Episode 1 University Challenge

Christmas University Challenge.

Asking the questions, Jeremy Paxman.

Hello. Welcome to a special series of University Challenge for Christmas.

Before I introduce tonight's teams, I want to say one thing.

They're not in the first flush of youth. Their university days are well behind them,

but they'll face the sort of questions we put to the nation's cleverest young people.

Not one of them here tonight needs to be here. They could all have stayed at home exclaiming,

"Don't they know anything nowadays?"

We're driven to the conclusion that they are good sports, bold, foolish or insufferable show-offs.

Thank you all very much. Now the graduates for Reading University include a Turner Prize nominee,

who's a leading sculptor and artist,

a lexicographer who has contributed to a great work of scholarship,

their captain is a prominent writer and campaigner

and their fourth member spends his life pointing at an empty screen.

Let them introduce themselves in the time-honoured manner.

I'm Cornelia Parker. I studied at Reading University doing an MFA in 1982 and I'm an artist.

I'm John Simpson. I took an MA in Medieval Studies at Reading in 1976.

I've recently retired as chief editor of the Oxford English Dictionary.

-And their captain...

-I'm Joan Smith. I did a degree in Latin in the 1970s

and I'm now a novelist, columnist and human rights activist.

I'm Jay Wynne. I graduated from Reading in 1999 with a Master's in Applied Meteorology.

Now I'm a BBC weather presenter.

APPLAUSE

Emmanuel College is represented by a prolific journalist.

Attentive viewers will remember his father's appearance for Edinburgh University in 1966.

He's joined by a commentator on humankind, past and present.

Their captain is the author of the first book on maths to become the UK's number one best-seller

and finally a presenter, occasional man in a boat and comedy writer

with credits on Not The Nine O'Clock News and Alas Smith and Jones.

I'm Hugo Rifkind. I read Philosophy at Emmanuel from 1995-1998

and I'm now a columnist and leader writer for The Times.

I'm Mary-Ann Ochota. I studied Anthropology and Archaeology from 1999-2002

-and now I present programmes about them.

-And their captain...

I'm Simon Singh. I completed a PhD in Particle Physics in 1991 and now I write books about science.

I'm Rory McGrath. I graduated in 1977 from Emmanuel in Modern Languages and I'm currently between jobs.

APPLAUSE

I'll remind you all of the rules. 10 points for starter questions which you answer on your own.

You can confer on bonus questions. They're worth 15 points.

Here's your first starter for 10.

According to the Acts of the Apostles, which saint was stoned to death in around AD35

after being accused of blasphemy? Regarded as the first Christian martyr,

his feast day is celebrated on December 26th.

-St Stephen?

-Correct!

You get the first set of bonuses. They're on TV series that were first broadcast in 1967.

In each case, name the series from the description.

An adaptation of a series of novels by John Galsworthy, starring Eric Porter and Kenneth More.

-The Forsyte Saga.

-Correct. A children's animation by Gordon Murray.

Its episodes include the memorable roll call: "Pugh, Pugh, Barney McGrew, Cuthbert, Dibble and Grubb."

-Trumpton.

-Trumpton.

Correct. And, finally, a psychological spy drama starring Patrick McGoohan

as an abducted secret agent, filmed in Portmeirion.

-The Prisoner.

-The Prisoner.

Well done. 10 points for this starter question.

"Before his arrival, it could be said that rock'n'roll remained a part of the entertainment industry,

"ingratiating itself with its target audience even as it tried equally hard to alienate their parents."

These words begin an obituary of which rock musician who died in October, 2013?

-Lou Reed.

-Correct.

Your first bonuses, Reading, are on the history of pantomime.

Born in 1692, the theatre manager John Rich played a key role in the emergence of pantomime

with productions that often featured which two servant characters from the Commedia dell'arte?

-I need both names.

-Punchinello?

-And...

-Oh, yes.

-No.

