of beer, a chat about football and a quiz.

-Let's meet them.

-Hi I'm Rob, I'm 52, I'm a senior compliance consultant.

Hi, I'm Gary, I'm 46 and I'm a warehouse supervisor.

Hello, I'm Bob, I'm 76 and I'm a retired warehouse supervisor.

Hi, I'm Dennis, I'm 47 and I'm a compliance manager.

Hello, I'm Mark, I'm 53, I'm a compliance manager.

You call yourselves the Bald and the Beautiful.

Do I ask why to that, or should it be obvious?

I'm searching for beauty, basically.

So are we.

-Everyone of us is beautiful to someone.

-That's true.

That's true. Tell us about what you do.

I work for the world's largest building society in Swindon

and so do some of my colleagues, and my dad's in the team

and Gary's a good friend of mine.

I've know him since we both had a lot of hair.

Good luck today.

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

However, if they fail to defeat the Eggheads,

the prize money rolls over to the next show.

So, the Bald and the Beautiful,

the Eggheads have won the last five games,

which means £6,000 says you can't beat them.

First head-to-head battle is on the subject of Film & Television.

Challengers, which one of you wants this? Which Beautiful team player?

Who wants to take Film & Television?

-You're more of an expert on film.

-Yeah. I'll take that on, then.

-I'll take film and television.

-Rob versus whom?

Who do we fancy to take this?

I think you should go for Chris.

-Chris?

-Yeah, why not?

-Chris it is, then.

So, the Bald and the Beautiful versus...

-Another bald and beautiful bloke.

-..Chris from the Eggheads.

To ensure there's no conferring,

please take your positions in the question room.

I am going to ask you three multiple choice questions in turn,

and you can choose Rob, the first or second set.

I'll go second, please.

So, Chris your question.

Which popular children's TV show ran for over 20 years

and encouraged viewers to "switch off your television set

"and go and do something less boring instead"?

That was "Why Don't You switch off your television set", etc.

Yes, it was.

Rob your question, good luck.

The cult 1970s cop drama The Sweeney

gave rise to which popular catchphrase?

The answer I was hoping for has come up but I will discount the others.

"Who loves ya, baby?" was Telly Savalas, in Kojak.

"Evenin' all" was Dixon of Dock Green.

That leaves "You're nicked",

which I believe the Regan character used to say.

John Thaw's character.

I'm gonna say "You're nicked".

You're nicked is correct. Nice one.

Chris, here's your next question.

The 2008 film The Edge of Love, with Keira Knightley and Sienna Miller,

is a biopic of which poet?

That is Dylan Thomas.

Quite right, Dylan Thomas is correct.

Your question now, Rob.

What is the profession of Guy Haynes,

the character played by Farley Granger

in the 1951 film Strangers on a Train?

This is an Alfred Hitchcock film

where the strangers on a train meet and effectively try to swap murder,

and the Farley Granger character is involved in a match

which takes a long time, which doesn't help him produce his alibi.

He wasn't a show jumper or a golfer, he was a tennis player.

Tennis player is the correct answer. Well done.

Chris, in which decade was Colombo actor Peter Falk

nominated for two Oscars?

By the '70s he had his hands full with Colombo,

I don't think he did anything else.

He served in the Korean War and lost his eye,

which is why he has got a glass eye, that was in the '50s.

By the time he got the sort of roles where he'd be nominated for an Oscar,

I would guess that would be the 1960s. So I'll say the 1960s.

Your answer is correct, Chris.

Well done.

Rob, here's your next question.

Which holiday legend's acting advice was "Show up on time,

"know your lines and don't bump into the other actors"?

I'm not quite so sure about this one.

I have an inkling it's Spencer Tracy,

but I'm just trying to think if I can discount the others.

I can't think of a reason to discount Clark Gable or James Mason,

so I'm going to go with my first instinct, Spencer Tracy.

Rob, you've got a lot of knowledge, you're quite right.

Well done. Three points each.

Strong play from our challengers. Chris back to you. Sudden Death now,

so the questions are not multiple choice to make it that bit harder.

Which 1967 film starring Warren Beatty had the tag line

"They are young, they are in love and they kill people"?

-That was Bonnie and Clyde.

-Well done.

Back to you, Rob.

Which actor was born in Swaziland in 1957

with the surname Esterhuysen?

Richard E. Grant.

Yes, you're right, no hesitation at all.

His father was the last Minister for Education

in Swaziland when it was a colony.

Chris, which character from the Fast show

compared most situations in life to making love to a beautiful woman.

That was Swiss Toni, the slightly dodgy car dealer.

Quite right.

You guys are playing a storming round here.

Rob, for which 1973 Western, directed by Sam Peckinpah,

did Bob Dylan write the largely instrumental sound track?

