Episode 87 Eggheads

These five 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 PONI Express. The team all work

for the Police Ombudsman Service in Northern Ireland, hence PONI,

and every Christmas they take part in the office quiz. Let's meet them.

Hi, I'm Steve, I'm 46 and I'm an investigation officer.

Hi, I'm Tim, I'm 57 and I'm an investigating officer.

Hello, I'm John, I'm 60 and I'm a retired investigations officer.

Hello, I'm Matt, I'm 31 and I'm an investigating officer.

Hello, I'm David, I'm 50 and I'm a customer care officer.

So, Steve - investigations is your business.

-That's correct, Jeremy.

-Investigating the police?

-Absolutely right.

-As police officers yourselves.

Some of us are, some are retired, and some are from other professions.

You've got, I guess, an eye for detail. Have you, John?

You're retired...investigator.

-Is there any such thing as a retired investigator?

-Never.

So, you're picking up on details the whole time.

-That's right.

-That's why you're good at quizzes.

-We like to think so.

And that's why you'll beat these guys today.

-Without a doubt.

-Excellent, confidence. That's what we want.

Every day, there's £1,000 of cash up for grabs for our challengers.

However, if they fail to beat the Eggheads, the prize money

rolls over to the next show.

So, PONI Express,

the Eggheads have won the last three games,

which means £4,000 says you can't beat them.

The first head-to-head battle

will be on the subject of film and television,

and challengers, you get to choose

which one of you plays and who you play against.

Have a think.

Oh, I didn't want to go first!

You're good on television, I think.

-It's gonna be me, innit?

-Got to be Tim.

-Yep.

We'll have Tim, Jeremy.

And who looks like their knees are knocking under the desk?

-Judith?

-Judith?

I think we'll go for Judith, Jeremy.

So, it's Tim from PONI Express versus Judith from the Eggheads,

and let's ensure there's no conferring.

Would you please take your positions in the question room?

-So, Tim, good luck with this. How are you feeling?

-Slightly nervous.

You have three questions, three multiple choice questions,

you know that. You can decide whether to take the first set

or the second, which would you like?

I'll go first, if you don't mind, Jeremy.

Tim, our investigator from Belfast,

who won a record-equalling third acting Oscar for his performance in the 1997 film As Good As It Gets?

Well, it's certainly not Russell Crowe,

and I don't think it's Tom Hanks.

I'll go with Jack Nicholson.

You're absolutely right, Tim. Jack Nicholson, correct.

Wahey, well done, Tim!

CJ, you want to say something?

He's got three wins but ten other nominations.

-He's been nominated 13 times.

-And no-one beats that, do they?

-No-one's close?

-No-one's close.

All right, Judith. Which actor played Barry Evans

in EastEnders and later appeared as himself in the TV sitcom Extras?

Oh, that was before I started watching EastEnders.

Steve McFadden was the, erm...

..what looked like the twin to Phil Mitchell...

..so not him.

So, it's one of the others. What about Sid Owen?

What about Sid Owen?

Oh, you want conviction, don't you?

OK, conviction. Sid Owen.

It's wrong, it's Shaun Williamson!

When did you start watching it, Judith?

-I can't remember. About a year and a bit ago.

-He'd been and gone by then.

He must have done, I don't know him.

All right, the investigators from Belfast are in the lead,

and your second question now, Tim.

In 1978, Melvyn Bragg presented the first ever episode

of which long-running arts show?

I think it's still going,

it's The South Bank Show.

Absolutely right. Well done.

Clap it, come on!

Judith, in which 1987 film did Timothy Dalton

first play James Bond?

I can never remember the titles of any.

I mean, which James Bond film is which James Bond film,

but I have a feeling it's The World Is Not Enough.

Judith, that's incorrect,

the correct answer is The Living Daylights. So, well done, Tim.

You have taken on the might of the Eggheads and emerged triumphant.

