Episode 40 Pointless

APPLAUSE AND CHEERING

Thank you. I'm Alexander Armstrong and a warm welcome to Pointless,

the quiz show where the lowest scorers are the biggest winners.

Let's meet today's players.

So first we welcome Jenny and Gillian.

You're our first pair today. How do you two know each other?

We met at Loughborough University 27 years ago

when we were studying librarianship and we've been friends ever since.

-Ever since! 27 years, you've kept in touch all that time?

-Yes.

-Ever worked in the same libraries?

-No.

-No.

You said that with a degree of purpose, Gillian.

"Work in the same library as Jenny? No!"

Jenny, what do you hope will come up?

I hope something to do with entertainment or films.

When I was at Loughborough, I ran the film society,

so that's the thing I enjoy most.

In the intervening 27 years, have you kept up with film?

I do go to the cinema as much as possible, yes.

-It sounds like you're going to be very good.

-I don't know about that.

There's real intent there. How about you, Gillian?

-I'm more literature, so I'm books, really.

-Literature. Very good.

Well, who knows what will come up? Well, someone knows.

-Yes. Very best of luck. Lovely to have you here.

-Thank you.

Next we welcome Linda and Colin, our second pair today.

-How do you two know each other?

-I met Linda 12 and a half years ago

in our local pub

-and I sent her a drink through...

-You sent her a drink through?

-Yes.

-What did he send you through, Linda?

-It was a glass of wine.

-Were you just mortified?

-No, I wasn't. No, I accepted it.

If someone buys me some wine, I drink it.

-So you looked through and waved into the snug.

-Yeah, I did wave.

-I thought, "Who's that strange man?"

-Ah!

-What do you do, Linda?

-I work for an engineering company.

I'm an order processing assistant and I just help out.

And what are your interests, Linda?

I play golf and I play darts for the ladies' local pub team.

-How about you, Colin?

-Yeah, I play darts. I captain the men's team.

Are you a competitive couple? I think I might know the answer to this.

-I hate losing.

-Really?

-Mm. I'm a good loser but I don't like it.

You're a good loser but you hate it.

-He won't lose to anybody, it doesn't matter how young, old...

-Really?

He did a limbo competition on holiday

and it got down to just him and a four-year-old

and Colin twisted his knee trying to get under about that high,

just to beat the four-year-old.

Well, how low can you go, Colin?

-Not that low.

-We'll get some low red lines, see what you can do.

Very best of luck to the pair of you.

And next we welcome Mark and Carl. How do you two know each other?

We work in the same department in our local hospital

and have done for about ten years, since Mark joined us there.

-Which department's that?

-The audiology department.

-Sorry, which department?

-The audiology department.

Oh, that is the worst... the worst joke ever. I'm so sorry.

Mark, when you're not testing people's ears, what do you like to do?

Erm, I enjoy watching films,

science fiction programmes, playing pool.

And Carl, away from the ear, what keeps you busy and happy?

I enjoy a bit of science fiction myself.

I do like watching things like that

and I follow my children around, watching their football games.

They're both in football teams, so I enjoy doing that.

-Very best of luck to the pair of you.

-Thank you.

Welcome back, Lindsay and Chris. You were on the last show.

Everyone gets two chances to reach the Pointless final. Remind us how you did.

Er, well, Chris did very well.

Unfortunately, I was terrible because it was geography,

so we went out in the first round

and I'll probably never hear the end of it.

Chris, we established last time that you're a sound engineer.

You said you played in bands as well. Is that right?

Yes, so when I'm not recording or setting up for bands,

I'm playing in bands.

-How many bands do you play in?

-Far too many.

-Three, actually, at the moment.

-Three.

Lindsay, why did you apply for Pointless?

Because I like geeky men and I have a crush on your Pointless friend.

-So...

-You have a crush on my Pointless friend.

LAUGHTER

She might have said that without saying, "I like geeky men."

You know what, honestly, I'll take what I can get.

Well, very best of luck to the pair of you.

We'll find out more throughout the show.

There's only one person left to introduce.

He's never happier than when turning the pages of an encyclopaedia, looking for unusual facts.

-He's my Pointless friend. He's Richard.

-Hiya.

Hello.

