Older T.V. Shows For Older People (Like Me)! Quiz

Answer: The Donna Reed Show

"The Donna Reed Show" was a once-popular television show during the late '50s and early '60s. It was briefly considered to call the program "Mother Knows Better", according to David Tucker. This was a reference to yet another family program that was popular at the time, "Father Knows Best".

"The Donna Reed Show" was unique in that it focused on the woman of the house, as opposed to most other '50s/'60s television programs that aired family-oriented episodes which focused on the father figure.

This '50s-style family, of course, had the same upper-middle class background that most other programs of that era enjoyed, but with a few differences; a woman was at the helm, and often, the children were seen "talking back" to their parents, also something quite unusual in that era on T.V.

Shelley Fabares, the young lady who played the role of daughter Mary, had a hit song with "Johnny Angel" right in the middle of the program's run in 1962. The episode was entitled, "Donna's Prima Donna". This was followed 8 months later by "My Dad", a song by Paul Peterson, who was son, Jeff. "Johnny Angel" became a number-one hit, and "My Dad" peaked at number six on the charts.

Answer: Steve McQueen

"Wanted: Dead Or Alive" was actually a spin-off from a similar Western program that featured Robert Culp, "Trackdown". This program itself had been a spin-off of "Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theater".

The main premise of "Wanted: Dead Or Alive" was that of a soft-hearted bounty hunter who was just as likely to assist those wrongly accused of crimes as to collect bounties on actual criminals. His weapon of choice was a shortened Winchester rifle, that he called "Mare's Laig" (leg).

Peter Bart, the editor of Daily Variety, once noted that Steve McQueen was the first TV star that managed to crossover from television to comparable success in the movies.

Answer: "It Takes A Thief"

"It Takes A Thief" was a program based on the idea of a former cat burglar and high-class thief (Robert Wagner) being released from prison with the express purpose of stealing for the government. In fact, in his role as Alexander Mundy, he incredulously asked the man who was arranging for his release,
"Let me get this straight - You WANT me to steal?"

Noah Bain, a role played by Malachi Throne, was his mentor and boss for much of the program's run. The pilot episode was entitled "A Thief is a Thief is a Thief".

Answer: Doris Day

"The Doris Day Show" was a surprise, even for the woman who had been born as Doris Mary Ann Kappelhoff herself.
Her husband, Martin Melcher, just prior to his death, and unbeknownst to her, had committed her to do the show, a done deal that she honored admirably!

On the program, during the first season, Doris Martin and her two sons lived on a ranch; in the next season, she began to commute from the ranch to San Francisco. In the third season, the family moved to San Francisco, while the most radical change was reserved for seasons four and five. Her entire cast, along with her two sons, simply disappeared from the set, never to be referenced again, and with no explanation for their departure given. An entirely new cast took the place of those previously engaged on the show.

The program lasted for five years on CBS, airing from 1968 until 1973.

Answer: Daktari

"Daktari" was inspired by the 1965 movie "Clarence the Cross-Eyed Lion".
Erin Moran, (later of Happy Days fame where she was cast in the role of Joanie Cunningham), was only five years old at the time, when she played the role of orphan Jenny Jones in "Daktari".

She was not the only orphan to be featured on the show, however. The show's premise involved an animal-rights activist, Dr. A.M. "Toni" Harthoorn, operating an animal orphanage in Nairobi, Kenya and caring for the animals there.

Answer: F Troop

In the first season of its two-year run, "F-Troop" was broadcast in black-and-white, but during its second season it was seen in color (probably in an effort to help boost its ratings).

Captain Wilton Parmenter was the role played by Ken Berry, a man who was sarcastically known as "Scourge of the West", and who was credited with keeping the peace between the native American "Hekawi" tribe and the Army troops. Actually, it was Sergeant O'Rourke's secret treaty with the Hekawi tribe that accomplished that goal. Hekawi Chieftain Wild Eagle called the clueless captain by a different name: "The Great White Pigeon".

When necessary to keep up appearances, the F-Troopers and the Hekawis engaged in mock battles, just in case prying eyes were watching.

I was a little surprised to see that the show only lasted for two seasons, but it did well in syndication, so I guess that's why it seemed to last much longer on the air.

Answer: Maxwell Smart

Agent 86, Maxwell Smart (Don Adams) on the popular Mel Brooks/Buck Henry created comedy "Get Smart" eventually married Agent 99, a role played by Barbara Feldon. Her 'real' name was never revealed on the program, although in one episode she had informed Max that her name was Susan Hilton, but later in the same episode revealed that her name wasn't actually Susan.

Mel Brooks described his rationale for developing the program that was loosely based on a weird combination melding of characters like 007 James Bond and Inspector Clouseau, in an interview with "Time" magazine in 1965:

"I was sick of looking at all those nice sensible situation comedies. They were such distortions of life. If a maid ever took over my house like Hazel, I'd set her hair on fire. I wanted to do a crazy, unreal comic-strip kind of thing about something besides a family. No one had ever done a show about an idiot before. I decided to be the first."

Answer: a deal with the U.S. Congress

My, my. If you chose any answer other than the butt-insky attitude of the U.S. Congress, I'm afraid you were wrong.
See, there was a lot of angst and hand-wringing over television violence in those days, and the program was just deemed too unsuitable because of its portrayal of fist-fights. The program was unique in that it employed odd mechanical devices as props, featured good-looking women often cast as villains, and had touches of comedy added to its Western style genre which was cast in a post-Civil War time period. Many of these effects and techniques were more or less 'borrowed' from James Bond-style espionage/action films.

One bitter irony is that the show's major premise was for the team of Gordon and West to protect President Ulysses S. Grant and the United States from all manner of dangerous threats.

I am so glad that we no longer have any violence on television, so we should feel grateful to our Congress for that measure of our safety!

Answer: Willy Gilligan; Jonas Grumby; Roy Hinkley

"Just sit right back and you'll hear a tale,
A tale of a fateful trip,
That started from this tropic port,
Aboard this tiny ship..."

The complete casting list of "Gilligan's Island" appears as follows:

Bob Denver ... Willy Gilligan
Alan Hale Jr. ... Skipper Jonas Grumby
Natalie Schafer ... Lovey Wentworth Howell
Jim Backus ... Thurston Howell III
Dawn Wells ... Mary Ann Summers
Tina Louise ... Ginger Grant
Russell Johnson ... Professor Roy Hinkley

Answer: 1967

"The Flying Nun" aired on ABC from 1967 until 1970. The television program was based on a book that was published in 1966 by Brooklyn native, Marie Teresa Ríos.

During its last season Sally Field was noticeably pregnant with her first child. This was a horrifying circumstance, at least for the producers of a series that was based on the premise that Sister Bertrille was supposed to be a religious celibate! She was also supposed to be thin enough to fly away to wherever the wind could blow her, so they simply solved this little problem by using scenery and small props to hide her lower body.