Eggheads (TV series)

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This article is about the British game show. For other uses, see Egghead (disambiguation).
Eggheads

Eggheads intertitle
Format Game show
Presented by Dermot Murnaghan
(Series 1 - 8, 10 - present)
Jeremy Vine
(Series 9)
Starring Judith Keppel
Kevin Ashman
CJ de Mooi
Daphne Fowler
Christopher Hughes
Barry Simmons (2008-present)
Country of origin United Kingdom
No. of series 10
No. of episodes 544 (ongoing daily) (as of 22 May 2009)
Production
Executive producer(s) David Young
Andy Culpin
Running time 30 minutes
Production company(s) 12 Yard
Broadcast
Original channel BBC One
(10 November 2003 - 16 December 2004)
BBC Two
(23 May 2005 - present)
Picture format 16:9
Original run 10 November 2003 – Repeating Series 7 at present

Eggheads is a BBC quiz show, first broadcast in 2003, presented by Dermot Murnaghan. For the 2008 series, Jeremy Vine was brought in to present on nights when Murnaghan was hosting the spinoff series, Are You an Egghead?.[1] The show pits a team of 'Eggheads' (made up of six highly regarded quiz and game show champions, rotating each episode) against a series of 'Challengers' who in each episode attempt to beat the Eggheads through a series of rounds.

Contents

[edit] "Eggheads"

The quiz champions who compete on the show as the titular "Eggheads" are:

[edit] Celebrity Eggheads

On 15 December 2008, a special edition of Eggheads began, airing 5 shows of Celebrity Eggheads, ending on 19 December 2008 presented by Dermot Murnaghan.

The teams (all playing for charity):

[edit] Sixth Egghead

In May 2008, auditions began for a sixth person to join the Eggheads team.[1][3][4] These auditions were developed into a spin-off show, Are You an Egghead?, presented by Dermot Murnaghan. This began airing on BBC2 on 20 October 2008.[5] On 2 December 2008, Barry Simmons, who had once been a contestant on the regular show, won the Are You an Egghead? final and became the sixth Egghead. He made his first appearance on the team on the regular show the same day. Following the addition of Barry as an Egghead, the Eggheads team now operate on a rotating basis, still featuring 5 Eggheads per show.

[edit] Format

[edit] Title sequence

The title sequence consists of a voiceover by the host stating 'These people are amongst the greatest quiz players in Britain. Together they make up the Eggheads, arguably the most formidable quiz team in the country. The question is: can they be beaten?' The six Eggheads are displayed in revolving egg shaped frames with a blue background.

[edit] Rounds

The show is played in five rounds: the first four are each on a specific category whilst the final round is a general knowledge round. In each of these first four rounds the Challengers are given a category and must choose a member of their own team to play and an Egghead against whom they will compete. The players for that round will then leave the studio to go into the 'question room' where they are asked three multiple choice questions each. If after these three questions there is no winner, the round then goes into sudden death with questions asked without possible answers given.

Whichever player wins each round is 'safe' and is then able to play in the final round whilst the losing player will not be allowed to compete in that final round. The final general knowledge round is then played for the challengers to compete for the prize money. If the Eggheads win the final round the prize money increases with a 'rollover' system with £1000 added to the prize each day.

[edit] Subjects

There are nine possible subjects in the head-to-head rounds.

  • Politics
  • Arts & Books
  • Food & Drink
  • History
  • Geography
  • Science
  • Music
  • Film & Television
  • Sport

"Music" and "Film & Television" were introduced in Autumn 2008 through a split of the "Entertainment" category.

[edit] Teams to have defeated the Eggheads (only 36 in 544 Episodes)

