Law Enforcement Trivia

1. "NCIS": Leroy Jethro Gibbs, Timothy McGee and ...?

From Quiz One of Our Cops is Missing

Answer: Aiden Parker

"NCIS" was a fictional TV show based around the activities of the real US Naval Criminal Investigative Service. First broadcast in 2003, the concept was previewed in the earlier TV show "JAG". The show was regularly placed highly in the ratings over its first twenty seasons. From the earliest seasons the team was led by Leroy Jethro Gibbs (Mark Harmon), a former US Marines sniper. Gibbs, as he was know familiarly, was a hard taskmaster in the early seasons, but as the show went on, as a many without a family of his own, his team became his family. Sean Murray played Timothy McGee as a member of the main cast from season two. Aiden Parker, played by Gary Cole, took over as team leader in season 19. The wrong answers were charters in the Irish crime series "Jack Taylor", an adaptation of the books by Ken Bruen.

From Quiz Female TV Detectives

Answer: Sgt "Pepper" Anderson

"Police Woman" ran for 4 seasons from 1974-1978. It was one of the first hour long Prime Time dramas to feature a woman in the primary role for which Angie Dickinson won a "Golden Globe" for her portrayal. It is still unclear what Pepper's real name was, though most sources suggest "Suzanne", whilst others suggest "Lee Ann or Leanne".

From Quiz Hot In The Heels

Answer: DCI Jane Tennison

Detective Chief Inspector Tennison is a character created by Lynda La Plante in the television series "Prime Suspect" that first aired in the United Kingdom in 1991. Tennison works in a male dominated environment and despite her brilliance is often overlooked for the major crimes purely on the virtue of her sex. In fact sexism is one of the major sub-plots in the first series and is employed in such a manner that it is shown to hinder Tennison in her investigations. Mirren is brilliant in her role as the no-nonsense Inspector and the role won her the first of a number of Primetime Emmy Awards. This question was created by Phoenix Rising member pollucci19.

From Quiz Detecting Detectives

Answer: 'Columbo'

Lieutenant Columbo first graced our screens in 1968 and starred in nearly 70 made-for-tv movies. The great Peter Falk played the Lieutenant, Falk sadly passed away in June 2011.

From Quiz Somebody Dial 911

Answer: Naked City

The one New York-based show from this list is "Naked City", which aired four seasons between 1958 and 1963. It originally starred James Franciscus and John McIntire as Detective Jimmy Halloran and Lt. Dan Muldoon, and centered around the 65th Precinct. McIntire left the show to move to Montana, however, and they killed his character (Muldoon) off in a car crash. He was replaced by Horace McMahon in the role of Lt. Mike Parker. The show was a followup to the 1948 film of the same name. "Arrest and Trial" lasted for one season from 1963 to 1964 and starred Ben Gazzara and Roger Perry as two LAPD detectives, as well as Chuck Connors and John Larch as lawyers. The show format was 90 minutes split in two - the police portion in the first half, then the followup courtroom drama in the second half. "Burke's Law" ran for three seasons from 1963 to 1965, featuring Gene Barry as a millionaire police captain in LAPD's homicide division who went around in his Rolls Royce solving crimes. The original television run of "Dragnet" lasted eight seasons (1951-59), starring Jack Webb as Sergeant Joe Friday. Webb created the show and also starred in the radio drama that preceded the TV show.

From Quiz Cops on TV: Let's Be Careful Out There!

Answer: Hamish Macbeth

Hamish Macbeth (Carlyle) is happy to have left pressured police work in Glasgow, and quite prepared to collude with a little harmless law breaking if it avoids a successful crime detection rate that gets him promoted out of Lochdubh. Three series of 'Hamish Macbeth' were filmed around the real villages of Plockton and Kyle of Lochalsh on the northwest coast of Scotland, and broadcast between 1995-1997. Policing challenges Hamish faced included a suspicion of cheating at the annual shinty match, being ordered to close down a local pirate radio station, and investigating the possibility that there were aliens in Lochalsh!

From Quiz American Police Dramas

Answer: Cockatoo

Robert Blake was born Michael James Vincenzo Gubitosi on 18th September 1933, in Nutley, New Jersey. In 2002 he was arrested for the murder of his second wife, Bonnie Lee Bakley, who was killed on 4th May 2001. He was subsequently acquitted of her murder. The theme song to 'Baretta', was called "Keep Your Eye on the Sparrow", and was written by Dave Grusin and M.Ames. It was initially an instrumental, but lyrics sung by Sammy Davis Jr were later added.

