APPLAUSE
Christmas University Challenge!
Asking the questions, Jeremy Paxman.
Hello.
With clean-washed hands and faces
in a long and eager line,
alumni sit at the table,
for this is the hour they shine.
With apologies to the author of
Christmas Day In The Workhouse,
we're about to meet
two more teams
of recent, not-so-recent
and long-distant graduates
prepared to play for the honour of
the institution that nurtured them.
With three matches played and
four winning teams going through
to the semifinals, we now know
that a winning score tonight of
over 150 means a team will
definitely return to fight again.
Now, the four from St Catherine's
College, Oxford, include the
author of six novels and a memoir -
she has recently edited the
ghost stories of Henry James, and is
a director of the Hampstead Theatre.
With her, the author of biographies
of Harold Pinter and
Peggy Ashcroft, he's also a highly
influential figure in the
role he's performed for the past 47
years, for which he's earned an OBE.
Like trying to comprehend
the meaning in the entrails of a
chicken, their captain is
responsible for turning the
baroque contortions of the
Houses of Parliament into
comprehensible
and even entertaining reporting.
And their fourth member has won
several Emmys,
a Bafta and an RTS Award for his
work on numerous blockbuster
productions, including the film
Gravity, for which he won an Oscar.
So let's meet the St Catherine's,
Oxford, team.
I'm Susie Boyt, I did English at St
Catherine's, graduating in the '90s.
I am now a novelist and I write
dark books with high spirits.
I'm Michael Billington, I graduated
from St Catherine's Society -
as it then was,
before it became a college -
in 1961, having read English.
And I've been a theatre critic
at the Guardian for some time.
And here's their captain.
I'm Peter Knowles, I graduated in
English in 1983,
I'm the control
of the TV channel BBC Parliament,
and editor of Today In Parliament
on Radio 4.
And I'm Tim Webber, I read
physics at St Catherine's,
and graduated in 1987.
I'm now chief creative officer
at Framestore and work as a
visual effects supervisor
and director for films.
APPLAUSE
Now, playing them is a team
representing Peterhouse, Cambridge.
Their first player started
his career on the Big Breakfast
and is the long-time writing partner
of Sacha Baron Cohen,
working with him on the characters
Ali G and Borat.
With him, an archaeologist who was
involved in the early days of
Channel 4's Time team, then
presented BBC Two's Time Flyers,
and has featured
in 11 seasons of Coast.
Their captain was Leader of the
Conservative Party and the
Opposition from 2003 to 2005.
He held several Cabinet positions
under Margaret Thatcher and
John Major,
including that of Home Secretary.
Now an academic, their fourth player
is a former head
of the Iran section of the Foreign
& Commonwealth Office.
He is a prolific writer, broadcaster
and commentator on that country.
Now, let's meet the team
from Peterhouse.
I'm Dan Mazer,
I read law at Peterhouse,
and I'm now a screenwriter
and director.
I'm Mark Horton, I graduated
with a PhD in archaeology in 1984,
and have subsequently worked as
an archaeologist,
TV presenter and Professor of
Archaeology at Bristol University.
And here's their captain.
I'm Michael Howard,
I graduated from Peterhouse in 1963,
with degrees in economics and law,
and I'm now in the House of Lords.
I'm Michael Axworthy,
I read history at Peterhouse,
graduated in 1985,
and I'm the director of the
Centre For Persian And Iranian
Studies at the University of Exeter.
APPLAUSE
Well, the rules are the same
as for the student series.
Ten points for starter questions,
they are solo efforts.
15 points at stake for bonuses.
So, fingers on the buzzers, here's
your first starter for ten.
Described by the writer
John O'Farrell as the paramilitary
wing of the London Stock Exchange,
which joint-stock company
received its Royal Charter
on New Year's Eve 1600?
Trading in cotton, silk,
opium and tea,
it was, from the mid-18th century
to the rebellion of 1857...
East India company. Correct.