  • The Unicorn Inn from Canterbury, Kent, were the first team to beat the Eggheads when they won the thirteenth edition (28 November 2003) in a sudden death tie break. Celebrity status and £13,000.
  • Follically Challenged, a team from the IT department of a mortgage company, won the fifteenth edition, winning £2000.
  • Streatham Massive won the sixteenth episode of Series 2, thereby winning £20,000.
  • Spaghetti, a group of mensans from the West Midlands, won the final episode of Series 2 and £19,000.
  • The Rotor Heads won the sixteenth episode of Series 3, and took away £16,000.
  • Densa won the 26th episode of Series 4 on 22 November 2005, winning £20,000.
  • Wapping Black Sheep then won the 29th episode of Series 4, and took away £3,000.
  • Radio Ga Ga, a team from Leeds Student Radio, won the 6th episode of Series 5 and took away £17,000.
  • Second Class, a group of postmen won £37,000 on the 27th September 2006, which remained the highest win ever for just over a year. This episode can be viewed on YouTube and shows the Eggheads getting their third multiple choice question wrong in the final round. They guessed that Charente was well-known for its manufacture of hats. The answer was slippers (known as Charentaise).
  • Mancunian Candidates, a University Challenge team, then beat the Eggheads to win £7,000 on 6 October 2006.
  • Russell's Raiders were the next team to beat the Eggheads on 13 October 2006, winning £4,000.
  • West Yorkies, a team from an air-conditioning firm in Brighouse, then beat the Eggheads to win £29,000 on 30 March 2007. The Eggheads didn't know who wrote the 2006 book "A year of eating dangerously". They guessed Tony Hawks, but ironically Judith (who had been knocked out in her Science head-to-head) knew it was Tom Parker Bowles!
  • Seville Servants, a group of civil servants from Belfast, Northern Ireland then won only £1,000 on the next episode. Although down to only two challengers (because CJ was beaten in the History round) in the final General Knowledge round, they still ended up victorious.
  • Beer Today, Gone Tomorrow, a group of students from Oxford Brookes University won £75,000 on the 28 September 2007, the highest prize won on the show so far.[6] Despite only two of them being in the final round versus four Eggheads (minus Chris), they won by correctly answering the question "Which EU capital city is farthest south - Lisbon, Valletta or Nicosia?" the answer being Nicosia in Cyprus. The Eggheads had answered the previous question incorrectly, believing that eight states in the United States officially sanction the death penalty (the correct answer being 38). At the end of the programme, the winners stated that they planned to treat themselves by travelling to Nicosia.
  • Preston Quizmasters won £3,000 on 3 October 2007.
  • A team from the Museum of London and the Museum in Docklands won £33,000 on 20 November 2007. The challengers had just two members in the final round versus four Eggheads (minus Judith), but managed to win after the Eggheads answered one question incorrectly in the final round, believing that actor Jeff Goldblum had appeared drunk on US chat show The View in November 2006 when in fact it was Danny DeVito.
  • The Taxidermists then won the next episode and £1,000. This was the second occasion that the Eggheads had lost consecutive shows.
  • A team from a Manchester City FC supporters website - Blue Vibe - beat the Eggheads on 7 December 2007, winning £12,000. The challengers had two members in the final round versus the Eggheads four (minus Daphne). The Eggheads failed to answer one question correctly, believing the Chinese year beginning 18 February 2007 was that of the Dog when in fact it was the Pig.
  • Weakly Players, a Cardiff-based amateur dramatics team won £27,000 on 20 March 2008. The Eggheads (minus Daphne) got their final multiple choice general knowledge question wrong. The Eggheads believed Radio Happy Isles and Radio Happy Lagoon were broadcast in Samoa. The correct answer was the Solomon Islands.
  • Sean and the Sheep, a team composed of four Welsh people and an Englishman called Sean won £20,000 on 17 April 2008. The Eggheads (minus Judith and CJ) got their second multiple-choice General Knowledge question wrong, believing that the word Trabant - a German automobile - literally meant "worker". The correct answer is satellite. Sean and The Sheep won 3-1.
  • Tapheads, a team of work colleagues at Welsh Water, who won £13,000 on 6 May 2008. In the final round the Eggheads team contained only Daphne and Chris; in 'sudden death', they incorrectly believed the heads side of a coin was called the reverse. The correct answer is the obverse.
  • On 13 May 2008, The Ratpack became the first team to win with only one remaining team member in the final round. Alex, the final team member, answered all of his questions correctly, having decided to go first. Having answered their first two questions correctly the final question for the Eggheads was: "Colin Myler was appointed Editor of which newspaper in 2007?" The three possible answers were News Of The World, The Sun and Daily Mail. The Eggheads incorrectly chose The Sun. The correct answer was News Of The World. The "Ratpack" won £5,000.
  • On 5 June 2008, Lads Wot Lunch from Surrey beat the Eggheads (minus Judith & Chris) to win £12,000. The Eggheads' final multiple-choice question was "Which coin was officially decommissioned in 1993? The answers were Half crown, half penny, or florin. Kevin & Daphne overruled CJ and said it was the halfpenny. It was the florin.