-Good afternoon to you.

-The top of the afternoon to you, sir.

-I hope you're very well.

-Do you know, I think I am.

-Excellent.

We've got three new pairs. It's a very open field.

The only returning pair, not only did they get knocked out in round one,

but we also have to question Lindsay's judgement, so...

they may not be the best pair but it should be interesting.

-Surely being a librarian is a good job for being on Pointless.

-You'd have thought.

-And it's our 150th show today.

-It's... Today?

-Yeah.

-150th.

-Whoever would have thought?

-APPLAUSE

-Thank you. Thank you!

-Well, great times, great times.

-150th. So make it a good one,

All eight of you, make it a good show,

so wit, sparkle, great answers, sophistication, charisma.

Everybody OK? LAUGHTER

-And that goes for you, as well. Try charisma.

-I'll try charisma.

Now, then... Thank you, Richard.

We put all our questions to 100 people before the show

and we are after the obscure answers that they didn't get.

What everyone's trying to do is find at pointless answer, an answer that none of 100 people gave

and when that happens, we add £250 to the jackpot.

Nobody won the jackpot last time, so we add another £1,000 to that,

-so today's jackpot starts off at an unbelievable £9,750.

-APPLAUSE

CHEERING

Right, let's play Pointless.

OK, in the first round, each of you must give me one answer

and you cannot confer with your partner.

The team with the highest score at the end of the round is eliminated.

Our first category this afternoon is...

Anatomy. Can you decide in your pairs who's going to go first and who's going second.

And whoever's going first please step up to the podium.

OK, let's see the question.

We gave 100 people 100 seconds

to name as many muscles in the human body as they could.

-Richard?

-Yeah, there are over 600 muscles in the average human body.

On the board in a moment, all the correct answers will be one of those.

Thanks very much.

Right, Gillian and Jenny, you drew lots before the show and you get to go first.

Now, as Richard said, the good news is

we're going to give you a choice of seven possible answers in each pass.

The first set of seven answers reads like this.

At least one of those answers is pointless

but be very careful because at least one of those answers is incorrect.

Pick an incorrect one and you'll score the maximum of 100 points.

Now, then, Gillian.

I either go for something obvious or I throw caution to the wind

and just go for anything.

-I'm going to play it safe.

-OK.

No, no, I'm not. I'm going to throw caution to the wind

and say latissimus dorsi.

Latissimus dorsi. There it is. OK. Latissimus dorsi.

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

It's right!

APPLAUSE

Very well answered, Gillian.

Latissimus dorsi scores you two points. Richard.

Well played, Gillian.

It's one of a pair of two large triangular muscles in the back.

-Latissimus dorsi.

-Thank you very much.

Now, then, Colin. We're looking for muscles in the human body

and you are trying to find the most obscure one on that board.

-What do you think, Colin?

-Well, there's two on there that I definitely know.

There's another one that I'm pretty sure I've heard of,

so we're going to have a stab at that

and I'm going to go for gluteus maximus.

Gluteus maximus is very popular. Everyone nodding.

Well, gluteus maximus, let's see if that's right

and let's see how many people said gluteus maximus.

It's right.

-APPLAUSE

-23.

Not a bad score. Your glutes, Richard.

For some reason, all these things I find I have to say in an antipodean accent.

The only people I ever hear talking about these are people in gyms

and they're usually Australian.

Your gluteus maximus, it's the largest muscle in the human body.

It's essentially your backside.

Speak for yourself.

Mm. Who'd have known that? Well, there we are.

Now, then, Mark. We are looking for muscles in the human body.

What do you think?

OK, well, gluteus maximus, one of the ones I would have gone for, has gone.

There are two obvious ones there.

It's whether or not to play it safe or to plump for one and hope it's pointless.

I think I'm going to go for masseter.

-Masseter.

-Yeah.

-With a degree of confidence?

-No, none at all. Just hopeful.

Masseter. Let's see if that's right

and if it is, let's see how many people said masseter.

Good luck, Mark.

It's right.

-Oh, very well done, Mark.

-APPLAUSE

That's a pointless answer. It adds £250 to today's jackpot,

taking the total up to a massive £10,000

and it scores you nothing, Mark. Very well done.

