Episode 24 Pointless

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

'Thank you very much indeed.'

Hello, I'm Alexander Armstrong and welcome to Pointless,

the quiz show where the aim of the game is to score as few points

as you possibly can and to do that,

you need to come up with the answers no-one else could think of.

Let meet today's players.

APPLAUSE

First up, we welcome Annika and Ruth.

How do you two know each other, Annika?

Well, we went to secondary school together in Kent

-and now we both live in York.

-Very good.

Ruth, what's going to be good for you?

I've got two things.

Lord Of The Rings and fruit and veg. And that's all I know.

That's three things. Lord Of The Rings, fruit, veg. Come on.

It's looking up.

Fruit and veg. As a grower? Or a devourer?

Both. I was a greengrocer when I was growing up, for six years,

so I've absorbed a lot of information.

-Hang on, you were a greengrocer when you were growing up?

-Yes.

-Wow.

-You WORKED in a greengrocers or you WERE a greengrocer?

-I worked in a greengrocer's,

but it was me serving customers...

I'll have a pound of carrots, I gave them a pound of carrots.

Worked in a greengrocer's, I think.

Annika, what are you hoping's going to come up today?

I would like to see maybe some Harry Potter, maybe types of cheese.

OK, Potter, cheese, Lord Of The Rings, fruit and veg.

-Done.

-Very best of luck. Lovely to have you on the show.

Next, welcome back Emma and Bob. This is your second time on Pointless, you were on last time.

Everybody gets two chances to reach the Pointless final.

This is your second chance. Emma, what happened last time?

We did quite well.

We got to the head to head, then a category came up about magicians

and we had two answers, but we just picked the wrong one.

Right you are. Bob, remind us how you and Emma know each other.

Emma's my daughter, I've known her all her life.

Father, daughter, known her all her life.

Anything you're dreading Emma, today?

I discovered I'm not very good geography, really.

Anything to do with boats.

I'm not very good at golf, or cricket.

You won't have to play anything, it's just whether it comes up.

I don't know anything about cricket.

-Bob, anything you'd like to nominate?

-Pet hates? Pop music.

-ALL pop music?

-Well, back to about 1968.

Hey, but early Beatles...

-We're fine.

-Fine.

-OK, Gerry and the Pacemakers, fine.

-Well, you're pushing things.

-OK.

Well, Emma, Bob, you did brilliantly last time, head to head then.

Let's hope you do better, even, today.

Very best of luck, lovely to have you back on the show.

Next, we welcome Caroline and Alec.

Caroline, how do you two know each other?

Alec and I are boyfriend and girlfriend.

But we also work together as well.

-Caroline, what are you hoping's going to come up?

-Right...

I don't think these are really topics,

but I've got quite a keen interest in Dolly Parton songs.

I'm quite a fan, I don't really know much about her life,

so to speak, but I absolutely love her music.

Alec?

Probably a little bit embarrassing, professional wrestling...

Hey, professional wrestling? Really, do you have a favourite wrestler?

-I do, yes. The Rock.

-The Rock. Caroline, do you have a favourite?

-I do, we're big fans together actually. I love the Miz.

-The Miz?

-Yes.

-OK, good, right.

They're not the same person, are they, the Rock and the Miz?

LAUGHTER

Yes, the Rock and the Miz, yes, interesting. Ooh, yes.

Big fan myself... Of, er, of the wrestling.

Anyway, very best of luck to Caroline and Alec.

Finally, welcome Mark and Jack. How do you to know each other?

Well, Mark here is my dad and I've dragged him along

against his free will today to try,

because I think he might be good at this show.

He's going to be fantastic. Mark! Where have you come from, Mark?

-Stourport-on-Severn in Worcestershire.

-Excellent.

-What do you do, Mark?

-I'm a postman.

-Postman. Father and son team, always do well.

-Postmen...

Postmen always deliver.

GROANS AND LAUGHTER

Jack, what do you do?

I'm a student at the University of Portsmouth.

-Right you are and what are you studying?

-Music technology.

-Mark, what are you hoping's going to come up?

-Um...

-Postcodes.

Yes, letterboxes would be a good one.

I would think Eurovision definitely.

Do you mean you've watched Eurovision every year

or STUDIED Eurovision every year?

I've watched Eurovision since I was about eight.

-Do you remember everything though?

-I remember quite a bit,

because it is that bad, it is difficult to forget.

LAUGHTER

Anyway, Mark and Jack, lovely to have you on the show.

A warm welcome to Pointless.

We'll find out about all of you throughout the show.

There's only one person left for me to introduce.

