Remember That Show? Trivia Quiz

Answer: Murder, She Wrote

There really is a Cabot Cove in Maine (it's an inlet in Kennebunkport) but the outdoor shots for "Murder, She Wrote' were filmed in Mendocino, California. Angela Lansbury played mystery author Jessica Fletcher who lived in the small Maine seacoast town and was adept at solving crimes that the authorities couldn't figure out or had wrongly accused someone of.

The show lasted for twelve seasons.

Answer: The Sopranos

David Chase, who created "The Sopranos", used some of what he saw growing up in New Jersey as a basis for the series. James Gandolfini, as Tony Soprano, tried to balance his family life with his life in "the family". Shown originally on the HBO Network, it has since been syndicated worldwide. "TV Guide" magazine rated it the best TV series of all time.

Answer: Alfred Hitchcock Presents

From 1955 to 1965 Alfred Hitchcock hosted the series (called "The Alfred Hitchcock Hour" from 1962 to 1965) featuring dramas, mysteries and thrillers. Two humorous openings were usually filmed for each episode, one for America in which Hitchcock would joke about the show's sponsor and one for European audiences in which he made fun of Americans. Steve McQueen, Robert Vaughn and Walter Matthau were among the well-known actors who appeared over the years.

Answer: Millennium

Frank Black (Lance Henriksen) was a forensic profiler who could see into the minds of some of the worst criminals on the planet. As the series progressed he came into contact with the Millennium Group, who had their own sinister agenda for how the world should be ordered.

The show, which could be quite grisly at times, lasted for three seasons. Looking nothing like "The X-Files'" photogenic Fox Mulder (David Duchovny), Henriksen was described by one reviewer who remarked: "His would be the face of the archangel Michael when God sent him out to deliver the really bad news".

Answer: Banacek

The urbane Thomas Banacek was a Polish-American investigator who made a nice living collecting 10% of the insured value of stolen objects he recovered, often when no one else could find them. He was also given to reciting "old Polish proverbs", some of which he seemed to make up on the spot. My favorite: "The owls do not go to the mice picnic to eat cake".

The show was part of the "NBC Wednesday Mystery Movie" anthology from 1972 to 1974.

Answer: Alistair Cooke

Alistair Cooke had lived in the U.S. for many years before the BBC asked him to do the series. It covered American history from its first settlements to the 1970s. Produced by the BBC and Time-Life Films, it was shown in the U.S. and the UK in 1972; other countries followed.

The 13 episodes received much acclaim and several awards. Cooke wrote a follow-up book, "Alistair Cooke's America" which sold almost 2-million copies.

Answer: Farscape

"Farscape" was a joint Australian/American series originally made for Australia's Nine Network. Ben Browder played astronaut John Crichton who wanted to get home but had trouble continually fall into his lap. Claudia Black co-starred in the series which lasted for four seasons from 1999 to 2003.

Answer: Upstairs, Downstairs

Following the lives of the Bellamy family (upstairs) and their servants (downstairs) from 1903 to 1930, the series used real events as the focal points for some stories and related the social changes that occurred during that period. David Langton played Richard Bellamy, a Member of Parliament and Gordon Jackson was butler Angus Hudson.

It ran from 1971 to 1975 and had a revival from 2010 to 2012.

Answer: The West Wing

Though a complete fiction, "The West Wing" got positive reviews from former White House staffers as well as TV critics for its portrayal of life at the top of politics. It followed the events a president and his staff might encounter during his term in office.

There were real-life dramatics as well, since Sheen was paid 300,000 dollars per episode to the 75,000 dollars others in the cast received, causing Rob Lowe to quit after four seasons. The series ran for seven seasons, from 1999 to 2006 and has been seen in many countries since then.

Answer: Boston Legal

Winning law cases by any means, honest or not, became the modus operandi of lawyer Alan Shore (James Spader), sometimes aided by Denny Crane (William Shatner) at the Boston law firm they worked for. Detailing the lives and work ethic of several of the characters, "Boston Legal" not only had high-priced lawyers but high-priced viewers; it had the largest audience of 18 to 49-year olds with an income of more than 100,000 dollars in its 2004 to 2008 run.