Episode 8 University Challenge

APPLAUSE

Asking the questions, Jeremy Paxman.

Hello.

10 teams of distinguished graduates bravely put themselves forward

to entertain us over the holiday season by trying to answer

the kind of questions we usually throw at the country's brightest students.

The top two now meet in the final match.

A film director, a teacher, an expert on transport and an actress

make up the graduates from the University of Warwick,

who beat the universities of Sheffield and Edinburgh to get here.

Let's ask them to reintroduce themselves.

Hi, I'm Vadim Jean.

I graduated in 1986 in History,

and I now produce and direct films at The Mob.

Hi, I'm Daisy Christodoulou. I graduated from Warwick in 2007,

and I currently teach English at an outstanding school,

Pimlico Academy in London.

And their captain...

I'm Christian Wolmar. I graduated in 1971 with a degree in Economics.

I'm a journalist specialising in transport,

and I also write railway history books.

Hi, I'm Carla Mendonca.

I graduated from Warwick in 1983 with a degree in Theatre Studies

and Dramatic Arts, and not surprisingly, I'm an actress.

APPLAUSE

Their opponents are the team from Trinity College, Cambridge.

They're a teacher, a TV producer, a comedy impresario

and a broadcast journalist.

To get here, they've already beaten teams from St Andrews University

and Magdalen College, Oxford.

So, let's have the pleasure once more with them.

Hi, I'm Robin Bhattacharyya.

I graduated from Trinity in Maths in 1995. Now I'm a Maths teacher

at Loughborough Grammar School.

Hi, I'm Daisy Goodwin.

I read History in the '80s, and now I'm a TV producer and a novelist.

And their captain...

Hello, I'm John Lloyd. I graduated from Trinity in 1973

with a Law degree, and I'm the founder and series producer of QI.

I'm Edward Stourton. I read English and graduated in 1979,

and I'm a Radio 4 broadcaster.

APPLAUSE

We won't waste any time reciting the rules. Let's just get on with it.

Here's your first starter for 10.

Which cricketer, who died in November 2011,

gives his name to the trophy awarded to...

-Basil D'Oliveira.

-Correct.

APPLAUSE

Your bonuses are on the Academy Awards.

I will name three films that were

nominated for the Best Picture Award in the same year, but failed to win.

In each case, name the film that DID win.

Firstly for five, Frost/Nixon, The Reader and Milk.

THEY CONFER

The Departed?

No, it was Slumdog Millionaire in 2008.

Secondly, Brokeback Mountain, Munich and Capote.

THEY CONFER

Can't do.

They were all beaten by Crash.

And finally, Black Swan, Inception and Toy Story 3.

That was last year. And it was...The King's Speech

-The King's Speech.

-Correct. 10 points for this starter question.

Which line of the London Underground has stations

whose names may be described as the FA Cup winners in 1964,

William Hague's constituency, and...

-District.

-Well done.

APPLAUSE

Your bonuses, Warwick, are on naughtiness. In each case,

give the title and the author of the work in which

the following lines appear.

"You are to live here for the next six months,

"learning how to speak beautifully like a lady in a florists' shop.

"If you're naughty and idle, you will sleep in the back kitchen

"among the black beetles, and be walloped by Mrs Pierce

with a broomstick."

George Bernard Shaw, Pygmalion.

Correct. "In the afternoon, the old lady was informed by everyone

"that the shoes were red. She said it was naughty and unsuitable,

"and that when Karen went to church in future,

"she should always go in black shoes, even if they were old."

Karen? A novel with Karen in.

I just can't think. Try the Narnia. CS Lewis.

-CS Lewis?

-No, it's The Red Shoes by Hans Christian Andersen. Finally,

"Once at the number three, being the third number to be reached,

"then lobbest thou thy Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch

"towards thy foe, who being naughty in my sight shall snuff it."

In which work of 1975 did those words appear?

-Monty Python And The Holy Grail.

-Monty Python And The Holy Grail.

Correct. Right, 10 points for this starter question.

Give the precise two-word description of the region

of the world specified by President Eisenhower in a speech

of January 1957...

The Iron Curtain.

No, I'm afraid you lose five points.

In a speech of January 1957,

in which he outlined a doctrine that offered military

and economic support for the containment of Soviet influence.

The Marshall Plan?

No, it's the Middle East. 10 points for this.

