Episode 27 Mastermind

The first contender to brave the black chair tonight is Michael Ward,

a civil servant from Manchester.

His specialist subject, the band Radiohead.

Next, Pamela Culley, a charity worker from Preston.

She's answering questions on the writer Alison Uttley.

Andrew Craig is a copy editor from Wiltshire.

His subject, Field Marshal Montgomery.

Next, Ross May, a supervisor from Weston-super-Mare,

on the films of Powell and Pressburger.

And Steven Marc Rhodes, a barrister from London.

His subject, the composer Herbert Howells.

APPLAUSE

Hello and welcome to the Mastermind semifinal,

one of the six before the Grand Final.

And whoever wins tonight will be there,

with a very strong chance of becoming the nation's Mastermind.

The rules change slightly because we have five instead of four contenders.

Just 90 seconds for their specialist subject,

and two minutes of general knowledge questions.

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

And your name is?

Your occupation?

And your chosen subject?

Radiohead. In 90 seconds, here we go.

What is the name of the band's eighth studio album, released

in 2011? It has eight tracks, it's only 37 minutes long.

The King Of Limbs.

What's the title of the free newspaper Radiohead produced

to promote The King Of Limbs?

It was given away at more than 60 locations around the world.

Universal Sigh.

In which country was the band's debut single Creep a massive hit

after it was played there repeatedly by the respected broadcaster Yoav Kutner?

-Israel.

-Paranoid Android is the band's most successful UK single.

What three words complete the lines,

"Ambition makes you look pretty ugly. Kicking, screaming..."?

Gucci little piggy.

What was the original title of the song Planet Telex?

The band were not allowed to use it because it contained a brand name.

Oh... Planet Xerox.

What novel approach did the band take to the pricing of their

seventh album In Rainbows when it was first released as

a digital download in 2007?

Pay what you want.

The band were originally called On A Friday and changed their name

to Radiohead after a track on a 1986 Talking Heads album. Which album?

-77.

-No, True Stories.

The song Exit Music (For A Film) was commissioned for a 1996 film

version of Romeo And Juliet. Who was the director?

Baz Luhrmann.

What's the name of the EP that was Radiohead's first release on

the Parlophone EMI label?

Drill.

Life In A Glasshouse from the album Amnesiac features

a jazz band led by which British musician?

Humphrey Lyttelton.

What is the name of the first single released from the album

A Moon Shaped Pool?

It was accompanied by a controversial stop motion

animated music video.

-Burn The Witch.

-And we are out of time. BEEP

No passes, Michael. You have ten points.

APPLAUSE

And our next contender, please.

And your name is?

Your occupation?

And your chosen subject?

Alison Uttley, the writer, in 90 seconds.

In The Country Child by the writer and children's author

Alison Uttley, what dialect name is given to the band of mummers who visit

the Garland family on Christmas Eve singing and asking each other riddles?

Geezers.

Which book, published in 1941, is a sequel to The Country Child

and continues the story of Susan Garland?

-The Farm On The Hill.

-In A Traveller In Time,

when Penelope tells Francis Babbington that Mary Queen of Scots was

executed in 1587, he asks if she's a soothsayer who can see the future.

What year does he say they're in?

-1582.

-In a diary entry of 1943,

Uttley writes about a woman she saw ogling a fishmonger.

She describes her false teeth, her red lips,

her head on one side as she gazed up close to him. Who was the woman?

Enid Blyton.

What breed of dog was Macduff the title character of

a 1950 book by Uttley?

-Scottie.

-Yeah, Scottish terrier.

What was Uttley's last series of children's books,

the first of which appeared in 1954?

-The Little Brown Mouse.

-The Little Red Fox books.

Who drew the first published illustrations for

the Little Grey Rabbit books? Uttley had an uneasy relationship with her?

Margaret Tempest.

The television programme Jackanory featured readings of many of

Uttley's stories during the '60s.

Whose telling of the Sam Pig stories does she particularly praise in her diary?

-Dandy Nicholls.

-In 1903, Uttley won a scholarship to Owens College,

which later became part of Manchester University. In what subject did she graduate?

