Brunel University v Reading University University Challenge

Christmas University Challenge.

Asking the questions, Jeremy Paxman.

APPLAUSE

Hello, it's the final heat tonight of this year's attempt

to gauge the lasting value of higher education.

12 teams of graduates have played already,

and we know that Keble College Oxford, University College London

and St John's College Cambridge are through to this year's semifinals.

The team from Southampton will join them as well,

unless tonight's winners can beat their score of 150.

Now, Brunel University London are represented tonight

by a musician and songwriter who co-founded the punk band

Generation X with Billy Idol in the 1970s

and created new wave act Sigue Sigue Sputnik in the '80s.

He's played bass for Sisters of Mercy and is currently

one half of Carbon/Silicon with Mick Jones, formerly of The Clash.

Next to him is a former sprinter whose British record time

over 400 metres still stands today.

A European and world gold medallist and Olympic silver medallist,

he now enjoys a prolific broadcasting career.

He can be seen regularly on The One Show and is one of the main

presenting team for Channel 4's Paralympics coverage.

Their captain played in her first FA Cup final when she was just 15,

and made her senior international debut while taking her A-levels.

Since then, she's racked up over 100 caps for England

and played for several top-flight clubs in both the UK and the USA.

In 2014, she became the first female pundit

on the BBC's Match of the Day.

Their final team member is a doctor of engineering who's spent

most of her career in science communication.

As an advocate for STEM education, she's spoken at the United Nations

and can be seen on the BBC, Al Jazeera

and the Discovery Channel,

talking about the latest news in science and innovation.

She's also recently appeared on Channel 4's Lego Masters,

judging the engineering skills of the UK's finest Lego builders.

Let's meet the Brunel team.

I'm Tony James,

I was at Brunel in the 1970s, reading maths and computer science,

but mainly the NME, and I've been a musician ever since.

I'm Iwan Thomas, I graduated

from Brunel in 1995.

The following year, I got an Olympic silver medal,

and basically, I've been running round in a circle ever since!

And this is their captain.

I'm Eni Aluko,

I graduated from Brunel with a first in law in 2008.

Since then, I've been playing professional football

for Chelsea and I run a sports careers consultancy in London.

I'm Dr Shini Somara,

I studied mechanical engineering and then went on to do my doctorate

in computational fluid dynamics,

and now I report on science, technology and innovation

for television networks and online platforms.

Now, they are up against a team of graduates

from the University of Reading,

who include an evolutionary anthropologist whose work focuses

on the psychology and neurobiology of human relationships.

She has lent her expertise to Channel 4's Married At First Sight

and the BBC's Meet the Humans,

and will soon be publishing her first book for a general audience

on the science of fatherhood.

She is joined by a man who began his television career

as a researcher and then producer at the BBC's Natural History Unit,

but who can now be seen in front of the camera, knee-deep in nature,

as one of the presenters of the BBC's Spring, Autumn

and Winterwatch series.

Their captain worked as a reporter for 20 years before taking on

her present role at the head of Britain's newest political

party, founded in 2015 by Sandi Toksvig and Catherine Mayer.

In 2016, she stood for London Mayor on a platform seeking to close

the city's gender pay gap

and create more affordable housing and childcare.

She is also an ambassador for the National Autistic Society.

Finally, a plant pathologist who began her career

at the Royal Horticultural Society in 1985.

She joined the BBC a few years later

and has been passing on gardening advice on television

and radio ever since,

as a presenter on Gardeners' World for over a decade

and as a regular panellist on Radio 4's Gardeners' Question Time,

where she can still be heard today.

Let's meet the Reading team.

Hello, I'm Anna Machin,

I gained my PhD in archaeology in 2006 from Reading,

and today I'm an academic, science writer and broadcaster.

Hello, I'm Martin Hughes-Games,

I got my degree in zoology from Reading in 1978.

I'm now a very keen motorcyclist and sometime wildlife presenter.

And this is their captain.

Hello, I'm Sophie Walker,

I graduated from Reading in the early '90s

with a degree in French and English,

I worked as a reporter all around the world,

and then I thought I'd have a go at politics,

so I'm now leading Britain's newest political party,

the Women's Equality Party.

Hello, I'm Pippa Greenwood

and I got my Masters degree from Reading in the '80s

in crop protection, and I'm now a gardening writer and broadcaster.

APPLAUSE

OK, the rules are the same as ever, so let's just get on with it.

Fingers on buzzers, here's your first starter for 10.

"Back in 1984, the main premise seemed fairly outrageous,

"that the United States had suffered a coup that had transformed

"an erstwhile liberal democracy

"into a literal-minded, theocratic dictatorship."