-Masseter, Richard.

-Well done, Mark.

It's a muscle in the cheek that helps to move the jaw.

It's especially useful in chewing, hence to masticate.

Very good. We're looking for muscles in the human body.

Now, Chris. You're the last person to have this board, so talk us through your options.

Well, I don't really know anything about muscles at all, so...

There's a couple there that I know are definitely right,

so I think I'll go for an obscure one that I've never heard of.

I'll go for triangulum australe.

Triangulum australe. Let's see if that's a correct answer

and how people said triangulum australe.

Oh, no, Chris! It's the one I'd have gone for, definitely.

I'm afraid, though, it is incorrect,

which means you score the maximum of 100 points. Bad luck.

-Richard.

-Chris, so sorry.

The Triangulum Australe is a constellation in the southern sky.

Let's take a look at the rest of the answers.

Abdominals is your six pack. That would have scored you 15.

Biceps would have scored you 50. Where are your biceps, Alexander?

-Well, mine, here.

-Where are one's biceps?

-Here.

-In the arm.

-There, there.

-Where else are they?

-Where else? Oh, maybe they're there, as well.

-They are.

You've got biceps in your leg, as well. Absolutely right.

And teres minor, well done if you said that because it's a pointless answer.

It helps with the moving of the arm. The teres minor.

So two pointless answers up there and we got one of them with masseter.

OK, thanks, Richard.

We're halfway through the round and it's a very broad field.

On no points at all, Mark and Carl, looking very, very strong.

Just up from them, Gillian and Jenny on 2 points.

Then we go up to 23, Colin and Linda,

and then way, way at the front of the field,

Chris and Lindsay on 100 points.

Lindsay, you have to find a pointless answer in the next pass

and hope somebody else scores very, very high indeed.

OK, can the second players please take their places at the podium?

OK, we're going to put seven more answers on the board.

Remember, we are looking for muscles in the human body and here we go.

We've got:

I'll just read those one more time.

There they are and again, I can tell that at least one of those is pointless

and at least one is incorrect.

Pick an incorrect one and you will score 100 points,

as Chris will tell you.

Now, then, Lindsay. Muscles.

-Not a strong point, I have to say.

-Ah! Like what you've done, there.

I know a few up there but if we have to try and be pointless to stay in,

I'll just guess one. Frontalis.

Frontalis. There's no red line for you, you are the high scorers.

You have to score as low as you possibly can.

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

It's right. Very well done, Lindsay.

-Brilliant, Lindsay! That's exactly what you had to do.

-APPLAUSE

Frontalis scores you 1 point, which takes your total up to 101.

-Richard.

-Very well played. You've kept yourselves in it.

Yeah, the frontalis is a great muscle.

You, I think, have a very powerful frontalis.

-Your frontalis is very, very impressive.

-Mm-hm.

-It genuinely is.

-Yeah. Is it my forehead?

It is a forehead muscle, yeah. It's how you raise your eyebrows.

-Wow. Does it raise your hairline, as well?

-You do that with your frontalis.

-Look at my frontalis go!

-That is an awesome frontalis.

Look at that. Have you ever seen such frontalis mayhem?

Frontalis will be making another appearance on the show

a little bit later on.

-Get out of here!

-There will be a frontalis related question later.

That is too exciting for words. Thank you very much indeed.

Now, then, Carl and Mark.

Remember, we are looking for muscles in the human body.

You are the low scorers on nothing.

You are through to the next round.

You can't overtake Lindsay and Chris's high score of 101.

Bearing that in mind, Carl,

let's see if we can't replicate Mark's excellent pointless score

in the first pass.

I think I'll go for one of the ones I've never heard of, the vasta.

You're going to go for vasta.

Do you want to take a punt on where the vasta might be?

Erm, I'm pretty sure it's not in the ear.

I'll go for the chest - there you go. I've no idea.

There's no red line for you, you're through whatever happens.

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

GROANS

Bad luck, Carl. That's an incorrect answer.

It doesn't matter but it scores you 100 points. Richard?

The right thing to do because it would have added some money.

A vasta is the bundle of twigs they use in a Finnish sauna,

you know, to...

To beat themselves.

-Yeah. Or others.

