Life Goes On Trivia Quiz

Answer: Thatcher

The surname of the family in "Life Goes On" was Thatcher. There was Andrew "Drew" Thatcher (the dad), Elizabeth "Libby" Thatcher (the mom), Paige Thatcher (the oldest daughter), Charles "Corky" Thatcher (the oldest son whom the show was based on), Rebecca "Becca" Thatcher (the youngest daughter), and Nicholas "Nicky" Thatcher (the youngest child), who was born at the end of season 2.

They also had a family dog named Arnold. Arnold was played by a dog actor named Bullet. He was a very well-trained dog, and it was hard to believe he was acting.

The whole family loved him, he was very loving and loyal to the Thatcher family, and Corky had a special bond with him. The show wouldn't have been the same without him.

Answer: Down Syndrome

Corky, the character that the show is based on, had Down Syndrome. His character was high functioning but still struggled in school and understanding how to function and deal with everyday life. It showed us what people with Down's Syndrome have to deal with every day and how the family handled it.

In the pilot episode, Drew and Libby were mainstreaming Corky into a regular high school at 19 years old after being at a special school.

At first, there were some bumps in the road and a bit of drama, but it all worked out in the end.

In the pilot episode, we also discover that Libby isn't Paige's birth mother, it's very subtle but it's there and you can catch it if you really pay attention. Such a good episode to start the series.

Answer: Chris Burke

Chris Burke is an actor who has Down Syndrome in real life. He was one of the first people with Down Syndrome to act in a television show. It was also the first television show to have a character with Down's Syndrome. Those are just a couple of things that made the show so special and unique.

The show was created for him and the creator of the show, Michael Braverman based the character of Corky after his own nephew, who also has Down's Syndrome. They even have the same name, Charles.

Answer: True

Patti is a well-known Broadway and stage actress. She is best known for her starring role in "Evita". Due to Patti's singing talents and stage work, her character Libby was also a former stage actress and singer before getting married and becoming a mother. Patti's singing talents were used on the show in several episodes. In her memoir which came out in 2010, Patti talked about her time on the show.

When she first accepted the role of Libby, she did so because she fell in love with the script and the character, and the money was good.

She wanted to get her feet wet in the television acting world. Unfortunately, she grew bored of the character and the show because it was a "thankless mom role" and she felt that the writers didn't really know how to write for her character.

The only positive things she got from working on the show were working with Chris Burke, Kellie Martin, and Monique Lanier. She didn't have a lot of nice things to say about her co-star Bill Smitrovitch, but that's something for another day.

Answer: True

Bill Smitrovitch was fairly new to acting when he got the role of Drew Thatcher. He had only been in a handful of shows and movies before getting the role of Drew. Bill had exactly what they were looking for in the character of Drew. Bill had a degree in Special Education and had taught Special Education before taking up acting, he was a natural to play Corky's dad. Bill said that playing Drew was the best thing that ever happened to him and the greatest experience of his life.

He based the character of Drew off of his own father who had died when he was just 17.

Answer: Two

Monique Lanier originated the role and played the role throughout season 1 but when season 2 rolled around, Monique was no longer available to play Paige due to her having a baby who was born with complications. She left to take care of her baby. Tracey Needham took over the role of Paige from season 2 onwards and a lot of people didn't even notice the change in actresses.

They both made the role of Paige their own and made her a memorable character.

Answer: True

Before "Life Goes On", Kellie had guest starred on several TV shows and had minor roles in movies. "Life Goes On" was the show that made her popular and what really launched her career. Kellie loved being on the show and loved playing Becca. It was a lot of work doing a weekly show, but it was also a lot of fun for her.

She learned a lot and working with, and meeting Chris Burke was one of the best experiences of her life. She was only 13 years old when she got the role of Becca and was 17 when the show ended.

Answer: Nicholas

Nicholas "Nicky" James Thatcher was born at the end of season 2. Libby at first thought she was going through menopause because she was 41 years old, but when she took a pregnancy test, she found out she was pregnant. The pregnancy was unexpected due to Drew and Libby both being in their 40's and Drew had his own worries about the baby stemming from already having another child with a disability.

But when Nicky was born, he was healthy and Drew and Libby, despite being older and unprepared for another child, were happy and welcomed him with open arms. Patti LuPone was pregnant in season 2, and so they made Libby pregnant too so they didn't have to hide it. Patti gave birth to a baby boy during season 2, months before Libby gave birth to Nicky, but they made it work. I couldn't imagine not having Nicky.

Answer: No

Libby was Paige's stepmother. Paige was from Drew's first marriage to Katherine. But Katherine didn't spend much time actually "mothering" Paige, she was too busy with her stage acting career to raise Paige. Drew and Katherine's marriage was a disaster from the start, Paige being the only good thing to come out of it. Paige was very young when Drew and Libby met and got married, and even though Paige saw Katherine and knew her as her mother, Libby raised her and loved her as her own daughter.

Answer: Tyler

Becca developed a crush on Tyler Benchfield, one of the most popular guys in school and a star athlete. He also had a brother with Down Syndrome and befriended Corky. Her crush began in 7th grade and lasted until Becca finally got his attention in season 2, when he asked her to the prom.

They ended up not going because Libby went into labor with Nicky but that's when they made it official. They dated all throughout the summer and were happy together. But by season 3, it started to all fall apart slowly when Becca found herself falling for the new guy in town, Jesse.

It was a short-lived romance, between Becca and Tyler and tragic, but it was great while it lasted. I do wish it had lasted longer because I thought they were good together. I didn't like that they killed Tyler off in season 3, he deserved better than that.