A thinking cap is the only hat he'll ever wear.

-It's my Pointless friend, it's Richard.

-Hiya.

Hello. APPLAUSE

-Afternoon.

-Top of the afternoon to you.

So, Emma and Bob, our only returning pair, got through to the head-to-head last time,

so will be very difficult to beat.

-But you've got to like the look of Mark and Jack, don't you?

-Yeah.

Father and son team, awesome.

Postman, always awesome.

Ask them what subjects they want, they say Eurovision.

I would say it's statistically almost impossible to beat them. LAUGHTER

There, I've said it.

OK. Thanks very much, Richard.

All our questions on Pointless have been put to 100 people before the show.

To get to the final round and have a chance of winning the jackpot,

our contestants need to find the obscure answers those 100 people didn't get.

So the fewer of the 100 people who knew the answer,

the fewer points they will score. What everyone is trying to do

is to find a pointless answer. That's an answer none of our 100 people gave.

And each time that happens, we will add 250 quid to the jackpot.

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

So today's jackpot starts off at...

CHEERING

Right, if everyone's ready, let's play Pointless.

Now, in this first round, each of you must give me one answer and you cannot confer.

Whichever pair has the highest score at the end of the round will be eliminated.

So, try and make sure it's not you. OK, our first category today is...

Deciding in your pairs who's going first, who's going second.

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

OK, our question concerns...

Possessive Books, Richard.

Yeah, on each pass, I'm going to give you the names of seven books,

each of which have a possessive noun in their title.

All of them are missing a word. Can you fill in the blank words, please?

We'll also give you the authors.

There's going to be 14 to guess at home. Very best of luck.

Thanks very much.

Now then, Ruth and Annika, you all drew lots before the show,

and today, you are going first.

So, we are looking for the missing words in these book titles.

And we have got...

I'll read those all one last time.

There we are. Seven book titles with a missing word.

Now then, Ruth, can you fill in the one you think the fewest of our 100 people knew?

I know a few, but I think they're the really popular ones.

And the one I think might be less high-scoring,

I'm not convinced it's correct.

So, I'm going to go with...

Lady Chatterley's Lovers.

-Lady Chatterley's Lovers.

-Yes, please.

OK, Lady Chatterley's Lovers, you are saying.

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

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

which means you score the maximum of 100 points.

-Great.

-I'm sorry. Richard.

-Yeah, sorry, Ruth. I'll give you the correct answer at the end of the pass.

-OK.

-Emma.

I'm going to go with my favourite childhood book,

-which is Charlotte's Web.

-Charlotte's Web, says Emma.

Let's see if that's right,

and if it is, let's see how many people knew that. Charlotte's Web.

Absolutely right.

-55.

-APPLAUSE

55 for Charlotte's Web. Richard.

Yeah, it's written by EB White, published in 1952.

-Elwyn Brooks White.

-Caroline.

There's a couple on there that I am familiar with.

I'm going to say The Time Traveller's Wife.

The Time Traveller's Wife, says Caroline.

Let's see if that's right, and if it is, let's see how many people said The Time Traveller's wife.

Absolutely right.

-55. Again.

-APPLAUSE

-Richard.

-Well played, Caroline. By Audrey Niffenegger.

And the main couple in the book, Clare is six when she meets Henry, who is 36.

And she marries him when she's 22 and he's 30.

Time traveller, you see? That's how that works.

Those crazy time travellers!

-Ugh!

-Ugh!

-OK, now then, Mark. You're the last person to have this board.

-Mm-hmm.

If you like, you can talk us through it.

It won't take very long if I talk you through it.

There are only two up there that I know.

I'm guessing it's Gulliver's Travels and Lady Chatterley's Lover.

I will go for Gulliver's Travels.

Gulliver's Travels. Let's see if it's right,

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

Absolutely right.

-71.

-APPLAUSE

Yeah, a lot better than 100, Mark. By Jonathan Swift.

Jack Black played Gulliver in the 2010 film.

Ruth, as I suspect you know, it wasn't "Lovers", I'm afraid. It's Lady Chatterley's Lover.

Unless you know something we don't know.

It would've scored 72 points,

so Mark, you're right to go for Gulliver's Travels.

Xander, you're very good at the literature ones, so I'll let you fill the rest in.

The Handmaid's...?

-Tale.

-Tale, by Margaret Atwood. Absolutely right. Would've scored 20.

-Portnoy's...?

-Complaint.

-Complaint, by Philip Roth. Would've scored 8.

-And the best answer on the board, Flaubert's...

-Parrot.

Parrot, by Julian Barnes. That would've scored 4.