Physics honours.

In the Country Hoard, whose arrival at haymaking time is heralded

by the trumpets of Fox Club and the horns of honeysuckle?

-The Irishmen.

-Uttley's husband, James, committed suicide in 1930.

According to her diaries, what was her pet name for him?

BEEP

-Take a guess, you're out of time.

-Bimbo.

It was "Little Bimbo", yes, we'll accept "Bimbo".

No passes, Pamela, you have ten points.

APPLAUSE

And our next contender, please.

And your name is?

Your occupation?

And your chosen subject?

Montgomery, in 90 seconds.

Which regiment did Bernard Montgomery join after leaving Sandhurst in 1908?

Royal Warwickshire.

In which French village was Montgomery so seriously wounded in

October 1914 that a grave was dug for him?

Meteren.

Who was made commander of the Eighth Army in north Africa in

August 1942 but was killed almost immediately,

which led to Montgomery's appointment as his replacement?

"Strafer" Gott.

On which destroyer was Montgomery evacuated from Dunkirk

on 1 June 1940?

-Antelope.

-Codrington. As commander of the South-Eastern Army,

Montgomery shared responsibility for the plans for the ultimately

disastrous raid on 19 August 1942 against which French port?

-Dieppe.

-What was the codename of the operation at El Alamein that involved the

2nd New Zealand Division early on 2 November 1942?

The operation resulted in a significant breakthrough of Rommel's defensive line.

Supercharge.

After the failure of Operation Market Garden, Montgomery

made it his priority to clear the approaches to which Belgian port?

-Antwerp.

-What's the name of the Tunisian city that was captured by

Montgomery's troops on 10 April 1943?

-Enfidaville.

-No, Sfax.

Which army officer became Montgomery's chief of staff in

North Africa in 1942, continued in that post until the end of the war?

De Guingand.

Which American field army, led by General William Simpson,

operated under Montgomery's 21st Army Group in the Rhine area

during operations Veritable and Grenade in 1945?

-Ninth Army.

-Who was the admiral and commander-in-chief

of the German Navy who signed the Instrument of Surrender to

Montgomery on 4 May 1945.

-Von Friedeburg.

-In which city, now in Pakistan,

was Montgomery teaching at an Army staff college in... BEEP

..May 1935, when it was hit by an earthquake that killed many thousands of people?

Quetta.

That is correct. No passes. Andrew,

you have also scored ten points.

APPLAUSE

And our next contender, please.

And your name is?

Your occupation?

And your chosen subject?

Powell and Pressburger, in 90 seconds.

Which film, released in 1939 and set during the First World War,

was the first film directed by Michael Powell with

a script by Emeric Pressburger?

-The Spy In Black.

-In 49th Parallel, which German religious

community in Canada unwittingly supplies food

and shelter to the Nazis' submariners?

Hutterites.

What specifically is the Black Narcissus in the film of that name

which Dilip Rai uses and claims came from the Army and Navy stores in London?

Perfume.

The film A Matter Of Life And Death was released in America under

what alternative name?

Stairway To Heaven.

In The Battle Of The River Plate, Bernard Lee plays the real-life

Captain Patrick Dove.

He was the captain of which British merchant ship sunk by the "Graf Spee"?

Africa Shell.

Which dancer and actor appeared as De Jong in One Of Our Aircraft Is Missing,

and later choreographed the ballet for The Red Shoes?

Robert Helpmann.

In The Red Shoes, Boris Lermontov first sees Victoria Page dancing

solo for the Ballet Rambert during a performance of which ballet?

Swan Lake.

Which future Academy Award-winning director was the film editor

on 49th Parallel and One Of Our Aircraft Is Missing?

David Lean.

What was the prewar occupation of Sergeant Peter Gibbs in A Canterbury Tale?

-Organist.

-Yes, cinema organist.

Who played the three roles of Edith, Barbara and Angela in

The Life And Death Of Colonel Blimp,

and later starred as Sister Clodagh in Black Narcissus?

Deborah Kerr.

Which 1957 war film stars Dirk Bogarde as Major Leigh Fermor?

Ill Met By Moonlight.

