Episode 32 Pointless

Thank you. Hello, I'm Alexander Armstrong and this is Pointless,

where the lower the score, the better the odds of winning. Let's meet today's players.

Welcome, Richard and Mark. How do you two know each other?

-We're brothers-in-law. We married two sisters.

-How long have you been brothers-in-law for?

Er, well, he married the first one about 20 years ago. I've only been married to one for two years.

But we've known each other 30 years. We worked down the market.

-What were you selling?

-I sold fruit and veg. Richard was jewellery.

-Who had the better patter?

-Me, probably, cos he was in the jewellers. I was in the gutter.

Oh, he was in the warm? Very best of luck to you on the show today.

-And a welcome to Katy and Rachel. How do you know each other?

-We used to work together.

-And where are you from?

-Swansea.

-I thought that was the accent!

-Very good indeed. What do you do, Katy?

-I work for Marie Curie Cancer Care as a fundraiser.

-Excellent charity.

-It is.

-How about you, Rachel?

-I work for an insurance company.

Not such a good job! No, no... Good for insurance companies.

Where would we be... without ripping them off?

And welcome back to Dorian and James. You were on last time. We give everyone two shots.

-Remind us how you did.

-We had a belter of a run, then we hit a television brick wall.

-A television brick wall. Let me try to remember it.

-Porridge.

-THAT brick wall!

-I see what you mean.

-Out of our league and out of our time.

-Still in your hat and coat, though.

Very good indeed. What are you hoping for today?

-Language and science, please.

-James?

-That'll do me. Sport wouldn't hurt.

Sport wouldn't hurt. Language, science. Covered all the bases!

Best of luck. And finally, Tammy and John. How do you know each other?

We worked together, seven years ago, and we've been together ever since.

We live together in Leigh-on-Sea... with two tortoises.

-With two tortoises! What are they called?

-Bill and Ted.

Excellent.

Best of luck. We'll find out more about all of you.

There's just one more person to introduce. He's my Pointless friend, he's Richard.

Hello.

-You are one click away, my friend...

-From obscurity. We've got a great show today.

Only one returning pair, but what a returning pair! Dorian and James.

No science, no language, no sport, boys. So sorry. Animals any good?

-I could live with that.

-Animals, but not tortoises, I'm afraid.

Thanks, Richard. We put all our questions to 100 people, but this is Pointless

so we are after the obscure answers they didn't get. To stay in the game, all our players need to do

is find those obscure answers and score as few points as they can.

Everyone's looking for a pointless answer that none of our 100 people gave. When that happens,

we will add £250 to the jackpot.

Joe and Helen won the jackpot last time, so today's jackpot starts off at £1,000.

OK, let's play Pointless.

In the first round, each of you must give me one answer and you cannot confer.

Whichever team has the highest score will be eliminated.

OK, our first category this afternoon is...

Animals. Can you decide who will go first and who will go second?

Whoever's going first, please step up to the podium.

We gave 100 people 100 seconds to name as many breeds of cat as they could.

-Breeds of cat. Richard?

-Yeah.

We've got three new pairs so I'll go through this in as much detail as I can.

Essentially, in this round all the correct answers are breeds of cat.

LAUGHTER

Right. Richard and Mark, you all drew lots and you get to go first this afternoon.

We'll give you a choice of seven possible answers.

The first set of seven answers reads like this...

HE READS LIST

Just read those one more time.

At least one of those answers is pointless. At least one of those answers is incorrect.

Pick an incorrect one and you score the maximum of 100 points. Now, Mark,

the most obscure answer will score the lowest points, so be careful not to pick an incorrect one.

-What's that board looking like?

-One I know, but it'll be high

so I don't know whether to take a chance or go for the one I know.

-I'll go for Abyssinian. Abyssinian. Is that a punt?

-Yeah.

-Sounds like a cat!

OK, Abyssinian. Let's see if it's correct and how many people said it.

It's right, Mark.

Very good start. Down it goes. Look at that.

Eight!

A cracking score, Mark. Eight for Abyssinian.

Very good score, Mark.

The Abyssinian cat is medium in size and regal in appearance. Like the Queen, say.

-Regal in appearance?

-Yeah.

-If you lined up 10 cats, could you point out the ones that were regal?

Yeah. The one with the crown is the regal one.

-OK.

-It's quite simple. The one waving his paw out of the window is the regal one.

Now you put it like that, I see it was a stupid question. Thanks.

