Episode 153 Eggheads

JEREMY VINE: 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 won some of the country's toughest quiz shows. They are the Eggheads.

Challenging our resident quiz champions today

are the WACS from Weston-super-Mare.

The team are all members of the Weston Anti Carrot Society.

That needs explaining, doesn't it? Let's meet them.

Hello, I'm Jill.

I'm 70 and I'm a retired care home registered nurse.

Hello, I'm Glyn. I'm 76 and I'm a retired clerk.

Hello, I'm Anne. I'm 72 and I'm a retired health care worker.

Hello, I'm Arthur. I'm 74 and I'm a retired quality manager.

Hello, I'm Astra. I'm 63 years old and I'm a retired councillor.

Good to see you, WACS, I know you're all friends, but you are also the Anti Carrot Society. Why?

This is a very informal group of people who dislike

our amazing monstrosity in the centre of town

which is officially called the Silica.

And it's a large carrot-shaped nonsense?

With a long root at the top and it lights up at night-time

with all kinds of 280 LED bulbs.

And otherwise it's just a grey monster sitting in the middle of our Big Lamp Corner.

Daphne, you are a Weston-super-Mare resident. Do you have views on this?

Oh, yes. My husband and I call it "the monstrosity", because it is!

We always thought they ought to have a really, like, big lamp.

-It was always Big Lamp Corner and instead they put up the Carrot!

-The Carrot!

You're a very well-travelled team. Jill, you lived in Canada.

-Glyn - 32 years in Australia.

-Yeah.

Anne, I've got it written down here, USA, Canada, Hong Kong, Australia.

Arthur, born in Scotland,

and then at the end, Astra, you've been in Hull.

So, a lot of widely-travelled...

Yes, everybody's just been in Hull(!)

Right, so you're well-travelled, you've ended up not just in Weston with the Carrot,

but here in the studio with the Eggheads, and good luck.

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

If they fail to defeat the Eggheads, the prize money rolls over to the next show.

So, WACS, the challengers won the last game, proving it can be done.

That means £1,000 says you can't beat the Eggheads.

-Are you ready to try?

-Yes!

-Yes.

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

So, Anti Carrots, which one of you wants this?

-Well, I think...

-Me!

-Astra, brilliant!

-JILL: Astra's the best.

OK, Astra, which Egghead?

Well, on a consensus, we decided on you, Daphne.

Daphne, I thought you two Westoners getting together probably would be a good idea.

So, Astra from the Anti Carrots versus Daphne from the Eggheads.

To ensure there's no conferring, please take your positions in the Question Room.

So, two contestants united by a carrot! Are you ready to play?

Yes.

I'll ask three multiple-choice questions on Film & TV in turn.

Whoever answers the most questions correctly is the winner.

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

I'd like the first, please.

Astra, what type of animal was Goldie, the Blue Peter pet,

looked after by the presenter Simon Groom?

Well, I do know this one.

I used to watch Blue Peter with my daughter

and now with my grandchildren.

Erm, and he definitely wasn't a rabbit or a tortoise.

He was a dog.

And, he was a Lab, I think.

-Labrador?

-Mmm.

Dog is correct. Well done.

-Anyone know anything about Goldie? What sort of breed?

-A retriever.

They had a long series of golden retrievers.

-Golden retriever, Astra, we're told.

-Ah.

Daphne, your question.

In which year did Jeremy Paxman

first present BBC Two's regular current affairs programme, Newsnight?

No idea.

SHE SIGHS

Don't know.

Don't...really....

Oh, gosh! 1980...

20 years ago, isn't it?

Would he have been about 30 then?

SHE SIGHS

You know, I haven't got a clue.

Erm...'99?

-Your answer is 1999?

-Yes.

No, it's wrong. It IS nearly 20 years he's been doing it.

-Yeah. 1989.

-Oh, well.

SHE LAUGHS

-He'll be pleased with that.

-Oh, well.

OK, Astra.

Which member of the Monty Python team sang the lead in the famous Lumberjack Song

in the original TV series?

I'm not too sure.

Erm...

My husband will tell you I've never really been into Monty Python.

But Terry Jones had an awful lot to do with music, things like that.

Erm...

