Ask the Audience Trivia Quiz

Answer: Texaco Star Theater

The "Texaco Star Theatre" had been broadcast on radio from 1938-1949, and Milton Berle helped to successfully transition it to television. It was broadcast on NBC (National Broadcasting Company) from 1948-1956. Milton Berle nicknamed himself Uncle Miltie while ad-libbing in a 1949 broadcast.

During the same hour, ABC (American Broadcasting Company) showed "The Game of the Week" and "Buck Rogers", CBS (Columbia Broadcasting System) televised "Sure As Fate/Prudential Family Playhouse" and DMT (DuMont Network) showed "Court of Current Issues" and "The Johns Hopkins Science Review".

Answer: Survivor: The Australian Outback

"Survivor" first aired in Sweden in 1997 as "Expedition Robinson 1997", but has since been produced internationally. The Australia season was the second season it aired in the US, and Tina Wesson won the title of Sole Survivor without a single vote against her.

Answer: "The $64,000 Question" & "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?"

Both "The $64,000 Question" and "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?" had similar formats, with contestants continuing in the competition as long as they have not reached the top level and continue to answer correctly. "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?" on ABC was rated number one during the 1999-2000 season, and "The $64,000 Question" on CBS was at the top of the ratings during the 1955-1956 season.

On "The $64,000 Question", the contestants had to know all of the answers, but on "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?" there were three lifelines where the contestant can request help.

Answer: Dallas

"Dallas" began as simply a mini-series, but was continued due to its popularity. It was broadcast on CBS from 1978-1991, and achieved the number one Neilsen rating for three of those years. It revolved around the wealthy Ewing family. Part of the show's success was due to the cliffhangers that ended a season, including "Who Shot J.R.?".

Answer: The Wild Wild West

"The Wild Wild West" was televised on CBS from 1965 -1969. Westerns were losing popularity to spy shows and this was an attempt to mix the two. It was in the top 30 of the Nielsen ratings during its first year.

"Gunsmoke" began as a radio series which aired from 1952-1961 on CBS. It was televised from 1955-1975 also on CBS, reaching number one on the Nielsen ratings from 1957-1961. "Wagon Train" aired on NBC from 1957-1962, and rated as Nielsen's number one in the 1961-1962 season. "Bonanza" was produced for NBC from 1959-1973, and was rated number one on the Nielsen ratings from 1964-1967.

Answer: "Happy Days" and "Laverne & Shirley"

"Happy Days" was televised from 1974-1984 on ABC. "Laverne & Shirley" aired from 1976-1983, also on ABC. "Happy Days" brought us an idealized 1950s society, and the very "cool" Arthur "Fonzie" Fonzarelli. Laverne and Shirley were brought on "Happy Days" as Fonzie's friends, and the characters proved popular enough to spin-off a new show.

"Dallas", "All in the Family", and "The Andy Griffith Show" were all rated number one on the Nielsen ratings, but their spin-offs were not as successful.

Answer: 60 Minutes

"60 Minutes" was first aired on CBS in 1968. The shows are also aired on radio in some areas, as well as now being available from iTunes.

The show generally contains stories which are given a more in-depth investigation and reporting than can be heard on the daily news. The show has won many awards for its reporting and presentations, there have been some high-profile controversies as well.

Answer: Marcus Welby, M.D.

"Marcus Welby, M.D." which ran from 1969-1973, reached the Nielsen number one rating in 1970-1971 season. It was the first ABC network show to achieve a number one rating.

"Ben Casey" aired on ABC from 1961-1966; it never reached number one on the Nielsen ratings. "M*A*S*H" ran from 1972-1983 on CBS, and though the show never achieved a number one rating for the season, the last episode broke the record for the number of viewers tuning in for that show.

"ER" was produced for NBC from 1994-2009. It achieved number one on the Nielsen ratings for three seasons.

Answer: The Beverly Hillbillies

"The Beverly Hillbillies" were number one in the Nielsen ratings for the first two of a nine year run (1962-1971) on CBS. Jed Clampett had a lucky hunting accident, hitting oil instead of a varmint. The humor often came from misconceptions; either the Clampetts didn't understand big-city ways, or the city folk didn't understand country ways.

Answer: I Love Lucy

"I Love Lucy" ran from October 15, 1951, to May 6, 1957 on the CBS network. One of the innovations done by this show was to shoot the scenes in front of a live audience with three cameras, which meant that instead of playing each scene three times, it could be shot through in one sequence.

The show set the record for highest Nielsen rating average in the 1952-1953 season when there were still only four broadcast stations. Due to the increasing number of stations, it seems unlikely that the record will be broken.