What's Up, Doc! Trivia Quiz

Answer: Comic

Dr. Jonathan Crane, perhaps more notoriously known as Scarecrow, is one of Batman's most iconic and recurring adversaries. He made his first appearance in DC Comics' "World's Finest Comics" #3 in September of 1941.

Dr. Crane began as a criminal psychologist who specialized in the study of fear, motivated by his traumatic childhood. As a villain, he created a costume that resembled a scarecrow, with a burlap sack over his head and a gas mask to distribute his fear toxin, a chemical compound that induces extreme terror in its victims.

Answer: Comic

Dr. Stephen Strange is a hero in the Marvel Universe of Comics, more commonly known just as Doctor Strange. Created by Stan Lee and Mike Ditko, Strange made his first appearance in "Strange Tales" #110 (July, 1963).

Initially portrayed as an arrogant neurosurgeon of exceptional skill, Strange gets into a debilitating car crash that leaves him with nerve damage to his hands and unable to continue in his chosen profession. In his efforts to find a treatment that could repair the damage, Strange eventually encounters the Ancient One, who introduces him to another world of magic and mystic arts. Strange eventually becomes the Sorcerer Supreme and protector of Earth.

Answer: Movie

Dr. Buckaroo Banzai is the (obvious) main character of the 1984 film "The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension", as portrayed by Peter Weller.

Banzai is presented as a polymath, genius physicist, neurosurgeon, test pilot, and (yes) a rock musician. He leads a team known as the Hong Kong Cavaliers, who accompany him on his extraordinary adventures. And the adventure of this film is to save the world from an interdimensional invasion by the alien Red Lectroids from Planet 10.

Answer: Movie

The character of Dr. Strangelove made his first appearance in the 1964 satirical film, "Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb." The dark humour story explores the fears and tensions of the Cold War, as a U.S. Air Force general orders a nuclear strike on the USSR, triggering a chain of events that leads to the brink of a nuclear apocalypse.

While the film was inspired by the 1958 Peter George novel "Red Alert" (originally published in the UK as "Two Hours to Doom"), the character of Dr. Strangelove was created for the film, and did not appear in the novel. In the film, Strangelove is a former Nazi scientist who becomes an advisor to the President of the United States, as wonderfully performed by Peter Sellers. In actuality, the character's original German name is Dr. Merkwürdigliebe, which translates as 'strange love.'

Answer: Novel

Dr. "Doc" Daneeka was created by Joseph Heller for his 1961 novel, "Catch-22." And it is Doc Daneeka's plight that brought the phrase into popular use, defined as an impossible situation where you are prevented from doing one thing until you have done another thing that you cannot do until you have done the first thing.

In the novel, Daneeka is a flight surgeon in the US Army Air Force during World War II, where he is responsible for the medical care of the B-25 bomber crews. His difficulty is that he wants to avoid flying any dangerous missions. The only way to do so is to be deemed insane, according to the rules, but if a pilot requests to be grounded due to reasons of insanity, he is deemed sane by virtue of having made the request, which is considered a rational action.

Answer: Novel

Dr. Yuri Zhivago is the title character of Boris Pasternak's 1957 novel, "Doctor Zhivago." Originally published in Italy, the novel was banned for publication in the Soviet Union for 30 years, finally getting published during the Glasnost era in 1988, 28 years after Pasternak's death. While he was still alive (in 1958), Pasternak was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature for "Doctor Zhivago," but he was pressured by the Soviet government to decline the award.

The story follows the life and experiences of the physician and poet as he lives through the First World War, the Russian Revolution, and the Russian Civil War, focusing on his struggles to maintain his artistic and moral integrity amidst all the chaos of war and revolution.

Answer: Television

Dr. Rajesh Koothrappali is one of the main characters of "The Big Bang Theory," which aired from 2007 until 2019. An astrophysicist, 'Raj' is one of the core group of (nerdy) scientist friends of the series, along with Sheldon Cooper, Leonard Hofstadter, and Howard Wolowitz.

As an Indian immigrant, Raj provides great comedic relief through cultural differences, but the comedy in the show is more with his 'selective mutism,' which renders him unable to speak to women unless he has had alcohol. Over the length of the series, Raj grows and develops as a character, including in his ability to interact with women.

Dr. Rajesh Koothrappali was humourously portrayed by Kunal Nayyar.

Answer: Television

Portrayed by many actors over the years, both in the official show and in parodies, the character of The Doctor in "Dr. Who" (or "Doctor Who") is an alien time traveler who has formed an attachment to the people of Earth (specifically those of Great Britain, coincidentally enough). He accomplishes his time traveling adventures with his iconic TARDIS (Time and Relative Dimension in Space), which is stuck looking like a blue British police box (common in the 1960s).

The series initially aired on November 23rd, 1963, with William Hartnell (1908-1975), and with his departure from the series in 1966, it set up the practice of the Doctor regenerating, as they replaced him with Patrick Troughton (1920-1987).

The original series was cancelled in 1989, but was revived in 2005.

Answer: Video Game

Dr. Eli Vance is a significant character in the video game series "Half-Life," and is an ally of the game's protagonist, Gordon Freeman. He did not appear in the initial "Half-Life" game in 1998, but was introduced in "Half-Life 2" (2004) and its episodes "Half-Life 2: Episode One" (2006) and "Half-Life 2: Episode Two" (2007).

Prior to the alien invasion (depicted in the first game), Dr. Vance was the former head of the Black Mesa Research Facility's Anomalous Materials department and an expert in theoretical physics, which makes him instrumental in helping fight the Combine.

The character is voiced by actor Robert Guillaume.

Answer: Video Game

Dr. Mei-Ling Zhou, commonly just referred to as "Mei" in the game, is from the "Overwatch" series of video games. She made her first appearance in the original 2016 "Overwatch" offering, and continues as a character in expansions and updates.

A playable character, Mei was originally a climatologist and adventurer from China, stationed in Antarctica. While conducting climate research, an extreme weather event caused the facility to be cut off from the rest of the world, leaving Mei and her team in cryostasis for years. When she awakes, she discovers a world in chaos, with the international task force Overwatch disbanded.

Her character has the ability to create ice walls to obstruct enemies, encase herself in ice for protection, and unleash freezing attacks to slow down opponents.

Actress Elise Zhang provides the voice for Mei in both English and Mandarin versions of the game.