Keeping Companies Trivia Quiz

Answer: My Little Margie

"My Little Margie" (1952-1955) was a show about Margie Albright and her handsome, widowed father Vernon. Vern worked for the investment firm of Honeywell and Todd (before we actually knew what investments firms do). It starred Gale Storm and alternated between CBS and NBC (they were friendlier times); Margie was always getting into and out of mischief while her father would end each show with his photograph saying "That's my little Margie!". Gidget's father was a UCLA professor; Alex Stone was a pediatrician; as for Ozzie Nelson, who knows (he always wore a cardigan so maybe he worked in Fred Rogers' neighborhood)?

Answer: Darrin Stephens

Darrin Stephens (either one of them, i.e., Dick York or Dick Sargent) worked for the Madison Avenue agency of McMahon and Tate on the show "Bewitched" (1964-1972). Presumably Darrin commuted from his Westport, Connecticut home to his work in Manhattan.

In case you didn't know, Darrin's wife Samantha (Elizabeth Montgomery) was a witch, which led to all manner of hilarity. She was such a good witch, she even transformed her husband into a different person without telling anyone! Steve Douglas was an aeronautical engineer; Alex Reiger drove a taxi and Don Draper was in advertising, but not at McMahon and Tate.

Answer: Blush

"Blush" was the name of the high-style magazine owned by Jack Gallo (George Segal) who hired a group of zany characters, one of whom was his daughter, Maya (Laura San Giacomo). "Just Shoot Me" (1997-2003) included former model Nina Van Horn (Wendie Malick), photographer Elliot DiMauro (Enrico Colantoni) and the disrespectful secretary Dennis Finch (David Spade)...very upscale, stylish and sardonic. If you recognize the other choices, that may be because "Mode" was the magazine on "Ugly Betty"; "GLAM" is an alternate lifestyle magazine and "ELLE" is a magazine primarily for women.

Answer: Prison Break

"Prison Break" (2005-2009) is about Lincoln Burrows, an innocent man who is sent to Death Row as a result of a political conspiracy. His brother, Michael Scofield, is a structural engineer who devises an elaborate scheme (including tattoos and a bank robbery) to get himself incarcerated so he can help break his brother out of Fox River, a maximum-security prison.

In its initial year, the show was nominated for the People's Choice Award for Favorite New TV Drama, and won the award the following year.

The incorrect choices are also prison dramas: "Oz" from 1997, "Women in Prison" from 1987 and "Orange Is the New Black" from 2013.

Answer: Princeton Plainsboro

On "House, M.D." (2004-2012), Dr. House (Hugh Laurie) is a misanthropic diagnostician at Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital in New Jersey, under Dean of Medicine and hospital administrator Dr. Lisa Cuddy (Lisa Edelstein). His bad leg, questionable ethics and Vicodin addiction caused many dramatic conflicts.

His name, his addiction, his best friend, his address, all mirrored and paid homage to the brilliant deductive mind of Sherlock Holmes. The show won many awards including 5 Prime Time Emmys and 9 Peoples Choice Awards.

The incorrect choices are: St. Eligius on "St. Elsewhere", All Saints Hospital on "Nurse Jackie" and Blair General on "Dr. Kildare".

Answer: CalSci

Mathematician Charlie Eppes was a professor at the California Institute of Science (CalSci) while also helping his FBI brother, Don, to solve criminal cases by using equations. "Numbers" (2005-2010) starred David Krumholtz as Charlie, the math genius; ironically, in real life, Krumholtz failed algebra twice (now that's acting!).

As for the incorrect choices: Hillman College was featured on "The Cosby Show" (1984) and "A Different World" (1987); Chicago Lake Michigan University (CLMU) is where schizophrenic Professor Piece teaches on "Perceptions" (2012) and "Minnesota State University" and its 'screaming eagles' appeared on "Coach" (1989).

Answer: L.A. Law

I was going to use the law firm of 'Dewey Cheatum and Howe' but I thought that smacked of sarcasm. Douglas Brackman (Alan Rachins - anyone remember him?) and Leland McKenzie (Richard Dysart) made up the eponymous team of McKenzie, Brackman on "L.A. Law;" they took on many groundbreaking issues in their 8 seasons (1986-1994). Along with Kuzak, Becker, et al, Stephen Bochco's series dealt with abortion, gay rights, domestic violence and sexual harassment before these issues became 'fashionable', and won 15 Emmy Awards during its run.

As for the other firms: "The Good Wife" is Lockhart/Gardner; Ally McBeal worked for Cage, Fish & Assoc.; Boston Legal was Crane, Poole and Schmidt.

Answer: The Jeffersonian

The Jeffersonian Institute on "Bones" (2005-2015) is a government-run institution in Washington, D.C. where the forensic anthropologist, legendary Temperance 'Bones' Brennan, works closely with the hunky FBI agent Seeley Booth to catch criminals and provide identities to unidentified bodies; Brennan is also a best-selling novelist.

The show is based on the work and the crime novels of Kathy Reichs, in which Temperance Brennan is the protagonist. I had to be creative for the other choices since most crime labs are called crime labs: "Dexter's Laboratory" is a cartoon, Dr. Utonium created the "Powerpuff Girls", and Dr. Goodman used to be Brennan's boss on "Bones".

Answer: Newsday

Ironically, of all the newspapers listed, "Newsday" is the only real paper; it primarily serves Queens, Nassau and Suffolk Counties on Long Island. However, on "Everybody Loves Raymond" (1996-2005), Ray Barone (Ray Romano) is a fictional, successful sportswriter who lives with his wife Debra (Patricia Heaton) and three kids, just across the street from his parents' (and occasionally his brother's) house...talk about dysfunctional! Of the other choices: Oscar Madison of "The Odd Couple" wrote for the "Herald"; "The New New York Post" was featured on "Futurama" and the "N.Y. Ledger" was the fictional newspaper often used on "Law and Order".

Answer: Dunder Mifflin

Dunder Mifflin Paper Company, Inc. is a fictional paper company located in Scranton, Pennsylvania. The company is featured on the U.S. TV sitcom "The Office" (2005-2013) and is based on Ricky Gervais' British comedy of the same name. Under the leadership? of Michael Scott (Steve Carell), it is about a typical group of office workers, their egos, their conflicts and their boredom; included in this mix are Pam and Jim who are having an affair (but, don't worry this one happens to turn out all right) and Jim's nemesis Dwight Schrute with marginable social skills.

The incorrect choices all happen to be actual paper companies.