-Twigs. Or others.

-Yeah.

In a very clean, normal, Platonic way.

Now, then, Linda. You are on 23.

The high scorers remain Lindsay and Chris on 101.

If you can score 77 or less, you are through to the next round.

Muscles. There is still a pointless answer on that board.

A pointless answer will add £250 to our jackpot.

-There's two that could be pointless.

-Mm-hm?

And there's two that I know are definitely muscles

-but I'm going to go for pectoral.

-You're going for pectoral.

You have a red line. There it is.

If pectoral gets you below that red line, you are through to the next round.

Let's see if it's right and if it is, how many people said pectoral?

Well done.

-17.

-APPLAUSE

That takes your score up to a nice, round 40.

-So, Richard, your pecs.

-Well done, Linda, it was astute to go for that.

They're your chest muscles, the pectoralis major and pectoralis minor.

We are looking for muscles in the human body.

Now, then, Jenny, we come to you. You are on 2, a lovely low score.

You are almost safe.

If you can score 98 or less with this, you are through to the next round.

Well, yes, I don't know the gracchus sentilis -

I can't even pronounce it - or the satorius,

which leaves me with triceps and deltoid.

Anything to do with science has never been my strong point -

I failed my biology O level - but I'll go for deltoid.

Deltoid. OK. Here is your red line, lovely and high.

Let's see if deltoid can dip you down below that line

and if it can, you are through to the next round.

Deltoid. Is it right and how many people said it?

Very well done.

-APPLAUSE

-Very well done, Jenny.

That scores you 4 and takes your total to a fantastically low 6.

-Richard.

-Well done, Jenny.

The deltoid is the large triangular sort of shoulder-pad muscle, almost.

Deltoid. Shall we take a look through the rest of the board?

Triceps scored 42. Where are your triceps, Alexander?

-They're here.

-And where else are they?

-And there.

-No, just in your arm.

-Oh, right.

You don't have triceps in your leg.

I don't know why I ask you anything.

So, sartorius and gracchus sextilius.

One of those is pointless and one of those is incorrect.

I think... I've a feeling I've heard of gracchus sextilius and not for anatomical reasons.

-You're quite right. Gracchus Sextilius is a character from Asterix.

-Yeah.

So anyone saying, "Yeah, it's your gracchus sextilius playing up,"

it's an incorrect answer.

The sartorius is the longest muscle in the human body.

It goes from the pelvis down to the calf

but it is a pointless answer,

so very well done if you said sartorius.

At the end of round one the pair with the highest score is Lindsay and Chris.

This wasn't meant to happen at all.

-Over the two shows, we're even, anyway.

-You are even. That's good.

-Actually, I'm one better.

-LAUGHTER

A great shame for us because it means we have to say goodbye to you

far too soon but it's been lovely having you on the show.

-Thank you so much for playing.

-APPLAUSE

For the remaining three pairs, it's time for round two.

Only two pairs can make it through to the head-to-head,

so one team will leave us at the end of this round.

The category for round two is...

-Colin thrilled with that.

-Absolutely.

Can you all decide who's going to go first and who's going second?

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

OK, our round two question this afternoon concerns...

UK politicians and their nicknames.

In this round, we're about to show you a list of nicknames of UK politicians.

We asked 100 people to tell us the politicians

with whom these nicknames are most closely associated.

-Richard.

-We're going to give you six nicknames on each pass.

The more obscure the answer, the fewer points you score.

An incorrect answer, the wrong person for the nickname, will score 100.

-See how many of them you can get at home.

-Thanks very much.

We are looking for the politicians most closely associated with these nicknames and we have got...

I'll read those one more time.

-So, then, Gillian.

-Yes.

-Those are the nicknames.

Any people springing to mind?

Erm, some.

I'm going to play it a bit safer, I think, and go for Doris Karloff,

which I think is Ann Widdecombe.

Doris Karloff, Ann Widdecombe.

OK, well, let's see if that's right

and if it is, let's see how many people knew Doris Karloff was Ann Widdecombe.

It's right.

-15.

-APPLAUSE

15 for Doris Karloff. Richard.

Yeah, Ann Widdecombe, back when she was a Tory MP

and not a reality TV star.