Powell and Pressburger's final film collaboration was

the 1972 release, The Boy Who Turned Yellow.

Which cinema organisation was it made for?

Children's Film Foundation.

Powell and Pressburger's 1955 film Oh... Rosalinda!!... BEEP

..is an updated version of which Johann Strauss operetta?

Die Fledermaus.

Is correct. I'm afraid you didn't get ten points.

Instead, you got them all right, no passes, and you got 13 points.

APPLAUSE

And our final contender, please.

And your name is?

Occupation?

And your chosen subject?

Herbert Howells in 90 seconds.

In 1917, in which cathedral did Herbert Howells obtain

the post of assistant organist,

his first professional appointment?

-Salisbury.

-What is the name of the tune

that Howells wrote for Robert Bridges' hymn

All My Hope On God Is Founded?

-Michael.

-What's the title of the carol anthem

that Howells said he wrote after he'd watched some trucks

being shunted on the Midland Railway's

Bristol to Gloucester line?

-A Spotless Rose.

-Which Tudor author

wrote the poem Merry Margaret that was set by Howells

in the song cycle In Green Ways?

-Skelton.

-What was the name of the clergyman friend of Howells

who married him and Dorothy Dawe

at Twigworth in August 1920?

-Canon Cheeseman.

-What is the opening line

of the motet that Howells wrote

to commemorate the death of John F Kennedy?

Take Him, Earth, For Cherishing.

Which honour did Howells receive in 1953

at the same time that his friend Walter de la Mare

was awarded the Order of Merit?

-CBE.

-What biblical text did Howells juxtapose

with the Sanctus in Hymnus Paradisi?

Psalm 121.

Ten composers were asked to write a choral piece

for a collection entitled A Garland For The Queen

to celebrate the coronation of Elizabeth II.

What was the title of Howells' contribution?

-Inheritance.

-For which pianist

did Howells compose a sonatina in 1971?

-MacNamara.

-What was the occupation

of the composer's daughter Ursula

who founded the Herbert Howells Society in 1987?

-Actress.

-Whom did Howells succeed as director of music

at St Paul's Girls' School in Hammersmith

after Vaughan Williams' brief period as caretaker?

-Holst.

-Which of Howells' teachers

at the Royal College of Music

insisted that he submit his piano quartet...

BEEP ..to the Carnegie Trust for an award?

Stanford.

No passes - 13 points.

Well, what a round that was! Let's have a look at all the scores.

In joint third place, ten points apiece,

Michael Ward, Pamela Culley and Andrew Craig.

Joint first place, 13 points apiece,

Ross May and Steven Marc Rhodes.

The General Knowledge round now and if there's a tie

at the end of it, which there very well might be,

then the number of passes is taken into account.

The person with the fewer passes is the winner

and if they are tied on passes as well, there will be a tie-break.

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

And you had what seemed a moment or two ago

to be a very good score of ten points, but you've now

got the General Knowledge round to recover and overtake. Here we go.

Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin

are the four houses of which fictional school?

-Hogwarts.

-The name of which animal

means "little armoured one" in Spanish?

-Armadillo.

-What film role, previously played by Peter Cushing

and Kenneth Branagh among others,

does James McAvoy play in a 2015 film?

-Hamlet?

-Frankenstein.

What's the name of the subterranean cemeteries

excavated beneath Rome that were composed

of galleries or passages with side recesses for tombs?

-Catacombs?

-Which song by the Canadian rapper Drake

featuring Wizkid and Kyla

first topped the UK singles charts in April 2016?

-Hotline Bling.

-One Dance.

Which decoration is awarded

in the name of the American president

to members of the armed forces wounded or killed

in the service of their country?

The... Pass.

Which French painter and sculptor

is buried on the island of Hiva Oa in the Marquesas Islands,

where he lived from 1901 until his death in 1903?

-Delacroix.

-No, Paul Gauguin.

In most computer operating systems,

which unit of information storage

consists of eight bits?

-Byte.

-By what name was Thailand known until 1939?

-Siam.

-An annual regatta or boat race

has been held on the Thames River

at New London, Connecticut since 1878 between Harvard

and which other Ivy League university?