And Columbine.

-Sorry?

-Pierrot and Columbine?

-Pierrot and Columbine?

-No, it's Arlecchino and Columbine.

A manager of the Drury Lane theatre from 1747, which actor realised the commercial potential

of Rich's pantomimes, but feared they'd threaten serious productions and limited them to the winter?

-Is that Garrick?

-Kean? Garrick?

-Garrick.

-We think Garrick.

-David Garrick.

Which prominent English music hall entertainer was the star as Dame of Drury Lane's annual pantomime

from 1888 until 1903?

Dan Leno? Or is that too early?

Do you have any idea?

-We'll guess at Dan Leno.

-Correct. Well done.

10 points for this. Robert Fitzwalter, Robert De Vere and Richard De Percy were among

the members of a group of 25 barons responsible for the enforcement of which major document?

-Magna Carta.

-You get a set of bonuses on scientific process.

Derived from the Greek for "aim" or "guess", what mathematical process can be analysed statistically,

but not have its properties precisely predicted?

Do we know?

-It's on the tip of my tongue.

-No, we'll pass on that.

-Stochastic.

Named after a Scottish botanist born in 1773,

what physical phenomenon is a stochastic process consisting of the random motion of particles

suspended in a fluid or gas?

Brownian Motion?

-Brownian Motion.

-Correct. Which scientist published a theory of Brownian Motion in 1905

where he showed that the mean displacement is proportional to the square root of the elapsed time?

-We'll pass on that.

-Albert Einstein. We'll take a picture round now.

For your starter you'll see a series of words in another language.

10 points for the last word of the sequence and the language.

-Hiver. French.

-Correct.

Let's see the whole thing. There it is.

Following on, for your bonuses you'll see three more sequences of seasons in other languages.

In each case, name the language and the missing season.

-Firstly, for five.

-Oh, it's...

Spring, autumn, winter, summer.

-Vierno.

-Nominate Rory.

-Vierno. No, verano, in Spanish.

-No, no.

It's primavera. There it is.

Secondly, let's see this, please.

-Sommer. Sommer, in German.

-Sommer in German?

-Sommer in German.

-Correct.

There it is. And finally...

It's Latin.

Latin for autumn, anyone?

-We'll pass.

-It is Latin and the missing word is "autumnus".

-We should have guessed!

-Right, 10 points at stake for this.

Answer as soon as your name is called. Father Christmas falls from rest down a five-metre chimney.

If the acceleration due to gravity is 10m per second squared,

what, in metres per second, is his velocity on hitting the ground?

50.

No. Anyone from Emmanuel?

-125 metres per second?

-No, it's ten!

Right, 10 points for this. Christmas Pudding was an early novel by which author, born in 1904?

One of the six daughters of the Second Baron Redesdale,

other works include Noblesse Oblige: An Enquiry Into Identifiable Characteristics

of the English Aristocracy and the 1940 novel Love In A Cold Climate.

Jessie Mitford?

No. Anyone from Emmanuel?

-Nancy Mitford?

-It was.

Jessica went to California and became a Communist.

So you get the bonuses on US towns nominally linked to the Christmas season.

Bethlehem Post Office is in which US state? It stamps Christmas mail with an imprint of three wise men,

a tradition begun in 1947 when over 1,000 cards were brought in for posting

by a customer from Louisville.

-Kentucky?

-Kentucky.

-Kentucky.

-Correct. Antler, two miles south of the Canadian border,

is in which US state, situated between Montana and Minnesota?

-North Dakota.

-North Dakota?

-Are you sure?

-North Dakota.

Correct. Christmas Boulevard is in an Indiana town named after which figure?

It boasts a statue of him bearing the inscription, "Dedicated to the children of the world".

-Lincoln?

-For Christmas?

-Oh.

It might be St Nicholas.

-What are our options?

-Santa? St Nicholas?

-St Nicholas?

-No, the town's called Santa Claus.