Very well done to anyone who got all seven of those.

OK, thanks very much, Richard. Let's take a look at the scores.

We're halfway through the round. Well, 55 is our low score.

Emma and Bob and Caroline and Alec find themselves on that score.

Then we go up to 71, where we find Mark and Jack.

And then way up to 100, where I'm afraid Ruth and Annika,

we find you. So, Annika,

you'll be the last person to give an answer in the round.

Let's hope it's a good one and enough to keep you in the game.

Very, very best of luck.

We're going to come back down the line. Can the second players please their take places at the podium?

OK, let's put seven more book titles on the board, and here they come.

We have got...

I'll read those all one last time.

There we are. We're looking for the missing words in these book titles, and as ever,

you're trying to find the one you think the fewest of our 100 people knew. Now then, Jack,

Mark did OK there. 71. You're 29 points clear of our high-scorers,

Annika and Ruth, who are on 100. So if you can score 28 or less,

you'll avoid becoming the high scorers yourselves.

I don't think I'll be able to do that. It's not my strongest subject.

I know two, it's just a case of which is lower.

So I'm going to have to go with Tom Brown's Schooldays, I think.

Tom Brown's Schooldays, says Jack. Here comes your red line.

If you can get below that red line,

you are definitely through to the next round.

Good luck. Tom Brown's Schooldays, how many people said it?

-56.

-APPLAUSE

56 takes your total up to 127. Richard.

Yeah, well played, Jack. It'll be an interesting round,

I think, as far as the scores are going to go. Yeah, written in 1857, Thomas Hughes.

Thanks very much, Richard. Now then, Alec.

The high scorers are now Jack and Mark on 127. You're on 55.

If you can score 71 or less, you're through to the next round.

What do you think?

I think my brain's frozen,

but there's one I'm going to take a punt on.

I'm going to go for Midnight's Child, Salman Rushdie.

Midnight's Child, Salman Rushdie. You are saying Midnight's Child.

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

Bad luck, Alec.

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

which means you score the maximum of 100 points. That takes you to 155.

Sorry, Alec, but if you had seen the look on Jack's face, that was nice.

You gave him some pleasure.

Again, I'll give you the correct answer at the end of the pass.

So, Bob, the high scorers are now Alec and Caroline on 155.

You're on 55. If you score 99 or less,

you are through to the next round.

There's only one I don't know. Yeah, Midnight's Children.

Midnight's Children, says Bob. Midnight's Children.

Let's see if that's right,

and how many people said it. Here is your red line, lovely and high.

Absolutely right, and you're through to the next round, Bob.

Ooh, lovely low score. Down it goes. Look at that, 13!

APPLAUSE

Our only double figures total. That takes you up to 68. Richard.

Well played, Bob. Sorry, Alec, so close with Midnight's Child.

The midnight in question was 15 April, 1947,

which was when India got independence,

and the children are the 581 born on the stroke of midnight.

A symbol of India's freedom.

Midnight's Children. Thank you, Richard. So, now then, Annika.

You've been thrown a couple of massive lifelines, but the biggest was from Alec and Caroline.

They are the high scorers, still, on 155.

You're on 100. We need a score of 54 or less to keep you in the game.

Erm, I'm only sure of a couple, so I could invent a mad answer.

Take us through the ones you know.

Well, I know Bridget Jones's Diary,

and I know Angela's Ashes.

So, Angela's Ashes, and we'll see what happens.

Angela's Ashes, says Annika.

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

It's right.

-You've done it, you're through! 43.

-APPLAUSE

43, very well done. Takes your total up to 143.

-Richard.

-Very well played, Annika. Saved Ruth there.

Won the 1997 Pulitzer Prize, Angela's Ashes.

Let's go through the rest of the board.

Bridget Jones's Diary, you're absolutely right.

Helen Fielding, but would've seen you knocked out of the game,

It scored 74 points. You chose well with Angela's Ashes.

Again, Xander, I'll let you fill the rest in.

Pilgrims...?

-Progress.

-Written by John Bunyan when he was in prison for preaching.

45 points that would've scored. Cat's...?

-Cradle.

-Cradle, by Kurt Vonnegut. Would've scored 8 points.

Dropped out of university cos his scores in English were so low, Kurt Vonnegut. And Foucault's...?

Pendulum.

Pendulum is the best answer on the board. Umberto Eco.

6 points. Very well done to anyone who got all 14.

Thanks, Richard. At the end of our first round, the pair with the highest score

who will be leaving us, I'm afraid, Alec and Caroline, it's you.

-155.

