Episode 154 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?

Hello and 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.

Taking on the might of our quiz Goliaths today are Gosford Park.

The team are all friends

who met at Warwick University and they take their name

from their old halls of residence. Let's meet them.

Hi, I'm James, I'm 21 and I'm a film and television graduate.

Hi, I'm Joey, I'm 21 and I'm an engineering graduate.

Hi, I'm Ben, I'm 21 and I'm an engineering and business graduate.

Hi, I'm Lorenzo, I'm 21 and I'm a film and television graduate.

Hi, I'm Rob, I'm 21, and I'm an engineering student.

Welcome, Gosford Park.

And, James, good to see you here.

-Your team is interesting. You're film and TV...

-That's right.

Then we've got engineering, engineering, film and TV,

and then engineering.

Is it coincidence only two subjects are represented?

Complete coincidence. We were all in halls together,

met up on the first night and have been friends ever since.

You're now in the outside world?

-Just about.

-Is it easier for the engineers to get jobs or the film and TV graduates?

-Erm...

-I'm already working, so...

-And none of us are.

-You're film and TV?

-That's probably one-nil, then!

It's one-nil to film and TV?

OK. Good luck. 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.

We have a film & TV category, although not an engineering one yet.

Gosford Park, the Eggheads have won just the last game,

which means £2,000 says you can't beat them.

First head-to-head battle will be on the subject of History.

Who wants this? Intake of breath.

-Not me.

-Not me.

-Do you want that?

-I think so.

-I think you should do it, Joey.

-Joey?

-Yeah, I'll take that one.

Everyone else saying, "Not me!"

Not very helpful. Which Egghead do you want?

I think CJ. CJ for History.

Um, yeah, I'll go CJ, please.

Joey from Gosford Park against CJ from the Eggheads on History.

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

in the question room.

So, Joey, confident?

Not my best subject but I'll give it a shot.

And you're engineering, as mentioned?

You were an extra in a TV show,

Martin Clunes' version of Goodbye, Mr Chips.

-That's right.

-What was your part?

I was a little schoolboy at a public school. Just an extra.

Right. And you had one line?

Yeah, there was a classroom scene and we all had to recite some lines

back to Martin as he sort of dictated them.

-What happened when you recited yours?

-I couldn't remember it.

Just blocked memory, couldn't remember it

and just ended up mumbling.

You could just pick it up on the microphones.

-Can you remember it now?

-No, not at all.

-Not at all?

-Can you remember anything?

-Um, I'll do my best shot. We'll see.

It may be problematic in the quiz if you can't!

Good luck. You're against CJ.

I'll ask each of you three multiple choice questions on History.

Whoever answers the most questions correctly is the winner.

Joey, would you like the first or second set?

Could I get the second set, please?

CJ, your question.

In which year did John F Kennedy marry Jacqueline Bouvier?

I don't think he married her when he died,

and I don't think he married her that much longer before

he started on the road to the presidency, so I think it was 1953.

You're exactly right, CJ. Well done.

Over to you, Joey.

Tune up the memory, here we go.

Which English king acceded to the throne in 1413?

OK.

I'm not entirely confident, but I know that Henry VIII

was in the 14th or 15th century,

so I'm going to have to guess with him. Henry VIII.

Let's get an Egghead on this.

-Who wants to tell us which Henry it was?

-Henry V.

But he's right about the rough timing of Henry VIII, isn't he?

-Henry VIII was 16th century.

-So he's 100 years out?

-Yeah.

Henry V.

Sorry, Joey.

CJ,

which king of Norway was defeated by Harold Godwinson

at the 1066 Battle of Stamford Bridge?

Don't know what much else to say apart from the fact

it's Harald Hardrada.

Harald Hardrada is right.

Your question, Joey.

In 1374, the citizens at the French town of Aix-la-Chapelle was seized

by a collective mania for what?

I'll spell the French name for you, Joey.

A-I-X hyphen L-A hyphen C-H-A-P-E-L-L-E.

Aix-la-Chapelle.

OK, I'm not too good on the old French history side of things,

so I'm afraid it's going to have to be more or less

going for what seems more obvious.

