Episode 14 Revenge of the Egghead

These contestants are hoping to walk away today

thousands of pounds richer. Standing in their way

is one of the most formidable quizzers

to grace the Eggheads' team - CJ de Mooi.

This is Revenge Of The Egghead.

Hello and welcome to Revenge Of The Egghead.

Let's meet the five contestants hoping to get one over on CJ today.

I'm Ashley. I'm a sheet metal workshop manager

and I'm from Lancashire.

I'm Angela, I'm a writer and I'm from Essex.

I'm Stephen, I'm an MA student and I'm from Bristol.

I'm Mary. I'm a housewife and I'm from Hampshire.

I'm Nick. I'm a railway signalling design engineer,

and I'm from Coventry.

Welcome, to all of you, and we say good luck in this game.

In order to win any money today you will need to outsmart CJ over here.

-How are you today?

-Not too bad.

So, he does this between shows where he learns lists.

What are you learning at the moment?

I've been learning the real names, the alter egos, of the superheroes.

So, you could do Captain America, for example?

-Steve Rogers.

-That's the real-life character who becomes

Captain America in a certain moment, is that right?

Just for verification, it's not real life - they are actually fictional.

As in Clark Kent, ordinary person...

It's the character who becomes the superhero.

-Thank you for that correction. Wonder Woman?

-Diana Prince.

There we are. Maybe they'll come up. Maybe they won't.

What do you make of the line-up?

I think Stephen's quizzing performance will be

as chequered as his shirt.

That's what you're dealing with, everyone.

That's how much fun it is here. I hope to do it every day.

Let's get started, shall we?

None of you know each other, but you will be building up a prize fund

together by individually answering general knowledge questions.

Each correct answer will add £200 to the pot, but be very careful

because if CJ knows your answer is wrong, he can stop play like this.

BUZZER

And once he's caught you out, he then has the chance to ask you

a particularly difficult question, which he has written himself.

You get that wrong

and you will lose one of the two lives lit up in front of you.

If you lose them both you are out of the game.

Whoever survives to the end of the game will then have

a shot at sharing the prize money. Shall we give it a go?

Ashley, we start with you.

Which unit of length, typically used to measure depths of water,

is equal to six feet?

Fathom.

Fathom is correct.

-Pulled that one out.

-£200, Ashley, in the pot.

Angela, what is the name of the plane in which Charles Lindbergh

made the first nonstop flight from New York to Paris?

The Spirit of St Louis.

Correct. Another £200. You're on 400.

OK, Stephen, Danzig is the German name for which Polish city?

That'll be...Warsaw.

BUZZER

-CJ?

-Gdansk.

Gdansk is the answer.

Stephen, I'm sorry, CJ has caught you out,

which means you will have to take your place on the Hot Spot

and face one of his multiple choice questions

and then risk losing one of your two lives.

And watch out, these questions are particularly tricky

because CJ has written them himself.

It is time to face the Egghead.

-So, you're a student?

-Yeah.

I won't even ask what you're studying cos it might give CJ

-an edge cos he's choosing the questions.

-Thank you.

-Let's go for a bit of biographical history for you, Stephen.

-OK.

You got anything on John Paul Jones, Stephen?

He's never heard of him, Jeremy.

-I have heard of John Paul Jones.

-Well, exactly, you tell him.

I think I'm going to go with Scotland.

Let's hope you're right and you don't lose a life. CJ.

The correct answer...

..is Scotland.

What about that, Stephen?

He called you out and you faced him down.

Please return to your fellow players.

You're on £400, players.

Mary, your question.

The Ringling Brothers were famous proprietors

of what form of entertainment?

Circus.

Correct. Another £200.

£600 you're on.

Nick, Robert De Niro received an Oscar nomination

in 2013 for his role in which film?

Pass.

-I hear no buzz.

-I don't know this one.

I don't believe you don't know it.

You love your film-list learning. What's gone on?

I know all the Oscar winners but some of the nominees,

especially multiple-time ones, pass me by.

Silver Linings Playbook is the correct answer.