I wouldn't say that Westerns were my favourite film genre,

particularly not at this moment.

I'm trying to think of a film with Susan George in it,

which I think was a cowboy film.

I think it was called Straw Dogs. That would be my guess, Straw Dogs.

-Straw Dogs. Eggheads?

-It was Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid.

Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid, Rob.

-Oh, well.

-He's just squeezed past you.

Great round, I'm sorry we're going to lose you from the final.

Chris, you will be in the final.

Please come back and rejoin your teams.

The challengers have lost one brain from the final round,

the Eggheads have lost no brains.

Our next subject is Science. Which of you wants Science?

Anyone but Rob.

THEY CONFER

-See if I can beat my son!

-It's gonna be Bob.

-Bob, who would you like to play against?

-Judith.

Bob, from the Bald and Beautiful versus Judith from the Eggheads.

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

Bob multiple choice, as you know, and you can start

by saying whether you want the first or second set.

I'll take the first, please.

Here's your first question. By what collective name are Jupiter, Saturn,

Uranus and Neptune sometimes known?

I don't think they are dwarf stars.

I'm not sure about rocky planets, I'm going to go for gas giants.

Brilliant, Bob, you got it right.

Judith, which food forms the sole diet of the basking shark?

Basking sharks, I don't think are quite so carnivorous

as the rest of them.

I don't think seaweed would get them very far.

I don't think they eat seals. I think they eat plankton.

Plankton is right, well done.

Bob, your question.

An arrhythmia

is a variation in the normal function of which part of the body?

Well, I don't think the liver is dependent on a rhythm,

and again the lungs are not really rhythmic things.

I am certain it must be the heart,

which beats and therefore has a rhythm.

That's the correct answer, well done, Bob.

Keeping the pressure on Judith and when it comes to Science,

Judith is vulnerable, as you may know.

Which metal takes its name from the Latin for rainbow?

Well, lithium is stone.

I'm not sure what indium is.

I think it's iridium.

That's the correct answer, Judith.

Bob, here's your next question.

The term meniscus refers to the curved surface of what?

When you said "meniscus",

I had a vision of a...

..surface of water being raised in the middle

which sounds a bit odd, but in fact it is liquid.

Yes, it is liquid, well done, Bob.

Three out of three on Science.

Excellent play from the Bald and Beautiful, and back to you, Judith.

Which hormone that regulates sleep

is dubbed the Dracula hormone?

I have a feeling that's melatonin,

because I know there was a fashion at one point

for taking melatonin to cure jet lag.

And to cure jet lag, you had to regulate your sleep,

so I have a feeling it's melatonin.

You're right, it is melatonin.

Bob, we go to Sudden Death now, it's not multiple choice any more.

What is the name of the vascular organ in most mammals

that attaches to the inside of the uterus

and is connected to the foetus by the umbilical cord?

-Placenta.

-Correct.

Judith, what is the term for the chemical bonding process

whereby a positively charged metal atom

and a negatively charged non-metal atom are bonded

by the strong electro-static forces of attraction between them?

We've strayed into University Challenge now.

I enjoyed reading that.

It's not covalency, is it?

-Do you want me to take that as your answer?

-Yes.

It's definitely not covalency.

So, what about that?

The team are excited here. Ionic bonding.

I could have accepted an electrovalent bond,

which I know was on the tip of your tongue, Judith, sorry.

Science defeats you. Bob, you will be in the final.

Do both of you come back and rejoin us in the studio.

So, the challengers are doing well

but they have lost one brain from the final.

as have the Eggheads.

The next subject is Geography.

Which challenger wants this and against which Egghead?

THEY CONFER

Mark's stepped up to the plate.

-Who do you want to take down, so to speak?

-Go with Kevin?

Mark from the Bald and the Beautiful against Kevin from the Eggheads.

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

Mark, would you like the first or second set of questions?

I'll go second, please.

So, Kevin, to you.

In which US city, Kevin, might you visit

Bourbon Street in the famous French Quarter?

That's one of the famous sights in New Orleans.

Or "New Or-luns", maybe I should say.

New Orleans is right.

Over to you then, Mark.

The ancient track called the Pilgrim's Way

runs from Winchester to where?

Perhaps Salisbury is not far enough away.

Is it linked with Cambridge?

A pure guess but I am going to go for Canterbury.

Good play, you are right.

Over to you, Kevin. the Bar Gate is a feature of which English city?

That's not a million miles away from me, actually,

about ten miles down the road. It's Southampton.

Southampton is correct, Kevin, well done.

Mark, here's your next question.

The Lakshadweep Islands are a union territory of which country?

Could you spell those for me, Jeremy?

Yeah. L-A-K-S-H-A-D-W-E-E-P.

Looking at the spelling,

I think the first one I will discount is Thailand.