From Quiz Cops on Television, Past and Present

Answer: "Dragnet"

Actor Harry Morgan portrayed Officer Gannon in the 1967 version of "Dragnet." Gannon was the partnered with no-nonsense Sgt. Joe Friday (Jack Webb). Harry Morgan later played Col. Sherman Potter of the hit television series "M.A.S.H." For his positive portrayal of the Los Angeles Police Department, Jack Webb was honored by the department as being the only civilian ever to be presented with an authentic LAPD badge.

From Quiz Old Cop Shows

Answer: Peggy Fair

Peggy Fair was ably played by Gail Fisher, a fine African American actress. Fisher won an Emmy and a Golden Globe for her perfomance in 1969. Unfortunately this was the only major role of her career. Peggy joined the show in the second season, after Joe quit his job at Intertect and hung out his own shingle. Peggy had an uncanny knack of knowing when Joe was in trouble and needed help. She bailed him out of many a tight spot. Mannix is considered by many to be the most violent detective show in TV history. In almost every episode Joe is injured in some way. During the course of the series he is shot several times, stabbed, pistol whipped, knocked unconcious( this was a real favorite, it happened almost every week), thrown from moving vehicles, thrown down the spillway of a dam, etc, etc. Mike Connors (Joe Mannix) was born Krekor Ohanian in Fresno, California. Young Krekor went to UCLA and played basketball for the Bruins, same as Joe Mannix did on the show. Early in his acting career he went by the name 'Touch Connors', a carryover from his basketball playing days. Just in case you were wondering, Mannix was not a Quinn Martin production. Boo, hiss! {Update;} Gail fisher died on December 2nd, 2000 of kidney failure. She was 65 years old.

From Quiz One of Our Cops is Missing

Answer: Emily Prentiss

First broadcast in 2005, "Criminal Minds" went on to chalk up 15 seasons on CBS and a 16th on Paramount+. The show was based around the idea of the real life Behavioural Analysis Unit of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Their task was to "see" inside the minds of serial killers and catch them by identifying patterns of behaviour. Matthew Gray Gubler played Spencer Reid, perhaps the most insightful of the team; Kirsten Vangsness played Penelope Garcia, the computer technician who kept the balls in the air; Page Brewster played Emily Prentis another of the field team. The wrong answers were all doctors in the medical drama "St Elsewhere".

From Quiz Female TV Detectives

Answer: Laura Holt

"Remington Steele" ran for 5 seasons from 1982-1987. Though the show is attributed to launching the career of Pierce Bronson, Stephanie Zimbalist's "Laura Holt" was deemed a "role model" especially to "the independent modern career women."

From Quiz Detecting Detectives

Answer: Huggy Bear

The role of Huggy Bear was played by Antonio Fargas. Starsky and Hutch ran from 1975 to 1979. Snoop Dogg took up the role in the 2004 film version.

From Quiz Somebody Dial 911

Answer: CHiPs

"CHiPs" starred Erik Estrada as Francis 'Ponch' Poncherello and Larry Wilcox as Jonathan 'Jon' Baker. Wilcox played the straight-shooter to Estrada's comparatively wilder character. The show lasted six seasons, from 1977 to 1983. While normally, motorcycle policemen rarely work in pairs, the show presented the premise that 'Ponch' was under probation, with Baker assigned to be his supervising officer. Eventually, 'Ponch' completed his probation, but they still stayed together.

From Quiz Cops on TV: Let's Be Careful Out There!

Answer: Ironside

Raymond Burr played Chief of Detectives Robert T. Ironside in this series that ran from 1967-1975. Appointed as a special consultant by the police commissioner after he was shot, Ironside and his team conducted a lot of their case discussions while driving round San Francisco in the back of a van adapted for Ironside's wheelchair. Barbara Anderson provided the touch of compassion and glamour to the team as Officer Eve Whitfield, replaced halfway through the eight-season run by Officer Fran Belding (Elizabeth Baur) after Anderson left due to a contract dispute.

From Quiz The Laws of "Attraction"

Answer: Chris Noth

It may be argued that Chris Noth is typecast as the typical "law enforcement" character. Nevertheless, he has made a substantial career out of portraying this genre of characters. On an aside, he is also noted for playing "Mr. Big," on "Sex and the City". This question is humbly submitted by our very own crafty cutie, christopherm.