That's good news for the challengers, it means

you'll be able to play in today's final round.

Congratulations. Would you both please come back and join your teams?

So, as it stands, the challengers haven't lost any brains

from the final round, while the Eggheads have lost one brain.

The next subject is music. Who from the challengers

will be playing in this round,

and who would you like to take on? You tell us.

-Music?

-Gotta be Matt, hasn't it?

I think we are going to have Matt for this, Jeremy.

-Matt. And you can have anyone but Judith.

-I think Chris.

We've made a decision and we'll go for Chris, Jeremy.

So, Matt from PONI Express against Chris from the Eggheads.

Please take your positions in the question room.

Chris, Brain Of Britain champion,

International Mastermind since 1983, Mastermind in the '80s.

I'm assuming you need to know a lot of music for that.

Yeah. As long as it's Wagner, I'm OK.

But the modern pop stuff, you can forget it.

And as for rap, there's a letter missing.

But if you don't like rap but you have to know it,

how are you getting across that every day? What are you doing?

Nothing. I ignore it and hope it goes away.

So, if a rap question comes up, you're stuffed. Is that right?

Yep.

All right. Well, bring it on, I can hear PONI Express thinking.

Matt, you get to choose whether you take the first

or the second set of questions.

I'll take the first, please.

Matt, here's your first question.

To which section of the orchestra does the double bass belong?

To be honest, I'm not really into classical music as such.

But I believe...

Woodwind doesn't sound right,

brass doesn't sound right, so I'll go string.

String is correct, yeah.

Like a big cello.

What's the difference between a double bass

and a big cello, Eggheads?

-A double bass is even bigger.

-It's just bigger?

-Yes.

-Same number of springs...strings! Has it got springs?

-Boing!

Chris, you ready?

Who sang the theme tune to the 1964 James Bond film, Goldfinger?

That was Shirley Bassey.

-Absolutely right. I can tell you like it.

-It's OK.

Matt, your second question.

"See the stone set in your eyes,

"see the thorn twist in your side,"

is the opening line from which U2 song?

I wouldn't be 100% confident on this one, Jeremy,

but One is my favourite U2 song, and I don't think it's that.

And I don't think it's Mysterious Ways, so I'm going to go

With Or Without You.

100% right, well done. I won't ask you to sing it, Matt.

Chris, the fandango is a folk dance from which European country?

It's Spanish, so it's Spain.

It is Spain.

You have 2 points each. Third question, Matt.

A lot riding on this - here we go.

Which German composer fathered 20 children before his death in 1750?

I was dreading a question like this, Jeremy,

to be honest. Classical music.

I can't recall having heard of Grieg...Grieg is it, the third one?

Yes, spelt G-R-I-E-G.

So, I'm going to rule him out just because I haven't heard of him.

I am just going to go with Wagner on the premises of Apocalypse Now.

I know the theme tune of that movie.

You think if he wrote Apocalypse Now,

-he would have been quite busy in other areas?

-Possibly.

So, Wagner is your answer.

-It is.

-I'm sorry, it's wrong. It's Bach, actually.

You question, to take this round, Chris, is...

which band won three awards, including Best British Band,

at the 2008 NME awards?

I think Razorlight and Kaiser Chiefs were a year or so before that...

..or were they?

The Kaiser Chiefs take their name from a South African football team

but that's neither here nor there.

Erm...

..I'll go with the Arctic Monkeys with no great hope of success.

Before I tell you whether you're right,

can I ask, as someone who I know enjoys karaoke,

have you ever done karaoke to I Bet You Look Good On The Dance Floor?

No. I tend to do Meatloaf, later Presley, Bon Jovi,

that kind of stuff.

You're right with the Arctic Monkeys, Chris.

Well done, you got it.

So, Chris, well done.

Matt, you were beaten by our Egghead.

Impressive display, not on home turf there, Chris.

As a result, Matt, you won't be able to help in the final round.