APPLAUSE
Your bonuses are on the works of
Leonard Bernstein,
who was born in 1918.
Described as a series of related
statements in praise of love,
Bernstein's 1954 orchestral piece
Serenade was inspired
by the symposium of which
Greek philosopher?
Plato.
Plato? Correct.
In 1953, which playwright suggested
to Bernstein that they adapt
Voltaire's Candide for the theatre?
Her works include The Children's
Hour and The Little Foxes.
Pass.
That was Lillian Hellman.
Finally, for which 1954 movie did
Bernstein compose his first
and only score written directly
for film?
It was directed by Elia Kazan
and starred Marlon Brando.
THEY WHISPER
I think that's On The Waterfront.
Yes.
On The Waterfront.
Correct. Ten points for this.
"It is the month of December, and
yet the whole city is in a sweat!
"Festivity at state expense is given
unrestricted licence. I regard
"as correct the remark of the man
"who said, 'Once December was a
month; now it's a year.'"
These words of the Roman
philosopher Seneca
referred to which ancient festival?
Saturnalia. Saturnalia is correct.
APPLAUSE
Your bonuses are on the theme
of "You'll", broadly speaking.
You'll Never Walk Alone is a show
tune from which 1945 musical
by Rodgers and Hammerstein?
Carousel.
Carousel. Correct.
You'll Never Eat Lunch In This Town
Again is a 1991 autobiography
by which US film producer
and writer?
Her films include The Sting,
Taxi Driver and Close Encounters
Of The Third Kind.
I can't remember her name.
No? Don't know.
SHE WHISPERS
No.
It's Julia Phillips.
And finally, You'll Never Find
Another Love Like Mine was
a 1976 hit for which US vocalist
also noted for
Dead End Street and Tobacco Road?
No, thanks.
LAUGHTER
That was Lou Rawls.
Ten points for this.
"For us boys in the Cotswolds,
Christmas always started on a
"star-bright night,
never prearranged,
"but intuitively recognised."
Laurie Lee. Laurie Lee is correct.
APPLAUSE
Your bonuses this time are on
scientific concepts as
defined in Stephen Hawkins'
A Brief History Of Time.
In each case, name the concept
from the description.
Firstly, a thin tube of space time
connecting distant regions of
the universe.
Wormhole? Yes. Wormhole.
Wormhole is correct.
Secondly, for a wave, the number of
complete cycles per second.
Frequency. Frequency. Correct.
And finally,
the quantity of matter in a body,
its inertia or resistance
to acceleration.
Mass. Mass. Mass.
Mass is correct.
APPLAUSE
We're going to take
a picture round now.
For your picture starter,
you'll see the final results for
the 2018 Ryder Cup Sunday singles
matches, with two names omitted.
For ten points,
I need both the missing names.
No golfers there?
Looks as if you're all going
to not get anywhere.
It's Phil Mickelson
and Francesco Molinari.
So we'll take the picture bonuses
in a moment or two.
In the meantime,
here's another starter question.
In Charles Dickens'
A Christmas Carol,
the Ghost of Christmas Present
introduces Scrooge
to two wretched abject children...
Ignorance and Want.
I'll accept that, yes.
I only wanted one of them, actually.
They'll do. Hard to please!
Thank you very much.
You get the picture bonuses, then.
So, following on from the 2018 Ryder
Cup singles results, you're going to
see three more lists of the results
of Ryder Cup Sunday singles matches.
This time I want the year
that each took place. Firstly...
THEY CONFER
Early... 1999? 1999.
No, it's 1991. Secondly...
Come on, let's have an answer,
please.
2000?
2000. It was 2002 at the Belfry.
And finally...
THEY CONFER
2005?
2005. It's 2012.
Right, ten points for this.
The Fort and Palace of Tipu Sultan
and the Indian Institute
of Sciences are located
in which major city?
The capital of Karnataka...
Mysore.
No. I'm afraid you lose five points.