  • On 12 June 2008, South Wales Warriors, an American football team from Cardiff, beat the Eggheads (minus Chris, Judith & Kevin) to win £5,000. The Eggheads' second multiple-choice question was "The singer Edith Piaf was famous for her romantic association with which sportsman? The answers were Marcel Cerdan, René Lacoste or Just Fontaine. CJ and Daphne incorrectly chose Lacoste, however the correct answer was Cerdan.
  • On 8 October 2008, Meet Your Waterloo from Hampshire beat the Eggheads and won £7,000. This was the second time in the history of the show that the Eggheads were beaten by a single challenger. Liz Havill from the challenging team answered her first three questions correctly. The Eggheads were then asked to identify the author of the poetic extract "The best lack all conviction, while the worst are full of passionate intensity" they chose from the multiple choice T. S. Eliot, the correct answer was W. B. Yeats, the quote coming from the poem The Second Coming.
  • On 29 October 2008, The Flexi Funksters a team of students from Plymouth University beat the Eggheads and won £16,000. Despite the Flexi Funksters being beaten in all 4 head-heads their one remaining contestant managed to beat all five Eggheads in the final round. Sarah even got her first question wrong and with the Eggheads getting their first 2 correct a comfortable win seemed likely. However the Eggheads answered their third multiple choice question incorrectly and their first in sudden death to hand the Flexi Funksters one of the most unlikely wins in the gameshow's history. The question that defeated the Eggheads was "Which quiz show host was the subject of a popular urban myth (by Stuart Maconie) that he played the sax solo on Gerry Rafferty's UK hit "Baker Street"? Eggheads answered Hughie Green; correct answer was Bob Holness.
  • On 18 November 2008, the challengers were the Cubbington Players who were members of an amateur dramatics group in Leamington Spa. The Eggheads team for the final round consisted of Daphne and Judith but they were unable to name the stage musical which featured the songs Electricity and Expressing Yourself, the answer was Billy Elliot: The Musical; £13,000 was won.
  • On 1 December 2008, challengers Act One (Cardiff University Drama Society) held a four to two advantage in the final round; CJ had won the opening round on Arts & Books, but Judith, Daphne and Chris had lost the three subsequent rounds. When asked which restaurant Tony and Cherie Blair had taken Bill and Hillary Clinton to in London in 1997, CJ and Kevin were unable to correctly identify Le Pont de la Tour. The challengers won £8,000.
  • On 2 February 2009, challengers The Bere Heads, from Bere Alston, Devon, beat the Eggheads, winning £25,000. Kevin and Barry, the two remaining Eggheads in the final round, got their sudden death question wrong. They incorrectly guessed that Luke Hansard, the originator of the UK parliamentary debates Hansard, was a doctor by profession, whereas the correct answer was that he was a printer.
  • On 3 February 2009, the Eggheads lost their second game in a row for only the third time in the history of the series. With Judith eliminated in the head to heads, the Eggheads had four players (Barry, Chris, CJ, and Kevin) to the Abbey Revellers' two. The challengers correctly identified Henry Linfield as the first person ever to die in a car crash, in 1898. The Eggheads debated the answer to a question on the term for going backwards on skateboard. CJ believed the term was "fakie", but was outvoted by the other three, who opted for "goofy foot". The correct answer was "fakie".
  • On 11 February 2009, the Eggheads were defeated by The Bald & The Beautiful, a team consisting of compliance managers and warehouse managers. Similarly to the previous loss to the Abbey Revellers, Judith had been eliminated, leaving CJ, Kevin, Chris and Barry in the final against two of the challengers. On the final question, the Eggheads were asked from which poet's work did Cormac McCarthy take the title for his novel No Country for Old Men. Having nothing to guess upon other than CJ's instinct of W.H. Auden, the Eggheads answered incorrectly. The correct answer was W.B. Yeats. So, the challengers won £6,000.
  • On 20 February 2009, the Eggheads were defeated by a team called Eclectic Mix. The Eggheads' team in the final round consisted of CJ, Daphne, Kevin and Barry; Judith had been knocked out during the sports round. The Eggheads were defeated in sudden death when asked "Which English word is derived from the Latin meaning "that which must be done"?" Uncertain, they guessed "demonstration" whereas the correct answer was "agenda" which is derived from agendum. The challengers won £7,000.
  • On 25 March 2009, the Eggheads were defeated by a team called Oxford Imps consisting of four Oxford University graduates and one Cambridge University graduate; all members of an improv comedy group. The Eggheads team in the final round consisted of Daphne, Judith and Barry; CJ had been knocked out during the Politics round and Chris in the Arts & Books round. The Eggheads were defeated on the final question of the round where they had gone second, incorrectly answering "How wide are the clock faces on Big Ben?" they bizarrely chose 3 metres from a choice of 3, 7 and 11 metres, enough to raise a comment from Dermot on how "You'd hardly see them!". The challengers won £3,000.
  • On 5 May 2009 the Eggheads were beaten by "The Chummie Brummies" from Birmingham. The only remaining members of the Egghead team were CJ and Daphne, after Chris, Kevin and Barry lost their head-to-head rounds. CJ and Daphne lost on a fashion question, they were unable to identify Christy Turlington as the third member of "The Trinity" also containing Naomi Campbell and Linda Evangelista. "The Chummie Brummies" won £29,000.