These words of Margaret Atwood refer to which of her novels,

adapted into a television series in 2017?

The Handmaid's Tale.

Correct.

Your bonuses, Reading, are on a dish often associated with Christmas.

The modern form of which pudding is usually said to date from a recipe

in Hannah Glasse's The Art of Cookery in 1751,

the first known version to suggest the inclusion of jelly?

THEY CONFER

Trifle.

Correct. Instead of plain whipped cream,

Glasse's recipe calls for a topping of which traditional British

dessert, consisting of cream beaten into a mixture of wine,

sugar and citrus juice or flavouring?

THEY CONFER

What was it, cream...?

Cream, wine... No, wine...

I have no idea, sorry.

I was going to say zabaglione, but that's Italian.

-No, exactly. It's not traditional British, is it?

-No.

No, go on, we'll have to pass.

I don't think they have an answer, please.

Er, well... I'm going to guess,

I'm going to say custard, even though none of us think it's that.

-Why are you saying it, then?

-It's better than saying pass!

It's better than saying pass!

It's syllabub.

-ALL:

-Ohh!

And finally, the base of Glasse's trifle includes ratafia cakes,

popular in the Georgian era

and flavoured with both sweet and bitter varieties

of what edible seed, often regarded as a nut?

THEY CONFER

We think almond.

Correct. Right, 10 points for this.

Used for religious instruction

with images representing virtues and vices,

the Indian Moksha Patamu is generally thought to be

the origin of which children's board game?

An American version of the game was released in 1943,

with chutes replacing the more fearsome reptiles.

Snakes and Ladders.

Correct.

Right, your bonuses this time, Reading, are on animals

whose common names combine two other animal names -

for example, zebra shark and fish eagle.

Give the name from the description in each case.

Firstly, Lithobates catesbeiana,

a large amphibian of North America named after its loud call.

THEY CONFER

Bullfrog.

Correct. Secondly, insects of the family Tabanidae,

for example, the black-horned cleg -

females feed on the blood of large mammals.

Horsefly?

Horsefly.

Correct. And finally, decapods of the family Majidae,

characterised by long, slender legs.

Crane flies?

Crane flies have got six legs.

-They've got six legs, he said 10.

-10 legs. Decapods...

-WHISPERING:

-Try dragonfly.

No, because they've got six legs as well, they're insects.

Decapods...

Come on, let's have an answer.

-No, I don't know.

-Fairy shrimp!

-THEY LAUGH

-What?!

-Do I really have to say that?

-Well...

A fairy shrimp!

No, it's a spider crab.

Of course it is!

10 points for this.

Quote, "I do like Christmas on the whole.

"In its clumsy way, it does approach peace and goodwill,

"but, oh, it is clumsier every year."

In which novel by EM Forster does Margaret Schlegel say those words

to Mrs Wilcox?

Howard's End.

Correct.

Right, your bonuses, Reading, are on an entertainer.

Firstly, for five -

"Now, I go cleaning windows to earn an honest bob.

"For a nosy parker, it's an interesting job."

These words begin a 1937 song by which popular entertainer?

Is it Norman Wisdom?

George... George Formby.

George Formby.

Correct.

Quote, "If the public wants to listen to Formby

"singing his disgusting little ditty, they'll have to be content

"to hear it in the cinemas, not over the nation's airwaves."

Which director-general of the BBC said that?

-Lord Reith?

-It's Reith.

-It's got to be Reith.

Reith.

It was Lord John Reith, yes.

And finally, "I love George Formby, I know all his songs

"and I can sing them."

According to an anecdote published in several leading newspapers,

which senior public figure said that?

THEY CONFER

Come on, let's have it.

The Queen.

It is the Queen, yes.

Right, we're going to take a picture round now.

For your picture starter, you will see a map of Canada.

For 10 points, please tell me the province highlighted.

Ottawa.

Anyone like to buzz from Reading?

Ontario?

No, it's Quebec. Ottawa's not even a province.

Right, we'll pick up the picture bonuses in a moment or two.

In the meantime, here's a starter question.

Books on the Parthenon, pagan priests

and the pioneering classicist Jane Ellen Harrison

are among the works of which scholar, born in Shropshire in 1955?

She is the author of the blog A Don's Life

and has presented television series including Pompeii

and Meet the Romans.

You may not confer. One of you can buzz.

Mary Beard?

Mary Beard is right, yes.

So, you get the picture bonuses then, Reading.

2017 marks 150 years since the first British North America Act,

which united several Canadian provinces as one dominion

under the name of Canada,

laying the foundation for the modern-day country.

Quebec was one of the first group in that configuration.

For your picture bonuses, name three more.

