Life Before Doug Ross Trivia Quiz

Answer: Young man carrying barrel

This 1978 television miniseries, based on a novel by James A. Michener, consisted of 12 episodes showing the history of the town of Centennial, Colorado from the first arrival of European settlers (in the form of trappers in search of beaver pelts) in 1795 through to events in the 1970s. The trading post that was established on the site was renamed Centennial in 1876, the year when Colorado became a state, and the United States of America celebrated the centennial of their establishment as an independent nation. The theme of exploitation versus appreciation of the natural beauty of the area runs throughout the series.

The all-star cast included Richard Chamberlain, Raymond Burr and over 30 others who were listed as featured actors. George Clooney's first television appearance was as an extra (uncredited at the time), a young man carrying a barrel in the Indian camp in the first episode, 'Only the Rocks Live Forever'.

Answer: Ron

George Clooney's first movie appearance was in the 1982 film 'And They're Off', but no name is given in the credits for the walk-on part. 'Grizzly II: The Concert' (filmed in Hungary in 1983, but never released theatrically) saw him portraying one of those attending a rock concert which is attacked by an angry giant grizzly bear. Filming (which encountered numerous costly difficulties) was incomplete when the funds ran out, so commercial release was not viable.

However, a bootleg release of the filmed footage in 2007 has made some scenes available for viewing online.

They include a love scene between George Clooney's character, Ron, and his girlfriend Tina (played by Laura Dern), who are among the fans killed by the bear, along with Lance (played by Charlie Sheen).

Answer: Ace

In 1984, George Clooney appeared on television as Lenny Colwell in a single episode of 'Riptide' ('Where the Girls Are') and in 1985 he played Kevin Stark in an episode of 'Streethawk' titled 'A Second Self'. But it was the character of Ace in the series 'E/R' that gave him a chance to gain some familiarity with viewers, as he appeared in eight episodes in the single season (1984-5) of the show. Basically a sitcom set in the emergency room of a Chicago hospital, 'E/R' centred on the relationship between doctors Howard Sheinfeld (Elliott Gould) and Eve Sheridan (played by Marcia Strassman in the pilot/first episode, then by Mary McDonnell). Mark "Ace" Kolmar was an ER technician, and the nephew of head nurse Joan Thor (Conchata Ferrell), who first appeared in episode 14, 'Both Sides Now'.

Answer: George Burnett

Following 'E/R', George Clooney had several television appearances, but they were all one-offs until handyman George Burnett appeared on 'Facts of Life' in 'Out of the Fire', the opening episode of season 7 (1986). He was a regular for that entire season, and made several appearances in the following season. George played a key role in the rebuilding of Mrs Garrett's store following its fiery destruction, and changing it from Edna's Edibles, a gourmet food shop, to a gift shop called Over Our Heads.

Answer: Oliver

The premise of this 1987 comedy/slasher film is the disappearance of members of a film crew making a movie about an unsolved series of murders that had taken place a number of years earlier in Crippen High School. (What were the people who named this school thinking of?) To cut costs, they set up residence in the school, where they planned to film on location. George Clooney did not have a big part, because Oliver, who had been cast as the lead actor in the film, was murdered shortly after dropping out of the production before the start of filming.

Answer: Matt Stevens

The 1988 comedy/horror movie 'Return of the Killer Tomatoes' was a sequel to the earlier 'Attack of the Killer Tomatoes'. Both films have attained cult status as extremely funny films in their offbeat way. In the sequel, Professor Gangreen (John Astin) is back, determined to achieve success in his plans to take over the world with troops of tomatoes transformed to look like humans. Matt is the roommate of Chad (Anthony Starke), who works as a delivery boy for his uncle Wilbur (Steve Peace), one of the heroes of the original film.

The film makes fun of the then-emerging trend of financing films by means of product placement - once Matt informs the viewers that they are short of money, and suggests the use of product placement to raise funds, the promotions become increasingly hilarious. (In case you were wondering, the tomatoes are defeated. Again.)

Answer: Booker Brooks

Booker Brooks was Roseanne's supervisor while she worked at Wellman Plastics in the first season of 'Roseanne' (1987-8). He also dated Roseanne's sister Jackie for a while, but they kept the relationship secret. Booker's replacement as foreman by Keith Faber (Fred Thompson), who raised the work quotas, was the trigger that led Roseanne and Jackie to leave Wellman Plastics, and move on to other career options.

In 1991, he made his final appearance on the show, being flirted with by Jackie (who doesn't recognise him, because he is wearing a moose suit) in the Halloween episode 'Trick Me Up, Trick Me Down'.

Answer: Joe

'Baby Talk' was more or less 'Look Who's Talking' adapted for television - in fact, that was the title originally planned for the show. Amy Heckerling had written and directed the movie, and was involved in creating the characters for the series. In the first season, which aired in 1991, Maggie Campbell (Julia Duffy) was a single mother whose baby Mickey (played by Paul and Ryan Jessup, and voiced by Tony Danza) provided a running commentary on the men in his mother's life. One such romantic interest was Joe, who was one of the workers renovating the loft in which Maggie and Mickey were living. Joe appeared in five of the twelve episodes of the show's first season; the second season featured an almost entirely new cast.

Answer: Det. Ryan Walker

In 1992, George Clooney was given a co-starring role as Detective Ryan Walker in the police procedural drama 'Bodies of Evidence', which aired 16 episodes in two seasons. The series, which tried to demonstrate how the work of homicide detectives affects them in their personal lives, rated well as a summer replacement, but received mostly negative reviews. Clooney's character was one of the detectives in the team led by Lieutenant Ben Carroll (Lee Horsley), one whose skill as a detective was sometimes undermined by his tendency to get overly-involved in the cases.

Answer: Det. James Falconer

'Sisters' ran for six seasons, from 1991 to 1996, following the lives of four sisters living in Winnetka, Illinois. The sisters all have male-sounding names, because their father always wanted a son: Alex (whose full name was Alexandra), Frankie (Francesca), Georgie (Georgiana) and Teddy (Theodora).

In the fourth season, Teddy's daughter Cat is raped, and James Falconer is the detective assigned to the case. They identify the rapist, who is shot and killed by another victim following his acquittal in the trial for Cat's rape.

The detective later runs into Teddy at an AA meeting, and they start dating, and are married in the final episode of the season. Season 5 starts with the murder of Det. Falconer by a criminal who wanted to keep the detective from testifying against him in court.