Christmas University Challenge.
Asking the questions, Jeremy Paxman.
Hello.
Time to unwrap another tasteful,
well-chosen present in the shape of 30 minutes of entertainment given
to us by two teams of alumni who really ought to know better.
There are seven fixtures in this first round of the contest,
but only the four winning teams with the highest scores will earn the
right to play again.
If tonight's winners score over 150,
they will definitely return.
Now tonight, the University of Exeter is represented first by a
roving reporter frequently seen in his wellingtons in front of
scenes of flooding and storms.
He also discovered the latter-day oracle and internet sensation,
Brenda from Bristol.
With him, an academic whose doctoral thesis examined what happens
to your blood when you put alcohol into your body so she will
have ample opportunity for some fieldwork after the match.
She has worked with numerous eminent organisations,
including the National Institute for Health Research.
She is a fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences and she's
been awarded an OBE for services to medicine.
Their captain's name is whispered with awe throughout
the television industry.
He is the founding chairman of Comic Relief and, as a producer,
his output includes The Two Ronnies, The Generation Game, Top Of
The Pops, Blankety Blank, Red Dwarf and The Young Ones, a show
which treated this programme with precisely the respect it deserves.
LAUGHTER
Their fourth player is a playwright and film director who won an
Olivier award for her play Nell Gwyn.
She is a regular writer at the Globe Theatre and in the West End.
She also creates community theatre in war-torn and developing
countries with the international NGO, Youth Bridge Global.
Let's meet the Exeter team.
Hello, I'm Jon Kay, I graduated from Exeter with a degree in
politics in 1992.
I am now a news correspondent with
the BBC and a presenter on BBC breakfast.
Hello, my name is Deborah Ashby and I graduated from Exeter
in 1980 with a degree in mathematics.
I am now the director of the School of Public Health at
Imperial College London and I'm going to be the next
President of the Royal Statistical Society.
And here's their captain.
I'm Paul Jackson, I read English and played rugby at Exeter
in the 1960s and I am recently
retired from a career in television entertainment.
Hello, I'm Jessica Swale.
I'm a film writer and director and I work in the theatre,
in television and radio and anywhere else that will have me.
APPLAUSE
The team from Birmingham University includes an academic who in her work
with Defra advises ministers and industry about pests and diseases
and in doing so looks after the nation's bee population.
Her colleague's career began working behind the scenes
on Blue Peter before a ten-year stint reporting on
Newsround. In his current position he is often to be found on
Hollywood's red carpet.
Their captain was nominated for a Perrier award for his
stand-up and won an Emmy award for the HBO series Veep.
We've also seen him in the British TV series,
The Thick of It and the film In The Loop.
Their fourth player is a very familiar face on television,
stage and screen.
He has appeared in everything from Alan Partridge to Victoria.
He received a British comedy award nomination for his
appearances in the film Four Lions and perhaps the one occasion
when he wasn't immediately recognisable, fortunately,
was when he played the title role in Shrek The Musical.
Let's meet the Birmingham team.
Hello, I'm Nicola Spence,
I graduated from Birmingham with a PhD
in plant virology in 1993 and I am
now Defra's chief plant health officer.
Hi, I am Lizo Mzimba, I graduated from Birmingham with a degree in
law. I have since then worked for the BBC and am currently their
entertainment correspondent. This is their captain.
Hi, I'm Chris Addison.
I graduated from Birmingham in 1994 with a degree in English and
since then, among other things, I've been a stand-up comedian,
actor, writer, film and television director and sandwich shop cashier.
Hello, I'm Nigel Lindsay.
I graduated from Birmingham in combined honours in French
and English in the '80s and I'm an actor.
APPLAUSE
OK, I guess you all know the rules, they are the same as for the
students so fingers on the buzzers, here's your first starter for 10.
In the Oxford English Dictionary,
a device for catching game and to remove the seeds from cotton
are among definitions of what three-letter head word?