-Yale.

-What Italian term is used to describe pasta

that's cooked so that it remains firm to the bite?

-Al dente.

-Which poem by Kipling opens with the lines

"By the old Moulmein Pagoda, Lookin' eastward to the sea,

"There's a Burma girl a-settin',

"And I know she thinks of me"?

-If.

-Mandalay.

Which ship that carried Captain Scott

on his first Antarctic expedition

is moored in Dundee, where it's a big tourist attraction?

Pass.

What name is given to the star-shaped symbol

used in printing or writing to indicate a cross reference

to a footnote or an omission?

-Asterisk.

-In which 2016 television series

does the ambitious American attorney Chuck Rhodes

try to bring down the hedge fund king

Bobby "Axe" Axelrod, played by Damian Lewis?

-Homeland?

-Billions.

Which American pop rock band...

BEEP ..had one of the best-selling singles of 2015 with Sugar?

It reached number seven in the UK charts.

-Pass.

-Well, I can tell you cos we're out of time.

It was Maroon 5.

And your other passes - that ship that carried Scott

on his first Antarctic expedition - the Discovery.

And the decoration that you get if you're wounded in battle -

Purple Heart.

You have a total now, Michael, of 18 points.

And now Pamela again, please.

And you're another one of the ten pointers, as it were.

Let's see how you do with your general knowledge. Here we go.

What name is given to the annual series of concerts,

now held at the Royal Albert Hall,

that have been organised by the BBC since 1927?

-Proms.

-In Arthurian legend,

what was the name of the artefact that was sought

by the Knights of the Round Table

and kept by the wounded Fisher King?

The Holy Grail.

For which American state was Barack Obama a senator

before his election as president

in November 2008?

-Pass.

-Which Saturday afternoon television sports programme

that ran from 1958 to 2007

was presented by Peter Dimmock, David Coleman,

Frank Bough, Desmond Lynam and Steve Ryder?

Grandstand.

What Greek hors d'oeuvre consists of smoked fish roe

made into a paste with olive oil, lemon and breadcrumbs?

-Taramasalata.

-Whose 2006 top ten album The Captain & The Kid

is a sequel to his 1975 album

Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy?

Pass.

Who won Best Actor Oscars

for both Mystic River in 2004 and Milk in 2009?

Pass.

The banker and zoologist Lord Rothschild

first described a large African animal

on a visit to East Africa in the early 1900s

and gave his name to a subspecies of it.

Which animal?

-Rhinoceros?

-A giraffe.

Which controversial administrator

succeeded Joao Havelange as the eighth president

of football's governing body Fifa in 1998?

-Pass.

-What term for a ploughman

or the heavy boot he wears

has become a byword for a clumsy, awkward person?

-Oaf.

-No, clodhopper.

Which Venetian painter, who was born in about 1488,

gives his name to a shade of bright auburn hair?

-Tintoretto?

-Titian.

Which Chicago gangster retired to his Florida mansion

after he was released from prison in 1939

and died there in January '47?

Al Capone.

What colour dot on a squash ball

indicates the fastest ball with the highest bounce?

-Blue.

-The 2014 novel The Kill List

is about a former American Marine

who sets out to track down a radical Islamic cleric

whose sermons inspire his followers

to kill Western targets. Who's the author?

-Pass.

-The ancient Celtic festival of Beltane

that's celebrated at the beginning of summer

took place in Ireland and Scotland... BEEP

..on the first day of which month?

-November.

-It might have been, mightn't it? It's May.

You had five passes in all.

Freddie Forsyth wrote The Kill List.

Sepp Blatter succeeded Joao Havelange -

we know where that led.

Sean Penn won Best Actor for Mystic River and Milk.

Elton John was the Captain Fantastic man

and Illinois was where Barack Obama was a senator.

You have scored, Pamela, a total of 16 points.

And now Andrew again, please.

And you also start with ten points, Andrew.

Let's see how you do with your general knowledge.

Two minutes, starting now.

In tennis, what name is given to a winning serve

that an opponent fails to touch?

-Ace.