The capital of Karnataka state,
it is the location of numerous
hi-tech industries and has been
called the Silicon Valley of India.
Mumbai. No.
It's Bangalore.
So, ten points at stake for this.
The Mistletoe Murder appears in
a 2016 collection of short
stories by which crime writer?
Born in Oxford in 1920, her first
novel was published in 1962,
with the title Cover Her Face.
Ruth Rendell?
No. Anyone want to buzz from
St Catherine's?
PD James? PD James is correct.
APPLAUSE
Right, your bonuses this time, St
Catherine's, are on British Islands.
In each case, identify the island or
islands from the description
in Ptolemy's Geography.
Vectis, an island located south
of the settlement of
Magnus Portus on the island
of Albion.
THEY CONFER
Isle of Wight. Correct.
Located to the East of Hibernia,
the islands called Mona and
Monaoeda.
I need you to name both.
Shetland and Orkney.
No, it's Anglesey
and the Isle of Man.
And finally, Scetis,
near Albion Island and the Orcades
promontory is generally identified
as which island?
Um, uh...
Ultima Thule.
No, it's Skye. Ten points for this.
In physics, what six-letter term
indicates the tendency of a force
to rotate
the body to which it is supplied?
In archaeology it indicates a
neck ornament won by the ancient
Gauls...?
Torque. Torque is correct.
APPLAUSE
St Catherine's, these bonuses are on
the 60th anniversary of the
release of 2001: A Space Odyssey.
These three bonuses have answers
that contain the letter
combination H-A-L -
for example, inhale or apocryphal.
In each case, give the word from
the description. Firstly,
which class of molluscs have
well-developed heads
surrounded by prehensile tentacles?
It includes ammonites,
nautiloids, squid and octopus?
No, sorry. The cephalopods.
The Greek, secondly for navel,
what word was used to name the
sacred stone in the Temple of Apollo
at Delphi, which was thought to mark
the central point of the Earth?
Omphalos. Correct.
In terms of molecular structure,
a chemical that comes between
benzene and anthracene, it's a major
ingredient of traditional mothballs.
Naphthalene.
Naphthalene.
Correct.
APPLAUSE
Right, time for a music question,
I think.
For your music starter you'll hear
an excerpt from a symphony.
For ten points, name its composer.
ORCHESTRAL MUSIC PLAYS
Beethoven.
It is Beethoven, yes.
APPLAUSE
That was part of the Storm section
of Beethoven's Pastoral.
For your music bonuses, you're going
to hear three more classical
indications of stormy weather. Name
the composer, please, in each case.
Firstly, from a work of 1915.
ORCHESTRAL MUSIC PLAYS
It's Grieg. Grieg?
Grieg?
Grieg.
No, that's Richard Strauss, Thunder
and Tempest from An Alpine Symphony.
Secondly, from an opera originally.
ORCHESTRAL MUSIC PLAYS
Peter Grimes.
Benjamin Britten.
Correct. It's from Peter Grimes,
as you identified.
And finally.
ORCHESTRAL MUSIC PLAYS
Vivaldi.
It is Vivaldi, you're right -
the final movement of Summer.
Right, ten points for this.
The 1961 gospel play Black Nativity
was an international success
for which literary figure,
born in Joplin, Missouri?
His other works include
the short poem Harlem that begins,
"What happens to a dream deferred."
Langston Hughes.
Correct.
Right, your bonuses, St Catherine's,
are on clubs that played
in the last 16 of the Uefa
Champions League in early 2018.
In each case, identify the club.
Firstly, the name of which
club comprises the locations
of two international treaties?
The former concluded war
between France and Britain in 1763
and the latter was signed
with Austria in 1919.
Livorno.
The Treaty of Livorno?
Lausanne?
We don't know the names
of the teams, do we?
What was the... Lausanne...
..we think for the...
Other Austrian treaties? Livorno?
Was it the Champions League, yes?
No. We haven't got it, have we?
We don't know.