Um, can't see some fashion for talking,

so I'd be torn between dancing and gambling.

I'd have to go with gambling,

I think, because it would just come up in history more.

So I'm going with gambling.

Gambling...is wrong. It's dancing.

I can see why you thought that,

cos how would a whole town start dancing?

But they did, a long time ago.

And the dancing...

Down to ergotised grain, Jeremy, which has hallucinogens in it,

naturally occurring, and set the whole town on a trip.

-Really?

-Yep.

-What are the historical records for that? It's written down?

It's well-documented, yes.

Several outbreaks throughout the Middle Ages.

-What does ergotised mean?

-It's ergot...

Ergot is naturally occurring hallucinogens

that occur in grain once it starts to go a bit mouldy and sprout.

So, CJ, that means you've taken

the round cos there's no way back for Joey. You'll be in the final.

Joey, sorry. You won't helping your team in the final.

Please come back and rejoin us.

OK, as it stands, the challengers have lost one brain

from the final round. The Eggheads have lost no brains. Early days.

Next subject is Arts and Books. As you're just out of college,

you will have all those in the libraries of your minds.

-Lorenzo?

-It should be Lorenzo, yeah.

-I'm OK with that.

-OK.

-Who is it?

-It's me.

-Lorenzo? OK, against...?

Um...

-I don't know.

-Chris, maybe?

Chris or Kevin? I think I'll take on Kevin, Jeremy.

OK, Lorenzo from Gosford Park against Kevin from the Eggheads.

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

I will ask each of you three questions on Arts and Books in turn.

Lorenzo, would you like the first or second set?

Um, I think I'll go first.

Here we go. Good luck. Sir Joshua Reynolds

is particularly associated with which type of painting?

Joshua Reynolds...

I've not really heard of him before

and I think... I'm going to have to go with landscape.

No, it was portrait.

Kevin, your question.

Which poet was born in St Louis, Missouri, in 1888?

Right, um... Well, this time it IS TS Eliot.

You say that because there's been a history

of unfortunate episodes relating to poets on this programme,

and we shall say no more about it.

He hasn't usually been to blame.

He's normally been the one we've ruled out straight away incorrectly.

You rule him out and get the answer wrong.

In this instance, he is right.

OK. TS Eliot it is. Well done. Lorenzo,

which Trinidadian-born writer won the Nobel Prize

for Literature in 2001?

Um...

Well, out of those three names, again I don't actually

recognise them, but I'd say Naipaul sounds slightly more Trinidadian,

more foreign than the other two, so I'm going to go with VS Naipaul.

And you're right, Lorenzo. It is VS Naipaul.

Kevin, Yousuf Karsh was a famous name in which field of the arts?

He was a famous photographer, mainly portrait photography.

Did a very famous photographic portrait of Winston Churchill

during the war, which Churchill wasn't pleased with,

which became an iconic picture nevertheless.

Can you describe that picture?

Erm, he's got a cigar in his hand.

He's sitting back in an armchair, looking quite, um...

Glowering would be the best way to put it.

Photography is correct. Well done.

So Kevin has two points.

Lorenzo, you've got one, so you need this question now to stay in it.

The ballet Giselle was inspired by a passage

in the work of which German writer?

Again, my own knowledge of German literature isn't too good.

Um...I know Goethe wrote Faust, I'm pretty sure.

Um...

I don't think it's him.

Something's telling me Heine. I'm going to go for Heine.

Eggheads, is he right?

We'd have gone for Goethe.

-Even better, because you ARE right, Lorenzo.

-Wow!

You've got one over on the Eggs! Well done!

Starting to rumble on the other side.

OK. Kevin, if you get this right, you have got the round.

A Short Walk In The Hindu Kush is a classic of travel writing by whom?

It's not Evelyn Waugh.

I don't THINK it was Bruce Chatwin.

Before the choices came up, Eric Newby sprang to mind,

so I'm just, erm...

trying to make double sure here.

He was the real travel writer amongst those,

although Bruce Chatwin did a lot of travel-related stuff,

but he was a wider writer than that.

No, I'm sticking with Eric Newby.