In its most familiar usage,
the definition is colourless to pale straw-coloured alcoholic
spirit, flavoured with juniper berries and a variety...
Gin. Gin is correct, yes.
So the first set of bonuses are on words that appear in the
Beatles' song Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds.
In each case give the word from the description.
Firstly, a device invented by the Scottish physicist
David Brewster in the early 19th century.
It operates on the principle of multiple reflection.
THEY CONFER
Kaleidoscope. Correct.
Secondly, a flexible, transparent, plastic film developed
in the early 20th century.
Lucy in the sky... THEY WHISPER
Polythene.
No, it's cellophane - as in cellophane flowers of yellow and green.
And finally, a variety of small citrus fruit named after a seaport
that was briefly under British rule in the late 17th century.
Tangerine? Yeah.
Tangerine.
Tangerine trees and marmalade skies, yes. 10 points for this.
Molly, a vain materialistic white mare is a representative of
the bourgeois middle classes in which political satire...
Animal Farm. Correct.
Your bonuses, Exeter, are on the South African jazz pioneer
and anti-apartheid activist Hugh Masekela,
who died in January 2018.
As a teenager, Masekela was given
which brass instrument by Trevor Huddleston,
who become president of the British anti-apartheid movement?
Trumpet. It's trumpet.
Trumpet. Correct.
In 1967, Masekela appeared at which Californian musical
festival that also introduced Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin and
Ravi Shankar to wider American audiences?
Monterey, no?
It was. Monterey.
Correct.
In 2012, Masekela joined Paul Simon on a world tour that
marked the 25th anniversary of which critically-acclaimed album?
Graceland?
Graceland.
Correct. 10 points for this.
Since an apparent deliverance from bubonic plague in 1634,
which village in the Bavarian Alps has been the location for a
Passion play...
Oberammergau. Correct.
Your first bonuses, Birmingham, are on cinematic adaptations
of winners of the Pulitzer Prize for fiction.
In each case give the novel from the description.
Firstly, a novel of 1920 by Edith Wharton,
adapted for the screen by Martin Scorsese in 1993.
Age Of Innocence. OK.
The Age Of Innocence.
Correct. Secondly, a novel of 1918 by Booth Tarkington adapted for the
screen by Orson Welles in 1942.
THEY WHISPER
The Magnificent Ambersons.
Correct. And finally, a novel of 1994 by E Annie Proulx, directed
in a 2001 film version by Lasse Hallstrom.
Yeah. The Ice Storm.
The Ice Storm.
No, it's The Shipping News.
We are going to take a picture round now.
For your picture starter,
you are going to see a sovereign island country shown in isolation.
10 points if you can name the country.
Greenland.
No, anyone want to buzz from Exeter?
You can't confer, one of you can buzz.
Iceland. It is Iceland, yes.
APPLAUSE
Iceland became the smallest nation by population to participate in the
tournament phase of the men's FIFA World Cup when it did so in 2018.
Your picture bonuses are maps showing three more of the
smallest countries that have reached the FIFA World Cup finals
measured by population at the time of qualification.
Five points for each you can name.
Firstly, I want the country highlighted here, please.
THEY WHISPER
Croatia?
Croatia?
I think Croatia because Trieste is...
Croatia.
No, it's Slovenia, Croatia is further south.
Secondly, the country magnified here.
That's Jamaica.
Trinidad and Tobago. Yes?
Trinidad and Tobago.
Correct.
And finally, the country circled here.
Honduras. No, it's Jamaica.
Honduras is on the mainland.
Right, 10 points for this starter question.
In the first scene the entire stage is filled with children, who run
about, blow their whistles, hop and jump,
are naughty and interfere with the oldsters dancing.
This was among the many negative reviews of which ballet on its
premiere in...
Nutcracker. Nutcracker is right.
You get a set of bonuses on toads, Birmingham.
The taxonomic order Anura, comprising frogs and toads is
so called because members of this order lack what anatomical feature?
THEY CONFER
THEY WHISPER
Nerves.