-AUDIENCE:

-Aww!

Well, yes, "Aww". Exactly. Very, very sorry to see you go.

Alec, Caroline, you've shown your Pointless colours, though.

We can expect great things next time we see you.

Meanwhile, thanks very much for playing.

Great contestants, Alec and Caroline.

APPLAUSE

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

So, at the end of this round, another pair will be leaving us.

That was a very revealing first round there.

-Emma and Bob, great performance from you.

-Thank you.

-Both big readers.

-Yeah, we liked it when the books came up, actually.

-Very good.

Well, our only double-figure total.

Emma and Bob would seem to be the pair to beat.

Annika, you did some good work there on Ruth's behalf,

getting her out of the hole after that 100 points there.

But we're now on to Round Two with a completely new category.

Emma and Bob, as I say, would seem to be the pair to beat.

Let's play Round Two. Our category is...

Countries. Can you decide in your pairs who's going to go first,

who's going to go second?

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

OK, let's find out what the question is.

Here it comes. We give 100 people 100 seconds to name as many...

..as they could. Triple A Countries. Richard.

Yes, we're looking for any country of the world that has three or more As in its English name, please.

As always, by country, we mean a sovereign state that's a member of the UN.

And we've taken the English names as listed on the UN website.

There's more than 30 countries on this list,

so see how many of those you can get at home.

There's some tough ones, cos names sometimes are quite unusual.

-They certainly are.

-Yeah.

Well, thank you very much indeed, Richard.

So, we are looking for countries with three or more As in their names.

Now then, Annika.

Yes. OK. This is quite hard.

Erm, but...

..I have a few, and I think I'm going to go for one with four As just to be safe,

and I'm going to say Madagascar.

Madagascar, says Annika. Madagascar.

Let's see it's right, let's see how many people said Madagascar.

Absolutely right.

2!

APPLAUSE

Very well done, Annika. Madagascar scores you 2.

Well played, Annika. Very good answer.

-Madagascar's capital, Antananarivo, also has three As its name.

-Yeah.

Annika, just the two. One at the beginning, one at the end.

Just the two, yeah. Emma.

Oh, I'm not very good at this!

I can think of about three, and I think they're probably high-scoring.

So I'm just going to go with Azerbaijan.

JUST going to go with Azerbaijan, says Emma. OK, fair enough.

Well, let's see how many people said Azerbaijan.

8.

-APPLAUSE

-Very well done, Emma.

Yes, Azerbaijan, host of the 2012 Eurovision Song Contest,

so you may just have stolen Mark's answer there.

Mark.

Right...

It was in my mind, yes, obviously, with Eurovision.

I'm going to go with another competitor from Eastern Europe, Albania.

Albania, says Mark. Let's see if that's right,

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

-7!

-APPLAUSE

Well played, Mark. How did Albania do this year? They did better than us?

-Yeah, not very well.

-That's not saying much.

-No.

-Famously, Albania, during the rule of Enver Hoxha, Norman Wisdom films

were the only Western films they were allowed to watch.

They loved that man! Thanks, Richard. We're halfway through the round.

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

you had the shortest time to think, you came up with the best answer -

Madagascar. Look at that. So, Ruth, phew...

-Yeah. I need to redeem myself.

-..for the time being. Well, let's hope you can.

You're looking pretty good for the moment.

Then up to 7 where we find Mark and Jack.

Then up to 8 where we find Emma and Bob.

You're not ahead by much, Bob, but you are ahead,

so you're going to need a low-scoring answer - a lower scoring answer

than anyone else in the next pass.

Let's see. Very best of luck with that. We're going come back down the line.

Can the second players take their places at the podium?

OK, so we are looking for countries with three or more As in their name.

Jack, you are on 7. The high-scorers are Bob and Emma on 8.

If you can score a pointless answer,

you will avoid becoming the high-scorers.

Right. This should be a good subject for me, really.

I'm going to try and be clever

and I'm going to say Antigua and Barbuda.

Antigua and Barbuda. Oh, it's good.

-If it's wrong, I'm sorry, Dad.

-Yeah, well, we'll see.

If it's wrong, then, obviously, it's terrible, but for now,

I think that's really good.

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

Absolutely right, Jack.

One point.

APPLAUSE

Very, very well done indeed. That takes your total up to 8. Richard?

Brilliant, Jack. Very well played. It's got five As in it,

-Antigua and Barbuda. 5/17ths of its name is A.

-Wow.

-Yeah.

-That's an enormous constituency.

-It's not bad, is it?

-It's nearly a third.

-Yeah. Oooh.

