Name the Sitcom Character Trivia Quiz

Answer: Leslie Knope

"Parks and Recreation" (2009-2015) was set in the town of Pawnee, Indiana where an aspiring civil servant sets out to enrich Pawnee by making a community park out of an abandoned construction site. Leslie Knope is the civil servant with the high hopes and the unexpected obstacles. Knope is played by former "Saturday Night Live" star Amy Poehler. Poehler is also responsible for the voice of Joy in the 2015 animated film "Inside Out".

Answer: Willis Jackson

An oldie but goodie..."Diff'rent Strokes" (1978-1986) was a show about a wealthy businessman who adopts two black kids from Harlem (way before it was fashionable). It seems that Arnold and Willis Jackson's mother had been (the businessman) Philip Drummond's housekeeper. Willis was Arnold's older brother and the recipient of the very popular catch phrase "What you talkin' bout, Willis?" Willis was played by Todd Bridges who got into some real life trouble after the series ended, but managed to turn his life back around.

Answer: Kevin Arnold

Every episode of "The Wonder Years" (1988-1993) began with the wonderful Beatles' tune "With a Little help from My Friends". Set in the late 1960s and early 1970s, it was a 'coming of age' comedy about the trials and tribulations of young Kevin Arnold.

It explored his family life as the youngest of three children (with a bully for an older brother), school issues, and his budding feeling for his neighbor Winnie Cooper. Despite the turbulence of the times, the show was rooted in love and innocence. Fred Savage played Kevin.

Answer: Liz Lemon

A talented woman on her way to breaking through the glass ceiling in the world of TV...that might have been the premise of "30 Rock" (2006-2013) if the show had been a drama. Instead, Liz Lemon is head writer for a "Saturday Night Live" type comedy sketch show; it happens to also be a long way from comedy writer Rob Petrie's (Dick Van Dyke) issues. Liz has to deal with the network's unfunny, new president, a nutty movie star and a neurotic leading lady, balance all these fragile egos, and still do her job. Liz was portrayed by Tina Fey who gained experience by being one of the cast of "SNL".

Answer: Dan Conner

I could have used Becky Conner as the sitcom character on "Roseanne" (1988-1997), but then which Becky? So I chose Dan Conner, the fictional husband of Roseanne, and father to Becky, Darlene and D.J. The plot centered around their blue collar world in Lanford, Illinois, their struggle to makes ends meet, and their not-so-perfect children.

In other words, real life with a laugh track! Dan was played to perfection by John Goodman.

Answer: Elaine Nardo

As Louie DePalma called her, 'Nardo' was the only female member of the NYC Sunshine Cab Company on the very funny sitcom "Taxi" (1978-1983). What a cast of characters...all aspiring to be something else except, perhaps, for Louie and Reverend Jim. Elaine O'Connor-Nardo wanted to be involved in the world of art, but she found herself the sane one surrounded by a bunch of loonies (with the exception of that other bastion of sanity, Alex Rieger). Nardo was played by Marilu Henner.

Answer: Jay Pritchett

Jay Pritchett is the patriarch of the "Modern Family" which first began airing in 2009. Jay has a beautiful, young Colombian wife with a stepson and a new baby. His first time around, he had a daughter and a son, both now grown and with families of their own.

It sounds convoluted but it does represent the new well-to-do 'extended' family. Far from the lower middle class lives of the Conner family, it is still funny, silly and sometimes poignant. Jay is played by Ed O'Neill, previously Al Bundy, the dad from "Married...with Children".

Answer: Ethel Mertz

I had to include the one that started it all, i.e., "I Love Lucy" (1951-1957). For those of you too young to know, or for those of you from another planet, Lucy was married to bandleader Ricky Ricardo and, although she seemed to have no observable talent, she always wanted to be in show business.