[edit] Notable episodes

  • On 24 October 2008, The London Rollergirls became the first team ever to win every head-to-head round, giving them a five to one advantage against the sole remaining Egghead, Kevin, in the final General Knowledge round. However, Kevin managed to spare the Eggheads' blushes and won the game by himself.
  • The same situation occurred on 3 December 2008 when the Eggheads were challenged by The Golf Roses who were administrators of the English Women's Amateur Golf Association. Once again, Kevin managed to spare the Eggheads' blushes and won the game by himself.
  • On 27 January 2009, new Egghead Barry was left to take on The Official Retrievers on his own. He again saved the Eggheads' blushes, and that team missed out on winning £21,000.
  • On 21 April 2009, The Honey Badgers also managed to win every head to head round. This time Daphne saved the day for the Eggheads, only needing to answer two questions correctly in the final round, to deny The Honey Badgers £19,000.

The show has occasionally had well known people on the challenger teams. Multi-World Darts Champion Phil Taylor has appeared, as well as the England Women's Cricket Team, a team from the stage musical Avenue Q (including Daniel Boys), PR consultant Lynne Franks, entrepreneur Rachel Elnaugh, Chris Moyles Show quizmaster Rob DJ, and reality TV celebrities such as Eugene Sully and the late Jade Goody.

The British Bee Keepers Association are the only team to appear twice, they were invited back to the show after a mistake was made on a question. The question was asked was "In 1979 who became the first western rock star to play in the old Soviet Union" The programme makers believed the correct answer was Elton John. Viewers to the show informed them that Cliff Richard had played earlier in 1976. [7] They failed to beat the eggheads on both occasions.

[edit] Transmissions

Series Start date End date Episodes
1 10 November 2003 19 December 2003 24
2 6 September 2004 16 December 2004 35
3 23 May 2005 12 December 2005 55
4 10 April 2006 6 June 2006 40
5 17 August 2006 27 October 2006 25
6 5 March 2007 10 September 2007 81
7 11 September 2007 28 February 2008 80
8 29 February 2008 29 August 2008 80
9 6 October 2008 23 March 2009 80
10 24 March 2009 22 May 2009 44

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b Jeremy Vine set to return to BBC2
  2. ^ http://www.mensa.org.uk/cgi-bin/item.cgi?id=631
  3. ^ Are you as clever as an Egghead
  4. ^ Eggie Hunt - Updated
  5. ^ [1]
  6. ^ "Brookes students triumph on BBC quiz show". 2007-10-04. http://www.brookes.ac.uk/about/news/eggheads. Retrieved on 2008-06-10. 
  7. ^ The Language of Rock (references Cliff Richard's 1976 tour in the Soviet Union)

[edit] External links

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eggheads_(TV_series)"
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