Answer: Maxie

Maxie was the name of Becca's best friend and only real friend in the first two seasons of the show. The character of Maxie was played by Tanya Fenmore, she left the show at the beginning of season 3 to take up an acting career in Germany. Maxie herself went to France, and that's the last time we saw her.

Answer: True

Tommy Puett played Tyler Benchfield for the first three seasons of the show. His character was killed off at the end of season 3. Tommy Puett was well on his way to becoming a teenage heartthrob: he could sing, dance, and act. "Life Goes On" gave him the opportunity to showcase his talents.

But for some reason, the show decided to bring on a new teenage heartthrob and love interest for Becca, so that meant the end of the character of Tyler and Tommy Puett's promising career. I still don't think they should have had his character die, they could have had him leave the show in another way. I guess they felt that if Becca was going to be with Jesse, Tyler couldn't be around anymore for some reason. I still preferred Tyler over Jesse but I guess we can't all get what we want.

Answer: Chad Lowe

Chad Lowe was introduced in season 3 as the new kid in town, Jesse McKenna. We don't know a lot about him at first. He was a quiet loner who mostly kept to himself and not even Becca was impressed with him at first. She didn't really start to fall for him until her Sweet 16 birthday party when he was a guest and came to comfort her when she was feeling down about not being able to sleep with Tyler. She started seeing Jesse in a different light and realized that she was falling for him, and needed to break up with Tyler to sort out her feelings for the both of them.

This is what eventually led to Tyler's death at the end of season 3.

Answer: car accident

Tyler was having a hard time dealing with Becca breaking it off with him. He still loved her and didn't understand why it had to end and why she cared more about Jesse than him. He went to a party and started drinking heavily, something that he never did.

He left the party angry and drunk, Corky went with him and tried to stop him but to no avail. Corky got in the car with him, and Tyler (in his inebriated state) tried to avoid hitting a boy on a bike but ended up crashing his car. He ended up in a coma and on life support. Corky, thankfully, survived and only received minor injuries, but the crash left him in shock.

He walked around in a catatonic state and didn't speak for days afterward, but he finally came around and told everyone what happened.

He took it the hardest of everyone because Tyler had been such a good friend to him, and now he was gone. Such a tragic waste for such a good character. He deserved better.

Answer: HIV/AIDS

We discover that Jesse has been diagnosed with HIV, which eventually develops into full blown AIDS. Becca doesn't know this at first and wonders why Jesse doesn't want to kiss her when she kisses him for the first time. When he tells her she is in shock and doesn't know how to handle it. She eventually comes around and tries to get everyone to accept Jesse despite his diagnosis.

Answer: Angela

She and Libby were close like sisters and shared everything. Angela was a brilliant lawyer but was a bit of a wallflower. Libby gave her a makeover and Angela blossomed and started dating. Drew and the kids all loved her. I actually preferred Angela over Libby's sister Gina.
She was played by Gina Hecht, who had been on "Mork and Mindy" with Robin Williams.

Answer: Richard

Rick Rosenthal, one of the co-executive producers and the director of the show, played Drew's brother Richard. When we first meet him, we find out that he's a con artist. He lies to everyone and pretends to be something he's not. He's not well liked by many people in the family, Libby and Angela especially.

The kids love him and look up to him. After he's arrested and sent to jail, Angela bails him out. That's when he decides to tell everyone the truth about himself. Once he does that, the family actually start to like him more.

He turns out to be a good guy in the end.

Answer: The Glenbrook Grill

Drew bought a restaurant that was going out of business. The owners wanted to sell but needed to find a good buyer. Unfortunately, Drew couldn't come up with the money on his own, but he was able to get some help from a local business owner named Farmer Jack. Drew had dreamed of owning his own business just like his grandfather did when he was a child. Once he bought the restaurant, he was able to get out of the construction business which he hated.

He wanted to be an architect but was never able to go to college and get his degree to make it all happen.

Unfortunately, at the beginning of season 3, Corky accidentally burns down the restaurant when he forgets to properly shut off the burners on the grill. Thankfully, with a little help from Libby's boss Jerry, they are able to rebuild the restaurant and make it better than ever.

Answer: At an anti-war rally

Drew and Libby met at an anti-war rally in the 1960's. Libby was singing on stage at the rally and Drew saw her. He was enjoying what he was hearing, he loved her voice and fell in love with her right then. Some other people attending the rally were talking loudly, which upset Drew because he couldn't hear Libby singing.

He told them to keep it down so he could listen, but they wouldn't be quiet. It led to an argument, which culminated in a physical fight. Libby could no longer sing over the commotion, so she stopped what she was doing and approached them.

She told them to stop fighting because "they didn't need that kind of vibe here". Drew just looked at her, smiled, and said, "Will you go out with me?" Libby just looked at him.

Answer: Italian

Libby's maiden name was Giordano. Her parents, Salvadore and Teresa, were both from Italy, and they met very young. Sal proposed to Teresa through a letter while stationed in Normandy during the war. When he came back, they got married.
Drew and Libby got married quickly themselves as well.
Patti LuPone is Italian herself and so it seemed only appropriate that Libby be one as well. Libby's whole family definitely fit the Italian stereotype, they were all stubborn, opinionated, loud, and eccentric. Becca herself was ashamed that they were her family and even went as far as admitting that she had nothing to do with the fact that they were her family when Libby pointed it out to her. She didn't want to be related to any of them. Although she did seem to be close to her mom's cousin, Angela.