What first three letters link words for a metallic element named after the Germanic goddess of beauty,

the country formerly known as the New Hebrides, the designer of Blenheim Palace

and a style of beard named after a 17th-century Flemish painter?

-V-A-N.

-That's correct.

You get a set of bonuses now on words with a shared prefix.

In each case, give the word from the definition.

From the Greek for "without food", a verb meaning waste away,

become vestigial during evolution or decline in vigour due to underuse?

- Atro? It's like atrophy. - Atrophy!

So at? At.

What's the word?

-Atrophy.

-Correct. Secondly, a purple quartz gemstone whose name derives

from the Greek for "not intoxicated"? It was thought to protect against drunkenness.

-Amethyst.

-Amethyst.

-Correct.

From a Greek word meaning bottomless, a deep space or chasm?

-Abyss.

-Abyss.

Correct. 10 points for this. Whose film roles include Greta,

a transvestite club performer in the 1997 film Bent,

the eponymous Australian bushranger Ned Kelly in 1970 and in the same year...

-Mick Jagger?

-Correct.

These bonuses are on short stories set at Christmas.

The Story of the Goblins Who Stole A Sexton is set on Christmas Eve, concerns gravedigger Gabriel Grubb

and appears within which of Charles Dickens' novels?

A Christmas Carol?

-Good guess.

-A Christmas Carol.

-No, The Pickwick Papers.

Dancing Dan's Christmas is a work by which US journalist and short story writer,

noted for his use of regional slang and the present tense? He died in New York in 1946.

-Damon Runyon.

-Damon Runyon?

-Damon Runyon.

-Correct. A Kidnapped Santa Claus is a short story of 1904

by which US author of novels for children, noted for his creation of various fantasy worlds?

-US author...

-Dr Seuss?

Who wrote Dr Seuss? Or is it Dr Seuss? Dr Seuss.

No, L Frank Baum.

We're going to take a music round. You'll hear an excerpt from a piece of seasonal orchestral music.

10 points if you can give me the name of the piece.

JAUNTY MUSIC PLAYS

Winter Wonderland?

No. Reading, you may hear a little more.

MUSIC RESUMES

I need an answer now.

-Sleigh Bells?

-No, Sleigh Ride, so we'll take the music bonuses in a moment or two.

Here's another starter. Named after the legendary founder of the Greek city of Thebes,

which toxic metallic element is found in zinc ores and is used in electro-plating,

in control elements in nuclear reactors and in batteries?

-Lead?

-Nope.

-Lithium?

-No, Cadmium, named after Cadmus. Another starter.

Which two initials link the Canadian Prime Minister from 1993-2003,

the French President from 1995-2007, the US President...

-MS?

-No, you lose five points. ..the US President from 1977-1981

and the UK Prime Minister from 1976-1979?

-JC.

-Correct!

You'll be delighted to hear that we follow that music starter,

which was by Leroy Anderson, with three more pieces, all of them associated with sleigh rides.

In each case, name the composer.

MUSIC PLAYS

-No, we'll pass on that.

-It was Mozart, his Sleigh Ride. Secondly, who's this?

MUSIC PLAYS

We could guess.

-Tchaikovsky?

-No, that's Delius' Winter Night. And, finally, who wrote this?

MUSIC PLAYS

-We know the piece, but can't think who it was by.

-It was Prokofiev.

10 points for this starter. Meanings of what four-letter word include

talk, especially that which is misleading or untrue, incorrect behaviour,

a variety of American English associated with the Harlem area of New York and a fast...

-Jive.

-Correct.

Your bonuses are on British birds in the words of David Attenborough. Identify the bird in each case.

Firstly, the two-word name of this bird.

"The male's rich and melodious contribution to the dawn chorus

"includes a repertoire of more than 100 different phrases. They are also known for using stones as anvils

"in order to secure a good meal."

-Song thrush?