I'm not sure about India or Sri Lanka.

So, I think my tendency is to go for...

Sri Lanka, which is my answer.

Sri Lanka is your answer but it is wrong,

it is India. You've let Kevin in. Third question, Kevin,

if you get this right, you've taken the round.

Which Italian city is sometimes referred to as La Grassa,

or "the fat one"?

Right, I think...

Yeah, I've never heard that term applied to either Rome or Naples,

but Bologna is famous, well certainly by its own estimation,

as the gastronomic capital of Italy,

with quite a lot of rich dishes from the countryside round about.

So, I think...

that should be Bologna, I'll say Bologna.

And you are right, Bologna is correct.

Eggheads, you take that round.

Mark, I'm sorry, you were beaten by our Egghead

and won't play in the final round.

Please both of you come back to us.

So, the challengers have lost two brains from the final round,

the Eggheads have lost one brain. Our last subject is Sport.

Who wants sport, Dennis or Gary?

Both very sporting physiques, as you can see,

but Dennis has just shaded it, we think.

Dennis from the Bald and the Beautiful,

who do you want to take on?

-Barry or CJ?

-CJ.

So, it's Dennis from the Bald and the Beautiful

versus CJ from the Eggheads.

-Not bald and very beautiful, right, CJ?

-Yeah, delighted about sport.

And loves his sport, you've picked the right guy.

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

Dennis, do you want the first or second set of questions?

First, please.

Here we go.

How is the optimum hitting area on a tennis racket informally known?

Right, OK, I would say that tennis isn't my strongest sport,

but I can't imagine we would call it the cute area or the nice point,

so I would go for the sweet spot.

Sweet spot is right, first point to you.

CJ, what command is given to boxers by the referee

to separate them from a clinch?

It's not "part".

When you asked this question,

the first thing that came into my mind was "split", but...

No, I think it's "break".

Now that the options have come up, I think it's "break".

You've chosen "break".

They bark it constantly but it's easy not to remember what the word is,

but you're right, "break" is what the referee shouts at the boxers.

Back to you, Dennis. The annual Breeders' Cup horse racing event

is held over two days in which country?

Well, I'm pretty certain it's not Ireland,

and Australia, they do the Melbourne Cup.

I would have to go for the US of A.

And you're quite right.

CJ, Alfredo de Stefano

played international football for three nations:

Spain, Columbia and which other country?

He got around a bit, then, this bloke.

This is just going to have to be a blind guess.

-I have no idea, I'll go for Argentina.

-And you're right.

Argentina is the correct answer.

Back to you, Dennis, playing a strong round here.

Which cricketer of the 1970s and 1980s

was nicknamed Paddles at school on account of his large feet?

Right, OK, I've not heard the name associated with Boycott,

or for that matter, Dennis Lillee,

so I don't actually know the answer but I will go with Richard Hadlee.

Richard Hadlee is the right answer.

Paddles Hadlee.

CJ, your question.

Dale Earnhardt, Richard Petty

and Cale Yarborough are well-known figures in which sport?

Well, I know virtually nothing about any of them,

but I do know a tiny bit about American football

and I don't recognise them,

but the only thing I've got to go on is Petty.

I thought there was a Petty in NASCAR.

That's the only scrap I've got to go on, so I'll going for NASCAR.

And help us with what NASCAR is.

It's, er, stock car racing.

Stock car racing. You're right, it is NASCAR.

Good play today. Three questions each, scores are level,

so, Dennis, back to you for Sudden Death now.

Which French striker surpassed Michel Platini's

international goalscoring record

by scoring two goals against Lithuania in 2007?

I'm going to go with Thierry Henry.

You are absolutely right, it is Thierry Henry.

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

For how many minutes must rugby union players

who've committed a yellow card offence remain in the sin bin?

I'm not sure.

The only thing coming to mind is something to do with the sin bin and ten minutes.

That's the only thing I've got so I'll say ten minutes.

Ten minutes is correct,

keeping yourself out of our little sin bin for the time being.

Back to you, Dennis.

Which British rowing club uses a pink hippo as its emblem?

Right, rowing clubs.

I suppose we have rowing at Oxford and we have rowing at Cambridge.

They tend to be blue.

The only other area for rowing that I'm aware of is Henley.

Whether there's a specific name, I don't know but let's go with Henley,

No, the answer is Leander Rowing Club.

CJ, if you get this question right you've won the head-to-head.

What is the only golf major that Lee Trevino

failed to win during his career?

He won the US Open in consecutive years, didn't he?

I've got bits of lists in my head

and I can't distinguish between the US Masters and the US PGA.

I will go with the US Masters.

Your answer is the US Masters.

It is the right answer, CJ, well done. You've won that round.

