TV Taglines Trivia Quiz

Answer: Edward R. Murrow

Edward R. Murrow began using the catchphrase "Goodnight and good luck" as the sign off on his radio broadcasts while covering the London blitz during World War II. When closing his TV show, "See It Now" (1951-1958), journalist and commentator Murrow continued to use the phrase. Murrow hosted the show, which was an early newsmagazine, bringing current issues of importance to the American public. One of the major issues of the times was Senator Joseph McCarthy, a Senator who was bent on finding Communists by any mean necessary. McCarthy's tactics were, in fact, un-American, and it was Murrow who helped stop him.

Answer: George Costanza

The phrase "yada, yada, yada" was first used on "Seinfeld" by George Costanza in 1997, during episode 153 called "The Yada Yada". The term was used instead of 'blah, blah, blah', to shorten a long story and, possibly, to conceal some other information.

In this case, George first hears the expression from a girl he is dating, and then uses the phrase to cover up what happened to his former fiancee, Susan. George tells his date that "We bought the wedding invitations and, uh, yada, yada, yada, I'm still single".

Answer: Archie Bunker

Archie Bunker was everyone's favorite bigot on "All in the Family" (1971-1979). Norman Lear's cutting edge comedy was about the Bunker family who lived in Queens, New York. Archie was a blue collar worker who believed every stereotype he heard. He was married to Edith who was the sweet, loving, dutiful wife who ran to fetch Archie's beer when he got home.

Whenever Edith had a comment and would get into a story, Archie would tell her to "stifle" (and she would). In retrospect, Archie's treatment of Edith was not that funny, although she didn't seem to mind.

Answer: Latka Gravas

The sitcom "Taxi" (1978-1983) was about the different people who worked at the Sunshine Cab Company in New York City, most of whom saw the job as a temporary one until they succeeded in what they actually wanted to do, e.g., Tony (the boxer) and Bobby (the actor). Aside from the drivers and Louie, the dispatcher, there was the sweet, lovable mechanic, Latka Gravas, played by Andy Kaufman. Latka was a foreigner, though we were never told from which country.

When anyone gave Latka a compliment, he would always respond with "Tenk you veddy much".

Answer: the Church Lady

Who could forget the puritanical Church Lady on "Saturday Night Live"? Her 'real' name was Enid Strict, and she was a middle-aged, pious, smug church-goer who hosted her own show called "Church Chat". Her 'show' featured celebrity guests who she would call out for their sins by first saying "Well, isn't that special", right before chastising them for their secular lives, and confirming their eventual damnation. Dana Carvey played the Church Lady from 1986 to 1990, with subsequent guest appearances from 1996 on.

Answer: Frasier Crane

Kelsey Grammer played psychiatrist Frasier Crane who we first meet at the Boston bar "Cheers". We followed him to his own show, "Frasier" (1993-2004), where he moved back home to Seattle, Washington, and shared his home with his ex-cop father, Martin, and Martin's physical therapist, Daphne Moon. Frasier had his own radio talk show on KACL where he imparted his psychological wisdom to troubled callers.

When people called in, Frasier would answer the call by saying, "I'm listening".

Answer: Sheldon Cooper

"The Big Bang Theory" is a sitcom which first aired in 2007. It features two brilliant Caltech physicists, Sheldon and Leonard, who become roommates. Although they are geniuses, they seem unable to handle social situations effectively. While they can calculate complicated equations, they are unfamiliar with pop culture.

Sheldon Cooper, played by Jim Parsons, was brought up by his god-fearing mother, and does not understand sarcasm. He is very focused and serious most of the time; however, when he does make a joke, he follows it with "Bazinga!", just to make sure you know it was supposed to be funny.

Answer: Frank Barone

While "Everybody Loves Raymond" (1996-2005), not everyone loved Raymond's curmudgeonly father, Frank Barone. Raymond's parents, Frank and Marie Barone, lived in Lynbrook, Long Island, right across the street from Ray and his family. Frank and Marie would insert themselves into every aspect of their son's life.