Would you both please come back and join your team-mates?

As it stands, the challengers have lost one brain

from the final round and the Eggheads have also lost one brain.

The next subject is arts and books and which one of you challengers

wants to take that on and, more precisely,

who do you want to take on? You can't have Judith or Chris.

THEY CONFER We'll try and keep Dave for the sport.

-You want to go for it?

-I think I'll go for that.

-OK.

-And who shall we go against, guys?

Don't go with Daphne.

-I think, em, CJ.

-Yeah, CJ.

-Yep.

I'll have to go against CJ, I think.

It's going to be Steve from PONI Express versus CJ from the Eggheads.

To ensure there's no conferring, can you both

move away to the question room?

Steve, you get to choose one thing at least,

which is whether you take the first or second set of questions.

Well, Jeremy, I always believe that shy boys get nowt, so I'll go first.

In which city was Oscar Wilde born in 1854?

I've a feeling that he wasn't Scottish.

I'm fairly certain he wasn't born in London.

Something in the back of my mind thinks Dublin,

some Irish connection, so I'm going to go for Dublin.

Spot on, he was indeed born in Dublin. He was Irish.

You're going to tell us you knew that?

Surprisingly, yes. He's buried in Pere Lachaise in Paris.

Let's see if you know this. Silas Marner is a novel by which writer?

That's by George Eliot.

You're quite right, CJ. Well done.

1-1. Second question to Steve.

Cover Her Face, published in 1962,

was the first novel by which English writer?

Right, I don't really know this,

but Catherine Cookson's been going a fair few years.

That came to me, initially.

PD James was a bit earlier than that

and as for Nancy Mitford, I can't say I've ever heard of her.

I'm going for Catherine Cookson.

Sorry to say, it's the wrong answer. PD James was the correct answer.

Daphne, were they all writing at graphically different times?

Yeah. My favourite writer, PD James.

This was the big breakthrough book, was it?

The first one - Adam Dalgliesh.

-1962.

-Yep.

CJ, who is the author of the African Queen,

famously filmed with Humphrey Bogart and Katharine Hepburn in the 1950s?

Not seen the film, not read the book, but I know it's CS Forester.

You are right, it is CS Forester.

You know a lot about films you haven't seen, CJ!

I just don't watch films, I don't have the attention span.

But I read about them and learn.

-You learn about films without watching them?

-Yes.

I know the African Queen was 1951, but I've never seen it.

-Is it possible to enjoy a film without seeing it?

-Erm...

Yes, and it's possible to really hate it by watching it.

OK! That's an insight into what drives this team, all right?

We could spend an afternoon on that one answer.

As it is, more pressing matters.

Steve, you've got to get this answer right.

What is the name of the Roman writer whose collections

The Histories and The Annals, documented the Roman Empire

from AD14 to AD96?

What is the name of the Roman writer whose collections

The Histories and The Annals, documented the Roman Empire

from AD14 to AD96?

I think I know this.

I think Cicero was more of a poet

and I think it was Tacitus.

It was indeed Tacitus, yes.

Well done, correct answer.

So, CJ, for the round. Which Eugene O'Neill play,

set during the American Civil War,

is a revision of Aeschylus' Oresteia?

Not sure about this one, but one of the major Greek tragedies

is about Agamemnon and his wife Clytemnestra

and they had two daughters, Iphigeneia and Electra.

So, purely on that basis and that link

I'll go for Mourning Becomes Electra.

The logic is brilliant.

You're right, it is Mourning Becomes Electra.

So, Steve, I'm sorry. You've lost. You were beaten by our Egghead.

As a result, you won't be able to help your team in the final round.

CJ, you won.

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

The challengers have lost two brains from the final round,

the Eggheads have lost one brain. The last subject is sport.

Sport, challengers. Who wants to take this on and against whom?

THEY CONFER

Well, Jeremy, we are certainly going to give our sports aficionado

a running, a run-out, so it's going to be David.