SOFTLY: # I'm a lumberjack and I don't care... #

-Terry Jones, I think.

-How did that song go, anyone?

# I'm a lumberjack and I'm OK

# I work all night and I sleep all day. #

-I wear women's skirts.

-I cut down trees and wear women's skirts...

Something like that.

We don't remember either, Astra.

It was Michael Palin, not Terry Jones.

So, Daphne, she's let you back in. You get this right, you're level.

Who plays the would-be presidential assassin against whom Clint Eastwood has to guard

in the 1992 film, In The Line of Fire?

Oh, dear.

Erm, last time I went to the cinema it was to see a Harry Potter film.

I can't even remember the time before that.

I certainly haven't seen this, but something...

..is drawing me towards John Malkovich.

So, please let it be right!

What is this something drawing you towards it?

Erm, I just felt he played a would-be assassin in some film.

Yes, and you're right - it was him. Well done, Daphne.

Weston-super-Mare going strongly here.

Astra, in Francois Truffaut's 1960 film,

Tirez Sur Le Pianiste, or Shoot The Pianist,

which singer plays the title role?

I don't think it was Charles Aznavour.

I don't recall him ever doing a film.

Erm, I've seen Sacha Distel in a few films.

I mean, this film totally escapes me,

but I'll go with Sacha Distel.

-Sacha Distel is wrong. It's Charles Aznavour.

-Wow!

It's interesting -

"Shoot The Pianist" famously comes from

that Oscar Wilde moment in America,

where he walked into a bar in Leadville, Colorado, and saw a sign saying,

"Please do not shoot the piano player, he is doing his best."

Oscar Wilde said, "It is wonderful to be in a place where there is a recognition

"that bad art merits the penalty of death."

LAUGHTER

Daphne, your question. What is the first name of the character known as Turk

as played by Donald Faison in the TV series, Scrubs?

No, I can't even begin to guess.

I will go for Karl.

You're such a good guesser.

Every time I'm astounded at how well you guess.

But it's wrong. It's not Karl, it's Christopher.

-OK.

-After three questions each, scores are level. Bad luck, Daphne.

We go to Sudden Death, Astra, OK?

Not multiple-choice now. That bit harder. Here we go.

Herman, Grandpa and Eddie Wolfgang were characters in which 1960s TV series?

Was it The Addams Family?

-That's what I'd have said, but I'd be wrong on most of these questions. It's The Munsters, actually.

-Ahh!

So, Daphne, you get this right, you're in the final.

Who played Mariette Larkin,

in the 1990s TV drama series, The Darling Buds of May?

Oh! I did watch this.

Catherine Zeta-Jones.

Absolutely right, Daphne, well done. A hard-fought round for you both.

Well done to our Egghead.

Astra, you were beaten so you won't be in the final round. Daphne will.

Please, both of you, come back to us here.

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

Eggheads have lost no brains so far. Well done to Daphne.

The next subject is Politics.

We've got ex-councillors here and all sorts, so...

LAUGHTER

ALL TALK AT ONCE

Anne, it's you, OK. Against which Egghead?

-Astra is saying, "Try Barry".

-CJ.

OK, Anne from the Anti Carrots against CJ from the Eggheads.

No conferring, so take your positions, please.

It is not, I hope, insensitive to point out that the combined ages of this brilliant team, I make it 355.

-What?!

-ANNE: Wow!

So, you know a lot!

You've been around.

We've been around, yes. I think that sums it up.

You've chosen the whippersnapper from the Eggheads. 23, 24 is it, CJ, today?

In a few years' time, yes.

Three questions on Politics in turn, where age and experience really do count.

Anne, you can tell us whether you want the first or second set of questions.

First, please, Jeremy.

Anne, what name is given to voting systems

where the percentage of votes cast for a particular party or group

closely matches the percentage of seats they then occupy?

I am going to guess Proportional Representation.

Absolutely right, well done.

CJ, your question.

Shortly after taking office in 1997,

Tony Blair and his chancellor Gordon Brown

gave the Bank of England independence to set what?

Er, they gave them the freedom to set interest rates.

That is correct. Interest rates is right.

Back to you, Anne.