Eric Newby is completely right, Kevin.

Well done. That gives you the round. You'll be in the final.

Lorenzo, good come-back, but sorry, you won't be.

You were beaten by our Egghead.

Please come back to us, rejoin your teams.

As it stands, the challengers have lost two brains

from the final round, whilst the Eggheads have lost no brains.

Next subject is Geography. Who wants this?

That can be yours, Ben. I think it's going to have to be mine, yeah.

-Yeah, go for it.

-That's me.

-OK, Ben and...?

What do you think, guys?

I think maybe Chris?

-Choose Chris.

-I'd like to play Chris, please.

Ben from Gosford Park against Chris from the Eggheads.

How are we on geography, Chris?

-I can find my way from A to B.

-That's good enough.

Mind you, if you're a train driver, it's not difficult!

It's not difficult.

It's all down to those lever-snatching so-and-sos

to set the road right.

Right, to ensure there's no conferring, please take

your positions in the question room.

-So, Ben, you're actually German.

-I am indeed.

-How long have you been over here?

-Five years.

-Is there a quizzing tradition in Germany?

-Not as great

as it is in the UK, or in England in particular,

but there are quiz shows on television there.

Ben, good luck with this.

Thank you for joining us. It's Geography, OK?

So multiple choice, three questions, you choose the first or second set.

I will choose the first set, please.

The spa town of Buxton is encircled

by which of Britain's national parks?

Buxton, I think,

is not in York, so it won't be the Yorkshire Dales.

Um...

I think actually it's in... in the Peak District.

The answer's correct. Well done.

And, of course, this is an illustration of why this

quizzing thing doesn't necessarily transcend nations

because how would we ever expect Ben to know that?

Chris, the Camargue is a delta region in which country?

It's the marshy area round the mouth of the river

...well, the Rhone Delta in France.

Quite right, Chris. Back to you, Ben.

The city of Alice Springs is located in which area of Australia?

Alice Springs rings a bell

because I think it's quite popular for people to go to on holidays.

I don't think it's Tasmania for that reason

because I don't think many people go there for holidays.

The Northern Territories are...

..fairly vast, I think,

and not very populated, so I'm going to go for Queensland.

Good logic but Queensland is wrong.

It's actually in the Northern Territory.

Bad luck on that, Ben. Back to Chris.

The city of Canterbury, Chris, lies on which river?

Ah, yes, it's on the Stour, in Kent.

You're right. It IS on the Stour.

Back to you, and you need this question,

your third question. You need to get it right, Ben.

Your team needs you. What is the approximate total area

in square miles of the island of Guernsey?

Five seems rather little, so I wouldn't say that.

50 square miles is five by ten miles...

It seems...

rather large for what I think Guernsey is...

what the size of Guernsey is, so I'm going to go for 30.

I love the methodical way you do it.

Yeah, 30 is right. Bang on. Well done.

Razor sharp. Over to you, Chris.

Naxos is the largest island in which island group?

Not a part of the world I know anything about, really,

the Greek islands.

I think it's one of the Dodecanese but don't quote me on it.

So I'll say Dodecanese.

It's your answer but I can't quote you on it?!

I mustn't tell my friends.

I'll tell them it's the Cyclades instead.

That's the correct answer.

So you got that wrong. Two points each.

You've held the Egghead, Ben, and we move now to Sudden Death.

Not multiple choice now. Here's your question.

What is the full name of the English city popularly known as Hull?

There we are back on English geography,

um, which I'm not too confident on,

I've got to say, so it's going to have to be a complete guess.

Um...

Hull...

could stand for, could be short for...

Hullovan.

Hullovan is wrong.

-It's kind of unguessable really. Kingston-upon-Hull...

-OK.

..is the name on the map.

So your question, Chris.

The Moroccan city of Rabat is located on which ocean?

Get this right, you take the round.

Hang on. There's Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco...

-Rabat. It's on the Atlantic.

-It IS on the Atlantic.

You're right. Well done, Chris, you take that round.

Bad luck to Ben. You played really well.

You were beaten by our Egghead so you won't be in the final,

but Chris will. Please, both of you, come back to us.

