Episode 26 Mastermind

First in the spotlight tonight is Mohan Mudigonda,

a GP practice manager from Wolverhampton.

His specialist subject, Asterix.

Gill Taylor is a retired project manager from West Yorkshire.

She's answering questions on the periodic table.

Next in the black chair, Sarah Lake, a teacher from Sunderland,

on the novels of Nick Hornby.

James Haughton is a student from Manchester.

His subject, the Nobel Prize-winning physicist Richard Feynman.

And our final contender, Alan Diment, a writer from Newcastle.

His subject, the life and films of Stan Laurel.

APPLAUSE

Hello and welcome to Mastermind with me, John Humphrys.

This is a semifinal, which means our five contenders have cleared

one obstacle in the way of their quest to be Mastermind champion.

But tonight is crucial.

Only one of them can get through to the Grand Final.

The rules change slightly

because we have five instead of four contenders.

Just 90 seconds for their specialist subject

and then two minutes of general knowledge.

So, let's get on with it and ask our first contender to join us, please.

In 90 seconds, starting now.

Asterix and Obelix live in the last village in Gaul

that has not been conquered by the Romans.

The inhabitants of the village are only frightened

by the possibility of what falling on their heads?

-The sky.

-What's the name of the agent who's sent by Julius Caesar

to the Gauls' village to spread gossip and rumour in Asterix And The Roman Agent?

-Tortuous Convolvulus.

-In Asterix In Belgium,

the Romans fire a boulder that Obelix catches and throws back. What does he hit?

-Pass.

-At the end of each story there's a banquet

at which the bard is always shown tied up and gagged. What's his name?

-Cacofonix.

-In Asterix The Legionary, whom does the Egyptian Ptenisnet mistake

for one of the Red Cloaks, one of the holiday camp helpers?

Um, Julius Caesar.

In the same story, Obelix falls in love and Asterix becomes worried about him

because he will not eat his third what?

-Boar.

-Who is the owner of the pub The Jug And Amphora in Asterix In Britain?

-Dipsomaniax.

-In The Twelve Tasks Of Asterix, whom does Julius Caesar tell

to "Stop playing about with that knife. You'll end up hurting somebody"?

-Brutus.

-In Asterix And The Roman Agent, Geriatrix informs his fellow Gauls

he didn't need the magic potion when he fought at which battle?

-Gergovia.

-What object are Getafix and Psychoanalytix each hit by

in Asterix And The Big Fight that causes them to lose their memory?

-A menhir.

-In Asterix In Corsica, the centurion Hippopotamus

releases his Corsican prisoner who refuses to escape until after he has had what?

-A siesta.

-In Asterix And The Big Fight,

the legionary Infirmofpurpus goes on patrol disguised as a tree.

What bird befriends him because he is a "very remarkable tree"?

-BEEP

-A parrot.

-It's An owl.

Yeah, could have been a parrot.

Anyway, a wise owl, no doubt.

You had one pass.

The boulder, they caught the boulder and then threw it back.

The boulder hit the deck of a pirate ship.

And you knew it, yeah. Course you did.

Anyway, Mohan, you have 10 points.

APPLAUSE

And our next contender, please.

The periodic table in 90 seconds. Here we go.

Dmitri Mendeleev presented his original periodic table of the elements

at a meeting in St Petersburg in March, 1869, of which scientific society?

-The Russian Chemical Society.

-The modern periodic table has 18 groups

but a simplified version is configured as groups one to eight.

What do the numbers one to eight represent?

-Vertical groups of the table.

-The number of electrons in the outer shell of an atom.

Which American chemist led the teams that discovered plutonium and americium

and was the first living person to have an element named after him?

-Guyoso.

-Seaborg.

Pierre and Marie Curie discovered two highly toxic elements

by radiochemical analysis in 1898. One was radium. What was the other?

-Polonium.

-What name did the English chemist John Newlands give to the system

that he used to construct an early form of periodic table in 1865?

-The law of octaves.

-Which element appears at the bottom of Group 2,

the alkaline earth metals?

-Caesium.

-Radium. Which chemist was given the nickname "Hard-luck"

by Isaac Asimov because many of his discoveries of chemical elements,

including oxygen, are usually attributed to others?

