Right Hand Man...er...Woman Trivia Quiz

Answer: Robin

The 'Batman' television series aired for three years between 1966 and 1968. It starred Adam West as Batman and his alter-ego Bruce Wayne, and Burt Ward as Robin/Dick Grayson. Although the show was billed as an action series, it was actually a comedy, and quite a camp comedy at that. Just as well, because it's hard to imagine a slightly overweight and out of shape crime fighter besting the bad guys. Each show had the super-villain of the day terrorising Gotham City, necessitating a call by the inept Police Chief and Commissioner Gordon to the 'Dynamic Duo' for assistance.

All good duos have one quiet member and one outgoing. In this case, Robin was the younger, more 'go get 'em' type personality, with his trademark 'Holy (topic), Batman! Usually while punching his fist into his hand.

Answer: Ernie

Bert and Ernie are two characters that appear in 'Sesame Street' and first appeared in the 1974 pilot episode. While they are best friends, their personalities follow the formula of one sensible/neat and the other the opposite. In this case, Ernie is the lovable, messy character who always comes up with hare-brained schemes. Bert is the sensible, older brother type character who tries to make Ernie see sense, but instead ends up losing his temper with him.

Answer: Agent 99

'Get Smart' ran for 5 seasons from 1965 and starred Don Adams as the bumbling, inept Maxwell Smart aka Agent 86. His sidekick, whom he ends up marrying is Agent 99, who despite being more capable in the spy business, is saved by Smart on more than one occasion. The series was so popular, the ubiquitous shoe phone is as immediately recognised as the catch-phrase 'missed it by that much'.

Answer: Scully

Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) are the main characters of the science fiction television series 'The X-Files'. The series, which has aired 10 seasons, centres around the two FBI agents and their cases involving the paranormal and extra-terrestrial.

In this pairing, Mulder is the true believer, often losing his objectivity whilst Scully is the skeptic who tries to keep Mulder's feet based in the science.

Answer: Shirley

Laverne DeFazio (Penny Marshall) and Shirley Feeney (Cindy Williams) are best friends and flatmates in this 'Happy Days' spin-off. They work in the fictitious Shotz brewery in Milwaukee during the first five seasons, thereafter moving to California. Williams left in 1982 and the show folded at the end of the eighth season.

Answer: Hutch

Starsky and Hutch centred around the exploits of two Bay City detectives: David Starsky (Paul Michael Glaser) and Kenneth 'Hutch' Hutchinson (David Soul). The series aired for four seasons from 1974 and spawned a movie and video game of the same title. In this series, Hutch is the reserved, thoughtful partner, while Starsky is sometimes given to moodiness.

Answer: Barney Rubble

'The Flintstones' was an animated television series that centred around the title character Fred and his best friend and neighbour, Barney Rubble. Fred's wife, Wilma and Barney's wife Betty were also best friends. Fred and Barney were also bowling partners and members of the Loyal Order of Water Buffalos.

In this pairing, Fred would come up with crazy schemes and Barney went along with him because he was his friend. Whilst set in the stone age, the series depicted a 'modern' family with all the mod-cons, albeit without the electricity.

They used a series of prehistoric animals usually a mammoth, to provide the work. Although I never did figure out how the telephone worked.

Answer: Lacey

Running for seven season from 1982, 'Cagney and Lacey' was a popular police show about New York detective partners Chris Cagney and May Beth Lacey. Starring Sharon Gless and Tyne Daly, the show won numerous Emmys and one Golden Globe, primarily for Best Actress in Drama Series. In this series, Cagney was the quieter partner whilst Lacey was the louder, more brash personality.

Answer: Mindy

'Mork and Mindy', which aired from 1978 until 1982, was originally a 'Happy Days' spin-off. Mork, played by Robin Williams, was an alien sent to Earth from his planet Ork ostensibly to observe human behaviour but in actually to get him off Ork. He was taken in by Mindy (Pam Dauber) and lived in her attic.

The end of each episode had Mork contacting his superior on Ork and reporting on his observations. The show also introduced the catch phrase 'Na-Nu Na-Nu' into the social vocabulary.

Answer: Oscar Madison

'The Odd Couple' (1970 - 1975), starring Tony Randall as Felix Unger and Jack Klugman as Oscar Madison, was produced as a television series after the success of a play and film by the same name. As with all good pairings, divorcees Madison and Unger are polar opposites who manage to rub along fairly well. In this case, Unger is the neat freak and Madison the slob. The show had numerous celebrities appearing either as themselves or as a character mirroring their real life persona.

So popular was 'The Odd Couple' that it also spawned a cartoon series, reunion films, and a new TV series in 2015.