Thank you very much, Richard.

Now, then, Colin.

I'll be honest. You looked a little bit disappointed with this round.

-Just a bit.

-Yeah.

There's one there that I know for definite

and there's another one that I think logically I can work out.

-So I'm going to go for Two Jags...

-OK, Two Jags.

-..which I believe

will be John Prescott.

-John Prescott.

-Yes.

-OK, Two Jags.

Let's see if that's a correct answer and if it is,

let's see how many people said John Prescott was Two Jags.

Good luck, Colin.

It's right.

-Ooh, it's a big one, though.

-APPLAUSE

52 that scores you. Two Jags, Richard.

Mark and Carl will know him well.

He's now Baron Prescott of Kingston-upon-Hull.

He was called Two Jabs briefly, when he punched that guy.

Now, then, Carl.

We're looking for the politicians associated with these nicknames.

You're the last person to have this selection of nicknames,

so talk us through the board.

Sunny Jim doesn't ring any bells at all.

The Beast of Bolsover sounds familiar

but I can't identify who it is.

The Iron Lady, I'm fairly confident I could get that one.

And Grand Old Man. I'm thinking about having a stab or playing safe

and going for the one I know.

I think I'm going to have to play safe

and give Mark a chance in the next round

and go Margaret Thatcher as the Iron Lady.

-OK, and you think that's going to score less than...

-Less than 100.

Less than an incorrect answer. It may do.

You're saying the Iron Lady was Margaret Thatcher.

Let's see how many people knew that answer.

Yeah. Well, that's seven better than wrong.

93 it scores you, the Iron Lady. Richard?

Yeah, that nickname was first given to her by a Soviet newspaper.

Let's take a look at the rest of these. Sunny Jim is James Callaghan,

the former Labour prime minister. That scored 26.

-The Beast of Bolsover is the Labour backbencher, Dennis Skinner.

-Dennis Skinner.

He's always being thrown out. 12 points.

-And Grand Old Man - do you know that?

-I think it's Gladstone.

-Exactly.

He was prime minister four times in the 1800s.

Queen Victoria called him a "half-mad firebrand".

Thank you, Richard. Let's take a look at the scores.

On 15 points, Gillian and Jenny.

Looking very, very strong contenders.

52, a little bit ahead of them, Colin and Linda,

and then way out in front, Carl and Mark on 93.

Mark looking particularly vulnerable.

You're going to have to find a really good obscure answer

on this next pass.

OK, can the second players please take their places at the podium?

OK, we're going to put six more nicknames on the board and we have got:

I'll read those again.

We are looking for the politicians associated with those nicknames

and you want the one that the fewest of our 100 people knew. Mark.

What are you thinking?

I'm thinking that we're going to be going out this round

because politics is really not my speciality.

I'm going to have to go for Tarzan

and I think maybe that was Paddy Ashdown.

You're going Tarzan and you're going Paddy Ashdown.

OK, there's no red line for you because you are the high scorers.

Let's see if Tarzan was indeed Paddy Ashdown

and if it was, let's see how many people said it.

Bad luck, Mark. I'm afraid that's an incorrect answer,

which scores you the maximum of 100 points,

taking your total up to 193. Richard?

Sorry, Mark. It would be a perfectly acceptable nickname for Paddy Ashdown.

I won't tell you who it is in case Linda or Jenny want a go at that one.

We're looking for the MPs most closely associated with these nicknames.

OK, Linda. The good news is you are through to the next round,

so why not have a bit of fun with this round?

There are three, or two, I think I know

and I'm going to just go safe with Tarzan.

-That's Michael Heseltine.

-Tarzan, Michael Heseltine.

Let's see if that's right and if it is, let's see how many people knew that.

It's right.

-41.

-APPLAUSE

It takes your total up to 93.

-Richard.

-Yeah, well done, Linda.

He called his autobiography Life In The Jungle.

Jenny and Gillian, you're through to the next round come what may,

courtesy of Gillian's brilliant answer in the first pass.

-Jenny, have a bit of fun.

-Right, OK.

Supermac, I think that's Harold Macmillan.

Lord Cupid, I think, is Lord Adonis, but I'm not entirely sure.