-Scheele.

-What letter is used by convention

to denote the atomic numbers of the elements of the periodic table?

-Z.

-The discovery of which element in 1945 filled in the last gap

in the table of elements with atomic numbers from 1 to 92?

-Mendelevium.

-Promethium.

What name is given to the series of elements that fill the horizontal strip

under the lanthanides at the bottom of the periodic table?

-The actinides.

-Which element was discovered in about 1790

in a lead mine and is the only one named after a place in Britain?

-Strontium.

-BEEP

I was about to give you another one but you're out of time.

-No passes, Gill. You have 7 points.

-OK, thank you.

APPLAUSE

And our next contender, please.

Nick Hornby's books in 90 seconds.

In About A Boy, Will Freeman lives off the royalties

from a song his father wrote in 1938. Which song?

-Santa's Super Sleigh.

-In Funny Girl, Barbara Parker arrives in London

and is advised by her theatrical agent to change her name to what?

-Sophie Straw.

-What's the name of Rob Fleming's record shop

which features in both High Fidelity and About A Boy?

-Championship Vinyl.

-In How To Be Good, Katie persuades her husband

not to give their Sunday roast dinner to the homeless.

What food do they give them instead?

-Lasagne.

-In Juliet, Naked, Tucker Crowe says he broke up with Julie Beatty

because he thought he'd have "more in common with a 16-year-old Nebraskan" what?

-Waitress.

-Cheerleader. In which coastal town does Sam Jones spend the night

when he runs away from home after he finds out

that his girlfriend, Alicia, is pregnant, in Slam?

-Hastings.

-In A Long Way Down, Jess Crichton tells a journalist

she was talked down from the ledge of Topper's House

by an angel who looked like which Hollywood actor?

-Matt Damon.

-The first time Barbara meets her theatrical agent, Brian Debenham,

he mistakes her for a girl from the Arthur Askey Show. What's her name?

-Sabrina.

-When DJ GoodNews stays with the Carrs, in How To Be Good,

what does he say he doesn't agree with, because he thinks they make you "soft"?

-Dishwashers.

-Beds.

Rob Fleming and his employees are constantly compiling Top Five lists.

His favourite episode of Cheers is the one

in which Cliff finds a potato that looks like whom?

-Jimmy Carter.

-Richard Nixon. In About A Boy, Marcus's friend Ellie McCrae gets angry

when she sees a cardboard cut-out of a musician in a shop window,

and breaks the window. Which musician?

-Kurt Cobain.

-BEEP And that's it.

Out of time. No passes again, Sarah. You have 8 points.

APPLAUSE

And our next contender, please.

Richard Feynman in 90 seconds. Here we go.

The scientist Richard Feynman shared the 1965 Nobel Prize

with Julian Schwinger and Sin-Itiro Tomonaga

for their work in which area of physics?

Quantum electrodynamics.

Who was the head of the Theoretical Division at Los Alamos Laboratory?

He worked with Feynman on a formula for the explosive yield of the atomic bomb

and recommended him for a position at Cornell University.

-Hans Bethe.

-Which English-born physicist famously referred to Feynman

as "half genius and half buffoon"?

-Freeman Dyson.

-What items did Feynman mend as a schoolboy?

He got a number of jobs after a satisfied customer said he could fix them by thinking.

-Radios.

-On which island was the 1947 National Academy of Science Conference

on the Foundations of Quantum Theory held? Feynman later said

it was one of the most important conferences he'd ever attended.

-Shelter Island.

-While at Caltech,

Feynman provided a quantum-mechanical explanation

of the Soviet physicist Lev Landau's theory of what phenomenon?

-Superfluidity.

-In 1954, Feynman received his first major award.

It was named in honour of which physicist?

-Albert Einstein.

-Which friend of Feynman from Los Alamos was imprisoned

in 1950 for spying for the Soviet Union?

-Klaus Fuchs.

-Feynman gave some of his lectures at which New Age institute

at Big Sur on the California coast?

-The Esalen Institute.

-Feynman was well-known for drumming,

in particular with what kind of drums?

-Bongo.

-Feynman served on the Presidential Commission

that investigated the Challenger Space Shuttle accident.