Who famously said, "Where there is discord, may we bring harmony",

on first entering 10 Downing Street as Prime Minister?

Words engraved on my heart. It was Margaret Thatcher.

Margaret Thatcher is correct.

-It is love-hate with her, isn't it?

-Absolutely.

I won't try and guess which side of the argument you're on.

OK, CJ, what is the title

of Ian Duncan Smith's novel

that was published two weeks after he left office in 2003?

OK, I'll eliminate The Clematis Tree because I think it's Ann Widdecombe.

Between the other two, the problem is of course trying to remember

Ian Duncan Smith, he just...

Very forgettable, wasn't he?

Er, I don't think he had enough personality to write something called The Devil's Tune

so I'll for This Honourable House.

Daphne, have you read the book?

-No, I haven't, but I...

-You sort of had a moment of, "Argh!"

I KNOW he wrote The Devil's Tune.

The Devil's Tune is the right answer.

-The Clematis Tree was Ann Widdecombe.

-Oh, yes.

So, CJ, you're behind.

And, Anne, if you get this right, you're in the final.

John McCain, the 2008 Republican US presidential nominee,

served as a congressman for which state?

Right. Now...

It wasn't New York.

I'm not 100% sure, but I think it's Arizona.

Well done, Arizona is correct.

The challengers have taken the round.

And, that means, CJ, you're not in the final.

Good news for our Anti Carrot team!

Do come... Never tire of saying it!

Do come back and rejoin your team-mates.

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

The Eggheads have lost one brain. The next subject is Music.

Who from the challengers wants to take on Music?

-Who's going to do Music?

-I was, but I've done my Politics.

MUTTERING

-It's Arthur or Glyn or Jill.

-Glyn, it'll have to be you.

-I'll have a go.

-Go on, then.

-Glyn?

-I'll have a go at it.

-OK, which Egghead?

Erm, Kevin, I think.

-Kevin on Music.

-Yes.

So, it's Glyn from the Anti Carrots against Kevin from the Eggheads.

please take your positions in the Question Room.

I'll ask you three questions on Music in turn.

Glyn, you can choose the first or second set of questions.

I'll go second, please.

Kevin, what was the name of the group who had a UK hit single in 1981 with the Birdie Song?

Do I admit to knowing this?!

I'm afraid I've got to, really - I'm pretty sure it's The Tweets.

JEREMY LAUGHS

-Please don't ask him to sing it!

-Don't sing it.

No-one is allowed to sing it! Let's make that clear.

Very little danger of that happening(!)

The Tweets is the correct answer. Let's just move on!

Mustn't have another word about it.

Glyn, in Gustav Holst's suite The Planets,

which planet is described as the "Bringer of War"?

Well, that would be Mars.

It would be Mars. You're right, well done.

One point each.

Back to you, Kevin.

Which instrument does Stewart Copeland play in the rock group The Police?

Er, I'm pretty...

I'm pretty sure Stewart Copeland is the drummer. Yeah, drums.

He is the drummer. You're right.

Cracking through. Cracking through the round here.

Glyn, your question. Oh! Carol

and Happy Birthday Sweet Sixteen

were the biggest UK hit singles for which singer?

Huh! Hmm. It's a very good question. Erm...

I'll say Neil Sedaka.

Straight in there. Right answer, as well.

Good songs. Kevin, your question.

The American, Carl Stalling, born in 1891,

is best known as a composer of what?

TV commercials in the States would probably...

To all intents and purposes, really, they would be post World War II,

which would put him into his fifties around that time.

Cartoon music.

I assume that means for cartoons on the big screen or...

..television.

Would somebody really be in the business

of producing national anthems?

And who would they produce them for? Erm...

I'll, on the basis it sounds as though it might be a bit too...

..a bit too late for him at that age,

I'll rule out TV commercial jingles.

Cartoon music is a bit of a nebulous one, because I can't really...

I'm going for national anthems, unlikely as it may sound, I shall go for that.

Interesting question, cos the date seems to rule out anything on celluloid, really.

-But...

-But...

-cartoon music is the right answer.

-Yeah.

What is he? Let's think about this. 1891, so he's 30 in 1920.

Was there Mickey Mouse then?

