TV Wordplay Trivia

1. Though it sounds hilarious, this 1989 ABC sitcom starring Craig T. Nelson is most definitely not about rich people being forced to fly economy class.

From Quiz Um...That's Not What That's About

Answer: Coach

Instead, "Coach" followed the exploits of Hayden Fox (Nelson) as the head football coach of the Minnesota State University Screaming Eagles. The show lasted nine seasons and won two Emmy awards: Outstanding Lead Actor for Nelson in 1992 and Outstanding Guest Actor for Tim Conway in 1996. The 200th and final episode aired on May 14, 1997.

From Quiz TV shows of the '60s in other words

Answer: Petticoat Junction

"Petticoat Junction" ran from September 1963 to April 1970. It was a sit-com about a hotel in Hooterville called the Shady Rest run by Kate Bradley (Bea Benaderet) and her three daughters Billie Jo, Bobbie Jo, and Betty Jo.

From Quiz A Television Acrostic

Answer: Friends

"Friends" made its television debut on the 22nd of September, 1994 and continued its successful run for ten years till its final episode was broadcast on the 6th of May, 2004. The show followed the lives of six friends living in New York City with the different twists and turns in their love lives and careers. Joey Tribbiani, the character played by Matt LeBlanc, turned a simple question ("How you doin'?") into a popular pick up line while Jennifer Aniston's haircut became such a rage that it was named after her character, Rachel.

From Quiz What's On TV?

Answer: Fawlty Towers

British sitcom "Fawlty Towers" was first shown during the 1970s and ran to twelve episodes in two series. It features a social-climbing hotel owner (played by John Cleese) trying to manage his small seaside hotel in between often self-induced disasters. Polly Sherman was the waitress and general help, and the most 'normal' of the main characters. She was played by Connie Booth, who wrote the series with John Cleese and was his wife at the time. It is considered a classic comedy series.

From Quiz US TV Show Anagrams #11

Answer: Band of Brothers

The title 'Band of Brothers' came from a Shakespearean play, 'Henry V'. Steven Ambrose took the phrase and created a book by that title and in turn, Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks produced a ten part mini-series based on the book. It first aired in 2001 and received general but not universal critical acclaim, and won six of the nineteen Emmy awards it was nominated for. The story was of a band of brothers linked by their membership in a military company in WWII rather than by blood.

From Quiz US TV Show Anagrams #10

Answer: The Addams Family

Yum! Steamed cabbage for lunch with Gomez, Morticia, Wednesday, Pugsley, and the rest of the Addams Family who resided at 1 Cemetery Lane. 'The Addams Family' brought to life the cartoon characters created by Charles Addams from 1938 and first published in 'The New Yorker'. Essentially a family sitcom, the Addams family were not your typical nuclear family in the style of 'Leave it to Beaver'. Sure, they had two kids (Wednesday and Pugsley) but that is where the similarity ends. Uncle Fester would put a light bulb in his mouth and create illumination. The butler, Lurch, could be summoned with a gong, but his duties were alleviated by a hand in a box which would pop out when needed. The hand in a box, called Thing T. Thing, was actually played by Ted Cassidy who also played Lurch. The family pet, called Kitty, was a fully grown lion.

From Quiz US TV Show Anagrams #9

Answer: Bewitched

Elizabeth Montgomery played Samantha, a good witch married to Darrin Stephens, a mortal with no magical powers. Her powers, or sometimes lack of them, created havoc in the mortal world in which they lived. Samantha's family, all of them witches and warlocks, added to the chaos of the Stephens household with their fun and games. 'Bewitched' was made from 1964 to 1972, with the family expanding with two children, Tabitha (a witch) and Adam who was mortal. Samantha's family included her meddlesome mother, Endora, and Uncle Arthur, the delightful prankster. Mrs Kravitz lived across the road from Sam and Darrin and to her consternation, saw many bizarre things in the Stephens' household. Alas, she was the only one who saw them. Her husband Abner always missed out on the action and began to doubt Gladys' sanity.

From Quiz US TV Show Anagrams #8

Answer: Saved by the Bell

Screech, Slater, Lisa, Jessie, Zack, and Kelly were some of the students at Bayside High School in TV's 'Saved by the Bell'. While the show was mainly a teen comedy, there were times when more serious issues such as drugs or death were introduced. 'Saved by the Bell' ran from 1989 to 1993 when the students graduated to college. A spin off called 'Saved by the Bell: The College Years' was cancelled after one season, but a new series called 'Saved by the Bell: The New Class' featuring a new set of students in the same high school was on air from 1993 to 2000.

From Quiz US TV Show Anagrams #7

Answer: Sesame Street

In 1969, a new world of children's television started with the commencement of 'Sesame Street'. Over forty years later, the show has won Grammy Awards and over 150 Emmys. Many of the lead characters on the show are muppets such as Bert and Ernie, The Count, Cookie Monster, Oscar the Grouch and my favourite, Grover. They interact with the human characters on the show, all the while teaching rugrats everywhere what letters and numbers are, how to relate to others without being nasty or violent, and teaching them about life through real events on the show (e.g. a hostess' pregnancy or a character's death in real life). 'Sesame Street' started with funding from grants from the government and foundations, but these days the show raises much revenue from merchandising and is virtually self-funding.