No, they lack a tail.
What common name is given to the toad Alytes obstetrician,
a small European toad noted for the male tendency to carry
strings of eggs on its hind legs until they are ready to hatch?
Pass. Natterjack.
That's the midwife toad.
And finally, what is the common name of Bufo calamita,
a nocturnal toad characterised
by a light yellow stripe running along the length of its back?
Cane toad.
No, that was the natterjack toad. Bad luck.
10 points for this.
What term for a celestial body links the common name of
the carambola fruit,
a prerogative court abolished by the Long Parliament in 1641...
Star. Star is correct. Yes.
Your bonuses, Exeter, are on the wives of Henry VIII in the
words of the historian Alison Weir.
In each case, name the person from Weir's description of her.
Firstly, her portraits show in nearly every case a dark-haired
woman with a thin face, high cheekbones and a pointed chin.
Facial characteristics all inherited by her daughter.
Mary is her daughter...
Who's the one...
The portrait...
Shall we go for it? Yes.
Anne of Cleves.
No, it's Anne Boleyn.
Secondly, people were drawn more to her warm and amiable personality
and her intellectual qualities, she exuded goodwill,
she was a good conversationalist and loved a friendly argument,
especially on matters of religious doctrine.
THEY CONFER
Anne of Cleves.
Anne of Cleves.
No, that was Catherine Parr.
And finally, her tall stature may well have made her seem ungainly.
Furthermore, she suffered from excessive body odour
according to the King.
Yes. This is Anne of Cleves.
That is Anne of Cleves, yes.
Right. 10 points for this.
Which play by Shakespeare contains the line,
"Fie, foh and fum, I smell the blood of a..."
SHE WHISPERS
"I smell the blood of a..." Come on.
The Tempest.
No, you lose five points for an incorrect interruption.
You may not confer,
one of you can buzz when I've read the rest of the question.
"I smell the blood of a British man."
The words are spoken by Edgar disguised as a madman.
King Lear.
Of course.
Your bonuses are on cheese dishes,
in each case name the dish from the description.
Firstly, an Indian dish with the name describing its main
ingredient, leafy green vegetables such as spinach
and soft curd cheese.
I need the two-word Hindi name.
Sag paneer.
Sag paneer is correct.
Secondly, a dish said to have originated in Quebec in the 1950s.
It consists of chips topped with gravy and cheese curds.
Poutine.
Correct.
And finally, a toasted or fried cheese sandwich sometimes with ham.
Its two-word French name includes a word meaning crunch.
Croque Monsieur. Well done.
APPLAUSE
We're going to take a music round now.
For your music starter you'll hear a piece of popular music.
10 points if you can name the singer.
FEMALE VOICE SINGS THE BLUES
Aretha Franklin.
It is Aretha Franklin, yes.
She died in August 2018 and for your music bonuses you will hear
three of Franklin's notable duets,
all you need to do is name her partner in each case.
First, here I just need the name of the second singer.
# Sisters are doing it for themselves... #
That's Annie Lennox.
It is Annie Lennox. Secondly...
# What y'all came to do? What y'all came to do?
# Put on your dancin' shoes
# Yeah, we're about to burn it up
# About to burn it up... #
James Brown.
No, that's John Legend. And finally.
# The river was deep, I didn't... #
Yeah, George Michael.
George Michael is correct.
APPLAUSE
10 points for this.
Listen for the statement and answer the question that follows.
In 1938, the BBC broadcast the first science-fiction television
programme, a live adaptation of Karel Capek's play R U R.
What five-letter word has this play introduced to the English language?
Alien.
No. Anyone want to buzz this from Exeter?
You have nothing to lose. One of you buzz, don't confer!
LAUGHTER
What a waste of effort that was. That was a sitting opportunity.
It's a robot. 10 points for this.
How many toes does the common ostrich have on each foot?
The same number appear on the fore limbs of certain species
of sloth.
Three. No, you lose five points.