Good score, Mark. We are looking for breeds of cat. Rachel, you know your cats.

-You... Don't you?

-No.

-Really?

-Katy's the cat person.

-Well, that's good. All is not lost.

Do you know any of these? Mark says there's one everyone knows.

-I'm not going for that one.

-Do you fancy taking a punt?

-Yeah. I'm thinking...

I'm really sorry. Norwegian Blue?

-Norwegian Blue.

-Yeah.

Let's see if that's correct and, if it is, let's see how many people said it.

Oh, no!

I'm afraid Norwegian Blue is incorrect and scores you the maximum 100 points. Richard?

It's the species of parrot in Monty Python's dead parrot sketch.

-Norwegian Blue.

-Ah, yes. Bad luck, Rachel.

Bad luck. Now, James, we are looking for breeds of cat. You know cats.

-No. I... Not really.

-Well, I tell you what...

I'm going to play safe and say, from Lady and the Tramp, Siamese.

Dorian's giving nothing away. I can't tell if he's burning with fury

or ecstatic with that answer. You're saying Siamese.

Let's see if it's correct and how many people said it.

Well, it's right.

71!

If you please, Siamese.

Yes, they've got the very distinctive triangular face and blue eyes. It's a big score.

-No crown?

-The Siamese? No, it's a republic.

-LAUGHTER

-Very good. Very good.

-OK, Tammy...

-I'm actually allergic to cats.

-Oh, for heaven's sake!

-You're the worst lot of contestants for cats! Someone will be a cat person.

-I'm a cat person.

-Exactly. I said someone. Just not one of the contestants.

-I'm not half-man, half-cat.

That's why you never see my legs.

-There's four of them.

-OK.

We are looking for breeds of cat, Tammy.

Em...

There's definitely one that will be quite popular.

-I'll go for Japanese bobtail.

-What do you think a Japanese bobtail looks like, Tammy?

Em, I reckon it's... got a bob tail?

And it's regal and feline. Right, OK.

Japanese bobtail. Let's see if it's correct and how many said it. Japanese bobtail.

It's right, Tammy. This could go a long way down.

Look at that! Well done, you!

That's pointless. It adds £250 to today's jackpot, taking the total up to £1,250.

-And it scores you nothing. Richard?

-Well done.

Not only is it a right answer, but it DOES have a bobbed tail.

Extraordinary. Their tails are like human fingerprints. No two the same.

-Makes it very easy for the Japanese cat police.

-LAUGHTER

You see them dusting for tails all the time.

Let's take a look at the rest of the board. Burmese, of course, is a cat.

Would have scored you 21 points.

The British shorthair - all sorts of breeds in that. Eight points.

And do you think American Curl is a real cat?

-Yeah, why not?

-It's not the follow-up to American Boy.

American Curl is indeed a real cat and would have scored one point. Well done if you got that.

Very good. We're halfway through the round so let's look at the scoreboard as it stands.

Wow! Well, we cover all the bases there. Everything from Tammy and John on an impressive nothing,

right up to Katy and Rachel with a massive score of 100.

You're not that far out in front because James and Dorian are on 71.

But Richard and Mark looking great. A lovely score from Mark.

Not too much for you to have to do, Richard.

We'll come back down the line. Can the second players take their place at the podium?

OK, we'll put seven more answers on the board. Breeds of cat. Here they are.

HE READS LIST

I'll read them again.

At least one of those answers is pointless and at least one is incorrect. So be careful.

Try to aim for the pointless one. Now then, John.

-Are you allergic to cats?

-No, no...

-Tammy is and she scored a pointless!

-She's taken the pressure of me a little bit.

-She has.

You have to score 99 or less. That's all you have to score, thanks to Tammy.

I'm going to go for what I think is an obvious answer.

-I believe it says Persian.

-There we are.

There's your red line, just below the pink line. Come below it and you're through.

How many people said it, Persian?

It's right. Good enough.

65 that scores you, for a total of 65.

Yeah, very well done. The Persian cats mainly have long, silky coats. Like Dorian.

The Persian cat in the hat.

-I don't think that'll catch on.

-Persian cat in the hat?

-Let's keep calling you it and see if it catches on.

-OK.

Very good score. Persian cat in the hat? Is it going to catch on? I'm not really sure.

-Dorian...

-Well...

-You're on 71. You have to score 28 or less - 28 or less - to make it clear.

-I'm not a cat person. I'm a dog person.