Right, as it stands, the challengers have lost three brains

from the final round, whilst the Eggheads have lost no brains.

Last subject is... Film and Television.

You have to win on this cos you've studied it!

I suppose I should really... I didn't go to many lectures!

-You should really do it.

-I'll do it. Stitch me up?

Against... Judith?

-I think so.

-Against Judith, please.

-So you, James, yeah?

-Yeah.

-So James from Gosford Park against Judith.

Are you ready to take on a film and television graduate?

Somebody who's studied the subject...

I won't bother. I'll just stay here.

I'll give it to you as a gift!

All right, please take your positions.

I'll ask each of you three questions on film and television in turn.

James, you can choose the first or second set.

I'll go first, please, Jeremy.

Here we go.

In the US TV soap Dallas, which character did Linda Gray play?

Erm...

I'm pretty sure it's Sue Ellen.

And I'm pretty sure you're right. Well done.

Judith, which children's TV series featured the phrase,

"As if by magic, the shopkeeper appeared"?

Um, I think I'd grown up by then.

Um...

"As if by magic, the shopkeeper appeared."

Perhaps the shopkeeper was Mr Benn?

Perhaps he was and perhaps he wasn't. You tell me.

I'm telling you. Perhaps... Oh, no. He IS Mr Benn.

He is not Mr Benn but you're right.

-Oh.

-It is Mr Benn but he wasn't Mr Benn.

-Does that make sense?

-I completely understand you.

There's a shopkeeper in it but it's not Mr Benn.

Glad we cleared that up.

Onto you, James. What was Marilyn Monroe's last completed film?

Well, I don't think it was Some Like It Hot.

I think that was a bit before she died.

I'm not sure I've heard of Bus Stop, so I'm going to go for The Misfits.

Would you have studied this in your course?

I've studied Some Like It Hot.

How closely did you study Some Like It Hot?

Fairly closely.

I know what you mean.

The Misfits is correct. Well done.

Judith, your question. The sitcom Terry And June

starred Terry Scott and June Whitfield as the Medfords

living in which part of suburban London?

Oh, dear, I don't know. Um...

Where did they live?

Let's try Cheam.

-Funny you said that. I was brought up in Cheam.

-Were you?

The road directly next to the house I was brought up in,

in other words, about 40 seconds' walk,

was the house where they filmed the outside scenes

-of Terry And June.

-How amazing.

Once every summer, we'd go down and watch them filming,

-but your answer is wrong.

-No!

-It's right in a sense, though.

-I looked at that. I thought maybe...

I don't know how they put Cheam in there, but it's Purley.

If you were watching it, it was Purley,

and that's the answer we were looking for.

James, back to you.

Which English film director was the co-writer with Antony Jay

of the TV series Yes, Minister and Yes, Prime Minister?

I think I know this.

I've seen Yes, Minister quite a few times.

I'm fairly sure it's Jonathan Lynn.

Good answer. You're quite right.

Well done.

You've taken the round.

A lot of expectations

on our film and TV student and you lived up to them.

Please, both of you, rejoin us in the studio.

This is what we've been playing towards.

The final round which is General Knowledge.

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

won't be able to join us for this round,

so, Joey, Ben and Lorenzo from Gosford Park,

and Judith from the Eggheads, would you please now leave the studio.

James and Rob, you're playing to win Gosford Park £2,000.

Kevin, CJ, Daphne and Chris,

you're playing for something money can't buy -

the Eggheads' reputation.

I'll ask each team three questions in turn.

This time the questions are all general knowledge

and you are allowed to confer.

The question is, Gosford Park, are your two brains

better than the Eggheads' four? Do you want to go first or second?

-I think we'll go first.

-We'll go first.

What type of sausage is traditionally sold

rolled in a circular coil?

-I've seen them in the delicatessen and I'd say Cumberland.

-I think so.

We'll go for Cumberland sausage.

Cumberland is right.

Eggheads,

according to the Oxford English dictionary,

which Greek phrase was introduced into English in the 17th century

to refer to the rabble or common people?

That would be hoi polloi.

Hoi polloi is correct.

OK, back to you.