Cartoons started more or less in the thirties, didn't they?

-Did they?

-Yeah.

-Later in his career?

-He would've been 40.

-Yeah.

Yeah. So, it's more feasible, really, than the others.

There we are. This doesn't happen very often, Glyn.

Kevin has left you with a way in. Here's your question.

The Piano Sonata No. 21 in C major, Opus 53

also known as The Waldstein Sonata, is a work by which composer?

It's not Mozart.

Erm...

I don't think it's Beethoven, so I'll say Bach.

I'm sorry, you're wrong. It is Beethoven.

That was your moment, team.

You had him in the sniper's sights!

OK, we go now off multiple-choice. We go to Sudden Death.

Kevin, your question.

Which school choir had a UK number one single in 1980 with

There's No-One Quite Like Grandma?

We're getting them today, aren't we(!)

JEREMY LAUGHS

The Birdie Song, No-One Quite Like Grandma.

-It's the St Winifred's School Choir.

-Yes, it is. OK, so...

Your question now, Glyn.

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

Boy and Under A Blood Red Sky...

..are early albums by which band?

Well, I'm afraid I don't know much about that sort of music. I'll say Boy George.

Good thought.

Do your team-mates know, by any chance?

ALL: No.

-Rings a bell, but I can't think who would have...

-The Stones?

Not the Stones. It's U2.

-Oh, U2.

-Bono and his mates.

So, Kevin, well done. You have won that round.

You are in the final.

Glyn, you were beaten.

You gave him a run for his money, but you were beaten by our Egghead, so you won't be in the final.

Please come back to the studio.

The challengers have lost two brains from the final round, the Eggheads have lost one.

The last subject is Arts & Books.

Who do you want to take on?

-JILL: It might have to be me.

-Jill or Arthur.

-It might have to be me.

-Maybe you, dear.

-Do you want to do it?

-He hasn't read a book in his life!

-I wanted Sports.

-You were waiting for Sports?

He wants Sports, so I'll have to do it.

-So, Jill, you want to play who? You can have Judith or Barry.

-Erm...

My favourite person for this is not here.

I don't know what Barry's weakness is, so I'm tending to be away from him.

Judith is brilliant at it, and the other three have been!

-So, I'll have to have Barry.

-Jill, from the Anti Carrots,

against Barry from the Eggheads on Arts & Books.

Please go to the Question Rooms now.

I'm going to ask each of you three questions on Arts & Books.

-Multiple-choice. You can choose the first or second set.

-I would like to go second, please.

Here we go, Barry.

Vincent van Gogh was born in The Netherlands, but died in which country?

Ooh, this is one that should be instantly obvious,

but, for some reason, I'll have to think about this.

It couldn't... No, it couldn't be Italy or Spain, it must be France.

-Said with great conviction.

-Yes.

-And you're right. Well done.

Over to you, Jill.

Squire Trelawney and Dr Livesey

are mentioned in the first sentence of which book?

Treasure Island.

-Yes.

-Mm.

Is it a long sentence, the first sentence?

It gets two references into it.

I was quite young when I read this, Jeremy.

A bit longer ago than I care to remember!

Erm, I can't remember that, but I know they were there.

Back to you, Barry. Who wrote the play Stepping Out

about a group of people who attend a weekly tap-dancing class?

I'm not 100% sure on this one,

but Stepping Out, if it's about people attending tap-dancing classes

sounds like the sort of thing Willy Russell would write.

My answer is Willy Russell.

-The answer is actually Richard Harris.

-Oh!

Stepping Out was made into a film with Liza Minnelli

-and Julie Walters.

-A while back?

Early nineties, I think.

Bad luck, Barry. Jill, your chance to take the advantage.

George Bernard Shaw's 1897 play, The Devil's Disciple, is set in which country?

I'm not very sure about this.

Wales. The Devil's Disciple might be about there!

Erm... I'm going to say America.

Very confident play and you're right. It IS America, Jill.

Barry, if you get this wrong, you've lost the head-to-head.

As what does Toad disguise himself in order to escape from prison

in Kenneth Grahame's book, The Wind in the Willows?

Does he disguise himself as a...

