Episode 19 Make Me an Egghead

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, do you have the brains to join them?

Hello and welcome to Make Me An Egghead.

We've launched a nationwide search to find the greatest quiz

brains in Britain.

By the end of the series, two people will emerge as

champions and win the ultimate prize for quizzing enthusiasts.

Yes, a place on the most fearsome quiz team history, the Eggheads.

You don't like been described as fearsome, do you?

Because you don't think you are. Love it. You love it, Judith? Yes.

All right, let's meet today's contestants,

both hoping that they've got what it takes to become an Egghead.

Hello, I'm Nick Paul, I'm a postman from Harpole in Northamptonshire.

Hello, I'm Dom Tait, I'm a managing editor of a media

publication from Kingston upon Thames. So, Nick and Dom, welcome.

This is our last male heat.

One of your names will go onto our leaderboard and maybe even

into the semifinal positions. We wish you all the best.

Tell us about your quizzing. Dom, first of all.

OK, the first TV show I did was University Challenge back

when I was at Sheffield University, and we got to the semifinals.

I have been on the sister show to this, Are You An Egghead?,

where David Edwards, the second person to win one million on

Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? deposited me out of that show.

Are you over that now? It's fine, it was eight years ago.

I barely ever think about it.

And more recently, I've been on Only Connect,

where I was part of a winning team with my team, The Scribes.

OK, and Nick, you were also on Are You An Egghead?

I was, with equally little success as Dom, unfortunately.

I was dumped in the first round as well, yes.

Well, it is a slightly brutal process, Eggheads.

We've been watching these heats.

Somebody gets dumped in every one, of course,

and then maybe the winner doesn't even make the top four.

So, are you steeled and ready for this? I hope so, yes.

Yeah, looking forward to it. Good luck, contestants.

This is where you need to prove that you could be an Egghead.

Just like on Eggheads,

both of you will compete over a series of different rounds,

where your knowledge will be tested on the regular Eggheads categories.

So, the first head-to-head battle is on the subject of Music.

Now, I'm going to ask each of you three multiple-choice

questions on Music in turn.

Whoever answers the most questions correctly wins the round.

The prize for winning the round on Make Me An Egghead is that

you gain an extra brain for the final.

And it's not just any old brain, it's one of these sparkling,

good as new brains. To my right here. An Egghead brain.

Before the show, we tossed a coin and as a result of that, Dom,

you can decide whether you want to go first or second on Music.

I'll go first, please.

OK, here's your first question, Dom, good luck.

"I gotta take a little time, a little time to think things over"

are the first lines of which song by Foreigner?

Erm...

I'm not a fan of Foreigner, sadly.

I know that they did sing I Want To Know What Love Is,

but I'd be very surprised if you put two songs not by

Foreigner there as well.

The sort of...

The sorrow in the lyrics you've just given me made me think it's

the one I know, I Want To Know What Love Is. So I'll try that.

I Want To Know What Love Is is the right answer.

OK, Nic, your first question.

Which of these Coldplay albums was released first?

I'm not entirely sure.

I think Ghost Stories might be more recent.

And of the other two, I'd be inclined...

..towards X,

but I'm really not sure. I'll go for X

Well, Dave will definitely know this. No, not necessarily.

I would've gone...

Because Mylo Xyloto was about 2012...

I'd probably go with Nic,

I'd probably agree with Nic, to be honest.

Yeah, X is right.

One each. Back to you, Dom.

Which was the first single by Lady Gaga

not to reach the UK number one spot?

That's hard!

Poker Face, I'm sure, got to number one.

So I will rule that one out.

Otherwise, I don't know the answer.

But I think Paparazzi's a slightly less well-known song,

so I shall say Paparazzi.

Yes, you're right, well done. It is Paparazzi. So two points to you.

To catch up, Nic, your question.

The 1960s American group the Ventures recorded and had

a US hit with the theme tune to which TV series?

The Ventures. Ventures.

I think they were an instrumental bands, I'm not 100% sure.

Of those, I would go for Hawaii Five-O.

But, once again, I'm really not sure.

Let see if our Eggheads know? Eggs?

Yeah, yes. Yeah. # Ba-ba ba-ba baa-baa... #

That one. Hawaii Five-O is right.

OK, third question, Dom.

Chichester Psalms, which was commissioned for the 1965

Festival at Chichester Cathedral, is a work by which American composer?

Chichester Psalms, wow, I have not heard of that.

You did say an American composer, did you? Yes.

I think Glenn Gould is Canadian.

So, on that basis, I'll rule Glenn Gould out.

But, unfortunately, from then on, it's a guess.