So I would be inclined to go with Red Ken for Ken Livingstone,

because I'm more confident about that.

I don't know who Bojo is at all.

-So you're going to say Red Ken...

-I'll say Red Ken.

-Ken Livingstone.

Despite some fantastic... I think you might have been spot on on both of those.

Red Ken, let's see if that's right

and if it is, how many people said Red Ken, Ken Livingstone.

-68, that scores you...

-APPLAUSE

..taking your total up to 83.

-Richard?

-Well played, Jenny. Red Ken, Ken Livingstone, of course.

He ran for London mayor against Bojo, who is Boris Johnson.

That would have scored you 22 points.

Supermac, you're right, was Harold Macmillan.

That would have scored 14.

The Chingford Skinhead. Do you remember that one?

It's what they called Norman Tebbit, Thatcher's henchman. Seven points.

Lord Cupid, it's not Lord Adonis. It's actually a pointless answer,

so well done at home if you said Viscount Palmerston.

Viscount Palmerston or Lord Palmerston, a pointless answer.

Thanks very much, Richard.

So at the end of round two, the losing pair is Mark and Carl.

-It was a tough round for you, this one.

-Yeah, not my best.

-Not your best.

-No.

-Bad luck.

We will see you next time, when I'm sure you'll go much further.

-Meanwhile, thanks for playing. Great contestants.

-Thank you.

APPLAUSE

For the remaining pairs, things get even more exciting in the head-to-head.

Well done, Jenny and Gillian, Linda and Colin. You've made it to the head-to-head.

Only one pair can make it to the final

and play for the jackpot, which currently stands at £10,000.

You're going head-to-head on the best of three questions.

For each question, each pair needs to give me one answer and you may confer.

If your answer scores less than the other pair,

you will win that question.

The first pair to get to the best of three will play for today's jackpot.

-Let's play Pointless.

-APPLAUSE

OK, here is your first question.

We gave 100 people 100 seconds

to name as many Roger Moore Bond films as they could.

-Richard.

-That, of course, is where the frontalis comes back in,

He had an entire career based on the strength of his frontalis.

-He certainly did.

-Can you do a Roger Moore eyebrow raise?

LAUGHTER

-Good.

-Yeah.

I'm ambi-frontalis-ed.

I can do it that way as well.

That's Roger Moore in a mirror.

Guys, we're looking for any of the seven films in which Roger Moore played the character James Bond.

Which is the most obscure of those films?

OK, Jenny and Gillian, you've played best throughout the show,

so you get to go first.

We're looking for Roger Moore James Bond films.

THEY WHISPER

-Yes?

-Yes.

-OK.

-Yeah, OK.

-OK?

-Yeah, I think so.

-We have consensus.

We're going to go for The Man With The Golden Gun.

The Man With The Golden Gun. OK, thank you very much.

The Man With The Golden Gun.

Linda and Colin, you can now talk out loud.

-This has got to be Colin's because I don't know any of them.

-Yeah.

They've just pinched the one that I'd come up with.

Erm... Moonraker.

Moonraker.

So we have The Man With The Golden Gun, we have Moonraker.

Jenny and Gillian said The Man With The Golden Gun. Let's see how many people said that.

-20.

-APPLAUSE

OK, you want to get lower than 20.

Let's see if Moonraker scores less than 20.

-Oh!

-APPLAUSE

Bad luck. Jenny and Gillian have won that one.

They are up one-nil. Richard.

Yeah, three answers would have beaten The Man With The Golden Gun.

Well done if you got any of these. There are seven answers in all.

For Your Eyes Only with six.

A View To A Kill with seven.

The Spy Who Loved Me, 14.

There's The Man With The Golden Gun, 20.

Octopussy, 25, Moonraker is right up the top on 30

and Live And Let Die, the most popular of all, with 38.

Thank you very much, Richard.

OK, here is your second question.

Linda and Colin, you have to win this question to stay in the game.

We gave 100 people 100 seconds

to name as many unique-letter US states as they could. Richard?

There are eight states that begin with a unique letter,

that is, none of the other states begin with that letter.

If we were looking for unique-letter countries, only Qatar begins with Q.

So any of the eight states in America which begin with a unique letter.

Thank you very much, Richard.