But, Nick, that's good news.

He didn't know, either, so he doesn't call you to the Hot Spot.

You just don't make any money with your answer.

You're on £600 and we're back with you, Ashley.

In which European capital is the Parthenon situated?

Rome?

BUZZER

That's the Pantheon.

The Parthenon is in Athens.

CJ's right and you're wrong there, Ashley,

so he has a chance to ask you one of his special questions.

It is time to take on the Egghead.

-So, you're a football fan?

-Yes.

So, forget that football question.

I shouldn't have said that, should I?

I don't think he would have asked you football, anyway.

Let's see if you can "fathom" this one out.

Any jazz in your life?

Not of the music variety, no.

So...

Giant Steps.

It's Round Midnight.

Round Midnight is the answer.

Please return to your fellow players.

I have to take a life away.

Don't worry, you're doing well, only one life lost between you

and £600 in the pot. Angela,

which businessman has the Lord Sugar role in the US version

of The Apprentice?

-Donald Trump.

-Correct.

£200. 800 now in the pot.

Stephen, the pop star Bruno Mars was born in which US state?

Florida.

Florida is wrong but CJ doesn't know,

so you're not called to the Hot Spot.

The answer was Hawaii.

No money for that answer. Still on £800.

Mary, prior to joining Manchester United,

David Moyes was the manager of which other Premier League club?

Sunderland.

BUZZER

Sunderland is your answer and, surprisingly,

CJ's going to take a stab at a subject he knows nothing about.

Everton.

Oh! Where did that come from?

I think it was mentioned once or twice in the news.

Everton is right, Mary,

so he can ask you one of his own special questions.

It is time to go to the Hot Spot and take on the Egghead.

So, what do you enjoy, Mary?

I like travelling and I like knitting.

-You like travelling, Mary?

-Mm.

So, it's pop music for you, then.

Do you like the Kaiser Chiefs at all, Mary?

-Oh My God.

-Is that the answer to my question or his?

All right.

Let's see.

The correct answer is Ruby.

So, Mary, you're going to lose a life.

Please return to your fellow players.

You were going quite well and then Ashley got taken down.

And then, Mary, you've lost a life. We take one light out for you.

Nick, your question.

Which English king was born in 1239?

Edward I.

Brilliant! The correct answer is Edward I. £1,000 you're on now.

Ashley, who directed the 1951 film Strangers On A Train?

Stanley Kubrick.

BUZZER

-Alfred Hitchcock.

-It was.

Ashley, I'm sorry, he's going to have another go at you.

It is time to take on the Egghead.

You're hanging on here, you've got one life left

and if you get this wrong you will lose your last life

and be out of the game, so take your time here, it's very important.

Ashley...

Benoit...

My answer will be...mathematics.

And you like your mathematics. I wonder why you've heard of him, CJ?

It's mathematics.

Well done, Ashley, you've saved your life.

You can return to your fellow players.

£1,000 you're on.

Angela, your question.

What two-word phrase is given to a workplace where

employees are required to be members of a specific trade union?

Closed Shop.

Correct. £200.

Takes you to £1,200. Stephen,

Amsterdam and On Chesil Beach are books by which author?

Pass.

BUZZER

It's either Iain Banks or Ian Rankin.

I think I'm going to go for Iain Banks.

-It is Ian McEwan.

-Oh, yeah!

OK, Stephen, you're lucky. You didn't know, he didn't know.

No, I did know, I just got it wrong.

You knew it was Ian someone. I can't just accept "Ian."

You're not going to the Hot Spot but the money's still on £1,200.

Mary, in which 2013 action film does Idris Elba play a character

named Stacker Pentecost?

The Slave.

BUZZER

CJ?

I really don't know this.

I only know a few of his films from 2013...that's not the character.

I'll try Thor: The Dark World.

-It is not. I'm sensing that maybe Stephen knows.

-I know it's not

Thor: The Dark World and for someone brushing up on superheroes, come on.

-Angela?

-It's Pacific Rim.

-We got there, finally!

