I am Your Meal Ticket, So Be Nice Quiz

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. Which TV dad from New Jersey did what he did to provide for his family, but also had long-term affairs with women named Irina, Gloria, Valentina, Svetlana and Julianna?

Answer: Tony Soprano

For six seasons, we followed Tony Soprano and both of his families in wild adventures of the NJ/NY mob. Tony always explained and excused his behavior by saying it was to provide for his family. Although his wife and children paid high prices for his excesses, they also stayed loyal to Tony and each other in the long run.

2. Bonnie Franklin played Ann Romano in which Norman Lear sitcom about a single mom and her two daughters?

Answer: One Day at a Time

"One Day at a Time" was created by Whitney Blake and her third husband, and is based in part on her own experiences as a divorced mom raising three children from her first marriage. Mrs. Blake's daughter became actress Meredith Baxter, famous for her own 1970s shows "Family" and "Family Ties".

3. We first met this TV character in a successful sitcom before he moved his family to a better part of town in their own spin-off show. Which TV character was born to Alabama sharecroppers, served as a cook in the U.S. Navy, then gained success as the owner of a series of New York City dry cleaning shops?

Answer: George Jefferson

George Jefferson was played by Sherman Hemsley for 253 episodes over 11 seasons from 1975-1985. The Jeffersons began as next door neighbors to Archie and Edith Bunker in Queens in the sitcom "All in the Family". With growing success of his dry cleaning business, George was able to "move on up" to a "deluxe apartment in the sky" on the Upper East Side of Manhattan.

4. A twice-removed spin-off from "All in the Family", which 1970s sitcom had the strong father character killed halfway through the series run, leaving his namesake oldest son as the man of the house?

Answer: Good Times

"Good Times" was a spinoff of "Maude", where the character Florida Evans was Maude's housekeeper, and Maude was a spinoff of "All in the Family". John Amos played "Good Times" patriarch James Evans, Sr. He left after three seasons, reportedly because he was dissatisfied that the show was focusing too much on the buffoonery of the popular oldest son character, James Jr., or "JJ", played by Jimmie Walker. John Amos and Esther Rolle, who played Florida, signed on to the project thinking it would be a vehicle to explore serious social topics and both were disappointed with the change driven by the wild popularity of JJ, "Kid Dyn-O-Mite".

5. His character Ed Brown ran a garage in East Los Angeles. Veteran actor Jack Albertson headlined which 1970s sitcom, the first to be set in a Mexican-American neighborhood?

Answer: Chico and the Man

"Chico and the Man" ran from 1974-1978 and starred Albertson and Freddie Prinze as his Chicano employee. This show was in the top 10 for its first two seasons, showing the growing relationship between a cantankerous Anglo employer and his young Chicano employee and eventual friend. Actor Freddie Prinze committed suicide in the third season of the show, at age 22.

Although the show continued for two more seasons, it continued to slip in ratings following the death of Prinze.

6. Professor John Robinson was the head of a family on which TV show, that chronicled their wanderings in future times?

Answer: Lost in Space

The Robinson name is famous for "lost" people: Robinson Crusoe, Swiss Family Robinson, etc. "Lost in Space" followed the Robinson family as they tried to find their way back to Earth after having their voyage sabotaged by the nefarious Dr. Smith.

7. Who is the main breadwinner and de facto head of the family in the Showtime series "Shameless" (US)?

Answer: Fiona

The U.S. version of "Shameless" uses the same character names as the original British version. In both, although Frank Gallagher is the father of the family, he is incapacitated by his addictions and laziness, leaving his oldest daughter Fiona to keep the family together.

8. The character Charlie headed a blended family on which TV show; that is, at least until his character abruptly died and a younger actor introduced the replacement character Walden Schmidt?

Answer: Two and a Half Men

Charlie Sheen played rich playboy Charlie Harper for eight seasons, sharing his Malibu beachfront home with his recently divorced down-on-his-luck brother and his nephew. After Sheen entered drug rehab and made disparaging comments about the producers, he was fired and his character killed off. Ashton Kutcher joined the show as a recently divorced and needy internet billionaire.

9. Actor Bill Paxton plays Bill Henrickson, head of a family that includes characters Barb, Nicki, and Margene and at least nine kids. Which HBO series is this?

Answer: Big Love

"Big Love" follows a polygamist, his three wives, their combined nine children and greatly extended family. The controversial series explored many themes of American family life, and the series continued to grow in ratings and popularity, peaking in its fifth and final season in 2011.

10. The character Nicholas Brody is head of his family in which Showtime Original series that is an acclaimed political/psychological/espionage drama?

Answer: Homeland

Marine Sgt. Brody was captured and held for eight years by Al-Qaeda. Before his return to his "Homeland", a CIA officer is tipped that a U.S. captive has been turned by Al-Qaeda and will be placed in the U.S. as a sleeper agent. Brody returns to his broken family and tries to cope with them, his identity as a Marine and, eventually, a U.S. Congressman, while also serving another master.

Source: Author wjames

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor ladymacb29 before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.

The heads of TV families that at least deserved respect for being the breadwinner.

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