And, erm, who shall we have?

THEY CONFER

-Kevin or Daphne?

-I think we'll go for,

as we know that Daphne is dynamite when it comes to sport,

and Kevin is pretty good, as well.

We're going to have a pop at Kevin.

Kevin and David, to our question room, please,

for your questions, so there's no conferring.

David, tell me if you want the first or second set of questions.

First, please.

In 2008, who became the first footballer to score goals

in three League Cup finals?

2008? League Cup finals?

The answer isn't coming obviously.

I thought it was Chelsea and Tottenham, who played in 2008.

So it has to be Terry or Drogba.

Oh, dear, I'll take a punt on Drogba.

It's a good punt, you're right. Well done!

Favour the slightly offside rule, favour the striker.

Terry plays in defence.

Your first question, Kevin.

Which rugby union player kicked a record-breaking

29th international drop goal during the 2008 Six Nations?

I think that was Jonny Wilkinson.

I believe he holds the record for drop goals.

You're correct, well done.

David, second question.

In the game of cricket, what name is given

to a high full toss that's aimed directly at the batsman's head?

I like a bit of cricket, too.

I know a yorker is one that's sort of speared in

towards the middle stump.

It's a beamer.

It's not a log hop, you don't think?

-No.

-Beamer is the correct answer, well done.

Kevin, to keep up you need to get this right.

In golf, what name is given to the grass surface

on the perimeter of the green, that separates it from the fairway?

I'm not certain, but I think that's the apron.

It is the correct answer. Well done.

Two points apiece to the Eggheads and PONI Express.

Your third question, multiple choice, here we go, Dave.

Welshman David Davies won an Olympic bronze medal in 2004,

in which sport?

Unfortunately, I don't know.

He's a Welshman. Nothing jumps out there.

I'm going to go with cycling.

Cycling. It's the wrong answer.

It's swimming, Dave.

So for this round, Kevin...

Babe Ruth won four world series with which baseball team

between 1920 and 1935?

Yeah, they became very successful once he joined them,

and the stadium actually became known as the house that Ruth built.

It was New York Yankees.

New York Yankees is the correct answer. Well done, Kevin.

David, you were beaten by our Egghead.

As a result you won't be able to help your team in the final round.

So, would you both please come back and join your team mates.

So, this is what we've been playing towards,

it's time for the final round which, as always, is general knowledge.

But, I'm afraid those of you who lost your head-to-heads won't be

allowed to take part in this round. So Steve, Matt and David

from PONI Express and Judith from the Eggheads,

would you please leave the studio.

Tim and John, you are playing to win PONI Express £4,000.

Kevin, CJ, Daphne and Chris,

you are playing for something money can't buy,

the Eggheads' reputation.

As usual I will ask each team three question in turn.

This time the questions are all general knowledge

and you are allowed to confer.

So PONI Express, the question is - are your two brains better than the Eggheads' four?

You don't get any points for answering that.

Tim and John, do you want to go first, or let them go first?

We'll go first please, Jeremy.

Your first question, PONI Express.

What does the Latin phrase Amor vincit omnia mean?

What does the Latin phrase Amor vincit omnia mean?

-It's love conquers all...

-Amor is love, yeah.

The French must get it from Latin.

-Yeah.

-Give it to him, Tim.

We'll go with love conquers all.

-That's your answer?

-That's our answer.

-Bang on. Well done.

First point to you.

Eggheads, the word schmuck, meaning idiot or fool,

is borrowed from which language?

The word schmuck, meaning idiot or fool,

is borrowed from which language?

That would be Yiddish.

-You're correct.

-Oy vey!

One point each.

OK, guys. Are you focused on this? Don't drift.

Wolfgang Petersen's 2004 movie Troy was based on which ancient text?

What was the Iliad?

-I thought the Odyssey dealt with when they left Troy.

-Yeah.