But that's OK, Mary, cos although you've got one life left,

CJ didn't know. No more money in the pot but, Mary, you don't

get called to the Hot Spot. £1,200 you're on.

Nick, which female US Civil Rights activist

was instrumental in instigating the Montgomery Bus Boycott of 1955?

Betty Stokes.

BUZZER

-Rosa Parks.

-Is the name.

-Did that just escape you there?

-Yes, it did, yeah.

Nick, it is time to face the Egghead.

Ask him the question, CJ, see if you can take a life.

You've not been too successful so far.

Nick...

1850s would be...in the middle of the gold rush, I would guess,

so I would say gold.

I can see the logic. CJ.

It's silver.

Well, that's a bit of a hitch with the answer.

Please return to your fellow players.

Oh, dear, Nick - we have to take a life away.

Will you tell us why gold is not right?

No, because it just...wasn't that.

That's exactly why I put it in there.

Nick was right on all accounts, apart from giving the right answer.

So, you're deliberately misleading people now?

It's almost as if I want them to get it wrong, isn't it?

OK, Ashley, we're back with you and you're on the edge.

The UK's first fast breeder nuclear reactor was built

at what site in Scotland?

Erm...

Glasgow Pier.

BUZZER

Just thought I'd give an answer.

I don't know If there is a pier in Glasgow...

Don't think there is.

-OK, Ashley says Glasgow Pier - it could be right.

-No, I've no idea.

It's certainly not that. Um...Dumfries.

Dounreay is the answer.

But you are spared, Ashley, cos he doesn't know.

£1,200 you're still on. OK, Angela.

Julia Bradbury and John Craven have been regular presenters

on which Sunday evening TV show?

Um...Country File.

Correct.

-£1,400. Stephen, with two lives left, still.

-Yeah.

Entebbe is a city in which country?

-Entebbe...

-E-N-T-E-B-B-E.

Oh, Egypt.

BUZZER

It's the one where the crisis, was it the airport? Is it Uganda?

Uganda is the right answer, CJ.

Stephen, sorry, he got it right, you got it wrong.

It is time to take on the Egghead.

Well, Stephen, let's try...

prominent people for you.

I'm almost positive it's not Japanese-style prints.

And I'm fairly confident it's not portrait photographs as well.

So, it's between sculptures and seascape paintings.

I think I'm going to go with seascape paintings.

CJ? He's right, isn't he?

The right answer is portrait photographs.

Please return to your fellow players.

We've got a bit of teetering going on here.

Stephen is down to one life.

£1,400 you're on. Mary, who wrote the music

and lyrics for the musical Things Ain't What They Used to Be?

-Lionel Bart.

-Lionel Bart is quite right. £200 in the pot.

£1,600 you're on.

Nick, the jazz musician Dave Brubeck was best known for playing

which instrument?

The clarinet.

The clarinet is the wrong answer but CJ obviously doesn't know.

Piano.

So, no money for you but you're also not called to the Hot Spot

cos CJ's misfiring a little bit.

Ashley, in terms of recording media, what does the acronym DAT stand for?

Data Analysing Technology.

BUZZER

It's a sweet try, isn't it?

Digital Audio Tape.

Is the right answer. So, Ashley, it's the Hot Spot again.

It's time - once again - to face the Egghead.

-One life left, Ashley. If you lose it, it'll be over.

-Ashley...

I think it's too early for Jodie Foster.

As for the others...

I will go for Faye Dunaway.

If you're right you're still in the game.

Is he right, CJ, or is he out?

It's Jane Fonda.

I'm really sorry, Ashley.

Unfortunately, that was your last life,

so we have to say thanks for playing.

You are out of the game and out of the money.

-The Egghead has had his revenge.

-Thank you.

There's that ominous gap there. You're on £1,600.

Three of you have only one life left.

You're doing well, Angela.

Klaxon could go at any time. Here's your question, Angela.

Dennis Gabor received the Nobel Prize for Physics

in 1971 for inventing which 3-D imaging system?

I'm going to say...

night vision goggles.