I mean, they were both active around then.

I really don't know.

No, I don't have much to go on between the two,

so I'm just going to have to guess. Leonard Bernstein.

The answer is Leonard Bernstein.

Well... And is it true that Glenn Gould is Canadian? He is, yeah.

Yeah, nice bit of ruling out there.

OK, so you've got three out of three, hard man to beat.

Let's see if Nic can draw level.

What is the name of the jazz fusion group that was founded by

Wayne Shorter and Joe Zawinul in the early 1970s?

Well, when Joe...Zawinul, did you pronounce his name?

I can't exactly remember? I said Zawinul... Zawinul came up,

the immediate thought before the options came up was Weather Report.

So that's what I'll go for, Weather Report.

And the answer is Weather Report.

You're playing very well, both of you. Three points each.

Perfect round so far on multiple choice.

Gets a bit harder now, we go to Sudden Death.

I don't give you alternative options.

Dom, which cantata by Carl Orff, inspired by a 13th-century

manuscript, has sections entitled In Spring and In The Tavern?

Well, I know a single piece of work by Carl Orff,

so I shall say the single piece I know, Carmina Burana.

Carmina Burana is quite right.

To catch up, Nic,

which group had a UK hit in 1965 with

the Pete Seeger song, Turn! Turn! Turn!?

I think that was The Byrds. It was The Byrds.

So Sudden Death and you're equal. Back to you, Dom.

Who became Limp Bizkit's lead vocalist

when the band was formed in 1994?

Well, I think Limp Bizkit -

unless there was some sort of replacement of vocalist -

I think it's Fred Durst.

Fred Durst is right.

OK, Nic, to stay in.

With which band did Joan Jett, Lita Ford and Sandy West

all perform in the 1970s?

Joan Jett... Ah, now, then.

I've got two in my mind.

Joan Jett.

Was it the Runways?

It was not.

I'm going to feel very harsh here, it's the Runaways. Oh!

But I can't take Runways, I'm sorry.

Oy, were you thinking Blackhearts?

You were going towards Joan Jett and the Blackhearts?

I knew she was in a band before Joan Jett and the Blackhearts,

but I just misnamed the band, unfortunately.

I'm so sorry, very, very close.

Brilliant quizzing by both of you.

But there we are, Dom has taken the first round. Well done, Dom.

So, you gain an Egghead for the final round,

and there they are, all five of them, ready to be picked.

There's not much in it.

But I'll say Kevin.

So, Dom chooses Kevin.

You're going to go into the eyrie back there, the Question Room. Yes.

And wait. And it can be tense.

Oh, absolutely, it is.

As I've said before, it's nerve-racking,

because you don't want to let people down.

It's not like you're playing for yourself, in that sense.

It's so wide-ranging, they can misfire, but, of course,

the brains are huge.

So as it stands, Dom has Kevin now to help him in the final,

and Nic has no-one yet.

The next category for you is geography.

And, Dom, because you won that round,

you can decide if you play first or second in this.

I'll keep going first, please.

So, Dom, your first question -

the city of Bilbao is situated near which of Spain's coasts?

OK, I've been to Bilbao, I've been to the Guggenheim there, and -

unless I really wasn't paying attention -

it was on the north coast.

You were definitely paying attention, north is right.

Nic, back to you. Excluding the cross,

how many horizontal stripes are there on the Greek flag?

Ah.

I don't know, sadly.

Trying to picture the Greek flag in my mind.

I can see stripes on it.

Sadly, I can't picture how many there are.

Erm...

I really don't know. So I will hazard a guess at 11.

But I really don't know.

I was picturing it myself and trying to work it out.

I think, I'm not sure - they would be much thinner if there were 11.

It's nine. OK.

Back to you, Dom.

Which African country is bounded by

Zambia, Mozambique, South Africa and Botswana?

You might have to give me the those again, please!

Which African country is bounded by

Zambia, Mozambique, South Africa and Botswana?

Zambia, Mozambique, South Africa and Botswana.

I can't work it out very well.

I think Angola's a little bit too high.

Namibia and Zimbabwe, I can't separate...

Oh, dear. Erm...

South Africa, Zambia...

Zambia, certainly...

Certainly has a border with Zimbabwe. But, then, it's...

I'll go for Zimbabwe.

Zimbabwe is right.

Well done. We go over to Nic.

In Ireland, the River Slaney rises in the Wicklow Mountains and

joins the Irish Sea at which town?

What was the river called, the Slaney?

Yeah, the River Slaney. S-L-A-N-E-Y, Nic.

Sadly, my geography of Ireland knowledge is particularly poor.