-Aagh.

-LAUGHTER

OK, thanks very much. Imagine if your A wasn't working on your typewriter keyboard...

Oh, that would be a nightmare.

..and you had to send something to Ntigu und Brbud.

-LAUGHTER

-Would it get there? I don't know.

-Yeah, it probably would.

-Yeah, probably.

Bob, you are joint high-scorers with Jack and Mark

but you now have to give an answer.

The only thing that will save you is a pointless answer

and even then you'll remain tied high-scorers.

-Kazakhstan.

-Kazakhstan.

Kazakhstan. Let's see. Kazakhstan.

How many people said it?

Absolutely right.

APPLAUSE

-Two takes your total up to 10.

-Well played, Bob. It's a tight one, this.

-Isn't it? It's exciting.

-What a great round.

-Kazakhstan, the largest landlocked country in the world.

-Thanks very much. Now, Ruth...

-Yeah.

-Ohhh-ho!

Wow. Very exciting. The high-scorers on 10 are Bob and Emma. You're on 2.

A score of seven or less sees you into the head-to-head.

Well, Jack inspired me with Trinidad and Tobago.

But I don't know if it's the same, if it's a country or if that's wrong.

-You're going to go Trinidad and Tobago?

-Yeah, I am.

-Trinidad and Tobago. What do you think, Annika?

-I'm happy with this.

-Come on!

-Trinidad and Tobago. There's your red line.

If you can limbo below that, you are through to the head-to-head.

OK, here goes. Trinidad and Tobago. Is it right? How many people said it?

It's right.

You've done it. One.

One! That's fantastic.

The lowest score of the round - joint lowest score of the round -

takes your total up to 3, the lowest total of the round. Richard.

Brilliant, Ruth, very well played.

The chief town on Tobago is Scarborough.

-Bet it's nice this time of year.

-Mmm.

-Mmm.

-Scarborough.

That's nice, isn't it? Let's take a look, though.

I'm sure lots of people at home will have been thinking of some. There's some quite smart answers here.

There's a whole bunch of pointless ones. Let's take a look.

Equatorial Guinea would have been a pointless answer,

Guatemala, Malaysia.

The Marshall Islands, Mauritania, Nicaragua - all of these pointless.

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Saudi Arabia, a pointless answer,

and United Arab Emirates. There's a few more.

A few more tricksy ones as well.

Venezuela's full name is the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela,

that would have been pointless.

Bosnia and Herzegovina would have been a good Eurovision-inspired answer, would have been pointless.

The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia would have been pointless. The Syrian Arab Republic,

that would have been a pointless answer as well.

Very well done if you said any of those. Let's take a look at the worst answers,

the ones that most of our 100 people said.

-Canada, 50% of its name is A. Amazing. Three out of six.

-Yeah.

-What you reckon the biggest of all would be?

-Australia.

-Australia, Emma, is absolutely right.

-Thanks very much, Richard.

At the end of Round Two, the losing pair with the highest score, I'm afraid it's Bob and Emma.

-Aww.

-Bob and Emma! What a shame.

-AUDIENCE: Aww.

You were semi-finalists last time. You made it through to the head-to-head.

This time, a lovely low score - 10.

Who would have thought that would be high enough to send you away?

But I'm afraid it is. So we have to say goodbye, Bob and Emma.

It's been lovely having you on the show.

-Thank you both for playing.

-Thank you very much.

APPLAUSE

For the remaining two pairs, things are about to get exciting as we enter the head-to-head.

So congratulations, Mark and Jack, Annika and Ruth,

you are now only one round away from the final

and a chance to play for that jackpot, which currently stands at £3,250.

APPLAUSE

You're going to go head-to-head

and the first pair to win two questions will be playing for that jackpot.

The great news is, from here on in, you are allowed to confer.

I tell you what, when you add up all your points so far,

there's only one point between you.

Mark and Jack, you are the lowest scorers by one point.

Annika, we've had some great scoring from you,

some great tactical teamwork there.

Pulling it back.

Well, from here on in, you can pool your knowledge

so anything can happen.

Very, very best of luck to both pairs. Let's play the head-to-head.

APPLAUSE

OK, here comes your first question. And it concerns...

-Richard.

-Yes, we're about to show you five stills or publicity shots from official James Bond films.

Can you simply name the film, please? Good luck.

OK, thanks very much. Mark and Jack, you've played best throughout the show so far

so you get to go first.

Let's reveal our five stills from James Bond films. Here they are.

OK, there we are, there are your five stills from James Bond films.

Mark and Jack, you go first.

(I think A is Octopussy.)