Which publishing house was established in 1917

by Virginia and Leonard Woolf using a...?

Bloomsbury.

No, you lose five points. Using a small hand press in their...

-Hogarth.

-Hogarth is correct, yes.

APPLAUSE

Right, bonuses on Hamburgers now.

40 operas and oratorios, and the overture known as

the Water Music are among the works of which composer?

An influence on Handel, he was the music director

of Hamburg's five main churches from 1721 until his death in 1767.

Bach's before. Handel, Haydn.

-Vadim.

-Haydn?

No, it's Telemann. Born in Hamburg in 1809,

which composer's work includes the Reformation and Scottish symphonies?

Brahms. Brahms.

-Brahms.

-No, Mendelssohn.

The Academic Festival Overture and the German Requiem, first performed

in 1869, are among the works of which Hamburg-born composer?

THEY CONFER

Born in 1869.

Mahler.

-Mahler?

-Yes.

-Mahler?

-No, it's Brahms. Right, a picture round.

You're going to see a map with a major city highlighted.

For 10 points, name the city.

-Beijing.

-Correct.

APPLAUSE

As you doubtless know, the Beijing Municipality is

one of the 33 province divisions administered by

the People's Republic of China.

For your bonuses, maps showing three more provinces.

Simply give me their names. Firstly for five...

Guangdong. Guangdong.

-Guangdong.

-Correct. Secondly...

I think it's Gansu.

-Gansu.

-Correct. And finally.

And Sichuan.

-Sichuan.

-Well done.

10 points for this starter question.

Initially described as a solution looking for a problem,

and somewhat fancifully as a death ray that is brighter than

the sun, the first successful version of what device was built...

-A laser?

-Laser is correct, yes.

APPLAUSE

Your bonuses are on astronomy, Trinity College.

I want you to identify each

astronomer from his description in the Astronomer's Drinking Song,

published in 1866 by the British mathematician, Augustus De Morgan.

Which astronomer "believed the earth stood still, sir.

"He never would have blundered so, had he but drunk his fill, sir."?

THEY CONFER

-Er, Aristotle?

-No, it's Ptolemy.

And who "placed the stars each in its due location.

"He lost his nose by spite of Mars, but that was no probation."?

-Er, Tycho Brahe.

-Correct.

Who sings, "Whate'er you think you prove,

"the earth must go its way, sirs. "Spite of your teeth,

"I'll make it move, for I'll drink my bottle a day, sirs."?

THEY CONFER

We'll go for Copernicus.

No, it's Galileo. 10 points for this.

"University Challenge, which I watch every week,

"is the BBC programme that I admire above all others."

This sentence contains examples of two different types

of relative clause. For 10 points, name both.

"Which" and "It's?" Oh...sorry...

No, anyone like to buzz from Trinity?

-Subordinate and conditional?

-No, non-restrictive and restrictive.

10 points for this.

Between 1929 and 1938, which Essex rectory became

the subject of a controversial series of ghost hunts?

-Borley.

-Borley is right, yes.

APPLAUSE

You've taken the lead. Your bonuses are on homophones, Trinity College.

Words with a similar pronunciation but different spelling.

Spell both words from the definitions.

Firstly, a film director regarded as the creator of works

which reflect their personal vision, and proud haughtiness of manner.

THEY CONFER

-No, it's auteur and hauteur.

-Go on.

A-U-T-E-U-R and H-A-U-T-E-U-R.

Correct. Secondly, relating to the section of the spine between

the lowest rib and the pelvis, and articles of furniture stored away

and out of use.

OK, it's lumbar, er...

-L-A... L-U-M-B-A-R, and L-U-M-B-E-R.

-Correct.

Finally, to condescend to do something,

and native of Aalborg, Esbjerg or Aarhus.

Dane and deign.

-OK, it's "Dane" and "deign." D-A-N-E and D-E-I-G-N.

-Correct.

APPLAUSE

Another starter question now.

Charles Dickens wrote six full-length novels with titles

that do not include a character's name.

A Tale Of Two Cities is one. For 10 points, name three of the others.

The Old Curiosity Shop, Our Mutual Friend and Bleak House.

Correct. The others are Great Expectations and Hard Times.

You get the bonuses. This time, they're on fortune in Shakespeare.

In each case, identify both the play and the character who's speaking.

"O Fortune, Fortune! All men call thee fickle."