The Mantoux test, named after the French physician Charles Mantoux,

is an immunity test for which disease?

-Have you any idea?

-Well, I've had chickenpox

and I've not had one of those tests to my knowledge.

-No, neither have I.

-Um... I'm thinking maybe tuberculosis.

HE WHISPERS INAUDIBLY

I'm not sure. I know you get little jabs there...

No. Shall we go for tuberculosis or polio?

I don't mind.

Neither do I! You go.

OK, on my head be it. We're going to go tuberculosis.

Good. You got it right.

Great stuff!

Your second question, Eggheads.

What was the original surname of the entertainer

who became famous as George Formby?

That would be Booth.

-Booth, you think?

-Booth.

-George Booth?

-Yes.

You're quite right again.

They're playing a hard game here. They don't get many wrong,

but get this right and you put the pressure on them.

Beelzebub is the prize crossword in which Sunday newspaper?

Right...

I don't read any Sunday newspapers.

Neither do I, but I sometimes do crosswords

and I don't think it's the Observer.

That would be the only one I'd have thought...

Not the Observer, so it's 50-50.

Beelzebub...

-I'm going to go with the Independent.

-I was going to go Times.

You can have Independent.

We're going to go for the Independent on Sunday.

If you've got this wrong,

you risk being wiped out on the next question.

If you've got it right, you put the pressure on them.

And you have got it right.

Nice work! Great play by you.

Three out of three. Your team-mates couldn't ask for more.

Whatever happens from now on, you've done brilliantly.

OK, Eggheads, here's your question.

Get this wrong, they've got the money.

The familiar hedgerow plant cow parsley

is known by what other name?

-Queen Anne's Lace.

-It's the only one I've heard of.

That's Queen Anne's Lace.

It is Queen Anne's Lace. You're right.

Challengers, we go to Sudden Death.

Not multiple choice, so it's harder now.

Anton J Cermak, the Mayor of Chicago, died in 1933

after being hit by a bullet intended for which US president?

-1933.

-I only know about three American presidents.

Right. I think 1933 was around the time of...

FD... Roosevelt,

-so I think...

-Shall we go with that?

Are you sure?

Franklin D Roosevelt, I think we're going to go for.

I think that was about that era.

Bang on. Well done.

Well done.

Respect.

OK, your question, Eggheads.

Get this wrong, the challengers have won

and they take the money.

In the 1950s, Billy Wright,

the captain of the England football team,

married a member of which all-girl singing group?

-Beverley Sisters.

-What?

Beverley Sisters. One of the Beverleys.

-Yeah. He married one of the Beverley Sisters.

-Yes, he did.

-Quite right. You've got it right. So we're still...

-Was it Joy?

Yes, it was Joy Beverley.

Yeah, the one who wasn't a twin.

So we're locked in Sudden Death.

Another question for you.

In 1950, Jean Simmons married which actor?

It's going to be your field again.

Um, I don't think I've got any idea. We're going to have to guess.

-Actors from...

-1950.

-The olden days.

Who was around in the '50s?

There'd be...Tony Curtis...

Well...yeah.

I don't know. I've got no idea.

-Or Jack Lemmon?

-Pick a name from the cast of Some Like It Hot.

-Yeah!

-Right, OK!

We've no idea. We're going to go for Tony Curtis.

It's not Tony Curtis. It's Stewart Granger.

His original name was...?

-James Stewart.

-James Stewart.

OK, Eggheads, you get this right, then you've won the contest.

The line, "Candy is dandy but liquor is quicker,"

is by which American writer of light verse?

-Ogden Nash.

-Yeah.

It's by Ogden Nash.

Ogden Nash...is the correct answer.

Congratulations, Eggheads, you've won!

Challengers, you did very well, just coming unstuck at the end.

Commiserations to you. The Eggheads have done what comes naturally,

and they still reign supreme over quiz land.

I'm afraid you won't be going home with the £2,000,

which means the money rolls over to the next show.

Eggheads, congratulations. Who will ever beat you?

Join us next time to see if a new team of Challengers

have the brains to defeat the Eggheads.

£3,000 says they don't.

Till then, goodbye.

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