Once again, I'm afraid, I'm not sure about this one at all.

I will go for...

Dundalk.

But once again, I'm afraid, I'm really not sure about that one.

OK, the River Slaney rises in the Wicklow Mountains,

joins the Irish Sea, do you know where, Pat?

I do, it joins it in Wexford. Wexford is the answer. OK.

So there's no way back in this round for you, Nic,

we say congratulations, Dom, you've won another head-to-head.

Have you got a question wrong yet, I'm just thinking?

They're just all building up, I'm going to get a run of them wrong.

Ha-ha! Well, let's see what happens.

But first, choose an Egghead, please.

I will take Pat, please.

Right. So you've now got Pat and Kevin.

So there's quite a bit of firepower there.

Nic is still waiting to get an Egghead.

We have a third head-to-head, it's on Sport.

Dom, you can choose first or second because you won the last one.

Yeah, I'll go first, please.

Are you laughing because that's good or bad?

I know Nic reasonably well, and I know he's brilliant at Sport.

OK, here we go.

Which sporting institution began outside the Cafe Au Reveil Matin

in the village of Montgeron, in France,

at 3:16pm on the 1st of July, 1903?

I was hoping to hear 1903,

because I associate that with the first year of the Tour de France.

OK, Tour de France. Tour de France is quite right.

Nic, back to you, good luck in this round. Thank you.

In gymnastics, what type of manoeuvre is a salto, S-A-L-T-O.

A salto.

What does it sound like, salto...

Sounds like a bit like it might be a somersault,

so I'll go for a somersault.

But it's not a term I've come across.

Any Eggheads know this one? That's correct.

That's correct, somersault is right. Well done, you're equal.

Back to you, Dom.

Whom did Mark Selby defeat in the final

of the World Snooker Championships in 2016

to win the title for the second time?

I think 2016 was the year when Ding Junhui got to the final.

So I'm going to go for Ding Junhui.

Well, you're not bad at Sport yourself, you're right. Ding Junhui.

Nic, your question.

John Willes, born in 1778,

played a role in the development of the rules of which sport?

Born in 1778, did you say? Yes, indeed.

John Willes. W-I-L-L-E-S.

I'm going to go for...

Cricket, because it seems about right, timescale-wise,

but once again, I'm not sure. Cricket is correct. Playing well.

Third question. To Dom, still hasn't got one wrong.

And Sport is not your strongest, is that right, Dom?

I don't mind Sport, it's just that Nic's better at it!

Which country won gold in the football competition at

the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin?

Wow. I certainly don't know that.

It could have been a home win, and obviously

Germany and Italy are strong. Do you know, something is leading me

towards Japan, because it's there and it's unusual

that it should be there. I'm going to go for Japan.

Let's see, who knows? It's a great question, who knows?

I think it should be Italy. Italy is the answer.

Because they won the World Cup either side. In '34 and '38.

Did they? Yeah.

OK, Nic, this is now more promising for you.

So it's two each, but you have a question in hand.

Get this one right, you've won the round, you pick an Egghead,

it's a bit more evenly balanced.

Approximately how many people competed in

the 2015 New York Marathon?

Right.

Obviously, there's a lot take part in the London Marathon,

is it going to be as high as 50,000 in the New York Marathon?

I think it's going to be one of the extremes, either high or low.

I'm going to take a punt on 50,000.

If you've got this right, you've taken the round.

Yes, you're absolutely right, 50,000 it is, well done, Nic.

This is quite a battle here. Two very good quizzers.

Nic, you've won the final head-to-head.

So, Dom has Pat and Kevin, who would you like?

I think, to work with my lack of knowledge of subjects,

I'm going to go for Barry, please.

OK.

So, Nic, you've got Barry in the final round.

And, Dom, you've got Kevin and Pat.

Don't know which way this is going to go,

let's play that final round.

So this is what we have been playing towards,

it is time to find out who's one step closer to becoming an Egghead

and who will be eliminated from our search.

Nic and Dom, I'm going to ask each of you three questions in turn,

this time, the questions are all General Knowledge.

In this final round, you will have the backing of the Eggheads

you've won over the course of the show.

So, Nic, you will have the help of Barry back there,

who is a wonder when he's on the right subject.

And, Dom, you've got Kevin and Pat.

You'll be able to call on them for advice before giving an answer.

You could even use both of them for one answer.

What you can't do is use any Egghead more than once.

So ask for their help wisely.

Nic, as you won the last round,

you get to choose whether you go first or second?

I'll go first, please, Jeremy.

All the best, guys.