THEY CONFER

-Antony in Antony And Cleopatra.

-No, it's Juliet in Romeo and Juliet.

Secondly, "My desolation does begin to make a better life.

"Tis paltry to be Caesar. Not being Fortune, he's but Fortune's knave."

THEY CONFER

Antony and Cleopatra, and...

Antony.

No, it's Cleopatra in Antony and Cleopatra. Bad luck.

Finally, "There is a tide in the affairs of men,

"which taken at the flood leads on to fortune."

THEY CONFER

-Macbeth?

-No, it's Brutus in Julius Caesar. 10 points for this.

The Monarch's Way is a long-distance footpath that runs through

Boscobel, Stratford-upon-Avon, the Mendips and Shoreham,

following the route believed to have been taken by which king,

when he fled after defeat at the Battle...

Er, Henry...VII?

No, I'm afraid you lose five points.

After defeat at the Battle of Worcester.

You may not confer. One of you may buzz.

-Sorry, erm, Charles II.

-Charles II is right, yes.

Your bonuses this time are on war photographers, Trinity College.

Born in Lancashire in 1819, Roger Fenton is best known

for the photographs he took of which war for the Illustrated London News?

-The Boer War?

-No, it's the Crimean War.

Its authenticity the subject of dispute, The Falling Soldier

by Hungarian-born Robert Capa, is a much-published photograph

-from which conflict?

-The Spanish Civil War.

-Correct.

During which war did Margaret Bourke-White become

the first female photographer to be attached to the US Armed Forces?

THEY CONFER

Korean?

Korean War.

No, it's World War II. Another starter question.

Which is the only vowel that does not appear on

the topmost row of letters in the standard layout of...

-A.

-A is correct, yes, on a standard keyboard.

APPLAUSE

These bonuses are on names that begin with the letters AV.

In each case, give the name from the description. Firstly...

A nomadic people from Central Asia,

who established an empire in Central Europe from the 6th century.

They were later defeated by Charlemagne.

-The Avars.

-The Avars.

-Correct.

Secondly, an Islamic philosopher born in Cordoba in 1137.

In Arabic, he's known as Ibn Rushd.

THEY CONFER

-Avicenna?

-No, it's Averroes.

Finally, a city on the Rhone that was the residence of the Popes

from 1309 to 1377.

-That's Avignon.

-It is Avignon, yes.

Time for a music round. Your music starter is a song that was

number one in the UK in the week that a prime minister was elected.

For 10 points, name the artist and the prime minister.

# Bright eyes Burning like fire... #

Erm, Simon and Garfunkel, Jim Callaghan.

No, Trinity?

Simon and Garfunkel, Margaret Thatcher.

No, it was ART Garfunkel.

It was Margaret Thatcher. I can't accept that.

So, music bonuses rather shortly. Here's a starter question.

What name was given to the members of German guilds

of the 14th to the 16th century devoted to the encouragement

of poetry and music subject to rigid rules?

Their activities formed the basis

for an opera by Wagner set in Nuremberg...

-The Meistersingers.

-Correct.

APPLAUSE

OK, music bonuses. You'll hear three songs that were number one

when a prime minister came to power,

not necessarily through a general election.

Again, in each case, for five points,

I want the artist or band AND the prime minister.

Firstly, for five.

# In the summertime When the weather is hot

# You can stretch right up And touch the sky

# When the weather's fine

# You got women You got women on your mind

# Have a drink Have a drive

# Go out and see what you can find... #

It's Mungo Jerry, and we think it's Harold Wilson.

No, it was Mungo Jerry and Edward Heath. It was 1970.

You were a bit too late. Secondly...

You broke my heart

Cos I couldn't dance

You didn't even want me around

But now, I'm back to let you know That I can really shake 'em down

-# Do you love me?

-I can really move

-# Now do you love me?

-I'm in the groove

# Oh, do you love me?

# Do you really love me?

# Now that I can da-a-a-a-a-a-a... #

Come on.

THEY CONFER

-I need an answer.

-Gerry and the Pacemakers...

No, Brian Poole & The Tremeloes. It was Sir Alec Douglas-Home. Finally.

# Now that it's raining more than ever

# Know that we'll still have each other

# You can stand under my umbrella

# You can stand under my umbrella... #

-It's Rihanna and Gordon Brown.

-Spot on.