Who was its Chairman, after whom the Commission is commonly called?

-William Rogers.

-Which laboratory in Tennessee, that was involved

in uranium isotope separation, did Feynman visit while at Los Alamos?

BEEP He said it was potentially the source

of a catastrophic explosion.

-Oak Ridge.

-Is correct. No passes, James.

All right, 12 points.

APPLAUSE

And our final contender, please.

Stan Laurel in 90 seconds. Here we go.

Which future star of silent and talking pictures

did the young Stan Laurel understudy when he joined

Fred Karno's British music hall comedy acting troupe in 1910?

-Charlie Chaplin.

-What was the title of Laurel and Hardy's first talkie?

It was released in 1929 and featured the use of sound effects

to convey off-screen action.

-Unaccustomed As We Are.

-What's the title of Laurel's first film, made in 1917?

He plays a mentally ill patient who thinks he's Napoleon.

-Nuts In May.

-What was the name of the theatre manager in Glasgow

who gave Laurel his first opportunity to perform on stage?

-Albert Pickard.

-Which Scottish comedian appeared in many films with Laurel

before going on to become a regular stooge in the Laurel and Hardy classics?

-James Finlayson.

-In which Laurel and Hardy feature-length film

is Stan transformed by a blow on the head from a falling sash window

into Lord Paddington, the greatest athlete and student of his day?

-A Chump At Oxford.

-What was the name of the woman

who was Laurel's personal and professional partner between 1917 and 1925?

-Mae Dahlberg.

-For which independent producer did Laurel star

in 12 comedies in 1924 and 1925, including Dr Pyckle And Mr Pryde,

a parody of a novel by Robert Louis Stevenson?

-Broncho Billy Anderson.

-Joe Rock.

What 1933 film gives its name to the International Laurel & Hardy Society?

In it, Stan and Ollie visit an annual convention against the wishes of their wives.

-Sons Of The Desert.

-Stan and Ollie sailed to Britain in 1932

on board a Cunard liner that was met by an enthusiastic crowd when it docked.

What was the ship called?

-Um, Aquitania.

-What 1927 film has the same name as a later...

BEEP ..and more famous film by the Marx Brothers

and is one of the first to show Laurel and Hardy performing together as a team?

-Duck Soup.

-Duck Soup is correct.

No passes, you only got one wrong. 10 points.

APPLAUSE

Well, pretty equal so far. Let's have a look at all of those scores.

Fifth place, Gill Taylor.

Fourth place, Sarah Lake.

Joint second place,

Mohan Mudigonda and Alan Diment.

And in first place, James Haughton.

APPLAUSE

It is the general knowledge round now, of course.

And if there's a tie at the end of this round,

then the number of passes is taken into account

and the person with the fewer passes is the winner.

And if they're tied on passes as well, there has to be a tie-break.

So, let's get on with it and ask Gill to join us again, please.

And you start this round, Gill, with 7 points,

with your knowledge of the periodic table.

A great mystery to many of us.

And you now have a little bit longer, two minutes,

for your general knowledge to overtake the rest of the field.

Here we go.

Which film trilogy is about the lives and deaths of the Corleone family?

-The Godfather.

-Who is the equivalent of the Roman goddess Venus

in classical Greek religion?

-Aphrodite.

-Which international airport is near Ayr in Scotland?

-Lerwick.

-Prestwick.

In which HG Wells novel is a scientist taken into the future

where he meets a small, timid people called the Eloi

who are terrorized by an ape-like race called the Morlocks?

-The Time Machine.

-On a weather map, what's represented by a blue line

with blue triangular pips along it that all point in the same direction?

-A warm front.

-No, a cold front.

Which cellulose-eating insects, that live in large colonies,

are sometimes called white ants

because of their superficial similarities to ants, although not related to them?

-Termites.

-Which Oscar-winning composer and pianist won a Tony Award

for the score of the 1975 Broadway musical A Chorus Line?

-Sondheim.

-Hamlisch. Which church in the Strand

that was redesigned by Christopher Wren is the memorial church of the RAF?

-Pass.

-What name for the flooded fields in the Far East

where rice is grown comes from the Malay for "rice"?

-Paddy fields.

-Which Central American country

has a northern border with Nicaragua and a southern border with Panama?