Now, then, Linda and Colin. You get to answer first this time.

THEY WHISPER

-Utah.

-Utah.

Jenny and Gillian, you can now talk out loud.

-OK.

-I know it goes against every fibre of your being as librarians.

No, no, that's a myth. Libraries are noisy places.

Erm, we're going to try Delaware.

Delaware. OK.

We have Utah and we have Delaware.

Let's see if Utah is right

and if it is, let's see how many people said Utah.

It's right.

-It's a low scorer. Look at that - 14.

-APPLAUSE

14 for Utah.

Let's see if Delaware is right and if it is, let's see how many people said Delaware.

If you win this question, Jenny and Gillian,

you are through to the final and you'll be playing for that £10,000 jackpot.

It's right.

It's close.

Yep! You've done it. Look at that.

APPLAUSE

Two for Delaware.

So after just two questions, Jenny and Gillian are through to the final, two-nil.

-Richard.

-Yes, Delaware is the best answer you could have given.

It's a very good answer.

I know people at home will be furiously scribbling away and trying to work out all eight of them.

I'm going to give you three more seconds...

And put your pens down now, please. Let's take a look at all eight.

Delaware with two, Louisiana with three.

Rhode Island and Pennsylvania, both four.

Then Georgia, five, Utah, 14,

Florida, 16 and Hawaii on 17.

-Tough question but very good answers from both teams.

-Thanks very much.

So the losing pair at the end of the head-to-head, Linda and Colin, it's you.

-I thought we were in with a shout, then.

-I thought so, too.

You've done fantastically well. Your first time on the show.

We'll see you next time and I suspect you will be the team to watch.

-Thanks very much for playing.

-Thank you.

-Thank you.

APPLAUSE

But for Jenny and Gillian it's now time for our final

and the chance to win our jackpot of £10,000.

Jenny and Gillian, you've fought off all the competition

-and you have won our coveted Pointless trophy.

-APPLAUSE

You now have a chance to win our jackpot

and at the end of today's show, the jackpot stands at £10,000.

WHOOPING AND APPLAUSE

Now, to win that money, all you have to do is find a pointless answer

that no-one else could think of.

We had one pointless answer today.

You only have to find one more now to go home with that money.

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

-What do you think?

-Oh, goodness.

-I don't like the sound of any of those, really.

-No.

World geography is pretty much out. Music awards you might be good at.

I don't know. It would depend.

-American authors?

-It's hit and miss.

It's whether they're modern or ancient.

Do we want to go for that one?

Well, I won't be able to help you much on music.

-We'll go for American authors.

-Go for that, then.

-OK, American authors.

OK, we gave 100 people 100 seconds

to name as many John Steinbeck novels as they could. Richard.

We're looking for novels written by John Steinbeck and published in his lifetime.

We're not looking for short story collections, just novels.

Very best of luck.

OK, you now have up to one minute to come up with three answers.

All you need to win that £10,000 jackpot

is for just one of those answers to be pointless.

Your 60 seconds start now.

-Of Mice And Men.

-Tortilla Flat.

-That sounds good.

-I haven't heard of that.

-Cup Of Gold might be one.

I'm not sure if that's a short story. Red Pony is a short story.

-Erm... East Of Eden.

-Oh, yes, East Of Eden, that's a good one.

-Erm...

-Whatever that first one you said.

-Tortilla Flat.

-Yes, I like that. It sounds good.

-I might have made that up.

-Or it might be a short story.

-I think we should go for it anyway.

-Yes.

-Erm...

Any more? I'm afraid you've mentioned the two that I actually know, so...

I'm struggling now because there's the three famous ones, really famous ones.

Erm...

-We're going to go, "Ah, yes, of course, aren't we?"

-Probably.

-So we're going to go with Tortilla Flat...

-Tortilla Flat.

-Do you want to go for East Of Eden?

-East Of Eden.

-And...

-Five seconds.

-..In Dubious Battle.

-That sounds good.

-That might be one.

-That sounds good.

OK, your time is up. We were looking for John Steinbeck novels.

It sounds like you have three answers for me. What are they?

-In Dubious Battle.

-In Dubious Battle.

-Tortilla Flat.

-Tortilla Flat.