Ooh, it would be hard to imagine Toad as a vicar,

though a blacksmith may be possible,

but I'm reasonably certain he disguises himself as a washerwoman.

You're right - washerwoman is correct, so you're equal now.

If you get this right, Jill, you're in the final and Barry is not.

Great Apes and The Book of Dave are novels by which writer?

I don't think it's Irvine Welsh.

Erm, I have a feeling it could be Will Self, so I'll go for that.

Let's ask the Eggheads if you're right. What do you think?

-Daphne?

-It's right.

It's right. You've got the official word

from the seer of Weston-super-Mare.

Daphne, it's right. Will Self.

Well done, Jill. Barry, you won't be in our final round. Jill, you will.

You've taken on an Egghead, emerged triumphant. That's great play.

Please, both of you, come back to your teams.

This is what we've been playing towards. It's the final round, which is General Knowledge.

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

won't be allowed to take part.

So, Glyn and Astra, from the WACS, the Anti Carrots, and Barry and CJ from the Eggheads,

would you please leave the studio?

So, Jill, Anne and Arthur, you're playing to win the WACS £1,000.

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

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

The questions are all General Knowledge and you are allowed to confer.

Anti Carrots, the question is, are your three brains better than the Eggheads' three?

-Jill, Anne and Arthur, do you want to go first or second?

-We would like to go first, please.

Here's your first question.

In tenpin bowling, what does an X symbol represent on the scorecard?

-Strike.

-No.

-Strike, is it?

-Strike?

-Strike?

-Strike for tenpin bowling.

We think it's a strike.

Strike, meaning...?

-All ten gone.

-All ten down.

That's right. Strike.

X marks the spot.

Eggheads, what nickname was given to General Schwarzkopf

who famously served in the 1991 Gulf War?

-Sto...

-That is Storming Norman.

-Storming Norman?

-Yes.

Yes. I will accept that, even though you've put a G in.

-I wanted to hear you say Stormin' Norman.

-Stormin' Norman.

LAUGHTER

OK, Anti Carrot.

Which European city was host to football's

2007-2008 Champions League final?

-That was Moscow.

-Moscow, was it?

-That was definitely Moscow.

They had that thing about the policing.

Yes. We think it's Moscow.

Yes, Moscow is the correct answer.

Well done. Pressure on the Eggheads.

OK, Eggs.

What is the term for the lending of money at exorbitant interest rates?

Usury, yeah.

That's usury.

Usury. Correct.

Third question. Getting close to that £1,000.

Who directed the majority of the famous series of American World War II propaganda films

collectively titled Why We Fight?

-I was only five!

-I think John Huston.

-It could be John Huston.

-I was just a green ration book!

It could be John Huston but I don't think it's Hitchcock, because I...

He was working before the war, but I don't think he'd have taken that on.

-Frank Capra's later.

-Yes.

-Huston?

-I think it was John Huston.

John. We think, we're not sure, that it's John Huston.

Or 'Huss-ton'.

-Is that your answer?

-Yes.

It's wrong, I'm afraid. Frank Capra.

Never! I thought he was too young.

You were right to rule out Hitchcock.

-He would have had a twist at the end!

-Yes, too right.

Kevin, you knew that?

He was very much involved, he had a proper military rank and that.

He was very much involved in the propaganda film-making effort.

So was John Ford, actually, he wasn't one of the choices.

Eggheads, you get this right, you've won the game. Here's your question.

Carnatic music, which is predominantly oriented to the voice,

comes from the south of which country?

-It's India.

-It has to be.

-Karnataka.

India.

-Why do you think India?

-Karnataka.

Karnataka is a place, is it?

Yes, it's a sort of state of India, I think.

You're quite right, it is India.

So, well done, Eggheads, you have WON!

I knew that one!

It's been so nice to have you on. Weston is now even more famous for a large carrot.

-Yes.

-So this might have backfired(!)

The Eggheads have done what comes naturally to them,

and they reign supreme over Quiz Land once again.

I'm afraid you won't be going home with the £1,000,

which means that money now rolls over to our next show.

Eggheads, congratulations. Who will beat you?

Join us next time to see if a new team of challengers have the brains to defeat the Eggheads.

£2,000 says they don't.

Till then, goodbye.

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