10 points for this. Answer as soon as you buzz.

Since 1961, four US State Governors have gone on to become president,

the most recent being George W Bush.

For 10 points, name two of the others.

Er, Reagan and Ford.

No, anyone like to buzz from Trinity?

-Reagan and Clinton.

-Correct, the other one was Carter.

Right, you're going to get a set of bonuses this time,

Trinity College, on contemporary fashion designers.

Born in New York in 1963, which designer was nicknamed

"the Guru of Grunge," because of the influence his clothing had

on the Seattle music scene?

By the late 1990s, he was artistic director of Louis Vuitton.

-Mark Jacobson.

-Corr...no.

-Mark Jacobs.

No, I'm sorry, you said Jacobson, It's wrong. It's Mark Jacobs.

Spend more time with your fashion consultant.

Secondly for five points, Sole Desire,

a 2008 exhibition at New York's Fashion Institute of Technology,

was the first to be devoted to the creations of which

shoe designer, distinguishable by their bright red soles?

Christian Louboutin.

Christian Louboutin.

That's correct. You'd never heard of it, had you?!

No!

Born in Strasbourg, a professional ballet dancer in his teens,

who returned in 2009 after a break of several years

to create the stage costumes for Beyonce's world tour?

INAUDIBLE

Er...we'll go for Karl Lagerfeld.

No, it's Thierry Mugler, apparently. 10 points for this.

In Physics, what describes the process

of varying an electromagnetic wave

or oscillating signal, especially in order to impress a signal on it?

It's usually preceded by a noun such as "frequency" or "pulse."

-Modulation.

-Modulation is correct.

APPLAUSE

These bonuses are on military operations of World War II.

Unrealised because of problems of defence,

Icarus was the codename for the proposed German invasion

of which island, occupied by British forces in May 1940?

Crete? >

They did go into Crete. Maybe Malta. They wanted to get to Malta.

THEY CONFER

-Crete.

-No, that was later. It's Iceland.

Operation Mercury saw the German capture of which

Mediterranean island, largely by airborne forces in June 1941?

THEY CONFER

-Crete?

-That is Crete, yes.

What marine animal gives its name

to the projected German invasion of Britain in 1940?

-Sea lion.

-Sea lion is right. 10 points for this.

Following the example of the Cadbury Brothers' model at Bournville,

which manufacturer and philanthropist

developed the model village of New Earswick, northeast of York?

-Rowntree?

-Joseph Rowntree is correct, yes.

APPLAUSE

Right, you're back in the game.

These bonuses are on shorter words that can be made

from any of the seven letters of the word "oarsman."

Give the word from the description.

Firstly, a gigantic extinct New Zealand bird resembling an ostrich.

THEY CONFER

-A roa?

-No, it's a moa.

Secondly, the plural of the term for the third stomach of a ruminant.

THEY CONFER

Manse?

No, it's an...very good, no it's not. There's no E in it. It's Omasa.

Finally, an acronym for the paperwork

for a registered vehicle that's not being used on the public highway.

Oh, I know this. It's...

< SORN. S-O-R-N.

SORN, S-O-R-N.

Indeed. Statutory Off Road Notification.

We're going to take a second picture round.

You will see a portrait of a famous actress.

10 points if you can identify her.

Nell Gwyn?

No, one of you buzz from Trinity.

-Mrs Siddons.

-It is Sarah Siddons, yes.

APPLAUSE

She was regarded as one of the greatest actresses of her time.

She inspired many contemporary painters following that portrait.

Your bonuses are three more 18th-century portraits of Sarah Siddons.

In each case, I want the name of the artist, please. Firstly...

THEY CONFER

-We'll try Lely.

-No, that's by Sir Joshua Reynolds.

Secondly....

THEY CONFER

-Lely?

-No, that's by Angelica Kauffmann.

And finally...

THEY CONFER

-Gainsborough.

-Inimitably. 10 points for this.

Originally built in 1420 overlooking a narrow outlet of

the Baltic Sea, Kronborg Castle inspired the setting of which of Shake...?

-Hamlet.

-Hamlet is correct, yes.

APPLAUSE

Your bonuses are on horse racing. Recent winners of which classic race

include Pour Moi, Workforce and See The Stars?

THEY CONFER

-1,000 Guineas.

-No, it's the Derby.

Who won the Derby with Ladas in 1894,

while in office as Prime Minister?