BUZZER

-Holograms.

-Holograms.

So, it's time to take on the Egghead.

You've avoided this moment through very good quizzing so far.

-CJ, she's outsmarted you so far.

-Angela...

Um...let's have a look. I'm going to go for...

..117.1.

Minus 117.1 degrees Celsius. Did it get that low, CJ?

It's minus 93.2.

You're wrong, Angela, you're going to lose a life. Please return

to your fellow players.

That was an absolute stinker of a question, CJ.

That's just a jumble of numbers.

-Oh, I'm sorry(!)

-Angela, with reluctance, I have to take a life.

£1,600 in the pot that you're playing for.

Don't get knocked out, you'll lose any chance of the money.

Stephen, in the Thunderbirds TV show,

the Tracy family worked for which secret organisation?

Spectrum.

BUZZER

That's Captain Scarlet. This is International Rescue.

International Rescue is the right answer.

You're going to have to go to the Hot Spot.

It's time to face the Egghead.

You're down to one life. If you get this wrong you'll be out. CJ.

Stephen...

I'm fairly sure I can discount Babylonian.

I can't remember the word for Babylonian

but I know it's not Demotic.

Leaves me with Etruscans or Egyptians.

I'm going to go with...Etruscans.

OK, this is a tense moment.

We're right on the edge of playing the final.

I don't want you to lose a chance of the money. You've got one life left.

If you've got this wrong you'll be out, Stephen. CJ, tell us.

The answer is Egyptians.

So, you lose your last life.

You're going to be out of the game and out of the money.

The Egghead has had his revenge.

Well, it might feel good that there are only three of you left -

fewer people to share the money,

but that means only three brains in the final round.

And three lives left.

Mary, we're back with you, having lost the lovely Stephen.

Curiosity is the name of a robotic rover vehicle

that landed on which planet in 2012?

-Mars.

-Mars is the right answer. £200, making it £1,800.

Can we get to £2,000? Nick, your question.

What is an auction where property is first offered at a high price

and gradually reduced until a bid is received known as?

A blind auction.

BUZZER

-CJ.

-A Dutch auction.

Dutch. Nick, I'm afraid to say you've got to face the Egghead.

Great.

Just be gentle here, CJ, for goodness' sake.

-You can see the state they're in.

-Nick...

They always unveil a new ball for the World Cup.

And they always have some ridiculous-looking mascot.

Which one is it?

The mascot.

Let's hope you're still in the contest. CJ.

It's the ball.

So sorry, Nick. Another wrong answer.

That was your last life, so we have to say thanks for playing.

You are out of the game and also, I'm afraid, out of the money.

The Egghead has had his revenge.

This is getting painful and the worst thing is, I think

he's enjoying it. £1,800. Can you get to £2,000? Let's see.

We're back with you, Angela.

KLAXON

We don't have time for another question. The klaxon has gone.

Two of you remain. You'll play in the final round.

You've built up a prize pot of £1,800

and you now have the chance to take that money home.

There is just one little problem - you've got to beat the Egghead.

There's £1,800 up for grabs and two of you left.

If you can prove yourselves better than CJ, you will win the money.

But he is going to do everything he can to stop you.

I'm going to ask CJ ten general knowledge questions.

However many he answers correctly will become your target to beat.

-Are you ready, CJ?

-Oh, I think so, don't you?

All right, enough of that bravado.

We're going to have your ten questions now, CJ. Let's play.

At Nelson Mandela's memorial service in December 2013,

Barack Obama and David Cameron were pictured taking a selfie

photo with which country's Prime Minister?

Denmark.

Denmark is the right answer. One out of one.

In Tolkien's book The Hobbit what type of creature is Smaug?

-Dragon.

-Dragon is right. Amazing film. Two out of two.

Which West German swimmer, born in 1964, was nicknamed the Albatross?

I have heard this and I don't think I'm going to remember.

No, I can't remember.

Michael Gross is the answer. Two out of three.

Which American entrepreneur

and philanthropist is nicknamed the Oracle of Omaha?