-I've never come across a more useless, cat-orientated

bunch of contestants. OK, Dorian...

-Breeds of cats. What are you going to choose?

-I only recognise one. I'm sure everyone else does, too.

I'll have to guess. And I don't really have much choice here.

-Well, OK. I'm going to go for Ragdoll.

-You're going for Ragdoll.

There's your red line. Come below that and you're through.

Dorian says Ragdoll. Is it correct and, if so, how many people said it?

It's right! No one more surprised than James.

You're through to the next round!

Very well played, Dorian. Ragdoll scores you 14. Richard?

Yeah, well played. The Ragdoll originated in the USA.

A very laidback, undemanding and relaxed cat.

Very good. OK, now Katy,

you are on 100, I'm afraid. Rachel picked the incorrect answer on the previous board.

-Do you know anything about cats? Yes!

-I've got two cats.

And I'm actually really gutted because I was going to pick the answer that Dorian picked.

-My friend's got a Ragdoll cat.

-Wow.

-So I'm a bit stuck now. I think I maybe need to take a chance.

-I think you'll have to.

Er, OK. I'm going to go with Cornish Rex.

Cornish Rex. There it is. Third on the board. No red line for you, obviously.

You've just got to hope to score as little as you can.

Let's see if it's right and how many people said it.

It's right!

Wow! Three!

Not a bad answer at all. Takes your total up to 103. Richard?

Very well played. Kept yourself in with a chance. Cornish Rex has been recognised as a breed since 1967.

It actually turned into a breed by spontaneous natural mutation

amongst Cornish non-pedigree cats in the 1950s.

And there we were thinking the '50s was a really boring decade.

Thank you very much for that. Richard - breeds of cat.

-Yes.

-Your score is eight. If you can score 94 or less with this answer,

94 or less, you are through to the next round. It's between you and Katy and Rachel.

-They'll be watching everything you say.

-Yeah, great(!)

Em...

OK.

I don't know any of those. I think one possibly could be a cat.

-That's a Max...a Manx?

-A Manx.

-I've a feeling it might be one of those without any fur on.

-Just pure skin.

-Oh, those are weird cats.

-I hope I'm right.

-Let's look.

There's your red line. Below that and you are through.

Let's see if Manx cat can take you down there. Is it right and how many people said it?

It's right. You're through.

-Go on! Go on!

-31.

Not a bad score. That takes your total up to 39. Richard?

Very well played. The Manx cat - it does have fur, but it often lacks a tail.

Let's take a look through the rest. Now all of these are either pointless or incorrect.

There is one pointless answer. What do you think it is?

-Em...Bastet!

-Bastet is an Egyptian cat goddess, so it was an incorrect answer.

-Would have scored 100 points.

-Don't tell me that Munchkin is a cat?!

-Munchkin IS a cat.

-No!

-It's a pointless answer.

So Oriental fire-bellied is a Chinese toad.

-If someone's just sold you one, you'll save money on cat litter.

-Yeah.

OK, thanks, Richard. The losing pair with the highest score, I'm afraid, is Katy and Rachel.

-What would you have liked to come up?

-Breeds of dog!

-Breeds of dog.

-Yeah.

-You'll be coming back. What have you learnt? What are you going to take away?

-Take a chance.

-Yeah. Go with the first thought that comes in your head.

I actually thought what Tammy said and then I thought, "No...

-"I'll go with Norwegian Blue."

-Oh, well. You helped everyone else by picking it.

-Yeah!

-Anyway, we'll see you again next time. Everyone gets two shots at the Pointless final.

I hope next time you'll be here a little bit longer, but thanks for playing. Great contestants.

For the remaining three pairs, it's now time for Round Two.

It's now time to find out which two teams go to the Head to Head with a chance to reach the final

and to play for that jackpot. The category for Round Two is...

Military history. Can you all decide in your pairs who is going first and who is going second?

Whoever's going first, please step up to the podium.

And the question is...

Famous battles and their countries.

Famous battles and their countries. We're about to show you the names of some famous battles.

We gave 100 people 100 seconds to tell us the modern-day country in which they occurred.

We'll give you six battles on each pass. The more obscure the battle, the fewer points you'll score.

An incorrect answer is 100 points. See how many you get at home.

OK, here are the first six. Your first six battles read like this...

Let me do all those again for you.

Richard, we are looking for the countries in which these took place. You're going to find an obscure one.