It's the voyages of...so you want to go the other way, to the Iliad.

Yeah, go on.

We'll go with the Iliad...Jeremy.

The Iliad is the correct answer.

You're doing well, you're doing very well actually. Eggheads,

the outer skin of the Statue of Liberty is made of which metal?

The outer skin of the Statue of Liberty is made of which metal?

-Copper...certainly not lead.

-No.

I thought it was copper?

-Perhaps it is.

-I thought...

I thought the outer skin was copper.

I thought it was lead inside, and the outer skin was copper.

It's either copper or bronze.

Erm... I would go for copper.

I thought the outer skin was copper.

I'd have thought it'd be

bright green, which it isn't.

Well, the consensus of opinion

is that it's copper.

-You were drifting between metals there.

-Yes, we were.

You've ended up with the right one. It is copper.

What was happening there?

You thought it was bronze, and it was too expensive?

Bronze is an alloy containing copper as well,

so it was just a question... It would have given a different colour

if it was bronze.

I'm not sure we were going to be in serious doubt on that one.

Well done, Eggheads. Your reputation so far is still standing.

The next question is for PONI Express. Which heavyweight boxer,

dubbed The Big Ugly Bear by Cassius Clay, appears on the cover

of The Beatles' Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band album?

Which heavyweight boxer, dubbed The Big Ugly Bear by Cassius Clay,

appears on the cover

of The Beatles' Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band album?

That was a long time ago...

The '60s...

-The bear?

-The Big Ugly Bear.

He always called Frazier ugly, didn't he?

When he was doing his poetry...

wasn't Sonny Liston The Big Ugly Bear?

I would have thought, simply because of his hair...

-Jeremy.

-Yes.

-We'll go with Sonny Liston.

Bang on, well done.

Your team-mates are very excited back there, they really are.

Eggheads, in which book of the Old Testament

is the story of Samson and Delilah told?

In which book of the Old Testament

is the story of Samson and Delilah told?

Judges, definitely.

You said that with great conviction.

-I did theology.

-You did theology.

-Yes.

-She was around at the time.

You're right, Daphne. It's Judges, so 3-3.

After those three questions, you've done really well, challengers.

The scores are level and we go to sudden death.

Your question, PONI Express.

The guitarist known as Lemmy is a founder member of which rock group?

The guitarist known as Lemmy is a founder member of which rock group?

It's not Zeppelin, is it?

Not Zeppelin...

I was thinking of...not Dire Straits, the other...

-Status Quo?

-Nah.

I don't think so, but I don't know the name.

-Wanna just have a guess?

-Yep. Be my guest.

I'll go with Sabbath.

We're gonna have to guess on this one. We'll go with Black Sabbath.

-We can't think of anything else.

-You're going with Black Sabbath.

Sorry to say, you're wrong. It's, in fact before I say,

let me ask you, Eggheads. Do you know?

-Motorhead.

-Daphne, you said Motorhead as if you'd been

to about 25 of their concerts.

I just know Motorhead - Lemmy.

Lemmy famously said his favourite song was Abba, The Name Of The Game.

Motorhead one of the great heavy metal bands.

Right, listen guys. You're not out of it yet. PONI Express,

you're still in there.

You need this team to get the next one wrong.

Eggheads, Sailing By is an instrumental piece of music

played before which regular feature of the Radio 4 schedule?

Sailing By is an instrumental piece of music played before which regular

feature of the Radio 4 schedule?

The shipping forecast.

Is the correct answer.

Congratulations. You've won.

Very sporting, PONI Express applauding here.

Commiserations to you, the Eggheads have done

what comes naturally to them, and still reign supreme over quiz-land.

I'm afraid you won't be going home with the £4,000

which means the money rolls over to the next show.

Eggheads, congratulations. Who will ever beat you?

Join us next time to see if the new challengers

have the brains to defeat the Eggheads.

£5,000 says they don't.

Till then, goodbye.

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