From Quiz US TV Show Anagrams #6

Answer: The Jetsons

'The Jetsons' was a family cartoon sitcom set in the future. With flying cars, robots maids and electronic gadgets galore, it was set one hundred years ahead of when it first aired which was in 1962. George Jetson was the head of the household (or so he liked to think), with his wife Jane and children Judy and Elroy completing the modern family. Rosie the robot did all the chores around the house and was had conversations with the family, even disciplining the children if she thought they were out of line. Despite the memories we may have of the show, Rosie only appeared in two of the twenty-four episodes made in the 1960s. The show was made again in the 1980s with 51 episodes being made. Just as characters in 'The Flintstones' had names relating the the Stone Age, characters and businesses in 'The Jetsons' often had names with a space theme such as Spacely Space Sprockets, the company George worked for.

From Quiz US TV Show Anagrams #5

Answer: Dharma and Greg

They say opposites attract and Dharma and Greg were just that. Greg, from a rich, conservative and snobbish family married Dharma on impulse on the day they met. Dharma was raised in a family more attuned to a hippie lifestyle. Greg's image conscious mother was initially aghast at the match but gradually came around to the idea that Greg was happy and so should she be. The fathers-in-law bonded over the various issues they had in dealing with their wives. 'Dharma and Greg' ran from 1997 to 2002, with Jenna Elfman and Thomas Gibson in the lead roles.

From Quiz US TV Show Anagrams #2

Answer: Family Matters

The lives of the Winslow family of Chicago were grist for the mill in 'Family Matters'. There was dad, Carl, his wife Harriette, and their children Eddie, Laura, and Judy. To make life in the Winslow household more comical, there lived next door an interesting character in the form of Steve Urkel. Steven Quincy Urkel was meant to be on the show once and once only. His appearance drew such a response that he was written into the show as a regular character. The Winslows and Urkel lasted for 215 episodes from 1989 to 1998.

From Quiz US TV Show Anagrams #1

Answer: Get Smart

Maxwell Smart (played by Don Adams) was Agent 86 in this comedy made between 1965 and 1970. He worked for CONTROL (which stood for absolutely nothing), fighting the agents of KAOS (again, which stood for nothing) and saving the world from .. well.. chaos! Helping him along the way was Agent 99 who seemed the more competent of the spies, and their boss, the Chief, whose life was tormented by Max's ineptitude. Somehow the forces of good outweighed the forces of evil in every episode and the world was saved thanks to modern day 'James Bond' type gadgets such as shoe phones and the 'cone of silence'.

From Quiz What Was the Name of That Show?

Answer: The Rifleman

"The Rifleman" was a popular black and white western that ran from 1958-1963. Featuring the imposing Chuck Connors as a widowed homesteader living in 1880s New Mexico, it ran in half hour episodes and was noted for being the first primetime television program to feature a widowed parent raising a young child alone.

From Quiz TV Shows -- In Other Words #2

Answer: The Wild Wild West

Azimuth of 270° is WEST "The Picture of Dorian Gray" author (minus "E") is WILD Second word in Genesis 1:1 is THE Natural or untamed is WILD "The Wild Wild West" starred Robert Conrad as James West and Ross Martin as Artemus Gordon. The show ran from September 17, 1965 to April 4, 1969, started out in black & white and ended in color.

From Quiz Television Alphabet

Answer: ALF

"ALF" ran from 1986 to 1990. It was about a cat-eating alien who crash-landed into a family's garage.

From Quiz Fractured American Shows From Yesteryear

Answer: I Love Lucy

"I love Lucy" aired during the years 1951-1957, and starred Lucille Ball, Desi Arnaz, Vivian Vance and William Frawley. Lucille portrayed a funny, naive woman who was always getting into trouble. In the earlier series, she was a secretary in a bank and then she played a mother with two children. Her neighbours Ethel and Fred were always around to help her out in any situation.

From Quiz T.V. Classic Comedy Anagrams

Answer: Black Books

"Black Books" originally aired on channel 4 from the 29 September 2000 to 15 April 2004 and was created by Dylan Moran. Bernard Black (Dylan Moran) plays the cynical, people hating, heavy drinking, chain smoking owner of a small bookshop. His only friend, Fran Katzenjammer (played by Tamsin Greig) is a neurotic man desperate woman who runs a gift shop next door. That is until Manny Bianco, (played by Bill Bailey), arrives on the scene and becomes Bernard's assistant. The humour is off beat and often surreal. "Black Books " won a BAFTA in 2000 and 2005 for Best Situation Comedy. It also won a Bronze Rose at the Festival Rose d'Or of Montreux in 2001. A bit of trivia for you: "Katzenjammer" is a German slang word for hangover, literally meaning "cat-wailing".

