Step Into the Light Trivia Quiz

Answer: All My Children

"All My Children", which aired on the ABC from 1970 to 2011, is, arguably, the ultimate opening for a quiz such as this. Not only did the character of Erica Kane rise to become the main protagonist of the series, but her portrayer, Susan Lucci, became one of the most famous soap opera stars of daytime television.

In the beginning, though, it wasn't meant to be that way. The show was designed to be built around Tara Martin (Karen Lynn Gorney) and her family. Erica Kane was supposed to be the antagonist, Tara's main rival or, the one that the audience was supposed to "love to hate". Erica's popularity, however, soared, so much so that the Martin family was pushed out of the centre of the "All My Children" universe and the Kanes moved in.

Answer: Victorious

"Victorious" (2010-2013) is a teen sitcom created in a similar vein to "Hannah Montana" (2006-2011) and "Lizzie McGuire" (2001-2004), with the idea of creating the "next big thing". In the case of "Victorious", the next big thing was meant to be Victoria Justice, who played the lead role of Tori Vega. To be fair, Victoria would go on to become a star in her own right but, in a universe of stars, she was totally eclipsed, in the 2010s, by the force that would be Ariana Grande. Grande would become the first person to have their first four singles all debut at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 charts. Likewise, her character in "Victorious", that comical little scene-stealer that was Cat Valentine, soon overtook Tori Vega as the most popular character.

Answer: Good Times

"Good Times" (1974-1979) allowed you to observe the Evans family, who lived in a Chicago housing project apartment and were struggling to make ends meet. The storylines were built around the parents, James (John Amos) and Florida (Esther Rolle). When confronted with a rather sombre subject, such as this one, the scriptwriters have a tendency to take the edge of it by introducing a character with a degree of goofiness... in this case, it was the Evans' eldest child, James Jr (JJ) played by Jimmie Walker.

The ploy worked, only it worked so well that the audience became more enarmoured with JJ's inanities and his regularly shouted catch-phrase of "Dyn-o-mite" than they did with the rest of the family. The end result was that the stories began to gravitate toward JJ, rather than the parents, whilst the other siblings drifted further into the background. This didn't sit well with both Amos and Rolle. Amos claimed the show had become too shallow and walked away from the set at the end of season three. Rolle also disappeared for season five but returned for the final run in season six.

Answer: Scandal

Mellie's character arc is one for the ages. Mellie Grant (Bellamy Young) was never planned to be a main character and, for the first season, she was only written in for a few episodes, as the baggage-laden First Lady to Tony Goldwyn's embattled President Grant. She was deliberately painted as a sort of "Queen of Mean" and a character that was supposed to raise the bile in viewers.

However, those same things that were (supposedly) set to make her hateful were turning her into a deeper, more complex character that struck a chord with the audience and they warmed to her.

The popularity was such that she was written into season two as a regular cast member and her character runs the gamut of; divorced First Lady to becoming Virginia's senator and, by season six, the first female President of the United States. "Scandal" aired on the ABC from 2012 to 2018.

Answer: Mighty Morphin Power Rangers

"Mighty Morphin Power Rangers" (MMPR), which premiered in 1993, had a habit of undergoing some kind of metamorphosis every two to three seasons. It would be (almost) a complete change and nothing was sacred... the cast, the characters, the approach and, even, the show's title. Everybody and everything seemed like it was subject to change... except for Tommy Oliver.

Tommy, played by Jason David Frank, became the longest-serving member of the "MMPR" team. That, alone, is something because he began the first season of the show as the Green Power Ranger, and he was not one of the good guys. He was dished up as the evil ranger, with the plan to kill him off after five episodes but his popularity began to grow and his story arc was soon changed. Now, he was being shown as a good guy but one that had been placed under a spell, which is what pushed him into the dark side. He soon becomes a member of the team and, by season three he becomes the all-powerful White Ranger.