No, I'm not!

-Em...OK. I'm going to keep it simple.

-OK.

-I'm going to go for Battle of Hastings and rely on Mark.

-Where do you think it is?

-In England!

In England. OK. Battle of Hastings in England, you're saying. Think it'll score less than 100?

-Just!

-OK, let's hope it does. Let's see if it's right and how many people knew it was in England.

AUDIENCE GROANS

Well...

That's eight better than an incorrect answer. 92 points. Richard?

It begs the question of where those eight thought it took place.

The Normans and the English in Senlac Hill near Hastings.

OK, very good.

-Dorian.

-Yes.

-There are...

-five battles up there left for you to think about.

-Usually, I can infer something from the name.

-I'd assume it's named after a region close to where it took place, in local language.

-Mm.

Er, OK. I'm going to try Battle of Little Bighorn.

I think it took place in America.

Battle of Little Bighorn. America. Let's see if that's right and how many people knew it.

It's right.

AUDIENCE GROANS

74.

-The Battle of Little Bighorn.

-Yeah, another big score. Often called Custer's Last Stand.

Named after the Little Bighorn River in Montana.

-Very good. OK, so Tammy...

-That's the one I was going to go for!

-Is it?

-Yes!

Em...

I'm going to go Battle of Waterloo. It's the only one that's familiar.

-I'm going to say in France.

-OK, good.

Not just south of the Thames.

Right, OK, in France. France is south of the Thames.

-Strictly speaking.

-That's wrong.

France...

OK, let's see if Waterloo is indeed in France and if it is, how many people knew that answer.

Bad luck, Tammy. That is an incorrect answer which means you score the maximum of 100 points.

-Phew, eh, Richard?

-Yeah, yeah, just about.

Yeah, the Battle of Waterloo is next door to France in Belgium.

-See, I was close!

-You were very close.

-A little bit out.

It was a huge battle about who liked Abba best(!) Let's look at the rest.

Alexander will enjoy trying to fill these in.

The Battle of Waterloo, we've just heard, was Belgium. It would've scored you 32 points.

-Battle of Rorke's Drift?

-That's South Africa.

-Yeah, in the Anglo-Zulu War.

-Battle of Heartbreak Ridge?

-I don't know.

It was in what is now modern-day North Korea, during the Korean War.

It would've scored you zero points. It was a pointless answer.

And the Battle of Blenheim?

-I was going to say Prussia, but that obviously doesn't exist.

-Sort of Prussia.

Um...Ger...Germany?

Exactly right. Part of the Wars of Spanish Succession. It would've scored you 7 points.

-Very well done if you got that at home.

-Thank you, Richard.

Let's take a look at the scores as they stand.

Richard and Mark were looking quite dangerously out in front there

until Tammy rode in to their rescue there with Waterloo and she took the high score of 100 there.

Dorian and James, 74, a high score, but you are our lowest scorers.

Keep up that low scoring and you should be in the head-to-head.

Can the second players take their places at the podium?

OK, we're going to put six more famous battles on the board and here they are.

I'll just read those again.

We're looking for the countries in which these battles took place.

You'll try and find the one that the fewest of our 100 people knew.

So then, John, your task here is to score as low as you possibly can

and see if you can save yourselves for the next round.

-She did very well in the last round, so it's over to me this time.

-Yes.

I know a few of these, but obviously, it's trying to keep it low.

Right, OK, it's a bit of a toss-up, but I'm going to go for Marathon

which I believe is Greece.

-Marathon, Greece?

-Yeah.

-Could be a very good answer.

Let's see if it's right and if it is, how many people said Marathon, Greece.

It's right.

Not a bad answer at all, John.

Marathon scores you 34 and takes your total up to 134.

Yeah, Battle of Marathon, 490 BC. It was the start of the Persian Wars.

James, you are on 74. If you can score 59 or less with this answer,

you are through to the next round.

-How good is your military history?

-I know two or three of those. I'm not sure about one.

I'm going to go for...

I crossed the River Boyne a couple of weeks ago, so I'll go with Battle of the Boyne - Ireland.

Ireland. OK, Ireland you are saying. There is your red line. If Battle of the Boyne gets you below it,

you are in the head-to-head.

Let's see if it's right, Ireland, Battle of the Boyne, and if it is, how many people said it.

It is correct.

There you are, well done.

Very good, 36, Battle of the Boyne.

It takes your total up to 110.