From Quiz American Police Dramas

Answer: Thomas Jefferson

Both Sharon Stone and Tori Spelling made guest appearances in episodes of 'T.J Hooker', before they became well known. William Shatner is perhaps best known for his role as Captain Kirk, in the 'Star Trek' series. His co-star in this series, Leonard Nimoy made a guest appearance in an episode of 'T.J.Hooker', "Vengeance is Mine", which he also directed.

From Quiz Cops on Television, Past and Present

Answer: "Car 54, Where Are You?"

Paul Reed played Capt. Block, who commanded the NYPD's 53rd Pct., in this 1961 comedy series. The series starred Joe E. Ross as Officer Gunther Toody, and Fred Gwynn as his partner, Officer Francis Muldoon. Gwynn went on to play Herman Munster in the television series "The Munsters." Actor Al Lewis, who played Officer Leo Schnauser in "Car 54, Where Are You", also starred with Gwynn in "The Munsters" in the role of Granpa. One interesting fact was that the patrol car used by Toody and Muldoon was an exact duplicate of those used by the NYPD. Because the show was filmed in black and white, the car was actually painted red and white to distinguish it from real police cars during filming, which was mostly done on location. On home TV screens, red and white looked identicle to the dark green and white of genuine NYPD police cars.

From Quiz Old Cop Shows

Answer: 714

Friday's badge was always shown during the opening credits of the show. This show was Jack Webb's baby. It started as a radio show in 1949, came to TV in 1952 and ran until 1959, was resurrected in 1967 and the curtain finally came down in 1970. Webb produced the show through his company, Mark VII, and later through Dragnet Productions. He also wrote and directed many of the episodes. Alas, still no Quinn Martin!

From Quiz One of Our Cops is Missing

Answer: Jermaine Crawford

"We Own This City" was a TV mini-series set in Baltimore. It was based on a non-fiction book by Justin Fenton. Six episodes were broadcast in 2022. This was a dramatisation of the corruption allegations surrounding the real life Baltimore Police Department's Gun Trace Task Force. The wrong answers were all character in "The Wire" - which was also set in Baltimore.

From Quiz Female TV Detectives

Answer: Maddie Hayes

"Moonlighting" ran for 5 seasons 1985-89, relaunching Cybill Shepherd's career. ABC executives initially did not want to cast an unknown actor by the name of Bruce Willis as they believed no one would believe the on-screen chemistry.

From Quiz Hot on the Heels

Answer: Jack Lord

Jack Lord played Steve McGarrett from 1968 through 1980 in a total of 279 episodes. In both the original and the remake, McGarrett is an ex-US naval officer who heads an elite crime fighting team that answers only to the governor. The unit is based on an actual unit that operated in Hawaii under martial law during the 1940s. The original series uses the letter O even though it is five zero whereas the remake always uses a zero. The immortal line McGarrett used frequently "Book'em Danno" has become part of pop culture and is relevant even today (2016). McGarrett still uses the phrase in the remake much to the dismay of his partner Danny Williams (played by Scott Caan). The use of Five-O to refer to any police is also still used throughout the US (as of 2016). James MacArthur played Danny Williams in the original. Karl Malden starred in "The Streets of San Francisco" alongside Michael Douglas. Daniel J. Travanti starred in "Hill Street Blues". This question was created by Phoenix Rising member tazman6619.

From Quiz Hot In The Heels

Answer: Bones

Dr. Temperance Brennan works as a forensic anthropologist at the Jeffersonian Institute Medico-Legal Lab where she examines human remains where the flesh is very degraded. Because of this work she is given the nickname 'Bones'. This is also the name of the television series which commenced in 2005 starring Emily Deschanel as Dr. Temperance Brennan. The character was created by Kathy Reichs in a series of sixty-five murder-mystery novels. Leonard "Bones" McCoy was the doctor in the original series (and some later episodes) of Star Trek, played by DeForest Kelley. Number One was a nickname for the First Officer, used most notably by Captain Picard frequently when addressing William Riker. Scotty, of course, refers to Montgomery Scott, portrayed most famously by James Doohan. In the television series Star Trek: Enterprise, we met 'Trip', a character named Charles Tucker III. His nickname 'Triple' (shortened to Trip) derived from the fact that he is the third of his family to be named Charles Tucker. He was portrayed by Connor Trinneer. This question was written by Phoenix Rising member Vegemite Kid.