What title does the professional head of the British Army hold?

Well, it certainly isn't Supreme Chief Major.

Is it Chief of the General Staff...?

It must be Commander In Chief, surely.

It must be.

I'm starting to doubt myself now.

It's certainly not Supreme Chief Major.

I think I'm going to have to ask Barry, because I'm not...

You can ask him, but you can't use him again if you do. Yeah, OK.

I'm going to go for...

No, I'm not going to use Barry.

I'm going to go for Commander in Chief.

Barry, what would you have said? Well, Commander in Chief is normally

a title that one associates with the US President, but I think the

chief of the British Army, sadly, is Chief of the General Staff.

It is, it's Chief of the General Staff.

OK.

Dom, back to you.

In 2010, the Catatonia singer Cerys Matthews began presenting

a regular Sunday morning show on which BBC radio station?

I listen to it a lot, and it's really good, it's 6 Music.

It is good, 6 Music is right.

You didn't need to use your Egghead.

Nic, which monarch became king of Norway in 1991?

Before the options came up, I thought Harald was King of Norway.

I think Olav is earlier.

I'm going to go for Harald V, because it came into my head

before it came up that it was Harald, King of Norway.

Harald V is right.

Well done, Nic.

So you're on the scoreboard, one point each.

Advantage, though, to Dom here,

who's got two Eggheads still, and a question in hand.

The intercontinental airport in Houston, Texas,

is named after which US President?

George HW Bush is from there.

And I thought that was the answer before it came up.

So I'm going to say George HW Bush.

It is indeed George HW Bush, you're right.

OK, back to you, Nic, for your third question.

Appearing on the 2007 album Sound Of Silver,

North American Scum is a song by which group?

I've seen Interpol in concert.

That doesn't help at all.

I sort of know of Hot Chip, and doesn't really sound like

one of their song titles, from the ones I know.

So I'm going to go for LCD Soundsystem,

but I'm not 100% sure at all about that.

LCD Soundsystem is correct. Very good quizzing.

You've still got Barry there as well, Nic, so let's see.

Dom, if you get this right, you've won.

If you get it wrong, we go to Sudden Death.

You've still got two Eggheads there.

In the citation for his Nobel Prize for literature,

who was commended for his "important literary production,

"which, with clear-sighted earnestness,

"illuminates the problems of the human conscience in our times"?

OK, if you don't mind, could you possibly read it through again?

Yeah, and listen to this backstage, Eggheads, in case you're called on.

In the citation for his Nobel Prize for literature,

who was commended for his "important literary production,

"which, with clear-sighted earnestness,

"illuminates the problems of the human conscience in our times"?

Yeah, that's hard, I'm definitely going to be asking an Egghead here.

I think I've discounted one of them,

but I'm going to check with Kevin, if that's OK.

Kevin, would you like to tell us what you think?

I know Dom said there was one he's sort of ruled out.

I think one he would rule out would probably be Steinbeck.

I find this very tricky, quite honestly.

Because you can make a case...

Well, you could make a case for any of them.

I'm assuming the word production in this means a body of work.

Because the Nobel Prize for literature is ordinarily given

for a body of work, rather than for a specific work of literature.

On that basis, if it's a body of work,

you'd probably edge towards Camus.

Maybe.

So I don't know what to advise Dom, to be perfectly honest. OK!

That's not very heartening!

I know, I know. It's all right, don't worry. I mean...

I would have, left alone, I would have gone for Camus.

I don't think...

Funnily enough, I discounted Pasternak,

because I think Steinbeck IS very earnest.

But then, the kind of problems of the human mind,

or whatever it was, sound more like a Camus kind of thing. Yeah, yeah.

I will go with what I thought first, and you think now...

You can, of course, call in Pat as well, if you want to.

I know, the thing is, it's such a tricky area that I feel like,

it's not something...

I know Pat's mind is cavernous,

but it doesn't feel like something that can be emphatically known.

So I'm going to go with my hunch and Kevin's hunch

and I'm going to go for Camus.

Let's just see what Pat would have said. Pat?

I would've followed pretty much Kevin's logic.

Albert Camus seemed to deal with the tortured consciences,

people who've done dodgy deeds,

but I think it's a very difficult question.

If you've got this right, you've won.

The answer is Albert Camus, well done.

So we say congratulations, Dom, you have won.

APPLAUSE

That felt like a very enjoyable game.

I hope, even being on the losing side, you enjoyed it.

I'll regret not going to Barry on that one question, but, yes, I did enjoy it, yes.

Of course, you didn't...

Barry, you didn't get used there?

No, sadly. No.