It's Paris Saint-Germain, PSG.
Which club is based in a major city
close to the scene
of Mozart's opera
The Marriage Of Figaro?
Vienna.
Vienna, but where? We're looking
for a team, aren't we? Yes.
Vienna football team?
The Marriage Of Figaro would be
Seville, wouldn't it?
Seville.
Correct. Sevilla.
And finally, which club is based
in the city that was the birthplace
of the politicians
Gladstone and Bessie Braddock?
Liverpool. Liverpool.
Liverpool.
Liverpool is correct. Well done.
Ten points for this.
Which two consecutive letters
of the alphabet form the initials
of all of the following?
The first president of the
American Equal Rights Association,
the director of The Thief Of Paris
and Atlantic City
and the highest goal-scorer
in the history of the
Argentinian national football team?
LM.
LM is correct. Well done.
Your bonuses are on species
reintroduced into the UK
as depicted on a Royal Mail
special edition from 2018.
Firstly, what is the common name
of Pandion haliaetus?
Also known as the fish hawk,
its British population
is found mainly in Scotland.
Osprey.
Correct. What two-word common name
is given to the reptile
Lacerta Agilis?
Found in dry and coastal regions,
the male has green sides that
brighten during the breeding season.
We'll pass.
That's a sand lizard.
And finally, Castor fiber is the
Eurasian species of which rodent,
recently reintroduced
to the Forest of Dean?
Beaver.
Beaver is correct.
Ten points for this.
What word was originally used for
a preparation drawing...
I... No. I didn't mean touch it.
No idea. I'm so sorry.
I'm going to have to fine you five
points anyway
because you cut everybody else out.
..was originally used for
a preparation drawing on paper
for a picture later executed
in a different medium,
such as oil or tapestry?
The Oxford English...
Cartoon.
Cartoon is correct, yes.
You get a set of bonuses
on debut albums of 1978. Oh, gosh!
Firstly, Power In The Darkness
was the debut studio album
of which band named after its lead
singer, a prominent gay activist?
Pass.
That was the Tom Robinson Band.
Secondly, Another Music
In A Different Kitchen
was the debut album of which band
from Greater Manchester?
Its name later appeared in the title
of a BBC panel game.
Buzzcocks.
Buzzcocks.
Correct. Which London band
released the album
Germfree Adolescence in 1978?
Its cover depicted the band
members inside test tubes
with the lead singer Poly Styrene
in the centre.
No idea. Pass.
That was X-Ray Spex.
Right, we're going to take another
picture round now.
For your picture starter,
you'll see a painting.
For ten points,
please name the artist.
Bruegel.
Bruegel is correct, yes.
That was his The Harvesters.
Your picture bonuses are three
more harvest scenes.
Again, I just want you to name
the artist in each case. Firstly.
Bosch. I think it's Bosch. Bosch.
Bosch is correct. Secondly.
Is it Gauguin?
Gauguin? No.
Gauguin.
No, it's Millet. And finally.
Van Gogh. Van Gogh.
It is Van Gogh, near Arles.
Right, ten points for this.
Lalande, Lagrange, Laplace,
Lavoisier and Legendre
are among the 18 names escribed
on the Trocadero face
of which structure,
completed in 1889?
Arc de Triomphe.
Anyone like to buzz from Peterhouse?
Eiffel Tower.
Eiffel Tower is correct, yes.
Well done.
So you get three bonuses
on a Latin word.
Firstly, what seven-letter Latin
word means truth, fact or accuracy?
In a set expression,
it follows the words "in vino"?
Veritas.
Veritas is correct.
The word Veritas appears
on the seal of which US university,
founded in 1636?
Harvard. Harvard.
Correct.
The political party Veritas
was founded in 2005
by which public figure and TV host?
Esther Rantzen.
No, it was Robert Kilroy-Silk.
Ten points for this.
What seven-letter name links
the UK Prime Minister in 1910
and the US president in 1930?
Herbert.
Correct.