(E is On Her Majesty's Secret Service so I think we should go with that.)

-I'm happy enough with that. If I get this wrong, I'll never live it down.

-OK, we have an answer.

Yeah. We're going to go with E,

On Her Majesty's Secret Service, cos I think that's George Lazenby.

On Her Majesty's Secret Service, George Lazenby there.

OK, On Her Majesty's Secret Service, say Jack and Mark.

Now, then, Annika and Ruth, you can talk us through the whole board if you like.

That won't take very long. This is...

I think we know D and I think that's what we're going to go for.

We may have gone with C,

the underwater element could be Octopussy but...

-That's not our answer.

-That's not our answer, that's a guess.

We're going to say D, and I think that's Dr No.

D, Dr No, say Annika and Ruth.

So, On Her Majesty's Secret Service versus Dr No.

Mark and Jack, On Her Majesty's Secret Service. Is it right?

How many people said it?

It's right.

APPLAUSE

24. Now, then, Annika and Ruth have gone for Dr No.

They are saying D is Dr No. Let's see if that's right,

and if it is, let's see how many people said Dr No.

Absolutely right.

Oh!

APPLAUSE

Which means, Mark and Jack, after only one question, you are up 1-0. Richard.

Well played, Mark and Jack.

Dr No, the first Bond film and the biggest score on the board, actually, with 37.

Let's take a look through the others.

-A is Octopussy, funnily enough.

-Ah.

-If you said Octopussy for A, you would have scored...

It's not really particularly underwater, is it?

No, it's got "octopus" in the title,

that's about as far as the underwater stuff goes.

That would have scored you nine points.

B, the first Bond film to win an Oscar, that's Goldfinger.

That would have scored you 33 points. Won for best sound effects.

C is actually the best answer on the board. It's the first Bond film I went to see -

The Spy Who Loved Me. That would have scored you eight points.

-It's the last film Elvis Presley ever saw.

-Really?

-Yeah.

-How close to his demise?

-14 seconds.

-OK, last film he saw.

-Yeah.

-Wow.

Well, thank you very much, Richard. So here comes your second question.

Annika and Ruth, you have to win this question to stay in the game.

And it concerns...

ANNIKA LAUGHS

-Richard.

-We're going to give you five sets of initials of groups

that had at least one number one hit in the '80s.

Can you give us the most obscure of these? Good luck.

OK, let's reveal our five sets of initials and we have got...

I'll read those all one last time.

There we are. Now, then, Annika and Ruth, you go first.

This is a disaster.

LAUGHTER

-I know the first one. Do you know any of them?

-No.

-I've got the first one, I've got the first one.

-That's the same one!

I think we're going to have to go

with the only one that we think we both know.

New Kids On The Block.

New Kids On The Block, say Annika and Ruth. New Kids On The Block.

-Now, then, Mark and Jack, talk us through the board.

-I know a couple.

I'm guessing the second one down is Dexys Midnight Runners,

then Wet Wet Wet. But then it's over to you. I don't know.

-The Pet Shop Boys, I think, is the bottom one.

-Good one.

I think we'll go with Dexys, number two.

-Do you want to go with Dexys?

-Yeah, yeah.

OK, we'll go with Dexys Midnight Runners.

Dexys Midnight Runners. So we have New Kids On The Block versus Dexys Midnight Runners.

Now, then, Annika and Ruth, this is the question you have to win.

New Kids On The Block, will that do it for you?

How many people said New Kids On The Block, NKOTB?

It's right.

APPLAUSE

Mark and Jack have gone for Dexys Midnight Runners.

Let's see if that's right, and if it is, how many people said it. Dexys Midnight Runners.

Yup, it's right. Will it go below 45?

If it does, you go straight through to the final.

Yup, you've done it.

APPLAUSE

Nine for Dexys. What about that? Very well done, Mark and Jack.

That means, after only two questions,

you are through to the final 2-0. Well done.

Well played, Mark and Jack. Dexys Midnight Runners, of course, back with a new album in 2012.

-Who, Dexys are?

-Yeah.

-Wow. One Day I'm Going To Soar. It's terrific.

-What year were you born, Annika?

-'87.

-Well, you know what?

Serves you right, then. That's my opinion.

There's a lot of advantages to being born in 1987

and this is one of the disadvantages, I'm afraid. Let's fill in the rest of the board.

WWW is Wet Wet Wet, that would have scored you 52 points.

AATA, any idea?

-Adam And The Ants.

-Adam And The Ants. Absolutely right.

That would have scored you 16 points.