Whenever Frank was surprised or disgusted or elated or pretty much any emotion, he would say "Holy crap!" He would utter the phrase in almost every episode. Frank was played by the wonderful actor Peter Boyle.

Answer: Ralph Kramden

Ralph Kramden, his wife Alice, and his neighbors, Ed and Trixie, were the protagonists on the early, live comedy show "The Honeymooners". Did you know that there were a total of only 39 episodes filmed? Ralph, played by Jackie Gleason, was a blue-collar bus driver who lived in Brooklyn.

He and Alice would often fight over money and Ralph's get-rich-quick schemes (e.g., "Can it core a apple?"). He would get mad and say "One of these days, Alice, bang, zoom, you're going to the moon!". But they always made up at the end, with Ralph telling Alice "Baby, you're the greatest!"

Answer: Walter Cronkite

"The most trusted man in America" was the appellation often used to describe newsman and broadcaster Walter Cronkite (1916-2009). He was the anchorman for CBS news for nineteen years from 1962 to 1981. He began reporting in 1937, and covered major stories from the Nuremberg Trials to the Iran Hostage Crisis, and the assassinations of President Kennedy, Martin Luther King, Jr. and John Lennon. And at the end of every broadcast, right before he mentioned the current date, he always ended with "And that's the way it is".

Answer: Joan Rivers

Joan Alexandra Molinsky, aka Joan Rivers, was a writer, actress, producer, TV host and comedienne extraordinaire. Her comedy routines ("Can we talk?") were laced with strong language, and were often controversial. She was a workaholic who also covered red carpet events like the Golden Globe Awards, where she would interview the celebrities before they entered the ceremonies. She was, in part, responsible for making these pre-event events popular. Aside from asking the celebs how they were feeling, she introduced the phrase "Who are you wearing?", to discuss (mostly with the ladies) who designed the outfit they had on.

Answer: Phil Esterhaus

"Hill Street Blues" was a police drama which aired from 1981 to 1987. I can still hear the theme song in my head. The show was a gritty, realistic portrait of life in the precinct of a large (and unnamed) metropolitan city. Captain Frank Furillo headed up the brave group who worked at Hill Street Station. We got to see them in action at work, and in their personal lives. Each morning, at roll call, Sergeant Phil Esterhaus, wonderfully played by Michael Conrad, would give out the assignments and, at the end, he would always offer the warning "Let's be careful out there".

Answer: Greg House

If you found yourself at the fictional Princeton Plainsboro Teaching Hospital in New Jersey, between 2004 and 2012, you might have had occasion to meet up with diagnostic genius, Dr. Gregory House. The medical version of Sherlock Holmes (Holmes, House, get it?) was able to figure out the strange diseases of the patients referred to him.

However, the good doctor was not so good; he had no patience (ha!) for anyone, had a painful leg problem, and an addiction to Vicodin. He was antisocial and brutally honest with both his patients and the young diagnosticians who assisted him.

His prevailing philosophy was "Everybody lies".

Answer: Lieutenant Columbo

Ah, lovable, cigar-smoking, trench-coat wearing Lieutenant Columbo (first name perhaps Frank?) was the rumpled detective who seemed to have no clue, and yet he was able to solve the most complicated crimes. The show, "Columbo", originally aired from 1968 to 1978. Peter Falk played the humble homicide detective.

The gimmick here was that the episodes were not Whodunits but, rather, how-was-it-done? Celebrity actors played scheming villains who committed convoluted murders. Columbo would appear to be a bumbling idiot, asking weird questions, and then, his catchphrase "Just one more thing". That's when you knew the case was solved.

Answer: Jim McKay

"Wide World of Sports" began airing on the ABC network on April 29, 1961. The sports anthology program filmed its final show on January 3, 1998, although the title continued to be used for general sports programs until well into the next century. The show focused not just on the sport and the outcome, but on the "human drama" of athletic events. Jim McKay was the host and, at the beginning of every presentation, they featured a clip with McKay talking about 'spanning the globe' with "the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat". Over the years, the thrill of victory changed; but Vinko Bogataj, the Slovenian ski jumper, who crashed and burned, was always there, painfully illustrating the agony of defeat.