From Quiz Somebody Dial 911

Answer: Hill Street Blues

The seven seasons of "Hill Street Blues" ran from 1981 to 1987, and while it took place in a fictional city, it had the feeling of an inner city akin to Chicago or Detroit. The police cars were painted in the same pattern as the Chicago police department, with the word 'Metro' in place of 'Chicago'. The show often had multiple story lines running, some which would be resolved in a single episode, while others were developed over numerous episodes.

From Quiz Cops on TV: Let's Be Careful Out There!

Answer: Dempsey and Makepeace

New York police lieutenant James Dempsey is forced to hotfoot it out of town until things quiet down, after he exposes high level police corruption, and he ends up seconded to an armed undercover unit in the London Metropolitan Police. He and his partner, the English upper class Lady Harriet (Sergeant) Makepeace, have a love-hate relationship based on the contrast between his American gun-toting brashness and her English Rose sophistication. The series ran from 1984-1986 on ITV, and the love obviously won over the hate as Brandon (previously married to Lindsay Wagner) and Barber married in real life in 1989.

From Quiz TV Police

Answer: Carl Winslow

Reginald VelJohnson has played all of these policemen, but Carl was the much put-upon father on "Family Matters". He played Al Powell, the radio friend of Bruce Willis' John McLean in the movie "Die Hard". In "Turner & Hooch", he played Det. David Sutton. Finally, in the movie "Plain Clothes", he played Capt. Graff.

From Quiz Cops on Television, Past and Present

Answer: "The New Breed"

Leslie Nielson played the head of the elite LAPD Metropolitan Squad in this 1961 series. The police unit solved their cases through the use of scientific means when traditional crime solving techniques failed. While this was a serious drama series, the star, Leslie Nielson became best known for his role as bumbling Det. Sgt. Frank Drebin in the "Police Squad" television series, and as Lt. Frank Drebin in three "The Naked Gun" movies.

From Quiz One of Our Cops is Missing

Answer: Gerry Cliff

"Blue Lights" was a BBC show first broadcast in 2023. It was set in Belfast and followed the early careers of probationary constables in the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI). Grace Ellis (Siân Brooke) was the eldest of the new officers. Born in England she had lived and worked as a social worker in Belfast for many years before joining the police. Tommy Foster (Natan Braniff) was a new officer on the 'fast track' scheme and destined for better things quickly. Gerry Cliff was an old hand with almost thirty years of experience. He was played by former "Game of Thrones" regular Richard Dormer. The show was well-received by critics and audiences and a second season was confirmed shortly after the final show in the first. The wrong answers were also police officers from shows based in Northern Ireland: Liam Neeson played Chief Constable Byers in the multi award-winning comedy "DerryGirls"; Amara Karan played Detective Constable Leila Hussain in "Hope Street"; and James Nesbitt played Detective Inspector Tony Brannick in "Bloodlands".

From Quiz Female TV Detectives

Answer: Tiffany Welles

Jill Munroe (Farrah Fawcett), Sabrina Duncan (Kate Jackson), and Kelly Garrett (Jaclyn Smith) graduated from the police academy in Los Angeles. Kris Munroe (Cheryl Ladd) graduated from the San Francisco police academy and takes the place of her older sister, Jill. Tiffany Welles (Shelley Hack), a Boston police academy graduate, takes Sabrina's place. A private investigator in training Julie Rogers (Tanya Roberts) takes Tiffany's place.

From Quiz Hot on the Heels

Answer: Dexter Morgan

Michael C. Hall plays Dexter Morgan, a Miami police blood spatter expert. In his spare time he helps to reduce Miami's criminal element as a serial killer, immobilising them with cling film and generally using a knife to kill them. As a child he witnessed his mother brutally murdered and was fostered by a detective, who channeled Dexter's trauma induced urges, which he termed 'the dark passenger', in a 'positive' direction by killing murderers who could not be convicted. His on screen sister Debra, was played by his (at one time wife), Jennifer Carpenter. This question was created by Phoenix Rising team member smpdit.

From Quiz Detecting Detectives

Answer: Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

Adrian Monk, played by Tony Shalhoub is a former detective turned police consultant in the San Francisco Police Department. Since the death of his wife, he has battled O.C.D. and a number of phobias.

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Last Updated Oct 26 2024 5:50 AM

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