-Which appeal, originally broadcast on radio

on Christmas Day 1927,

has taken over BBC One's evening schedule on the second

or third Friday in November since 1980?

-Red Nose Day.

-Children In Need.

In medicine, what name is given to a solution

of a medicinal substance in an alcoholic solvent?

Tincture.

Which river rises about 18 miles north-west of Dijon

and flows in a north-westerly direction

for about 480 miles

before emptying into the English Channel at Le Havre?

-The Seine.

-Which New Jersey-born hip-hop artist

provides the voice of Ellie the mammoth

in the 2006 film Ice Age 2: The Meltdown?

-Snoop Dogg.

-No, Queen Latifah.

In 2016, Riyad Mahrez became the first African player

to be named the Professional Footballers' Association

Player of the Year. What's his nationality?

-French.

-Algerian.

Which bird, that takes its name

from its orange-red flanks,

is the smallest true thrush found in Britain,

where it is a winter visitor?

-Redstart.

-Redwing.

What abbreviation of "I will comply"

was commonly used in signalling

and radio communications?

-Wilco.

-Who resigned as Deputy Prime Minister in 2007

on the same day that Tony Blair

announced his resignation as Prime Minister?

-John Prescott.

-In which Dutch city

was the painter Jan Vermeer born in 1632?

He went on to spend his entire artistic career there.

-Delft.

-Which Irish poet's works

include The Lake Isle of Innisfree

and Easter, 1916?

-Yeats.

-Which two-piece rock group,

comprising the bassist and singer Mike Kerr

and the drummer Ben Thatcher, had a number one hit

with their self-titled debut album in 2014

and were named Best British Group

at the 2015 Brit Awards?

-The Kills.

-Royal Blood.

In Norse mythology, what's the name

of the hall of slain heroes,

often said to be ruled over by Odin, the king of the gods?

-Valhalla.

-What name is often given to the chorus

that ends the first part of Act II

of Puccini's Madam Butterfly

as Butterfly, Suzuki and the baby

await Pinkerton's arrival?

The... Pass.

Ming the Merciless was the enemy

of which boys' comic hero?

-Flash Gordon.

-By what name is the 18th century French writer

and satirist Francois-Marie Arouet better known?

-BEEP

-Voltaire.

-You have one pass.

That chorus that ends the first part of Act II of Madam Butterfly -

the Humming Chorus.

You have, however, Andrew, now a total of 20 points.

And now, Ross again, please.

And you start with 13 points, of course,

and the score to beat has risen to 20, as you have just heard.

So, let's see if you can pass that in two minutes, starting now.

In which ancient people's calendar were certain days of the month

called ides, nones and calends?

-Roman.

-The condor and the lammergeier

are species of which carrion-eating bird?

-Condor.

-Vulture.

What name is given to the charge sometimes made

for allowing customers

to bring their own wine into a restaurant?

-Bring a bottle?

-Corkage.

Lady Ottoline Morrell's affair with Lionel Gomme,

a young stonemason who worked at her Oxfordshire home,

is thought by some to be the inspiration

for which controversial novel, first published in 1928?

Lady Chatterley's Lover.

Which British film director won his second Palme D'Or award

when his film I, Daniel Blake

was named as the best feature film

at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival?

He previously won in 2006 for The Wind That Shakes The Barley.

-Ken Loach.

-What term for a sworn statement made in writing

as evidence in court comes from the medieval Latin

for "he has made an oath"?

Affidavit.

In Alice's Adventures In Wonderland,

what animals are used as the balls in the game of croquet?

Flamingos are used as mallets.

-Rabbits.

-Hedgehogs.

Which former member of the pop group Mis-Teeq

won Strictly Come Dancing in 2007

and became a judge on Britain's Got Talent in 2012?

Pass.

Which American founder member of the Pop Art movement,

who died in 1997,

is famous for presenting comic strip figures

in large scale in a fine art format?

Roy Lichtenstein.

In which EU country did the nationalist and conservative

Law and Justice Party come to power in October 2015

after winning a majority of seats

in a parliamentary election?

-Holland?

-No, Poland.