She devises all kinds of nutty plans to achieve this. With help from Ethel Mertz, her neighbor, best friend and landlord (with husband Fred), they get into all kinds of wacky adventures where, as Ricky would often say: "Lucy, you've got some 'splainin' to do". Lucy was played by Lucille Ball who, before this sitcom, was a movie star and a beauty queen.

Answer: Dick Solomon

The "3rd Rock from the Sun" (1996-2001) refers astrologically to the planet Earth. The premise of this show was an expedition by four aliens or 'extraterrestrials' to land on the Earth, even though, according to the commander, i.e., Dick Solomon in human form, Earth was "the least important planet".

Their mission seems to have been to observe the behavior of the earthlings on this insignificant planet. Toward that end, the four of them pose as a family in the town of Rutherford, Ohio. The comedy comes from both the disparities and the similarities of the aliens and the humans. Actor John Litgow (from "Dexter") portrays the commander.

Answer: Endora

Back we go to the 1960s, to the sitcom "Bewitched" (1964-1972). We wind up at the house of a Connecticut suburban couple, Samantha and Darrin Stevens. He is an advertising executive who commutes to New York; she is a stay at home wife (they still did that in those days), and all seems so normal.

But of course, as we know (and the Kravitzes never find out), Samantha is a witch. She tries to live a mortal life, but things seem to get in the way and that nose of hers keeps on twitching, especially when her mother, Endora, shows up. Endora is played with disdain by Agnes Morehead who not only can't get Darrin's name right, she doesn't even notice when he changes into a different person.

Answer: Daphne Moon

One of my favorite sitcoms of all time, "Frasier" (1993-2004), a spin-off of "Cheers", was one of the best written and cleverest comedies on TV (IMHO). Daphne Moon was psychiatrist Frasier Crane's father's physical therapist when Frasier moved back to Seattle, Washington.

She was played by Jane Leeves (after "Throb" and before "Hot in Cleveland"). Frasier's brother, Niles, always loved Daphne and they finally did get together.

Answer: Rebecca Howe

Well, first there was Sam and Diane, one of TV's best odd couples, on "Cheers" (1982-1993). Sam Malone welcomed us into his homey bar in Boston, Massachusetts for eleven years, but waitress Diane Chambers didn't stay long (Shelley, that is). When Diane left, she was replaced at the bar and in Sam's heart by Rebecca Howe in 1987. Rebecca was played by Kirstie Alley before Kirstie became the spokeswoman for Jenny Craig.

Answer: Balki Bartokomous

Who could forget the soft-spoken sheep herder from Mypos, Balki Bartokomous on the sitcom "Perfect Strangers" (1986-1993)? Balki had his catch phrase of "Ridiculous" and his 'dance of joy'. He shows up at his cousin Larry's new pad in Chicago, moves in and stays for the duration of the show (quite a long visit!).

The comedy revolves around their very different experiences and personalities, but they blend well and become close friends, sharing some crazy adventures together. Bronson Pinchot was the perfect Balki to Mark Linn-Baker's cousin Larry Appleton.

Answer: Amy Farrah Fowler

Mayim Bialik, the former "Blossom", was a wonderful addition to the very popular show "The Big Bang Theory" which began airing in 2007. In 2010, Amy Farrah Fowler was introduced as a potential love interest for the brilliant but flawed physicist, Sheldon Cooper.

She is also exceptional in her field of neurobiology and socially awkward, but much more aware of life and other people's feelings than Sheldon is. She added a new dimension to Sheldon's life and to the show.

Answer: Harry T. Stone

Another show that began in the 1980s is "Night Court" (1984-1992). Set in New York City, in a Manhattan courtroom, Judge Harry T. Stone was not your average stodgy, robe-wearing judge. He did magic, loved Mel Torme and rendered some very unusual judgments in his court.

He was aided by a few very wacky characters, e.g., the bailiff Bull Shannon, the self-centered prosecutor Dan Fielding and the court clerk Mac. It was a little like where the accused might wind up after being held at Barney Miller's precinct.