-And East Of Eden.

-And East Of Eden.

Yeah.

OK, of those three,

which do you think is your most confident shot at a pointless answer?

Probably Tortilla Flat.

Tortilla Flat. We'll put that last.

-Which do you think is your least likely?

-East Of Eden people will know.

East Of Eden. OK, well, let's put those up on the board in that order.

There they are.

We were looking for John Steinbeck novels.

This was your least confident answer.

You only need one to be pointless to win that £10,000 jackpot.

So let's see if East Of Eden is right

and if it is, let's see how many people said East Of Eden.

It's right.

It has to go all the way down to zero, obviously,

if you're going to walk off with that jackpot.

This will show us how much our 100 people know

-about John Steinbeck.

-APPLAUSE

-Not bad.

-There we are. 12.

12 for East Of Eden. Do you think that's a sort of fair number?

-I thought more people would know that.

-It's reassuring, isn't it?

-Well, not a pointless answer but you weren't expecting it to be.

-No.

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

£10,000. What will you do with £10,000?

-Some home decorating.

-Yes. I think we'd both do that.

I'd do some stuff with my garden, as well.

And treat a few people - go out for a meal or something.

Very good.

We are looking for John Steinbeck novels.

Your next answer, In Dubious Battle.

You weren't entirely sure if this was a short story or a novel.

Or even by John Steinbeck.

-Or anybody.

-Or even by John Steinbeck.

This has to be correct and it has to be pointless to win that jackpot.

In Dubious Battle. Is it right and if it is, how many people said it?

It's right! Very well done.

OK, East Of Eden went down to 12.

In Dubious Battle is heading down that way.

And down it goes. It's still going.

-Oh!

-AUDIENCE GROANS

APPLAUSE

-Oh! One person said In Dubious Battle.

-Who is that person?

-We want their number.

-Oh, dear, oh, dear.

So you only have one more chance to win today's jackpot.

How are you feeling now?

Not good because that person probably knew Tortilla Flat as well,

if that is a novel rather than a short story.

We're looking for John Steinbeck novels. This is your last chance.

Tortilla Flat.

This was the one you were most confident in.

This has to be pointless, it has to be correct, for you to win that £10,000.

Tortilla Flat. Let's see if it's a right answer

and if it is, let's see how many people said Tortilla Flat.

Very, very best of luck.

It's a novel!

Tortilla Flat was the one you had the most faith in.

In Dubious Battle went down to one.

Will this go down any further? Down it goes...

-Oh, no!

-GROANING AND APPLAUSE

-Oh, no!

-Oh, no!

Oh, dear, oh, dear.

Oh, bad luck, bad luck.

I was convinced that was going to be pointless.

You didn't find that all-important pointless answer,

so you don't win the jackpot of £10,000,

which rolls over onto the next show.

You have been fantastic contestants and you do take home our trophy.

-So, well done for that.

-Thank you.

-APPLAUSE

-So, then, Richard.

-That's terribly unlucky.

Very, very close to that £10,000.

While you were deliberating and you knew East Of Eden wouldn't be pointless,

-but you did say Cup Of Gold...

-I know!

-..while you were deliberating.

-If you had just said Cup Of Gold...

-Yeah.

-..you'd have had three one-point answers.

-Oh!

That was one as well.

-That's sort of a relief, isn't it?

-Yes.

Let's look at the pointless ones.

There's the follow-up to Cannery Row, Sweet Thursday.

The Moon Is Down, which was wartime propaganda.

To A God Unknown, his second novel. All those were pointless.

The Wayward Bus was pointless.

His weird sort of foray into French political satire, The Short Reign Of Pippin IV, that was pointless.

And his final novel, The Winter Of Our Discontent, was also pointless.

-I hope you don't recognise any of those.

-A couple, yes.

-Yeah.

Well, we do have to say goodbye to you, Jenny and Gillian.

-It's been great having you on. Thank you for playing.

-Thank you.

APPLAUSE

So nobody has won our jackpot today, which means it rolls over onto the next show

when we will be playing for £11,000.

CHEERING

Join us to see if someone can win it.

-It's goodbye from Richard.

-Goodbye.

-And it's goodbye from me. Goodbye.

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd

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