And the best answer on the board, actually, PSB, Pet Shop Boys,

-only scores two points.

-No!

-Two points.

Sold over 100 million records, the Pet Shop Boys.

Anyone else who was born in 1987 at home,

if you want to get the greatest hits of Dexys Midnight Runners

and the Pet Shop Boys, you wouldn't be going far wrong.

-Or Adam And The Ants, actually.

-Yeah.

-Cracking.

Very well done to anyone who got all five of those.

First album I bought, Kings Of The Wild Frontier.

-That's the first album I bought.

-No, really! Put it there.

-How about that.

-Yeah. Put it there. What about that?

APPLAUSE

-Great record.

-A great record. Thanks very much, Richard.

The losing pair at the end of the head-to-head, I'm afraid, it's Annika and Ruth.

AUDIENCE: Aww.

What a nice audience.

-For every pair that's left, and I am with them.

-Thanks.

The good news is I temper that with the good news that we're going to see you again next time.

-Had you gone through to the final, that would have been it.

-That's true.

-That's true.

So we get to see you twice. We look forward to that very much, Annika and Ruth.

Meanwhile, thanks very much for playing.

APPLAUSE

But, for Mark and Jack, it's now time for our Pointless final.

Congratulations, Mark and Jack, you have fought off all the competition

and you have won our coveted Pointless trophy.

You now have a chance to win our Pointless jackpot

and, at the end of today's show, the jackpot stands at £3,250.

APPLAUSE

Well that was a walk in the park, wasn't it? Jack, Mark?

It was more a fluke, to be honest.

The only films we know anything about are James Bond films, for me, personally.

-Really?

-They are the only sort of films.

-Really?

We've done geography, '80s bands, Bond. Is there anything you don't know?

We're both Wolverhampton Wanderers season-ticket holders, so please nothing about Wolves.

ALEXANDER LAUGHS

You've been the low scorers just consistently and then a 2-0 victory in the head-to-head.

Amazing. Let's hope a good category comes up for you in the final.

The rules are very simple. To win the money all you have to do is find a pointless answer.

We haven't had any pointless answers on the show today.

You only have to find one now and you'll go home with that money.

First, you have to choose a category from these five options

and they are....

American Actors, Novelists, Snooker,

Country Music, Artists.

Over to you. What do you think?

American Actors, obviously no.

Novelists, no. Artists, no.

Country music or snooker, isn't it?

I think Snooker is the only possible one we can go for, Jack.

I don't want to do Country Music.

We'll have a pot at Snooker.

AUDIENCE LAUGHS

Oh, dear.

Let's find out what the question is, here it comes.

We gave 100 people, 100 seconds to name as many

2012 World Snooker Championship Finalists as they could. Richard?

We are looking for the names of any of the 32 men who qualified

for the televised stages of the 2012 World Snooker Championships, please.

Very best of luck.

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

and all you need to win that £3,250 is for just one of those answers to be pointless.

-Are you ready?

-Yeah.

-OK, let's put 60 seconds on the clock.

There they are, your time starts now.

This is on you. Ali Carter?

-Ali Carter did, Neil Robertson did.

-That's too obvious.

What about the Asian players, there's Marco Fu and what's the other one?

Ding Junhui, but people will know that one.

We need somebody who was sort of on the fringes.

Ali Carter's a good one, we'll go with Ali Carter.

-We'll go with Neil Robertson.

-You think Neil Robertson?

Yeah, we'll go with him.

We need one better than this. Erm...

Carter and Robertson.

-Yeah.

-Stephen Hendry got a 147, that's too obvious.

What about Lee?

Stephen Lee.

Stephen Lee is possible, we'll go with him.

-We have got another 12 seconds, anyone else.

-Ten seconds left.

Stephen Lee.

-Neil Robertson.

-Ali Carter. We'll go with those.

OK, your time is up, we were looking for 2012 World Snooker Championship Finalists.

I now need your three answers.

OK, we'll go with Neil Robertson.

-Neil Robertson.

-At the top.

-Stephen Lee.

-Stephen Lee.

-And Ali Carter.

And Ali Carter. It sounds like you were suggesting an order there.

You're most likely, your best shot at a pointless answer is which one?

-Is Ali Carter.

-Ali Carter, we will put Ali Carter last.

And we'll put Neil Robertson first.

OK, let's put them on the board in that order and here they are.

We have got Neil Robertson, Stephen Lee and Ali Carter.

There we are. We were looking for 2012 World Snooker Championship Finalists.

Your first answer, your least confident shot at a pointless answer was Neil Robertson.

Remember, you only have to find one pointless answer to win that jackpot of £3,250.