-Correct. "I'm sure all of us can recognise this bird from its song,

"but how many of us can say that we've seen the bird itself?

"Wordsworth wrote, 'Shall I call thee bird or but a wandering voice?'"

Cuckoo?

-Nightingale?

-Cuckoo or nightingale?

Nightingale? Cuckoo?

-We'll try nightingale.

-No, it's a cuckoo.

"They are superb aeronauts - feeding, mating and even sleeping on the wing.

"For their first 18 months or so, the young might never land."

-Swifts?

-Correct. 10 points for this.

An image tattooed on a BBC presenter's back notwithstanding,

scorpions, in addition to their pincers, have how many legs?

-Eight.

-Correct.

-Have you got any tattoos?

-I'm not telling you!

Your bonuses are on the solar system. Which planet has the longest day, from sunrise to sunset?

It completes one rotation every 243 Earth days.

I've a feeling it might be Venus.

It's a nearby one.

-We'll go with Venus.

-Yes. Which planet has the lowest average density,

at 700 kilograms per metre cubed, 70% that of water?

-Shall we say Saturn?

-Em...

-Saturn?

-Saturn?

Correct. Finally, which planet exerts the strongest gravitational pull?

-Jupiter.

-Correct.

10 points for this starter. What short surname links the President of South Korea from 1963-1979,

a Scottish explorer who plotted the course of the River Niger

and the creator of Wallace and Gromit?

-Park.

-Park is correct, yes.

Your bonuses are on the tragedies of Shakespeare.

Name the title character whose first spoken lines are as follows.

"So foul and fair a day I have not seen."

-Macbeth.

-Macbeth?

-Macbeth.

-Correct. "Thanks - what's the matter, you dissentious rogues,

"that, rubbing the poor itch of your opinion, make yourselves scabs?"

-Offer something?

-Lear?

- It's not King Lear. - One of the Henrys?

-Othello? Might be Othello.

-Othello?

Coriolanus. Finally, as an aside, "A little more than kin and less than kind."

That might be Hamlet. I'm not sure.

-Romeo?

-Romeo and Juliet?

-Shall we go for King Lear?

-OK. No, I think that's good.

-King Lear?

-No, it's Hamlet.

A second picture round now.

You will see a photograph of a celebration of the winter solstice.

10 points if you can name the country in which it takes place.

Ghana?

No.

-Bhutan?

-No, it's Peru. The Festival of the Sun celebration.

Picture bonuses in a moment or two. Substituting a green band for the blue band of the flag

of the Russian Federation gives a close approximation of the flag of which EU member state?

-Hungary.

-No.

One of you buzz from Reading.

Latvia.

No, it's Bulgaria. I bet you knew that, Rory!

Bad luck. 10 points for this. What term denotes a generator that converts mechanical power to energy

in the form of DC electrical currents through a commutator?

Alternator?

No. Anyone want to buzz from Reading?

Sausages. LAUGHTER

Sausages?! No, it's dynamo.

10 points for this. Serialised in 1962 by the New Yorker magazine,

Silent Spring is a key work of the environmental movement by which US biologist?

-Rachel Carson.

-Correct.

So you get the picture bonuses following on from the Festival of the Sun,

celebrated at Cusco in Peru. More sites around the world that are associated with the winter solstice.

I want you to name the site and the country. All three are in the northern hemisphere.

Firstly, for five.

-Is that Machu Picchu?

-No, that's Mexico.

-Montezuma?

-Is it Mexico?

-We think it's Mexico.

-I need the site.

-Montezuma?

-Montezuma?

-He was a person. It's Chichen Itza.

Secondly...

-No, we don't know.

-That's Newgrange in Ireland.

And, finally, this one.

China, isn't it?

Do we think China?

-Forbidden City, China?

-No, the Temple of Heaven, in China. 10 points for this.

Lady Augusta Gregory, JM Synge and WB Yeats were among the early directors of which theatre...