Firstly, for five...

That's Nova Scotia.

THEY CONFER

Prince Edward Island.

No, that's Nova Scotia.

I said that!

Secondly... Come on!

THEY CONFER

-Shall we pass?

-Afraid so.

-Pass.

That's New Brunswick. And finally...

If we look at it really hard, will we figure it out?

Ontario, is it?

Ontario, because Lake Superior backs onto it.

I think it's Ontario.

Ontario.

That is Ontario, larger now than at the time of the Act, of course.

10 points for this starter question.

For what do the letters EM stand in the expression cryo-EM,

for which three scientists won the Nobel Prize in chemistry

in autumn 2017?

Embryo?

No. Anyone like to buzz from Reading?

You may not confer. One of you can buzz.

Electromagnetic?

No, it's electron microscopy.

So we're going to take another starter question now.

At the 2017 World Athletic Championships in London,

participants from which country

competed as "authorised neutral..."?

Russia.

-Russia is correct, yes. Well done.

-Get in there.

Right. Your first bonuses are on relatives of Rudolph -

that is, other species of the Cervidae or deer family.

Native to Britain, Capreolus capreolus has what common name

from a Germanic word referring to an indefinite dusky colour?

Can you repeat the question, or not?

-No, I'm not going to repeat the question.

-I thought I'd ask.

Crikey. You're harder than Sue Barker.

That's damning with faint praise, isn't it?

Do you have any idea over there, or not?

I can't remember the question.

-We genuinely can't remember the question.

-It was so long ago.

You've all gone to sleep, for heaven's sake.

It's a roe deer.

Secondly, what is the single-word common name of the barking deer?

Two species of this deer have been introduced in Britain

and are often considered to be invasive.

OK. Any deer.

Do you know any type of deer?

No. We don't know.

No i-DEER.

The old ones are the best, aren't they?

It's a muntjac. And finally, the Eurasian elk, Alces alces,

is the largest living member of the deer family.

By what five-letter name is it commonly known in North America?

THEY CONFER

Moose. Moose.

Moose.

Moose is correct, yes!

Right. A starter question for ten points.

Referring to a general type of built-up area,

what word links a 1990 first novel by Hanif Kureishi,

a 1986 song by the Pet Shop Boys...

Suburbia. Suburbia.

Suburbia is correct, yes.

You get a set of bonuses on British film directors, Brunel.

Born in Glasgow in 1969,

Lynne Ramsay's films as director include Ratcatcher in 1999,

Morvern Callar in 2002, and which 2011 film

based on a novel by Lionel Shriver?

THEY CONFER

No. No.

No, sorry, pass.

It's We Need To Talk About Kevin.

Secondly, born in Bristol in 1957

and also noted for her work in theatre and opera,

which director's films include Mamma Mia!

and The Iron Lady, both of which starred Meryl Streep?

THEY CONFER

Born in Bristol.

Right, I think we'll have an answer, please.

I can't think of a...

The female director I'm thinking of

is not British, that's the only thing.

OK, well, in that case, you haven't got an answer.

It's Phyllida Lloyd.

And finally, which award-winning director was born in London in 1949

and made her first 8mm film at the age of 14?

Her output includes the 1992 film Orlando,

and in 2017, The Party.

THEY CONFER

-Do you know?

-No.

-It's Sally Potter.

Right, we're going to take a music round now.

You'll hear a piece of popular music. For ten points,

give me the name of the band performing.

# I got a feeling inside of me

# It's kind of strange like a stormy sea... #

The Damned.

It is The Damned, New Rose.

2017 marks 40 years since the debut album of The Damned,

which is widely regarded as the first British punk album.

Your music bonuses are tracks from

three more notable debut albums of 1977 by British punk bands.

Five points for each band you can name. Firstly:

# Didn't have the money round to buy a Morry Thou

# Been around and seen a lot to shake me anyhow... #

-Stranglers?

-The Stranglers is right. Secondly:

GUITAR INTRO

# Saw you in a mag, kissing a man

# Saw you in a mag, kissing a man

# Saw you in a mag, kissing a man

# Saw you in a mag, kissing a man, yeah... #

Did he say English punk bands?

Say Buzzcocks, but I don't think it is.

Buzzcocks.

No, that's Wire. And finally:

# White riot - I wanna riot

# White riot - a riot of my own... #

The Clash.

That is the Clash, yes.

Right, ten points for this. What is the botanical name

of the ornamental evergreen shrub that has a variety called Red Robin

and the common name Christmas berry?

Cranberry.

No. Anyone like to buzz from Reading?

-Photinia?

-Photinia is correct, yes.