-El Salvador.

-Costa Rica.

A celebrated sofa made by Salvador Dali in about 1938

was modelled on the lips of a Hollywood actress

noted for her double entendres and sexuality. Which actress?

-Mae West.

-Who withdrew before the final round

of the 2016 Conservative Party leadership election

to leave Theresa May as the new party leader and Prime Minister?

Um, pass.

Which radio and television personality, who died in 2016,

was rejected by David Attenborough when he applied for a job

as a presenter on BBC2 because they already employed another Irishman?

-Pass.

-What Japanese name of Chinese origin is given to the white curd,

sometimes called bean curd, made from soya milk?

-Tofu.

-In classical architecture, what term is used

for a draped female figure used instead of a column as a support?

-Caryatid.

-In June, 1967, on what everyday items did a reproduction

of the sculptor Arnold Machin's image of the Queen...

BBEP ..replace one by Dorothy Wilding?

It's still in use today.

-Stamps.

-Yeah, postage stamps, yeah.

Three passes and you'll be cross with yourself

-for each one, I can guarantee that. Terry Wogan.

-I know!

-You know, yeah.

He was the one they said, "We don't need you.

-"We've already got an Irishman."

-Mm-hmm.

-There you go. Andrea Leadsom...

-Yeah.

..was the MP who, yeah, all that.

-And the Church of St Clement Danes.

-Yeah.

-You have now, Gill, a total of 16 points.

-Thank you.

APPLAUSE

And now Sarah again, please.

And you have 8 points, Sarah,

with your knowledge of Nick Hornby's books.

And here we go. Two minutes of general knowledge.

Which royal house of Welsh origin ruled England and Wales

from 1485 to 1603?

-Tudor.

-The red-headed cardinal,

which has red to orange head and wing casings, is a species of which insect?

-Ladybird.

-Beetle. What name is usually given to the girl

who asked her stepfather, Herod Antipas,

for the head of John the Baptist on a platter?

-Pass.

-In which cemetery is America's Tomb of the Unknowns,

also called the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier?

-National Cemetery.

-Arlington National Cemetery.

What is the name of the malevolent commanding officer

of the underwater vessel Nautilus

in Jules Verne's novel Twenty Thousand Leagues Under The Sea?

-Pass.

-The name of a tinned meat product,

which became famous during the Second World War,

apparently comes from its description, "spiced pork and ham". What tinned meat?

-Spam.

-What are the Stanford-Binet and the Wechsler tests

used to measure in humans?

-Intelligence.

-Which American surrealist,

best remembered for his photography, was born Emmanuel Radnitzky in 1890?

-Man Ray.

-In which 2005 novel by Markus Zusak

is the young German girl Liesel Meminger the title character?

She is played by Sophie Nelisse in the film adaptation.

-The Book Thief.

-What name is given to the region of reclaimed marshland

in eastern England that extends from Lincolnshire

to Cambridgeshire and Norfolk?

-The Norfolk Broads.

-The Fens. On board which ship did Wallace Hartley and his band

give their last performance on the night of 15th April, 1912?

-The Titanic.

-Which actor voices the black panther Bagheera

in the 2016 film version of The Jungle Book?

-Jack Black.

-Ben Kingsley.

In 1987, which Indian batsman became the first man

to score 10,000 runs in test cricket?

-Pass.

-In which 2016 television series, set in the early 1980s,

are the lives of four ordinary women turned around

when they become Ann Summers party plan saleswomen?

-Pass.

-What word for a red wine from Bordeaux

is also used for its deep reddish-purple colour?

-Burgundy.

-Claret.

Which historical lovers were the subject of John Dryden's 1677 tragedy

in blank verse All For Love? BEEP

They were also the subject of a Shakespeare play.

-Romeo and Juliet.

-Antony and Cleopatra.

You have four passes, Sarah.

Brief Encounters was the name of that television series.

Sunil Gavaskar scored 10,000 runs

and he was the first in test cricket.

Captain Nemo was the name of that nasty piece of work in Nautilus.

And Salome was the name of the girl

who wanted the head of John the Baptist on a platter.

You have, Sarah, a total of 14 points.

APPLAUSE

And now Mohan again, please.