Well played, James. It was the decisive battle in the War of English Succession.

Now then, Mark. Now then...

You are on 92. If you can score 41 or less with this answer, 41 or less...

Battle of the Boyne was 36, Battle of Marathon 34, something round about that kind of level...

How is that looking to you?

I know where three of them are.

There's only one I don't know, but it's just which one will be the lowest.

I'll go with Naseby and hope not many people have heard of it.

It was in the English Civil War. England, Naseby.

English Civil War, an English battle. Here's your red line.

If Naseby gets you below that red line, Mark, you are in the head-to-head.

Good luck. Let's see if it's right and if it is, how many people knew that Naseby was in England.

It's right.

Oh!

Bad luck, Mark.

That scores you 50, taking your total up to 142. Richard?

Yes, unlucky, Mark. You were sunk by that 92 there.

It was in the English Civil War in 1645.

Let's look at the rest of the board.

The Battle of Bannockburn to start with?

-Scotland.

-It is Scotland.

It would have scored you a fairly hefty 67 points.

-Battle of Agincourt?

-France.

-Yeah, again it's a big score. It's 64.

-And the one everyone's been looking for, the Battle of Talavera?

-Spain.

Absolutely right. It would've scored you 7 points. Well done if you got that at home.

Thanks, Richard. After Round 2, the losing pair with the highest score is Richard and Mark.

Bad luck. It was that Battle of Hastings, I'm afraid, Richard.

-Good answer, right answer.

-Correct answer.

-Probably the most famous battle, I should think.

-What will your wives make of your performance?

-They'll all pick on me.

-Will they?

His wife, my wife, him. I'm in for it. I've got to redeem myself next time.

-You've got a battle of your own on your hands.

-Yeah.

-It's been fabulous having you on the show.

But we do get to see you next time. Everyone gets two shots to make the Pointless final.

Thanks so much for playing, guys.

APPLAUSE

For the remaining two pairs, things get even more exciting now as we enter the head-to-head.

We've said goodbye to two teams. Now it's time to find out which pair will be playing for today's jackpot

which currently stands at £1,250.

OK, you are going head-to-head on up to three questions. You are now allowed to confer.

All you have to do is come up with an answer that scores less than the opposing pair to win that point.

The first team to win two points will go through to the final. OK, let's play Pointless.

APPLAUSE

Here is your first question. We gave 100 people 100 seconds

to name as many taste sensations as they could.

Taste sensations. Richard?

Our taste buds are generally recognised to distinguish five different taste groups.

We need the most obscure of those five.

Dorian and James, because you have played the best throughout the show so far, you get to go first.

WHISPERING

-OK, fine, we'll go for that.

-Can you think of any others?

-OK, go for that.

-We're going to go for "bitter".

-You're going for "bitter".

OK, Tammy and John?

Well, there's sweet, isn't there, sour, salty, bitter.

-What's the fifth one?

-Is "salty" one?

-Well, it might be.

-It might be a sensation to you, but it might not be...

-It is to me.

-Were you going to say "sour"?

-Sour?

-They said "bitter"?

-Yeah.

-Let's go with "sour".

-We'll go with "sour".

-You'll go with "sour"

and hope that it is different from "bitter".

Dorian and James went with "bitter". Let's see if that's correct and if it is, how many people said it.

It's right.

41.

APPLAUSE

Is that a good score - 41?

-It could go either way still.

-Who knows?

-We might be right then.

-Tammy and John have gone for "sour".

Let's see if that is correct and if it is, how many people said "sour".

It's right.

Wow, sour and bitter, who'd have thought? After one question, Dorian and James are 1-0 up. Richard?

People instantly think of sweet and sour, but John, you should listen to Tammy.

The four she rattled through were absolutely perfect.

Salty is a taste and would have beaten the boys.

Let's look at all of them. The best answer, the most recent taste,

is umami which scored 10 points.

Umami is a basic type of savoury. It's a way of detecting certain salts in things.

Salty would have scored you 38.

There's bitter on 41, sour 82

and sweet right at the top there on 92.

OK, after the first question, it is 1-0 to Dorian and James.

You're 1-0 up. Tammy and John, you have to win this next point to stay in the game.

Dorian and James, win this point and you are through to the final.

Here is the second question. We gave 100 people 100 seconds

to name as many of My Favourite Things from The Sound Of Music as they could. Richard?

We want any of the things that Maria lists as her favourite things in that song from The Sound Of Music.