Warren Buffett.

Warren Buffett is correct, three out of four.

The Italian city of Carrara is famous for the quarrying

of which rock?

-Marble.

-Marble is right.

Four out of five.

Which actor, born in 1909, appears in the films Separate Tables

and Around The World In 80 Days?

-David Niven.

-David Niven is right. Five out of six.

In Greek mythology,

which king of Sparta was the husband of Helen of Troy?

-Menelaus.

-Menelaus is correct.

You've got six out of seven.

Caroline of Ansbach was the wife of which British monarch?

Don't know this.

Charles II.

Your kings and queens are very rusty. George II.

Oh, yes, yes.

Count Vronsky is a character in which 19th century book?

-Anna Karenina.

-Anna Karenina is correct, CJ, well done.

You've got seven out of nine. Last question.

Who resigned as the Soviet Union's president on Christmas Day, 1991?

Hm. I didn't think he lasted that long.

There's nobody between Gorbachev and Yeltsin.

And Yeltsin was New Year's Eve, 1999.

Am I forgetting somebody between Gorbachev and Yeltsin?

I've got all the little ones like Chenenko but he was before.

Unless I'm making some gross omission, Mikhail Gorbachev.

Mikhail Gorbachev is the right answer.

Eight out of ten, CJ.

Do you think that's going to be good enough to win?

I'm a little disappointed with my own performance...but, yes.

Angela and Mary, prove him wrong.

You have your target and you can now work together as a team to beat it.

So, you have two lives remaining between you.

Give me an incorrect answer and you lose a life.

If you beat CJ's target before you've lost all your lives,

you win the £1,800.

Shall we play?

-BOTH: Yes.

-Here we go. First question.

Who played God in the Jim Carrey film comedy Bruce Almighty?

It's...Morgan Freeman. I'm pretty sure it's Morgan Freeman.

I know he often plays God characters, doesn't he?

I think it is.

Morgan Freeman.

Well done, Morgan Freeman is correct. Point to you.

Which novelist and Nobel Prize winner edited

the French Resistance newspaper Combat during World War II?

I think it might be Ernest Hemingway.

-Yeah, I'm happy to go with that.

-Ernest Hemingway.

Let's see if CJ knows. Are they right?

I don't know this. I would have guessed at Jean-Paul Sartre.

Whether it has to be a Frenchman or not I don't know but it was...

Albert Camus.

-So, we have to take a life away.

-Least you had an idea.

One of your lives has gone now.

That leaves you in a somewhat critical position.

You have to overhaul CJ, you've got to get more than eight.

You're on one.

Laxton's Fortune is a variety of which fruit?

Is it an apple?

Or is that Laxton's Superb?

Sounds reasonable to me. I haven't got any other idea.

-So...

-Shall we try it?

-Yeah.

-Apple.

-Apple is correct, Mary, well done.

You've got two.

Next question.

The Establishment was a London nightclub

founded in 1961 by which comedian?

Tommy Cooper? Frankie Howerd?

I don't recall them ever starting...

It says "comedian" not an actor.

I was thinking of someone like Peter Sellers. I don't know but...

The Establishment... Trying to think if it links to something.

It's probably someone that's anti-establishment.

Yeah, anti-establishment.

Peter Cook, somebody like that?

-Was he a bit later than that?

-He was a bit later, wasn't he?

Could be Peter Sellers.

-Yeah.

-It is going to be a guess.

We're going to say...Peter Sellers.

If you get this wrong the contest is over cos you're down to one life and

there'll be no chance of winning the £1,800 you so meticulously built up.

CJ?

Sorry, Angela, it's Peter Cook.

Angela, you said the answer. It's Peter Cook.

That's it, you lost your last life.

And you failed to beat CJ's target. Has it been fun?

-It's been brilliant.

-Yes.

-It's certainly been fun for me.

Congratulations, CJ - said through gritted teeth.

You've definitely shown why you're an Egghead.

Join us again next time when CJ will be doing his utmost to crush

another five contestants on Revenge Of The Egghead. Goodbye.