Dennis, you were beaten by our Egghead.

You won't be able to help your team in the final round.

Would you both come back and rejoin your team mates.

So, this is what we've been playing towards, the final round,

which, as always, is General Knowledge.

Are you ready, Bald and Beautiful?

Those of you who lost your head-to-heads don't need to be,

because you can't take part.

So, Rob, Dennis and Mark from the Bald and the Beautiful,

and Judith from the Eggheads, please leave the studio.

-So, here we are Gary and Bob, good luck to you.

-Thank you.

You're the warehouse guys, you've shown the compliance officers a clean pair of heels.

-The office boys didn't know much, did they?

-Not enough!

You're playing to win the Bald and the Beautiful £6,000.

Chris, Barry, Kevin and CJ, you're playing for something

money can't buy, the Eggheads' famous reputation.

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

The questions are all general knowledge, you may confer.

The Bald and the Beautiful, the question is are your two brains

better than the Eggheads' four?

Gary and Bob, do you want to go first or second.

We will go first, I think.

Again, good luck. If a person is particularly astute,

there is said to be no what on them?

Flies.

Flies.

No flies on them.

-No flies.

-It's an old saying.

It is an old saying, you're right, correct answer.

First question to the Eggheads.

Which film car is described in a song

as "our fine four-fendered friend"?

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, isn't it?

We are all agreed, it's Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.

That is the correct answer, Eggheads.

Back to you guys.

Ben Bernanke was sworn as the head of which US institution in 2006?

I think it's the Federal Reserve.

Didn't he take over from the bloke who was on it for years and years?

I've got no idea, to be honest.

COuldn't even guess, but if you think it's that, we'll go for it.

It's been... I know there was a change of office

about that time, so I think it's Federal Reserve.

Federal Reserve.

Is that your answer? Who did he take over from, who was the famous guy?

Alan Greenspan held the post for many years.

Greenspan did hand over to Bernanke, absolutely right.

Federal Reserve it was.

Eggheads, what name is given to the raised edge on a table in a ship,

that prevents objects from falling off in a heavy sea?

-It's a fiddle, isn't it?

-Fiddle, yep.

-Definitely a fiddle.

-The fiddle.

You're right, it was fiddle.

The next question is for the Bald and the Beautiful.

Who wrote the bestselling 2007 crime novel Faces?

I think I've seen it on bookshelves, and I think it's Martina Cole.

If you think so, that will do for me because I don't know it.

I ought to get this one right, I have been working

in a warehouse with books just lately,

and I think it's Martina Cole,

but we will go with Martina Cole.

The joy of being a warehouse supervisor,

you get all these answers on the shelves.

You're right, it was Martina Cole.

So you're going along stacking the shelves, clocking the book titles?

Get to read the back of them, see what they're about.

We've got to hope they get the next question wrong.

So, here we go.

Cormac McCarthy's novel No Country for Old Men

takes its title from a poem by which author?

I don't think it's Eliot.

I don't think it's... I've read this.

And the problem is...

..the one thing I remember is a W.

Ah. Yeah, OK.

It sounds Yeatsian, it could be about Ireland.

Possibly. Quite possibly, yeah.

It's the sort of thing he'd be inclined to write.

The one that is drawing me is Auden, but I've got really no basis.

I have read this.

And I am trying to remember it.

If you get this wrong,

then the Bald and the Beautiful will carry off £6,000.

Logic says from the title, it should be Yeats,

but possibly putting my head above the parapet here,

just making a fool of myself, if it was me I would go for Auden

simply because there is something that is drawing me, I've seen it.

But I can't even say I've definitely seen it.

You are the only one who has something at the back of their... .

Oh, don't put it on me if it's wrong.

We didn't listen to you last time.

But last time I thought I was right, this time I've got nothing.

If you think it's a title that should be used for Yeats,

we can go for that, but...

-No, I'm changing my mind.

-I'm going for Auden.

We're all agreed we're going for Auden.

Your answer is WH Auden.

The conversation we've just heard, of course,

takes us back to the skateboard incident.

Yeah, but I was reasonably sure about that one.

CJ had a fact, everyone ignored him and his fact was right.

On this occasion, CJ had a fact and everyone listened to him.

-I didn't have a fact.

-And his fact was wrong.

The answer is WB Yeats,

congratulations, challengers, you've won.

Well done, you've won £6,000.

Any ideas what you want to do with the money?

-I'm about to become a great-grandfather.

-Great-grandfather, fantastic.

-Maybe some of the money can celebrate that.

-It may well do.

Great winners we've got here. You've just won £6,000,

you are officially, at this moment in time, cleverer than them.

Hang on to that. You've proved they can be beaten.

Join us next time on Eggheads

to see if a new team of challengers will be just as successful.

Until then, goodbye.

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