There are 14 different items. See how many you can get at home.

OK, Tammy and John, your turn to go first.

I don't know any.

-Do you know some? Do you know some?

-Yeah, I do, but I'm trying to think of the song.

HE WHISPERS I think that's from the current song.

-Oh, that's a rip-off?

-Yeah.

-It's not the same?

Um...

-I'll have to start hurrying you.

-I can't think.

-If you haven't got any at all...

-Just go with that then.

-OK, I need an answer.

-We're going to go with "diamonds".

-Diamonds?

-We haven't got a clue.

-OK, Tammy and John say "diamonds".

-I thought it was diamond rings, but...

-OK, well, it's...

-Don't sing it.

-OK.

-No, James...

-Ignore him. Sing it.

-Are you sure?

Please, I will be so upset if you don't.

# Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens

# Bright copper kettles and warm woollen mittens, brown paper packages tied up with string

# These are a few of my favourite things... #

-That is just brilliant.

-APPLAUSE

That was nothing short of beautiful, James.

Go for it.

Bright copper kettles.

-Bright copper kettles.

-I can be a little less specific.

No, bright copper kettles is good.

So Tammy and John answered first.

-You were worried that that might be a different version of the song that you were thinking of.

-Yes.

-A rap bling version of the song.

-Yes.

OK, let's see. Diamonds we have as our first answer.

Let's see if it's correct for you to stay in the show.

Diamonds, is it correct and if it is, did anyone say it?

AUDIENCE: Aw!

Bright copper kettles, said Dorian and James. This merely has to be correct.

-I think we know it might be.

-LAUGHTER

Bright copper kettles - let's see if it is correct.

It is. You're through to the final, Dorian and James.

Wow! And how!

APPLAUSE

I have to say that was richly deserved. That was a fantastic performance in every sense. Richard?

As I said, there are 14 things. There's a pointless answer here too.

Very well done if you said "silver white winters that melt into springs".

That was a pointless answer.

She wanted cream coloured ponies. She'd be a nightmare girlfriend!

Girls in white dresses scored 4,

doorbells 5, sleigh bells 6,

wild geese, that's a 6, snowflakes 8...

-Schnitzel with noodles.

-Come on now!

-That's 8.

If that's what she wants, that's easy.

It's not what I'd order. Crisp apple strudels - 8.

Bright copper kettles 11, brown paper packages with 17,

warm woollen mittens and whiskers on kittens both score 23

and raindrops on roses was the biggest answer of all with 33.

Thank you very much, Richard. The losing pair at the end of the head-to-head is Tammy and John.

-Who's going to take the blame?

-John.

-It's my fault. We should have got "salty" in the last round.

-Yeah.

-That's her "get out of jail".

-Exactly. Who's watching at home?

-Who's going to be shouting at the television?

-People at work.

-Everybody.

-Mum, Dad, brother, sister.

-Oh, well!

I tell you what. You can come back next time and dazzle us all the way through to the final.

-Thanks very much for playing. You've been great contestants.

-Thank you.

APPLAUSE

But for Dorian and James, it's now time for our Pointless final and the chance to win £1,250.

Congratulations, Dorian and James. You have seen off the competition.

You will be going home with our Pointless trophy.

APPLAUSE

Very well done. You now have a chance to win our Pointless jackpot.

At the end of today's show, the jackpot stands at £1,250.

APPLAUSE

All you need to win that money is to find a pointless answer that no-one else could think of.

We've had one pointless answer today. Find one more now and you go home with that money.

First, you've got to choose a category from these three options.

-Golf, Classical Music, US Politics.

-If it's Presidents, how good are you on Presidents?

-Reasonably.

If you think you handle US Politics and you know some politicians...

It could be a number of things, some I'm good at, some I'm bad at.

-I can name lots of composers, but it depends on the era.

-We'll go with Golf.

-Really?

-It's a joint decision.

-OK, sorry.

-We're not married, you know!

-OK, it's up to you.

But I think...

-I'm good at...

-I can't help much with Golf.

-Do you want to go for Politics?

-I think it's best.

-We'll go for US Politics then!

LAUGHTER

You two are brilliant!

LAUGHTER

Do you want to talk about it more? No, we'll go with US Politics.

US Politics. Let's find out what the question is. We gave 100 people 100 seconds

to name as many US Vice-Presidents who became President as they could. Richard?

We're looking for anyone who served as Vice-President, then became President of the USA

since the office was formed in 1789.