..and the total number of toes per ostrich is equal to the
number of digits on either hand of Bart Simpson.
LAUGHTER
Three-toed sloth and two-toed.
There's only two. Three and two. You can't confer!
I'm so sorry, I thought we'd gone through to the other. OK.
No, no, just buzz.
One of you. Come on.
Two.
Two is correct. Yes.
It was Bart Simpson that gave it away, wasn't it?
I have held a sloth, that is why I am trying to remember how many toes he had.
I am impressed.
No knowledge is ever wasted.
Right, you get a set of bonuses on flowers in works of art.
Thought to represent Elizabeth Delph and dating to the 1660s,
Woman with a Pink is a portrait by which prominent artist?
THEY CONFER
Da Vinci?
Da Vinci.
No, it's Rembrandt.
Secondly, Lawrence Alma-Tadema's 1888 painting of the Roman
Emperor Heliogabalus, depicts him
observing his guests being smothered
to death by a sudden deluge of the petals of what flower?
Lilies?
Lilies?
No, they are roses.
He had them shipped in everyday from the south of France, apparently.
And finally, depicting two young girls playing in a garden,
Carnation, Lily, Lily, Rose, now in the collection of the Tate is
the work of which artist, born in 1856?
Think of an artist born then.
THEY CONFER
Have a guess at an artist.
Come on.
Manet.
No, it's John Singer Sargent. 10 points for this.
Recorded in a work written by his pupil, who made this
statement often translated as,
"The unexamined life is not worth living,"
during his speech in his own defence during his trial in 399 BC?
Cicero.
No. Anyone like to buzz from Exeter?
That's the end of the question? Yes, that's the end of the question!
And apparently the end of the answer too.
Have you got it? No.
Plato. It was Socrates. Of course it is.
Another starter question now.
What double letter appears in words meaning an extinct
South American zebra...
L, double L.
No. You lose five points.
A yearling sheep, an insect larva for example of the order Diptera and
a non-pedigree or otherwise unremarkable cat?
A.
No, it's G.
As in moggy. Right, 10 points for this.
Shown in an image in the title sequences of many of their
films, what name did Michael Powell and Emmerich Pressburger give
to their production company?
Its output in the 1940s included Black Narcissus and The Red Shoes.
Green Door Films.
No. Anyone like to buzz from Birmingham?
Is it Rank?
No, it's The Archers or Archers Film Production. Ten points for this.
In early December, which French city holds the annual event known
as the Fete des Lumieres or Festival of Lights?
This features the illumination of the Fourviere Basilica,
a few miles north of the confluence of the Rhone and the Saone.
Avignon.
No.
Anjou. No.
It's Lyon, so I am going to give you another starter question now.
The Siberian Husky and Samoyed and the Alaskan Malamute are among
the breeds of dog most commonly used for which means of transport?
Sledding.
Sledges is correct, yes.
That means you get a set of bonuses and they are on charades.
In which 19th-century novel does Harriet Smith read a cryptic
message described as a charade representing the word
courtship which she is persuaded has been written for her by Mr Elton?
Emma. You don't need to... Oh, I don't need to buzz!
I'm sorry. You're right though. OK.
I'll accept it, of course.
Try and do it through your captain cos he's feeling a bit left out.
So sorry, sir.
Secondly, which novel of 1848 includes a scene in which several of
the principal characters take part in acting charades at Gaunt House,
the residence of Lord Steyne?
Steyne?
Did you say 1848? I did.
Still don't know. Good.
We don't know. You don't know.
It's Vanity Fair.
And finally, which novel by George Eliot includes a scene in
which Gwendolen Harleth appears in a charade as the statue of
Hermione in Shakespeare's The Winter's Tale?
Middlemarch?
Middlemarch.
No, it's Daniel Deronda.
We are going to take a picture round now.
For your picture starter you'll see a photograph of a British athlete.
10 points if you can give me her name, please.
Lizzy Yarnold.
It is Lizzy Yarnold, yes.