Well, he spared you the question about Interpol.

Or what was the answer? American Scum?

LCD Soundsystem. LCD Soundsystem.

I would not have been any use at all on that question!

I would have loved to see you doing that, though.

I would have enjoyed your facial expressions on that one.

Nic, thank you for playing. Thank you very much.

Good luck with all your future quizzing, you're brilliant. Good luck to Dom. Cheers, Nic.

Well, great, and I don't know whether that will be needed, but let's see, Dom.

You've proved that winning comes as naturally to you

as it does to our Eggheads.

You've got a powerful brain, a lot of quiz knowledge.

You are one step closer now to joining our quiz Goliaths.

But your work for today is not quite done.

We give you three points for each round you've won today,

so two Eggheads makes six points you've got already.

You're now going to get the chance to add to those points by answering

quickfire questions for two minutes.

We give you one point for each correct answer.

And we see where your final score puts you on our leaderboard.

The top four places at the end of the heats will make it

through to the semifinals. Just take a look now at the leaderboard, Dom.

You can see you'll be the last name on it.

You want to avoid being positions 5-10,

because they're not going to be in the semifinals.

You want to displace Ian, basically. Not to put too fine a point on it.

To get into the semifinals. 21...

So you really want, yeah, you want 21 correct answers. Somehow!

In two minutes, it doesn't sound brilliant. Or maybe even 22. Yeah.

It's been done. And I'm sure, if anyone can do it, you can.

Are you ready? Yeah.

Your time starts...now.

Which substance has the chemical formula CO2?

Carbon dioxide. Correct.

In which country is the world-famous Bolshoi ballet based?

Russia. Correct.

On a standard dartboard, what number lies between one and four?

15? No, 18.

The classic films The Graduate and To Kill A Mockingbird

were released in which decade?

'60s. Correct.

During the 1990s,

who became the first male actor to win back-to-back Best Actor...

Tom Hanks. ..Oscars since Spencer Tracy in the 1930s? Yes, Tom Hanks.

Which song was a UK number one single

for both the Bangles and Atomic Kitten?

Eternal Flame. Correct.

For what does the letter J stand in the name of the author JRR Tolkien?

John. Correct.

The Barry Burn is a feature

of which championship golf course in Scotland?

St Andrews? No, Carnoustie.

What is the name of the pink cat who was the nemesis

of the cartoon dog, Roobarb?

Custard. Correct.

In which US state was Barack Obama born?

Illinois. No, Hawaii.

Scarborough is the name of the chief town on which specific...?

Tobago. ..island? Tobago, correct.

Comfiture is the French word for which food?

Jam. Correct.

In the title of the 1981 Roald Dahl book,

what word describes George's medicine?

Marvellous. Correct.

What was the nationality of the cricketer Don Bradman?

Australian. Correct.

In the 1992 film the Muppet Christmas Carol,

which role is played by Michael Caine?

Fa... Erm...

Bob...

Jacob Marley. No, Ebenezer Scrooge.

In which English county is the World Heritage Site of Stonehenge?

Wiltshire. Correct.

Which comedy group had members called Chico, Harpo and Groucho?

Marx Brothers. Correct.

In which country is the city of Timbuktu?

Mali. Correct.

What is the title of the 1983 sequel to the 1977 film,

Saturday Night Fever?

Night Fever. No, Staying Alive.

Which group had a UK Christmas number one single

in 1968 with Lily The Pink?

Scaffold. Correct.

The third book in the Harry Potter series was

Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of...What?

Azkaban. Correct.

In Greek legend, who was the last king of Troy?

Priam. Correct.

Which musical, with lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, features the songs

Everything's Coming Up Roses and You Gotta Get A Gimmick?

South Pacific. No, Gypsy.

In imperial measurements, how many pints are there in a gallon?

BUZZER Four...

No, it's not four, it's eight.

You did well there.

I know you know the Obama one.

It's the senator, not the birth, yeah. Yeah, exactly.

So, you scored 17 points.

We add that to the six you get from your two Eggheads,

we get a grand total of 23 points.

And let us see the leaderboard.

And you are just outside.

So, Dom, well, congratulations and commiserations.

There should be a word for both those things.

I don't see how you could have done better on the quickfire,

I really don't, you were storming along. And Camus was right!

Yeah, Camus was right, yeah. That is the key thing.

Thank you so much for playing. Thank you.

Thank you, Dom. Thank you, Nic. Thank you. Good to see you both.

Join us next time to find out who'll be the last name on our leaderboard.

After that, it's the semifinals.

Till then, from us all, goodbye.

Join me, Patrick Kielty,