You now have one minute to come up with three answers.

All you need to win that £1,250 is for just one of those answers to be pointless. The 60 seconds start now.

OK, I can help with one. John Adams was VicePresident under Washington.

Any other early Presidents that might be low that you know of?

-James Polk, Martin Van Buren. I'm just naming Presidents.

-Polk I was thinking of as well.

-OK.

-Martin Van Buren.

-Never heard of him. That's probably good.

-Grover Cleveland?

-Never heard of him.

I'm not saying they were Vice-Presidents. You could go further back in time.

-Some of the early ones are very obscure. There were a couple who were assassinated.

-McKinley?

-That's a possibility.

-Was it William McKinley?

-If you don't know the first name, let's not risk it.

All the other ones I can think of are too modern. We should do ones close to the formation. Go for them.

OK, there is your minute gone.

Let's have three US Vice-Presidents who became President.

-John Adams.

-John Adams.

-Is it James Polk?

-James Polk.

-James Polk.

-Martin Van Buren.

-Martin Van Buren. OK, let's put those up.

OK, we were looking for US Vice-Presidents who became President.

You only need one of these to be pointless to win that £1,250.

OK, so let's see how many people said John Adams. Is it a correct answer?

It's correct. You knew it was correct.

But it has to go all the way down to the bottom and score zero for you to win that jackpot.

For £1,250... Oh!

APPLAUSE

Oh!

Only two people said John Adams, so unfortunately, that is not a pointless answer.

How come your knowledge is so good on Presidents?

-I was in the American educational system for two years, so I learnt about...

-It was drummed into you.

No, I just picked it up out of interest actually.

I missed all the American Presidents stuff, but I picked it up.

You said John Adams. Only two people said that.

You have two more chances to win today's jackpot.

James Polk...

Let us see if it's a correct answer and if it is, how many people said it.

James Polk. This has to be pointless for you to win that jackpot.

Oh!

Sadly, James Polk is an incorrect answer, therefore not pointless.

Only one more answer - Martin Van Buren.

-Are you confident?

-I'd never heard of him, so I can't say one way or the other.

That looks great. If he's correct, he might go all the way down.

-Are you sure he was a Vice-President?

-No, not at all.

-It's just a name?

-It's just a President that would be obscure, if that makes sense.

We want US Vice-Presidents who became President.

This has to be pointless for you to win that jackpot of £1,250.

Martin Van Buren, there he is. Let's just see if it's correct.

-Yeah.

-If it's correct, we can have high hopes for Martin.

OK... Martin Van Buren. Good luck.

This is for £1,250.

It's correct!

-Martin Van Buren...

-Come on.

-Let's see how far down he goes.

-Please, please!

This has to go all the way down to zero for you to win that £1,250.

Down it goes... Yes!

-CHEERING

-Very, very well done.

-Brilliant.

-Yeah.

-Thank you.

What do you think? Pretty good?

-That's what you look like!

-It's on backwards.

-Oh, it's on backwards.

-There you are. Wow, nice hat!

-Thank you very much.

-Nice answer!

That's absolutely superb. Brilliant answer.

Congratulations. You managed to find that all-important pointless answer. James, that was brilliant!

Martin van Buren! Dorian, what are you going to do with your share of the booty?

Buy a beautiful top hat. Add to my increasing debt, which that won't repay in total!

-Too many luxuries, I think.

-I think you deserve it after that.

You deserve all the luxuries you can lay your hands on. That was an absolutely wonderful answer.

You go home with our jackpot of £1,250. Well done!

-APPLAUSE

-Well done.

-Well done.

-Brilliant.

I want to say thank you to Isabel who in secondary school made me watch The Sound Of Music.

I want to thank you for singing The Sound Of Music. That deserved the jackpot! Richard?

Yeah, very good answer, James.

Martin Van Buren was the 8th President of the United States

and he was Andrew Jackson's Vice-President.

You won the jackpot and I'd pay you that money to sing the song again.

I wouldn't, of course.

But very well done. You've been wonderful fun and really great contestants.

Very good. Thanks once again to our winning contestants Dorian and James

who go away with today's jackpot of £1,250.

-Well done.

-APPLAUSE

Join us next time for more obscure knowledge on Pointless.

-It's goodbye from Richard.

-Goodbye.

-And it's goodbye from me. Goodbye.

Subtitles by Subtext for Red Bee Media Ltd 2011

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