"John From Cincinnati": Season One Quiz

Answer: Monad

The main character is named John Monad, although John Doe would be appropriate because he's so mysterious! "Johnny Appleseed" is the show's theme song.

The Free Online Dictionary defines "Monad" as:

"1. An indivisible, impenetrable unit of substance viewed as the basic constituent element of physical reality in the metaphysics of Leibnitz (Philosophy).
2. A single-celled microorganism, especially a flagellate protozoan of the genus Monas (Biology)."

That certainly ties in with the show's spiritual theme!

Answer: Joe Strummer and the Mescaleros

This catchy folk tune is performed by none other than Joe Strummer, formerly of the legendary punk band, The Clash. It certainly is about as far from punk rock as you can get!

Answer: Imperial Beach

The show is set in Imperial Beach, or "IB", as it is referred to by the characters. Imperial Beach is in Southern California, near San Diego. The city's motto is: "America's Most Southwesternly City". Interesting bit of trivia: Matthew Modine went to high school in Imperial Beach.

Answer: 3

Three generations of the Yost family are surfers: Mitch Yost, his son Butchie, and Butchie's teenaged son, Shaun. Mitch's wife, Cissy (Rebecca de Mornay), runs a surf shop, but she herself does not surf on the show.

Answer: adult film actress

Shaun's mom, Tina Blake, is a porn star. When Shaun was a baby, she left him on his grandparents' front doorstep because she didn't feel that she could take care of him. (Butchie, Shaun's father, was on drugs at the time.) Because of this, she is not well-liked by Cissy Yost (i.e., Shaun's grandmother). In fact, Cissy often has harsh words to say about Tina and her chosen profession.

When Tina suddenly shows up in town, Cissy is suspicious and assumes that Tina just wants to cash in on her son's newfound fame.

Shaun has not seen his mother in years, but is curious about her. In one episode, Cissy finds a DVD of one of Tina's films in Shaun's room. (Before you get too grossed out, don't worry: it was still unopened. Shaun just wanted a photo of his mom.) Shaun and Tina do finally meet in episode six ("His Visit: Day Five").

Answer: Zippy the bird gives him a kiss.

In episode two ("His Visit: Day Two"), Shaun is injured in a surfing competition and is pronounced brain-dead at the hospital. Bill Jacks brings Zippy, his bird (who came back from the dead in the first episode) to the hospital. When he is alone with Shaun, he takes the bird out of his pocket and tells him to kiss Shaun. As soon as Zippy kisses Shaun, he revives and makes a complete recovery!

Dr. Michael Smith is stunned. He tells the family to take Shaun home quickly, before the rest of the hospital staff gets wind of Shaun's unexpected recovery.

In episode three ("His Visit: Day Two Continued"), Dr. Smith gets questioned by the hospital's lawyer. Dr. Smith's official "line" is that he misdiagnosed the boy. This incident, and the feeling that something supernatural happened, motivate Dr. Smith to quit his job at the hospital.

Cissy and Mitch don't do any praying on the show.

Answer: Mitch Yost

Beginning in episode one ("His Visit: Day One"), Mitch Yost (Bruce Greenwood) suddenly starts levitating. He can't control it and does not know why it's happening. He tells his son Butchie about it, and then it happens! The levitation is not only witnessed by Butchie, but also by Bill Jacks who is eavesdropping.

It happens again in later episodes.

Answer: All of these

Bill Jacks (played by Ed O'Neill of "Married with Children" fame) is an old friend of the Yost family. He was on the local police force for many years and appears to be bored by retirement. In more than one episode, he is seen arguing with various members of the police force because they won't give him the information or help he demands. In one episode, he is almost arrested!

Bill is often seen talking to his dead wife as if she can hear him. He also talks to his pet birds, and they apparently talk back to him telepathically. In one episode, the bird tells him that he and the gangster, Steady Freddie Lopez, are going to be best friends. Bill is skeptical about this, but not nearly as skeptical as Freddie is!

Answer: I don't know Butchie instead.

In episode one ("His Visit: Day One"), Butch has only just met John and has not yet realized that John is not quite "normal". At one point, Butchie gets frustrated with John and tells him from now on to say, " 'I don't know, Butchie', instead." John takes this literally and says, "I-don't-know-Butchie-instead" for the remainder of the show.

Answer: Howard Hesseman

Howard Hesseman plays The Chemist in episodes eight and nine. The Chemist's "real" name on the show is Erlemeyer. He's an old stoner whom Mitch Yost reconnects with.

Hesseman is best known for his role as John "Dr. Johnny Fever" Caravella on the 1980's TV show, "WKRP in Cincinnati". Les Nessman is the name of another character from "WKRP".