THEY CONFER

-Rosebery?

-Correct. Which horse won the Derby in 1981

by a record 10 lengths?

THEY CONFER

-Garrisons.

-No, it's Shergar. Four minutes to go, 10 points for this.

Differing by a single letter, what two verbs

are what Oliver Goldsmith's Miss Hardcastle did in order to conquer,

-and what WH Auden...

-"Stoops" and "stoop?"

No, you lose five points.

..that WH Auden demanded be done to the clocks in Funeral Blues.

-"Stoop" and "stop."

-Correct.

APPLAUSE

Your bonuses are on US cities, Trinity College.

Specifically, those whose names begin and end with the same letter.

Name the city from the description.

Firstly, a city of northwestern Pennsylvania

that shares its name with the lake on whose shore it stands.

-Erie.

-Correct.

The county seat of Monterey, California,

the home town of John Steinbeck.

-Come on, let's have it.

-We'll pass.

-It's Salinas.

And finally, the New England city that is home to Yale University.

-New Haven.

-New Haven.

-Correct. Three minutes to go, another starter.

From that of a marshal of France, what name was originally given

to a confection made by browning almonds or other nuts in boiling...

-Napoleon?

-No, I'm afraid you lose five points.

..but now usually refers to a smooth paste made from this,

often used as a filling in chocolates.

-Marzipan?

-No, it's Praline. 10 points for this.

Named after the Japanese-born scientist who helped develop it

at Chicago University in the 1970s, the Fujita scale has been used

to measure the intensity of which meteorological phenomenon?

-Volcanoes.

-Anyone like to buzz from Trinity?

-Tornadoes?

-Tornadoes is correct, yes.

APPLAUSE

Trinity, these bonuses are on physiology.

Among many other metabolic functions,

which organ is responsible for glycogenesis and glycogenolysis?

Liver?

-The liver?

-Correct.

The liver is a major site for the synthesis of which steroid lipid,

a component of the lipoproteins of plasma and cell membranes?

-We don't know.

-It's cholesterol. And which general type,

finally, of infectious agent causes hepatitis A, B and C?

-Pass.

-It's viruses.

10 points for this.

How are Charles Bruno and Guy Haines described,

in the title of Patricia Highsmith's debut novel?

Published in 1950, it was later made into a film by Alfred Hitchcock.

-Strangers On A Train.

-Correct.

APPLAUSE

Your bonuses are on debut novels.

In a title of a 2003 debut novel, what sobriquet is given to

Clare Abshire because of the unusual abilities of her husband,

Henry DeTamble?

-Let's have it.

-We don't know.

-The Time Traveler's Wife.

After a pursuit at which he excels, how is the boy Hassan described

in the title of a 2003 debut novel?

-The Kite Runner.

-The Kite Runner.

-Correct. Who is the title character

of DBC Pierre's debut novel, which won the Booker Prize in 2003?

THEY CONFER

Let's have it, please.

-We'll pass.

-It's Vernon God Little.

10 points for this. The years 1838, 1878

and 1919 saw the start of armed conflicts in which Britain, from its

base in India, attempted to extend its control over which country?

-Afghanistan.

-Correct.

APPLAUSE

Your bonuses are on European universities.

Name the university that links the following.

All three were founded during the 15th century.

Firstly, the mathematicians Johann Bernoulli and Leonhard Euler,

-and the psychiatrist Carl Jung.

-Basel?

-Correct, secondly,

the mathematician Gottfried Leibniz, the composer Richard Wagner

and Chancellor Angela Merkel.

THEY CONFER

-We'll go for Leipzig.

-Correct. Finally,

the astronomer Anders Celsius, the chemist Jons Jacob Berzelius,

and the playwright August Strindberg.

THEY CONFER

Quickly.

-Come on.

-Stockholm.

-No, it's Uppsala, and at the gong,

the University of Warwick have 60, Trinity College, Cambridge have 235.

Well, you were nothing like on your best form tonight, Warwick.

It's been a pleasure to have you. Congratulations to you, Trinity.

Everyone here tonight is old enough to know better.

It was bold of you to put yourselves up, and many congratulations.

That's it for this Christmas series, not a leftover mince pie in sight.

In fact, I don't think we've seen a single turkey.

Thanks for watching. Normal service will be resumed shortly. Goodbye.

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