Some Shows Do Have Them Trivia Quiz

Answer: Kurt von Strohm

"Allo Allo" ran from 1982 until 1992 and totalled 85 episodes. When the Germans occupied France, Colonel von Strohm was made the commander of the village of Nouvion - a place where nothing happens, perhaps? Alas: the café owner René Artois hid a valuable painting called "The Fallen Madonna with the Big Boobies" by von Klomp - a painting that everyone tried to get in his hands. Various forgeries of the painting were made and hid in sausages, and at one point Colonel von Strohm sent a sausage with a forged painting to Hitler by train - only to order his aide-de-camp Captain Hans Geering to shoot the train with a stolen German tank.
To complicate things even further, René was also hiding two British airmen. The resistance came up with the most ingenuous plots to get the airmen back to England, but all these plans failed in the most improbable way.
Richard Marner played Colonel von Strohm. The German forces included also Lieutenant Hubert Gruber (role by Guy Siner) and private Helga Geerhart (role by Kim Hartman). Gorden Kaye starred as René Artois and Carmen Silvera his jealous wife Edith. One of the waitresses in the café was Yvette Carte-Blanche (role by Vicki Michelle). These six characters were in each and every episode.

Answer: Richard Bucket

"Keeping Up Appearances" ran from 1990 until 1995, in 44 episodes. The series evolves of course around Hyacinth Bucket ("it's pronounced Bouquet"), a housewife who is convinced that there has been some mistake: she really should have been born into nobility. After all, she has all the style needed for a Lady. Richard, her husband, is a community counsellor - until he accepts early retirement at the start of the third season.
Patricia Routledge starred as Hyacinth, and Clive Swift played the subdued Richard. Further characters in each episode are Hyacinth's sister Daisy (played by Judy Cornwell) and her husband Onslow (role by Geoffrey Hughes), a couple far below Hyacinth's standards. Onslow never wears a shirt, let alone a tie - how shocking.
One of the finest quotes by Richard is the following. When Richard is driving, Hyacinth always warns him for oncoming potential dangers - even the sheep enclosed in their meadow, for "They might break out". To which Richard replies blatantly "Minding the sheeeeeeep..."

Answer: Polly Sherman

"Fawlty Towers" ran between 1975 and 1979, only in 12 episodes. The show was about a hotel run by Basil Fawlty (role by John Cleese) and his wife Sibyl (played by Prunella Scales). Basil was the worst possible hotel owner, always rude to the guests, and always steering towards utter chaos.

In this he was unwillingly aided by the Spanish waiter Manuel (Andrew Sachs), who did not understand most of what was going on. ("Qué? Me know nothing- I'm from Barcelona"). Luckily there was also Polly Sherman, the chambermaid (role by Connie Booth) who saved the day on many occasions - even if Basil and Sibyl were not aware of the solution.

Answer: Betty Slocombe

"Are You Being Served?" ran from 1972-1985, in 69 episodes. The setting for this series was a London department store, with the following staff members: Mrs. Betty Slocombe (Mollie Sugden) as head of staff in the ladies department, aided by Miss Shirley Brahms (Wendy Richard); and Mr. Wilberforce Humphreys (John Inman) as head of staff in the men's department.

The store was run by Mr. Rumbold (Nicholas Smith) and Captain Peacock (Frank Thornton) supervised the dealings. Mrs. Slocombe apparently was a married woman sharing her house only with her pet cat, as her husband for some reason seems to have left her. Mr. Humphries was more attracted to men than to women, as his gestures stress.

Answer: Edina Monsoon

"Absolutely Fabulous" ran from 1992 until 2012, with a total of 39 episodes. It told the story of Edina Monsoon, owner of a PR firm, and her friend Patsy Stone, working for a fashion magazine. The two main characters overindulged in cigarettes, drugs and alcohol, which led to several crises resolved by Edina's daughter Saffron.
Jennifer Saunders played Edina and Joanna Lumley starred as Patsy Stone. Julia Sawalha played Saffron.
Saunders won a BAFTA in 2012 for her acting in the series, as did Lumley in 1995 and 1993. The series won a BAFTA for Best Comedy in 1993.