-Abbey.

-The Abbey theatre in Dublin is correct.

Your bonuses are on cities with noted Christmas markets.

In each case, name the city from its landmarks.

Firstly, which city is home to the High Cathedral of St Peter, the modern art Museum Ludwig

and the Rheinau Harbour?

A harbour. Could it be Hamburg?

-I like Hamburg.

-Or Bremen?

-- I don't know. - Hamburg or Bremen. Good luck.

-Hamburg.

-No, it's Cologne.

Which city is home to the Egmont Palace, the Atomium and the Cinquantenaire Park?

-Can you repeat the question?

-No.

-There was...

-Cinquantenaire Park.

-That's fifty...

-Lyon? Assuming it's not Paris.

-Is there a famous French market? Christmas market?

-Grenoble?

-What about Alpine towns?

-Let's have an answer!

-Grenoble.

No, it's Brussels. Finally, the Frauenkirche, the Semper Opera House

and the Blue Wonder bridge over the River Elbe?

-Where does the Elbe go?

-That's a good question!

-We're not allowed to ask. Berlin? I've got no idea.

-Yeah, go on.

-OK, Vienna?

-No, it's Dresden. Just under three minutes to go. 10 points for this.

Born in 1642, which scientist gives his name to laws of cooling, motion and gravitation,

as well as a numerical method...

-Newton.

-Newton is correct, yes.

Your bonuses are on Prime Ministers and pop music. Name the Premier in office when the following occurred.

The Beatles reached number one in the UK for the first time with From Me To You.

-Is it pre-Macmillan?

-No, it's Macmillan, isn't it?

Macmillan? OK, Macmillan?

It was. Secondly, the release of White Riot, The Clash's first single.

-Margaret Thatcher?

-Yeah.

-Margaret Thatcher?

-No, before her.

Jim Callaghan. Finally, the release of the Spice Girls' debut single, Wannabe.

It's early '90s.

John Major?

-OK, go with that.

-John Major?

-It was John Major, yes.

Listen carefully. Three ships are required to sail out of a harbour on Christmas Day in the morning.

If six ships are moored in the harbour, how many different unordered combinations

of three ships can be chosen?

Six.

-Nope.

-120.

-No, it's twenty!

10 points for this. Mathematician(!) Distinguished in summer by its crimson-red flowers,

the Pohutukawa is known as the Christmas Tree of which Commonwealth country?

Madeira.

-New Zealand?

-Correct, yes.

These bonuses are on the world 100 years ago. Name the country or empire that ruled over

the following present-day capitals in the last days of 1913. Firstly, for five points, Damascus.

-Britain?

-It's Syria, so it probably was.

-Damascus?

-Shall we go for Britain?

-Britain.

-No, it was the Ottoman Empire or Turkey. Secondly, Baku.

Baku was... That's in Uzbeki...

-Austro-Hungary?

-It's Azerbaijan.

-Austro-Hungarian?

-Wait. 1913... Russia?

-OK, Russian?

Correct. And, finally, Zagreb.

-Austro-Hungarian?

-Yeah.

-Austro-Hungarian?

-Correct. 10 points for this. The singer-songwriter, poet and visual artist Patti Smith's

2010 book Just Kids details her relationship with which US...

-Robert Mapplethorpe.

-Correct.

These bonuses, Reading, are on a construction material.

Raking Monk, Rat Trap, Double Flemish and English Cross are among bonds associated with what...

GONG

It was bricks, of course. I'll tell you to satisfy curious viewers.

We have to say goodbye to you, Reading. We may see you again, Emmanuel. 185 is a terrific score.

Only the four highest-scoring winners go through.

Thank you both very much. You didn't have to. Sausages was a very memorable answer.

Thank you all very much. I hope you can join us next time.

Now we'll leave you with proof of just how kind the years have been to tonight's contestants

as we look back on how they were in their student days. Good night.