And you start out with 10 points, Mohan.

The score to beat, as we speak, is 16.

And here we go, with two minutes of general knowledge.

Which mountain range stretches down

the whole of the western edge of South America?

-Andes.

-Damien Hirst's platinum skull, called For The Love Of God,

is encrusted with what precious stones?

-Diamonds.

-The Redbreast, first published in 2000,

is the first book in the Oslo Trilogy

by which best-selling Norwegian crime writer?

-Stieg Larsson.

-No, Nesbo.

Which breed of dog is also known as the St Hubert hound or the Flemish hound

and is renowned for its ability to follow scents over large distances?

-Bloodhound.

-What common name is given to a solid figure

with a triangular, square or polygonal base

and triangular sides that meet at a common point called the vertex?

-Pass.

-Which American composer wrote the unsuccessful ragtime operas

A Guest Of Honor in 1903 and Treemonisha in 1911?

-Scott Joplin.

-According to Julius Caesar in Shakespeare's play,

who "die many times before their deaths"?

-Um, pass.

-Who followed Michael Keaton, Val Kilmer,

George Clooney and Christian Bale when he played Batman

in the 2016 film Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice?

-Ben Affleck.

-Which gate at the western end of the avenue Unter den Linden in Berlin

was closed in 1961 and reopened amid celebrations on 22nd December, 1989?

-The Brandenburg.

-In which country

were the Formula One drivers Sergio Perez and Esteban Gutierrez born?

-Brazil.

-Mexico. Liam Gallagher's band Beady Eye

contained four members of which former band?

-Oasis.

-In Victorian times "fogle-hunter" was a slang term

for what type of petty thief, a "fogle" being a silk handkerchief?

-Pickpocket.

-Which Biblical patriarch had three sons called Ham, Shem and Japheth?

-Pass.

-Bob Odenkirk stars as a shady lawyer in Better Call Saul,

which is a prequel to which American drama series?

-Breaking Bad.

-Which resort on the north Cornish coast is a famous surfing venue?

Fistral beach, to the west of the resort, is particularly popular.

-Newquay.

-Who had his third UK number one single of 2015

when Love Yourself topped the charts in December?

-John Newman.

-Justin Bieber.

With which former accountant did William Hanna collaborate

for over 50 years in making cartoons?

-Joseph Barbera.

-The search for the pirate Captain Flint's hidden chest...

BEEP ..and its valuable contents is the theme of an adventure

published in book form in 1883. Which book?

-Treasure Island.

-Is correct.

Three passes, Mohan. Noah was the Biblical patriarch.

LAUGHTER

-Sorry.

-Yes, I know, I know. It's the black chair.

Cowards "die many times before their deaths".

And a pyramid is that...

LAUGHTER

I know. It's all the detail in the question, isn't it?

Anyway, here's the good news. You have 22 points.

APPLAUSE

And now Alan again, please.

And you also start with 10 points, Alan.

But the score to beat, as you've just heard, has now gone up to 22.

So, let's see if you can pass it. Here we go.

Simba is the Swahili word for which animal?

-Lion.

-Which country did Jamala represent

when she won the 2016 Eurovision Song Contest

with 1944, a politically charged ballad

about Stalin's deportation of Crimean Tatars?

-Croatia.

-Ukraine. Which sea bird is often seen standing on a rock

with its wings spread out to dry, like its smaller close relative the shag?

-Cormorant.

-Who took the title of her novel Gone With The Wind

from a line in a poem by the late Victorian writer Ernest Dowson?

-Margaret Mitchell.

-In which American television cartoon series,

created by Seth MacFarlane, does the title character sing the theme tune

that begins with the lyrics "Good morning, USA

"I got a feeling it's gonna be a wonderful day"?

-American Dad!

-Which city in Devon lies between the river from which it gets its name

and the estuary of the River Tamar?

-Taunton.

-Plymouth. In Oliver Twist, what's the real name

of the member of Fagin's gang who's known as the Artful Dodger?

-Dawkins.

-The mineral cinnabar is the principal ore of which metal?

Er...

-Diamond.

-Mercury. Which ancient Greek philosopher gives an account

of Socrates' trial, last days and death in three of his Dialogues?