Answer: The Walking Dead

"The Walking Dead" (2010-2022) arose from a comic book series and, originally, Daryl Dixon was not one of the characters... he became installed in the comics once his character's popularity ballooned on the TV series. Frank Darabont, who developed the TV series, wanted to find a role for Norman Reedus, so he created the character with the view that he would appear during the third episode of the first season, with a view to getting rid of him by the sixth (and final) episode of that season. However, his popularity was such that the creators were happier to have him eaten up by the viewing public than a pack of zombies that he became a cast regular in season two.

Not only did he survive, but, by season nine, with the demise of Rick Grimes, Dixon took over as the show's main protagonist. He would also be the first character from the series to gain his own spin-off series; "The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon" which launched in 2023.

Answer: Family Matters

The thinking behind "Family Matters" (1989-1997) seemed to be that "if "Good Times" (1974-1979) could do it, so could we". "Family Matters" focuses on the Winslows, a tightly knit family unit living in Midwestern USA, with their own set of challenges.

Steve Urkel (Jaleel White), whilst he was not a member of the Winslow family, seemed to be designed, in a similar vein to "Good Times'" J.J. Evans, to be the comic relief that takes some of the sharp edges off the melodrama. Urkel is geeky, goofy, comes armed with a supply of cheesy one-liners and produces an obnoxious nasal whine of "did I do that" whenever he creates havoc. The audience fell for it and they loved him. So now the show steers away from its original premises and the storylines start to centre on Urkel.

Answer: Hercules: The Legendary Journeys

There are cynics that will conclude that the sole reason Xena was injected into "Hercules: The Legendary Journeys" (1995-1999) was as a soft introduction that would lead to her own spin-off series. However that is so far removed from the truth that it is almost laughable.

Xena (Lucy Lawless) was crafted to be a villain who was a match for Hercules (Kevin Sorbo) in battle. Her story arc was programmed to run for three episodes, after which she would be killed off. Her popularity grew so quickly, in such a short space of time, that new possibilities opened up for the writers. Xena survived and was then reformed.

This did (indeed) lead to her own series and, much to Kevin Sorbo's chagrin, "Xena: Warrior Princess" (1995-2001) not only proved to be the more popular of the two but also the more enduring with the studio still fending off calls for a revival of the series.

Answer: Dallas

The premise for the soap opera that was "Dallas" (1978-1991) was a simple one. The backdrop would be a long-running feud between two powerful families, the Ewings and Barnes'. At the heart of the show would be the elopement of the Ewings' youngest son Bobby (Patrick Duffy) to Pamela Barnes (Victoria Principal).

The cast was created as a large ensemble and there wasn't meant to be a dominant character amongst them... but someone must have forgotten to tell that to Larry Hagman's double-dealing, triple-crossing character J.R. Ewing. Everyone wanted to see J.R. get his comeuppance to the point that he wound up creating the biggest pop culture event of 1980, if not the entire 1980s. In the last scene of season three (episode "A House Divided", which aired March 25, 1980) J.R. hears a noise outside of his office and he goes to investigate. He is shot twice by an unknown assailant and the scene closes. The gap between that episode's closing and the new season's opening had the world buzzing "Who shot J.R.?" to such an extent that when the long-awaited episode finally arrived, it set new viewing records for the time.

Answer: Happy Days

If I were to tell you that Henry Winkler's "Fonzie" character in "Happy Days" (1974-1984) was only meant to be a side character, there's a fair chance you'd say "Sit on it! He was the star of the show". And that would be (almost) "exactamundo". He became the star, but he wasn't meant to be. If you don't believe me, track down the opening credits of season one and look for the Fonz. You won't be able to find him because, back then he was not considered to be important enough to be there.

Arthur Fonzarelli was your stereotypical, motorcycle riding, leather-clad greaser. He became so popular, so quickly that he was no longer a tough-talking punk... he became the epitome of cool and, by the second season of the show, he became the centre of the storylines. By the time the final season arrived only he, Potsie (Anson Williams), and Mr. and Mrs. Cunningham (Tom Bosley and Marion Ross) were the only ones of the original regulars that were left.