From Silver Screen to TV Screen Quiz

Answer: Lorna Patterson

The story of a spoiled young woman who tests her mettle by joining the Army, "Private Benjamin" proved to be a hit on TV as well, boasting a fifth-place finish in the ratings during its spring tryouts. During the show's two-year run, actress Eileen Brennan, who played Benjamin's commander, Captain Lewis, was seriously injured in a car accident. Polly Holliday (Flo on "Alice") signed on through the rest of the series run.

Answer: One month

On the air from March 5 to April 23, 1986, "Fast Times" returned two actors from the movie version--Ray Walston as Mr. Hand, the history teacher, and Vincent Schiavelli as Mr. Vargas, one of the science teachers. Others of note on the series were Courtney Thorne-Smith ("Life According to Jim") and Jason Hervey ("The Wonder Years").

Answer: Andrews (Landover, MD)

Actor Sammy Jackson, who played an unnamed inductee in the 1958 feature film, played the lead role of Private Will Stockdale in the TV series, which ran from September 1964 to September 1965. Also in the cast was Hayden Rorke, as Colonel Farnsworth. Of course, Rorke would go on to play the hapless Dr. Bellows on NBC's hit series "I Dream of Jeannie". (Thanks to the Internet Movie Database for information on the TV version of "No Time for Sergeants".)

Answer: Kate Jackson

Diane Keaton had great success playing J.C. in the movie version of "Baby Boom", generating laughs as a yuppie thrust suddenly into motherhood. Kate Jackson, who had previous successes with shows like "Charlie's Angels" and "Scarecrow and Mrs. King", found herself in TV scheduling purgatory in the TV version; NBC's erratic scheduling didn't allow the show to find an audience, and it was cancelled after the 1988-89 season.

Answer: False

There was such a series, but it wasn't on any network. The hour-long program, "Freddy's Nightmares", ran in first-run syndication. Robert Englund, who played the ugly dreamcrasher in the movies, was also featured in the series, which one TV watchdog organization named the most violent on TV during its time on the air.

Answer: MGM

The classic, racially-charged 1967 motion picture starred Sidney Poitier and Rod Steiger as two police officers from different sides of the track working together to solve a murder. The TV series, which premiered on NBC in March 1988, featured the late Carroll O'Connor and the late Howard Rollins in the same roles, but in a contemporary, less contentious setting.

The series ran on NBC until 1992, and ran two more full seasons on CBS. Four TV movies aired during the 1994-95 season completed the run. Both the movie and the series were based on the novel by John Ball.

Answer: Erica Gimpel (as Coco Hernandez)

Singer Irene Cara, who scored big on the charts with songs from both "Fame" and "Flashdance", played the roll of Coco Hernandez in the 1980 movie. Erica Gimpel, who graduated from New York's High School of Performing Arts, was on board as Coco during the show's lone season on NBC, 1982-83. "Fame" ran for another four years in first-run syndication (1983-87), during which time singer Janet Jackson sharpened her acting chops as Cleo Hewitt (1984-86). "Fame" resurfaced in 2003 as a reality/talent search series featuring Debbie Allen, who appeared in both the movie and the TV series as dance instructor Lydia Grant. (Thanks to the Internet Movie Database for more information on the movie and TV versions of "Fame".)

Answer: ABC only

"Peyton Place" enjoyed a five-year run in primetime on ABC, from September 1965 to June 1969. A half-hour daytime soap, "Return to Peyton Place", picking up where "Peyton Place" left off, ran on NBC from April 1972 to January 1974. Curiously, the original "Peyton Place" movie bowed in 1957, and its sequel, "Return to Peyton Place", premiered in 1961. Among the TV series alums were Mia Farrow and Ryan O'Neal (from "Peyton Place"), Mary Frann and John Hoyt (from "Return to Peyton Place"). (Thanks to the Internet Movie Database for additional information on "Peyton Place".)

Answer: True

A lesser-known product of the Rankin Bass animation stable, the animated King Kong was a gentle crime-fighting do-gooder, with Professor Bond and his children working alongside. Another part of the series, called "Tom from T.H.U.M.B.", played off the surge of spy-themed stories of the day.

The best-known of the several movies involving King Kong were the original (released in 1933) and a highly-touted remake (in 1976). (Thanks to The Big Cartoon Database for more information on the "King Kong" animated series.)

Answer: Brown left the series because his character was historically inaccurate

A little-known fact about this beloved series is that there was actually an African-American surgeon in the 4077th. But Spearchucker ended up a casualty of historical accuracy, when the producers found out there weren't any black surgeons in MASH units during the Korean War. Spearchucker wasn't the only member of the original large cast cut from the show, but after he left, there were no black actors who were regulars on the show. (Thanks to the Internet Movie Database for information on "M*A*S*H" and Spearchucker Jones.)

Thanks to the book "Total Television", by Alex McNeil, for providing the bulk of the material for this quiz. Hope you enjoyed it!