APPLAUSE
In 2018 she became the UK's most successful
Winter Olympian when she won a second gold medal in the skeleton.
Your picture bonuses are three of that still select group of
British athletes who have won one Winter Olympic Gold Medal.
Five points for each you can name. Firstly...
THEY CONFER
Pass.
That's Amy Williams who won in the skeleton in 2010.
Secondly, who's this?
WHISPERING
Sorry, pass.
That's Rhona Martin and finally...
Is it Robin Cousins or Curry?
Hang on.
Robin Cousins. OK.
Robin Cousins.
It is Robin Cousins, yes. Right, 10 points for this.
"I am undoubtedly a liberal,
"which means that I am in almost total agreement with the
"Eisenhower-era Republican party platform."
Which US political commentator said that in 2010?
The recipient of several Emmy awards,
she has since 2008 been the host of her own eponymous cable news...
Oprah?
No. ..cable news show on MSNBC. You lose five points.
Anyone like to buzz from Exeter?
You may not confer, one of you can buzz.
No? It's Rachel Maddow.
10 points for this. Fingers on the buzzers, please.
What work of the 1860s is retold in Geraldine Brooks's Pulitzer
prize-winning novel March?
It's Little Women by Louisa May Alcott. 10 points for this. What?
Have you got lots of questions?
Yeah, we're going to carry on until you get one right.
LAUGHTER
10 points for this.
Simmered in hot water before being glazed with egg white and baked,
what word derived from Yiddish denotes a dense, ring-shaped...
Bagel.
Bagel is correct. Yes.
You get a set of bonuses, Birmingham, on a Christmas cantata.
First performed in 1954, Hodie or This Day,
is a Christmas cantata by which English composer?
1954.
1954.
To late for... Yeah, yeah.
How about Vaughan Williams? Elgar?
Erm...
Let's do it. Tippet.
No, it was Vaughan Williams.
Secondly, the third movement of Hodie is a setting of part of
an ode entitlement On The Morning Of Christ's Nativity,
a work by which English poet?
Tennyson.
Tennyson.
No, it's John Milton.
And finally, the ninth movement sets the poem Christmas by which
port and clergyman, born in 1593?
The poem is one of a pair on the theme,
published in the posthumous collection, The Temple.
John Donne. John Donne.
No, it was George Herbert. 10 points for this.
"Nobody saw him, still he was there,
"nose-biting, prank-playing, everywhere."
These words of the poet Charles Sangster referred to which
seasonal figure?
Sharing a name with a fictional creation of RD Wingfield and
a pseudonym used by Bob Dylan, he personifies ice and cold.
Jack Frost.
Jack Frost is correct, yes.
That takes you over the 100, Exeter.
Your bonuses are on capital cities of the Nordic countries.
In each case name the city that corresponds to the following.
Firstly, the title of a 1998 played by Michael Frayn,
it concerns a meeting held in 1941 between two prominent physicists.
Copenhagen. Correct.
Secondly, the venue of the equestrian events of
the 1956 Summer Olympics.
Strict quarantine laws made it unfeasible to move horses to
Melbourne, the host city.
Helsinki.
No, it was Stockholm.
And finally, a diplomatic accord of 1975 signed by most European
countries in an effort to reduce tension during the Cold War.
Oslo Accords, Oslo.
No, that was Helsinki. They are called the Helsinki Accords.
Right, 10 points for this. GONG
And at the gong, Birmingham University have 85.
Exeter University have 110.
Birmingham, you didn't quite make it to 100 but you...you were
within striking distance, had you got another question or two right.
Exeter, congratulations to you. Thank you very much for joining us.
I doubt you will be returning as one of the four highest scoring
teams, which will doubtless break your heart.
Thank you very much indeed. You didn't have to do it.
I hope you can join us next time another first-round match but
until then it is goodbye from Birmingham University... Goodbye.
It's goodbye from Exeter University. Goodbye.
And it's goodbye from me, goodbye.
APPLAUSE
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