Now, Jack, say one of these answers is a pointless answer

and you walk off with that money, what would you do with £3,250?

My girlfriend says she wants a pig.

So, I don't know how much pigs cost, could I get a pig for...?

-A live pig, or...?

-I think she wants it live.

-If I take a pack of bacon it might...

-OK.

-I'm not sure how much they cost.

-I wouldn't know.

-Could I get ten pigs for that?

-How many are you after?

-Just one, really.

-Just the one?

-It's just how much they cost.

OK. Mark?

I would love to go to Cheltenham races in a private box for the National Hunt Festival in March.

Very good. OK, well very best of luck, let's hope one of your answers will see a pig

and the private box at Cheltenham races.

Let's see, Neil Robertson, is it right, how may people said it?

Absolutely right.

Down it goes, this is your first shot at that jackpot of £3,250.

Still going down. Still going down into single figures.

Still going down, Neil Robertson, two! Look at that.

APPLAUSE

Wow! OK, that's good.

Unfortunately, not a pointless answer but not far off it.

Jack, you weren't even going to put Neil Robertson on the board.

No, I thought he was too well-known.

I'm not sure Stephen Lee is right, though, to be honest. We'll see.

OK, well it's looking good, anyway, either way for your next two answers.

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

Your next answer, Stephen Lee.

Jack's now getting cold feet over Stephen Lee. What do you think, Mark?

He's up there, isn't he?

I think he was there. I think he was there.

If Neil Robertson only scored two...

..you've got to feel good about the next two answers.

OK, we are looking for 2012 World Snooker Championship Finalists,

let's hope nobody said your next answer, Stephen Lee.

It has to be right, it has to be pointless.

If it is both of those things, you leave here with £3,250.

Let's see how may people said Stephen Lee.

It's absolutely right.

Now then, Neil Robertson took us all the way down to two.

If Stephen Lee takes us down to nothing, you leave here with £3,250.

Down it goes. Still going down... Oh! One!

APPLAUSE

-OK.

-We've had a go.

We've gone from two to one, Stephen Lee's taken us to one.

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

Everything is now riding on Ali Carter. Let's see if he's right, let's see if he's pointless.

We are looking for 2012 Snooker World Championship Finalists.

Your most confident shot at the pointless answer was Ali Carter.

Let's see if it's right. Let's see how he people said it. Ali Carter.

It's right. Neil Robertson took us down to two.

Stephen Lee took us down to one.

Ali Carter, your most confident answer,

your third answer taking us down to 13.

Wow!

APPLAUSE

Wow, that's a bit of a spike, isn't that? 13.

He did get a long way in the tournament.

Well, unfortunately, you didn't manage to find that all-important pointless answer

but you do still get to take home our fantastic Pointless trophy.

Very, very well done. A really great performance.

APPLAUSE

Yes, unlucky guys, a good category to choose.

18 of those 32 men were pointless answers.

Ali Carter got through to the final, got beaten by Ronnie O'Sullivan

so I think a lot of people remembered that.

You've actually mentioned two of our pointless answers.

You mentioned Ding Junhui, who would have won you the money

and you mentioned Marco Fu who also would have won you the money.

Let's take a look at the other pointless answers.

David Gilbert, the qualifier, he was a pointless answer.

Dominic Dale, who got knocked out by Judd Trump.

Jamie Jones, the Welshman who got through to the quarter-finals, he was a pointless answer.

Ken Doherty, he was knocked out by Neil Robertson, funnily enough.

There's Marco Fu.

Mark Davis who was knocked out by Ali Carter in the first round.

Martin Gould, he was knocked out by David Gilbert.

Peter Ebdon, the former world champion, he was on the list.

Ryan Day, another quarter-finalist, he was there.

Other answers, Andrew Higginson, who beat Stephen Lee.

Barry Hawkins, Cao Yupeng, Joe Perry, Liang Wenbo,

Liu Chuang, Luca Brecel and Stuart Bingham.

Very well done if you said any of those at home.

-You knew a few of those.

-Yes.

-Yeah.

-Never mind.

Well unfortunately we do have to say goodbye to you, Mark and Jack.

It's been superb having you on the show.

You've been brilliant contestants, absolutely wonderful. Thank you both so much for playing.

Thank you.

APPLAUSE

So Mark and Jack didn't win our jackpot today which means

it rolls onto the next show when we will be

playing for £4,250.

APPLAUSE

-Join us then to see if someone can win it. Meanwhile, it's goodbye from Richard.

-Goodbye.

And it's goodbye from me, goodbye.

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