You'd never have been allowed to

appear on Gardeners' Question Time again if you hadn't got that.

Right, these bonuses, Reading, are on Sir Humphry Davy.

Firstly, what name is now given to the process that formed the subject

of Davy's 1806 lecture on some chemical agencies of electricity?

He argued that it offered the best likelihood of decomposing

or isolating substances to their elements.

THEY CONFER

-Electrolysis.

-Correct.

In 1810, Davy demonstrated that chlorine was an element

rather than an oxygen compound,

thereby negating which French chemist's theory

that all acids contain oxygen?

-Lavoisier.

-Correct.

In 1813, Davy and his assistant Michael Faraday

were invited to France to investigate Substance X,

which he identified as an element similar to chlorine.

It was given what name, from the Greek for violet-coloured?

THEY CONFER

Fluorine?

No, it's iodine.

Ten points for this.

"What I love more than anything in London is the fog."

These are the words of which French artist

whose visits to London from the 1870s

resulted in a series of paintings depicting...

Monet.

Monet is correct, yes.

You get a set of bonuses this time on famous Carols.

Firstly, the US actress, singer and comedian Carol Channing

originated the title role in which musical

when it opened on Broadway in 1964?

It was based on Thornton Wilder's The Merchant of Yonkers.

THEY CONFER

Is it White Christmas?

-No, it's Hello, Dolly!

-OK.

Secondly, the 20th-century monarch Carol II

had the unusual distinction

of being preceded and succeeded by his son.

Of which country was he king?

Poland.

-No, it was Romania.

-Oh, sorry!

Finally, written for an event in Leicester Cathedral in 2015,

who's the subject of Carol Ann Duffy's poem

which includes the lines,

"My skull scarred by a crown, emptied of history"?

-Richard III.

-Correct.

Right. We're going to take a second picture round.

You'll see a still from a film.

Ten points if you can give me the film's title.

Bonnie and Clyde.

Correct.

2017 marks the 50th anniversary of the release of Bonnie and Clyde,

regarded by many critics as marking the start

of an American New Wave.

For your picture bonuses, stills from three more films

also viewed as defining this new Hollywood,

and all likewise released in 1967.

Firstly for five, the title of this film.

THEY CONFER

Is it Look Who's Coming to Dinner?

No, it's In The Heat of the Night.

That's Sidney Poitier and Rod Steiger.

Secondly, this film.

THEY CONFER

Hud.

No, that's Cool Hand Luke.

And finally, this film:

Oh, The Graduate.

It is The Graduate, yes.

Right. Ten points for this.

Born in Cairo in 1910, which chemist's determination

of the structure of penicillin and vitamin B12

won her the 1964 Nobel Prize for Chemistry?

It's Dorothy Hodgkin. Ten points for this.

Which play of 1879 opens with its protagonist

returning in high spirits from Christmas shopping

accompanied by a porter bearing a tree for the family?

By act two, the tree is dishevelled and stripped of its ornaments,

and the heroine Nora is pacing the room uneasily.

-A Doll's House.

-Correct.

Right, you get three bonuses on women space pioneers.

Firstly for five points, which 2016 Oscar-nominated film

concerns Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan and Mary Jackson,

a group of African-American mathematicians

who played a key role in John Glenn's 1962 launch into orbit?

-Hidden Figures.

-Correct. In 1999,

who became the first female commander of a space shuttle,

leading a Columbia mission

to deploy the Chandra X-ray Observatory?

THEY CONFER

Was it Sally Ride?

No, it's Eileen Collins. And finally,

on June 16th 2012,

Liu Yang became the first Chinese woman in space,

49 years to the day since which cosmonaut

became the first female space traveller?

It's a bit too Russian.

I'll tell you, it's Valentina Tereshkova. Ten points for this.

"Hands off the BBC", "Tell her to read the Guardian"

and "Get your skates on, the first race is half past two"

are among the heckles delivered by which long-serving MP

during state openings of Parliament?

-Dennis Skinner.

-Correct.

Right, your bonuses this time, Reading, are on shorter words

that can be formed from the letters of the name Santa Claus.

Identify each term from the definition.

Firstly, named after a figure in Greek mythology...

GONG

And at the gong, Brunel University have 45,

Reading University have 155.

Well, you did well on music, Brunel.

There's no shame in that.

Reading, congratulations to you.

That means that you will be coming back in one of the semifinals.

Thank you very much for joining us.

The final line-up then, in the semifinal stage of the competition,

is as follows.

I hope you can join us next time for the first of those semifinals

-but until then it's goodbye from Brunel University...

-Thank you.

-Bye.

..it's goodbye from Reading University...

-Goodbye.

-..and goodbye from me. Goodbye.