Are You An Egghead - Week 1 Round Up

Are You An Egghead ? First Round Heats 2,3,4 and 5
Heat 2

Well, there’s no point in being coy about it any more. If you read my reply to Gary’s comments after my last post you’ll know that my appearance in the show is going to be aired a week on Monday. So any comments I make about the series have to be viewed in this light. Of course I’m not going to unfairly criticise a series that I’ve been a part of.

After the great excitement of show 1, where a huge lead in terms of Eggheads won was overturned, show 2 pitted Pam Thomas against Chris Young. I don’t personally know either , but as you’d expect they both have form behind them. Pam Thomas won this year’s “A Question of Genius” – well done ! Chris Young gave the impression of having been on a number of shows, especially UC where he was a quarter finalist.

The categories rounds saw Chris taking three Eggheads to Pam’s two. A good old scrap saw him emerge winner by 4 points to 3, with Daphne providing the winning answer that King George VI had once played in the Wimbledon mixed doubles.

Heat 3

Wednesday’s heat saw Charles Moseley battle it out with Nic Paul. Nic has certainly put in his apprenticeship on the TV quiz show treadmill, with probably his most lucrative appearance being a £32,000 win on WWTBAM. Charles Moseley on the other hand, one of the more senior quizzers to appear so far in this series, was able to claim the rare feat of appearances on UC as a student, and then UC – The Professionals some thirty or more years later.

Charles had clearly the better of the categories rounds, leaving Nick with just one Egghead. However, if you could only have one Egghead, wouldn’t you want it to be Kevin ? Alas for Nic, it didn’t do him all that much good, and he fell to a 3 – 1 defeat, sportingly wishing Charles good luck in the next round.

Heat 4

On Thursday Beth Maclure took on Shanker Menon. Beth has made , AFIK, appearances on Mastermind in 2004, 5, 7 and 8. Last year she was unfortunate to lose in MMs first round where she met Richard Heller, who was on absolutely cracking form and went on to reach the final. Shanker is one of the more high profile young quizzers in the country – you may well remember him from appearances on Battle of the Brains, and last year’s AYAE. Dermot mischievously reminded him that it was Barry who knocked him out in the second round.

Going into the final categorised round, Shanker held the aces with 3 Eggheads to Beth’s 1. This round was a corker, going to sudden death, with Beth eventually winning out to even it up a little more. The final GK round was rather nailbiting, and both contestants had their chances. In the end Barry supplied the finishing touch to the final question concerning types of window, and Shanker won by 2 points to 1.

Heat 5

Tonight saw Rob Huxley take on Paul Sinha.Rob Huxley I don’t really know, and he himself confessed that he really has only one TV credit, appearing on the short lived Busman’s Holiday, although he has been a phone a friend on WWTBAM.Perhaps it was Rob’s place of work that really sold him to the producers, since he works at the Natural History Museum. Lucky man. Paul Sinha is , IMHO, the funniest quizzer on the circuit. He is a part time GP and also a stand up comedian, and I have to say that his recent appearance on radio 4’s Shappi Talk made me laugh out loud. Unfortunately I was listening on my headphones in a queue in Morrison’s at the time.

Its fair to say that , in the categories rounds Rob didn’t exactly cover himself in glory. So much so that Paul completed a grand slam, and went into the General round with a full house of 5 Eggheads. Both answered their first question correctly. Then I’m afraid the wheels came off the wagon a little. Paul used both Kevin and Daphne on the question asking what the original rate of VAT was. He plumped for Kevin’s answer, and it turned out to be Daphne’s. 2 Eggheads gone, but no need to panic yet. Rob correctly answered that a helixophile collects corkscrews. Paul chose to gamble on his next question, not using an Egghead, and it was a gamble that didn’t pay off. 2 – 1. Rob failed to answer which director made Major Dundee with Charlton Heston – apparently it was Sam Peckinpah. A chance for Paul to pull a point back. With a very nasty question, - which rock is the rosetta stone made from – Paul was forced to pull the two card trick again. Both Barry and CJ failed to give the correct answer – granodiorite – and Paul was left with 1 Egghead, still trailing 2 – 1. Rob failed to spot that Dimity fabric is made from cotton, but he still held the 2 – 1 lead. For Paul it was do or die. Asked where the chateau which is the summer resident of the French President is , he turned to Judith, and I’m afraid that she proved no more successful for him than the others had. They plumped for Fontainebleu, but the answer was Rambouillet. Poor Paul. A case of using the wrong Egghead for the wrong question, but well done to Rob. An amazing show. Being the good egg that he is, Paul paid fulsome congratulations to his opponent, and wished him every success in the next round.