From Quiz Cryptic TV Show Titles

Answer: Seinfeld

Bird's home = nest. Loses its tails means to drop the last letter, leaving 'nes'. Place to grow crops = field. Mix (anagram) nesfield to arrive at 'Seinfeld'. Comedian Jerry Seinfeld played himself in this series set in New York, which ran until 1998. Plots usually revolved around the often silly situations he and his friends found themselves in. Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Michael Richards and Jason Alexander appeared as Elaine, Kramer and George respectively.

From Quiz Descriptive Programme Titles

Answer: Wonder Woman

There was an influx of such 'super people' programmes in the 1970s - 'The Six Million Dollar Man', 'The Bionic Woman', 'The Incredible Hulk' and 'Wonder Woman. The interest in such has not lessened, as is proved by the appearance and popularity of 'The New Adventures of Superman' and 'Smallville' in the 1990s and early 2000s.

From Quiz "My Family" And "Friends"

Answer: Cheese

"This costume could give you nightmares". The answer is cheese, because in "My Family", Abi dressed up as cheese, and cheese gives you nightmares.

From Quiz Chain Letters: Sitcoms

Answer: Father Knows Best

"The typical American family" (the kitchen decor was red, white, and blue, although it showed as shades of gray on B/W TV) consisted of thirties/forties movie stars Robert Young as Jim Anderson and Jane Wyatt as Margaret Anderson, along with their three kids: Elinor Donahue as Betty, Billy Gray as Bud, and Lauren Chapin as Kathy. The show ran from 1954 to '63.

From Quiz TV Analogies

Answer: Drew Carey : Clive Anderson

Regis Philbin hosted the American version of "Who Wants to be a Millionaire?" while Chris Tarrant hosts the British version. Drew Carey hosts the American version of "Whose Line is it Anyway?" while Clive Anderson hosted the British version.

From Quiz A Touch of Sci-Fi Scrabble

Answer: Red Dwarf

"Red Dwarf" is a British sit-com that was created by Rob Grant and Doug Naylor and has developed a large cult following. Initially it aired on the BBC in 1988 and ran there until 1999. It began to be aired by UKTV's free to air channel Dave in 2009. The show is built around David Lister who has woken up on the mining ship, the Red Dwarf, after being in suspended animation for three million years. That's when he discovers that he is the sole remaining human being in the universe. It is revealed that he was put into this state as punishment for stowing away a cat on board the ship. This proves to be fortunate for him because, while he is in suspension, a radiation leak wipes out the rest of the crew. Lister is kept company on his journey by Rimmer, who is merely a hologram of one of Lister's fellow crew members and Cat, which is an evolved life form that arose out of the cat he'd stowed on board.

From Quiz A Touch of Reality TV Scrabble

Answer: American Restoration

"American Restoration" first aired on the History channel in 2010 and, for six seasons, it followed the workings of Rick's Restorations workshop, which is based in Las Vegas, Nevada. The format was changed for the seventh season when they focused on five different shops instead of just Rick's. As the above clue indicated, Rick's Restorations is operated by Rick Dale and his son and they do an extraordinary job of bringing vintage items back to their original condition. They first made a name for themselves on television when they appeared as expert consultants on the TV series "Pawn Stars", which first aired in 2009. Their specialist comments were so well received that their own show seemed like a natural progression.

From Quiz Um...That's Not What That's About

Answer: The Sopranos

In September 2022, "Rolling Stone" magazine named "The Sopranos" the greatest TV show of all time. Lasting six seasons, "The Sopranos" followed mobster Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini) as he grapples with the challenges of heading a crime family and protecting his nuclear family. The show won an outstanding twenty-one Emmy Awards and five Golden Globe Awards. "The Sopranos" ushered in a new era for television, demonstrating that TV shows can provide the quality, depth, and intensity once thought only possible in movie theatres.

From Quiz Mutated TV shows after the bomb

Answer: All in the Family Ties

"All in the Family" ran from January 1971 to April 1979. It starred Carroll O'Connor, Jean Stapleton, Sally Struthers, and Rob Reiner. The show revolved around the life of a working-class bigot and his family. "Family Ties" ran from September 22, 1982 to May 14, 1989. It starred Meredith Baxter-Birney, Michael Gross, Michael J. Fox, and Justine Bateman. The show reflected a family's move from the cultural liberalism of the 1960s and 1970s, to the conservatism Reagan years of the 1980s.

From Quiz TV shows of the '60s in other words

Answer: Wagon Train

"Wagon Train" is an American Western TV series that ran from 1957-1965. The series was inspired by the 1950 film "Wagon Master" starring Ben Johnson, Harry Carey Jr., and Ward Bond. The show centered around a wagon train as it made its way from Missouri to California.

From Quiz What's On TV?

Answer: Doctor Who

The TV series "Doctor Who" was first aired in 1963 and, as of 2012, eleven actors have played the titular role over the years. Various spin-off series have followed including "Torchwood", which follows the exploits of a small team of alien hunters and is aimed at an adult audience. It is no coincidence that "Torchwood" is an anagram of "Doctor Who" .

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