What is the only gaseous element

whose name ends in "ium",

a suffix normally applied to metallic elements?

-Helium.

-Which of Robin Hood's legendary companions

was a miller's son?

-Mutch.

-Johnny Borrell is the singer

with a chart-topping rock band

that formed in London in 2002. Which band?

-Pass.

-What do the letters IQ stand for

when used as a measure of human brainpower?

Intelligence quotient.

In which country was milk chocolate first manufactured

in 1875 by the firm of Daniel Peter?

Switzerland.

On which British island of the South Atlantic

is Wideawake Airfield that was built and used...

BEEP ..by the Americans in the Second World War

and gained strategic importance

for the RAF during the Falklands conflict?

Pass.

Well, I can tell you because you are out of time -

Ascension Island is the answer.

And your other two passes - Alesha Dixon won Strictly Come Dancing

and Johnny Borrell is the singer with Razorlight.

You now have a total, Ross, of 22 points.

And finally, Steven again, please.

And you're also starting with 13,

but the score to beat has been creeping up and it stands now at 22.

So, here we go with two minutes of General Knowledge.

According to the song from the film Mary Poppins,

how much sugar helps the medicine go down?

-A spoonful.

-What French term is used

to describe a dish that's been sprinkled with alcohol

and set alight before serving?

The flavour is enhanced

and the alcoholic content is burned off.

-Flambe.

-What's the name

of the jazz cornet player and trumpeter

whose first studio bands were the Hot Five and the Hot Seven?

-Chet Baker?

-No, Armstrong.

What disability is addressed in John Milton's sonnet

that begins "When I consider how my light is spent"?

-Blindness.

-Rockefeller Center, Chrysler Building

and the Empire State Building in New York City

are examples of an art movement

that originated in the 1920s

and developed into a major style during the '30s.

Which art movement?

-Art Deco.

-Who returned to his role

as the scientist David Levinson

in the 2016 film sequel Independence Day: Resurgence?

INDISTINCT RESPONSE Jeff Goldblum.

A scale for the hardness of rocks

based on what minerals in a standard set can scratch them?

It's named after the German scientist

who devised it in 1812. What's it called?

-Liebig?

-No, Mohs.

The circuit for which series of motorcycle races

is 37.73 miles in length?

Isle of Man TT.

What's the name of the grassroots political movement

formed by Jon Lansman and others

in the wake of Jeremy Corbyn's victory

in the 2015 Labour leadership contest?

-Progress?

-Momentum.

What four-letter combining form

at the beginning of a word comes from the Greek for "many"?

-Poly.

-Mount Elbert in Colorado is the highest peak

in a range of mountains that extends down

the western side of the North American continent. Which range?

-Rockies.

-The name of which dark wood used for furniture

comes from its sweet scent when it's freshly cut?

-Sandalwood.

-Rosewood.

Which Scottish city provided the setting for the long-running

television series Taggart, which ended in 2011 after 28 years?

-Glasgow.

-Sir Francis Drake's raid

on the harbour at Cadiz in 1587,

during which he destroyed numerous ships

destined for the Armada, has been popularly described

as "singeing the King of Spain's..."?

-Beard.

-In which city do the Elvet, Framwellgate

and Prebends bridges span the River Wear?

-Durham.

-Which singer, who's known as the People's Tenor,

sang at the Nou Camp Stadium in Barcelona...

BEEP ..before Manchester United's 1999 Champions League Final

against Bayern Munich?

-Alfie Boe?

-It was Russell Watson.

-Oh!

And you have a total of 23 points.

Well, what a close contest that turned out to be!

Let's have a look at all the scores.

Fifth place, 16 points - Pamela Culley.

Fourth place, 18 points - Michael Ward.

Third place, 20 points - Andrew Craig.

Second place, 22 points - Ross May.

First place, 23 points - Steven Marc Rhodes.

Which means, of course, that Steven is tonight's winner

and he goes through to the Grand Final.

Congratulations to him and if you would like to be a contender

in the next series, do go to our website

and you can follow us on Twitter.

And do join us again next time for more Masterminds.

Thanks for watching. Goodbye.