You get a set of bonuses
on a temperature scale.
According to Ray Bradbury,
what, in degrees Fahrenheit,
is the temperature at which book
paper catches fire and burns?
451.
451.
451.
Correct.
In the Fahrenheit temperature scale,
at standard atmospheric pressure,
the interval between the freezing
and boiling point of water
is divided into how many degrees?
212.
212.
212, I think. 212.
No, that was the boiling point.
It's 32 to 212 -
in other words, 180.
And finally, 50 degrees Fahrenheit
corresponds to how many
degrees Celsius?
15?
12 or 13.
Try 13. 13.
No, it's ten.
Right, ten points for this.
Which novel by Virginia Woolf was
inspired in part by Knole House
in Kent and by members of
the Sackville family who owned it?
The novel is subtitled A Biography.
Orlando.
Orlando is correct, yes.
Get these bonuses, you'll be
on absolutely level pegging.
Three questions on anniversaries
that fell in 2018.
2018 marks the 800th anniversary
of the Treaty of Worcester.
This acknowledged the territorial
acquisitions of Llywelyn the Great
and was signed early
in the reign of which English king?
800, so 1218.
Would be what? 1218 would
be John. John, I think.
Do we think it's John? John.
No, it was Henry III.
Which Lord Chancellor negotiated
the Treaty of London in 1518?
It led to the meeting of Henry VIII
and Francis I of France
at the Field of the Cloth of Gold
two years later.
Thomas More. Thomas More.
No, it was Thomas Wolsey.
And finally, which treaty of 1918
ended the active participation
of Russia in the First World War?
Brest-Litovsk.
Correct.
Right, ten points for this.
Which semi-opera by Henry Purcell
includes a frost scene
featuring a chorus and dance
of the Cold People?
Its title character is a legendary
ruler who is the subject...
King Arthur.
King Arthur is correct.
These bonuses are on
US presidential assassinations.
Abraham Lincoln was shot by
John Wilkes Booth at Ford's Theatre
in Washington in what year?
1874... Come on.
1880? No, that's too late.
1860...
1865. 1865.
Correct.
Secondly, which president died
80 days after being shot at
a railway station in Washington?
He was succeeded by his
vice-president Chester A Arthur.
We don't know. That was Garfield.
And finally, the Secret Service
assumed official responsibility
for protecting US presidents
after whose assassination in 1901?
Andrew Jackson. Andrew Jackson.
No, it was McKinley.
Ten points for this.
A widespread theme of visual art,
the Jatakas are several hundred
popular stories
of the former lives of which figure?
I'll tell you. It's the Buddha.
Ten points for this.
Who is the only British Prime
Minister to date to have won
the Nobel Prize for literature?
Sorry. Pass.
Oh, you don't want to answer.
Churchill.
Winston Churchill is correct.
Winston Churchill.
That gives you the lead again
and you get a set of bonuses
on books in the
Virago Modern Classics series.
In each case,
name the author from the titles.
First, the Sadeian Woman,
The Passion Of New Eve
and The Magic Toyshop.
Any guesses? No.
Pass.
By Angela Carter.
Secondly, The Lost Traveller,
The Sugar House and Frost In May.
No.
GONG
That's by Antonia White.
So, St Catherine's, we're going to
have to say goodbye to you.
Thank you very much for joining us,
though.
Peterhouse, you left it
pretty late, but you did it.
I don't know whether that will be
one of the four highest scores
of a winning team,
but if it is, we'll look forward
to seeing you again and if it's not,
we shall say goodbye to you, and you
go home with your heads held high,
although clearly with a need
to read some Virago classics.
Thank you both very much.
None of you had to do it
but you just did it for fun.
I hope you can join us next time
for another first-round match,
but until then it's goodbye
from St Catherine's, Oxford.
ALL: Goodbye.
It's goodbye from Peterhouse,
Cambridge.
ALL: Goodbye.
And it's goodbye from me. Goodbye.