-Plato.

-Which member of the royal family displays and markets

his watercolour paintings under the company name AG Carrick,

based on two of his four Christian names and one of his titles?

-Prince Charles.

-What is the Hebrew name of the Jewish winter festival

that features the lighting of candles, one on the first night,

two on the second, until the eight candles of the menorah are lit?

-Hanukkah.

-In which 2015 film,

set in a new theme park built on the original site of Jurassic Park,

does the park's newest attraction escape and go on a killing spree?

-Jurassic World.

-Which snack food was first made in Britain

by a Mr Carter in London in 1913?

-Crackers.

-Crisps. Whose report into the Iraq War

was published after seven years of work in July 2016?

-Um, Haldane.

-Chilcot.

Near which village in the Hope Valley in Derbyshire are the tourist attractions

of the Blue John, Speedwell and Treak Cliff Caverns?

-Er...Cornus...

-Castleton.

What does the abbreviation USP stand for in retailing or marketing?

-Unique Selling Point.

-Janet Walton... BEEP

Just started. ..from Wallasey, Merseyside

gave birth to how many baby girls in 1983?

-Um, six.

-Is correct. No passes.

21 points.

APPLAUSE

And, finally, James again, please.

And you start, James, with 12 points.

22 is still the score to beat with your general knowledge.

Let's see if you can do it. Here we go.

Which chess piece can move only diagonally?

-Queen.

-Bishop.

On a political map of America, the states that are coloured blue

have voted for which party?

-Democrat.

-Which show tune did the English electronic pop band Mint Royale remix

to top the UK singles charts in 2008?

-Match Of The Day.

-Singin' In The Rain.

Under what surname did the Bronte sisters publish a volume of poems in 1846?

-Bell.

-Which religious group, founded in America in the 1870s,

launched its New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures

at Yankee Stadium in New York in 1950,

although the work wasn't completed until 1960?

-Jehovah's Witnesses.

-The full name of which prehistoric ancestor of the elephant

comes from its thick coat of dark brown hair?

-Mammoth.

-No, woolly mammoth. Which play by Joe Orton tells the story

of two young thieves called Hal and Dennis who rob a bank

and hide the money in the coffin of Hal's dead mother?

-Er, Dog Day Afternoon.

-Loot.

In June, 2016, a British Olympic boxing gold medallist

successfully defended the IBF World Heavyweight title

against Dominic Breazeale. Who was the British boxer?

-Anthony Joshua.

-To which bird did Wordsworth write,

"Shall I call thee bird, or but a wandering voice"?

-Nightingale.

-The cuckoo.

Which Indonesian island lies between Java to the west

and Lombok to the east and has Denpasar as its capital?

-Sumatra.

-Bali. What is the French word for Sunday?

Er...

-Vendi.

-Dimanche.

The Falling Soldier or Loyalist Militia Man At The Moment Of Death

is the title of a photograph taken by Robert Capa,

in September, 1936, during which conflict?

-Spanish Civil War.

-The name of which dance of Cuban origin,

with a rhythm similar to a rumba,

is also a term for a voodoo priestess, especially in Haiti?

-Tango.

-Mambo. Which star of the reality television show Geordie Shore

won the first 2016 series of Celebrity Big Brother?

-Charlotte Crosby.

-Scotty T. There are three National Parks in Wales.

Snowdonia and the Pembrokeshire Coast are two. What is the third?

-Brecon Beacons.

-Which London hospital in Southwark was founded in the 1720s

by the bookseller and printer whose name it bears?

-BEEP

-Great Ormond.

-Guy's Hospital.

No passes, James. You have 18 points.

APPLAUSE

So, we have a clear winner. Let's have a look at all the scores.

In fifth place, Sarah Lake.

Fourth place, Gill Taylor.

Third place, James Haughton.

Second place, Alan Diment.

First place, Mohan Mudigonda.

APPLAUSE

APPLAUSE DROWNS SPEECH

Which means that Mohan is tonight's winner

and he goes through to the Grand Final. Congratulations to him.

And if you would like to be a contender on the next series,

do go to our website.

And you can follow us on Twitter.

Join us again next time for more Masterminds.

Thanks for watching. Goodbye.

APPLAUSE