Answer: George Mainwaring

"Dad's Army" ran from 1968 to 1977 in 80 episodes, and turned on the fate of a platoon of the Home Guard during WW II. The platoon, led by Captain Mainwaring, had to be prepared in case the Germans would invade the insignificant village of Walmington-upon-Sea, on the English south coast. (In reality there is no Walmington-upon-Sea.

The outside scenes were shot in Norfolk, perhaps near Lowestoft or Great Yarmouth, some 210km northwest of London). Captain George Mainwaring (role by Arthur Lowe), in civilian life the local bank manager, was the leader of the platoon. Second in command was Sergeant Arthur Wilson (John Le Mesurier), in civilian life the bank clerk - although during the First World War, Wilson (then a Captain) outranked Mainwaring (then a Lieutenant).

The platoon consisted furthermore of Lance Corporal Jack Jones (Clive Dunn), in civilian life the local butcher; and the privates James Frazer, Charles Godfrey and Frank Pike (roles by John Laurie, Arnold Ridley and Ian Lavender, respectively).

Answer: Raymond Fowler

"The Thin Blue Line" was a short-lived police spoof. It ran in 1996 and 1997, for a total of 14 episodes. Raymond Fowler (role by Rowan Atkinson) was the police inspector and head of the uniform department in the smallish station of Gasforth (near London).

Inspector Fowler, who followed the rulebook to perfection, was seconded by his girlfriend, sergeant Patricia Dawkins (played by Serena Evans) - completely his opposite in character. Detective Inspector Derek Grim (David Haig) was Fowler's superior and head of the Gasforth police. Furthermore there were the constables Kevin Goody, very simple-minded (James Dreyfus); Maggie Habib, a touch of Asian flair (role by Mina Anwar); and Frank Gladstone (Rudolph Walker), approaching his retirement rapidly. One of the typical lines from this show was the next quote, on how DI Grim would deal with recidivists: "You lock 'em up and throw away the door".

Answer: Frank Spencer

"Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em" (1973-2016) had only 23 episodes (including the Christmas Specials). Indeed: it had three seasons (February-March 1973, November-December 1973, and 1978), but was complemented by a very late special sketch for Sport Relief 2016. Frank Spencer (played by Michael Crawford) and his wife Betty (Michele Dotrice) are in the heart of the matter of this series. Frank Spencer always dresses in beret and raincoat and tries his hand at many jobs, only to cause major disaster everywhere. For instance, when he goes on holiday with Betty and finds that the room has two single beds instead of one double bed, he tells that he'll fix it - to the point that the hotel has to close down ten days to rebuild the damages.

Answer: Tracey Stubbs

"Birds of a Feather" ran from 1989 to 1998 on BBC and was revived in 2014 on ITV with new episodes.
The main characters are the sisters Tracey and Sharon, who in the first episode discover their husbands were bank robbers - and now face a seven year imprisonment. Tracey Stubbs (role by Linda Robson) has a son with her husband Darryl, but the marriage of Sharon and Chris is barren. Sharon (played by Pauline Quirke) then moves in with her sister Tracey. Together with Tracey's neighbour Dorien Green (Lesley Joseph) they face real live without a man about the house.
Chris is a Greek or Cypriot with a very long surname, but sources differ about the correct name: some state Theodopalopadous, others mention Theodopolopoudos or Theodopolopoulos. I wonder what characters from other shows would say about such a name - but the character Sharon, for one, hates this name.

Answer: Geraldine Granger

"The Vicar of Dibley" ran from 1994 until 2015. But even with such a long time of broadcasting, only 26 episodes were made: some seasons had only two episodes, some years were completely skipped.
The storyline is that in a small English parish named Dibley, the vicar has died, and so a new vicar will take up the job. Much to the astonishment of the villagers, the new vicar is not only a lover of chocolate who plays rock music and behaves very unconventionally, but worst of all... it is a woman.
One of the funniest moments was the moment that Vicar Geraldine Granger consecrated the wedding of Alice and Hugo (episode "Love and Marriage", 1998). As she told the couple to kiss, they didn't. So Geraldine continued "OH, FOR HEAVEN'S SAKE, JUST KISS, YOU MORONS!". When they complied heartily, Geraldine said to herself "Houston, we have a kiss-off".
Dawn French played the part of Vicar Geraldine Granger. Two other actors sere in all episodes: James Fleet as Hugo Horton and Trevor Peacock as Jim Trott.