TV Vehicles and Their Primary Drivers Quiz

Answer: Bill Gannon

When it was time to take to the road, LAPD Detective Sergeant Joe Friday (Jack Webb) and Officer Bill Gannon (Harry Morgan) rode in unit "1K80", with Gannon behind the wheel.

This incarnation of "Dragnet" ran from 1967-1970, with 98 half hour episodes.

Trivia:
Under the unit designation protocol used by the LAPD, "1K80" would identify a supervising officer from the Central Division (headquarters) detective unit.
In LAPD jargon, the "1" would indicate a unit assigned to the department's Central Division.
The "K" indicates a detective from LAPD Headquarters, as opposed to a "W" unit which is a geographic division detective.
The "80" indicated the officers position within the unit. Supervisory personnel are always assigned a number ending in a zero.

Answer: Thomas Magnum

Private Investigator Thomas Magnum (Tom Selleck) could be seen driving around the streets and roads of Oahu, Hawaii in the car.
The car was prominently featured on the series "Magnum,P.I." for eight seasons (1980-1988).

On the series, Thomas Magnum worked primarily as the in-house security expert on the sprawling residential estate of famed novelist Robin Masters, who owned the car. Part of Magnum's arrangement with Masters was the use of the car when he was away. Masters, a world traveler, rarely visited his Hawaiian estate.

During the first season, as seen in the opening credits montage, the license plate number on the car was "56E-478". In later seasons, the plate was changed to "Robin-1".

Answer: Francis Muldoon

Joe E. Ross and Fred Gwynne starred as NYPD patrol officers Gunther Toody and Officer Francis Muldoon in the 1961 sitcom "Car 54, Where Are You".
Muldoon served as the driver as he and his partner, Officer Gunther Toody (Joe E. Ross) patrolled in the Bronx section of the 53rd precinct.
The series aired 60 half hour episodes, filmed in black and white, over two seasons.

The two patrol cars actually used in filming the series were painted red and white. This was done to avoid confusion between the TV cars and actual patrol cars, which were black and green, with white tops and trunks at the time. The series was filmed on location in New York City, and on black and white television, the red and white colors provided the needed contrast in colors for viewers.

Answer: Dan Tanna

Private Investigator Dan Tanna (Robert Urich) was seen tooling around the streets of Las Vegas in the classic red car with the personalized license plates "Tanna" on the 1978 action series "Vega$".

Dan Tanna resided in a converted Las Vegas casino warehouse and parked his prized car inside in his living room. In addition to serving as the in-house investigator for the "Dessert Inn Hotel and Casino Resort", Tanna also operated his own Private Investigations agency.

"Vega$" ran for 3 seasons (1978-1981), and was the first television series to be filmed entirely in Las Vegas.

Answer: Thomas Jefferson Hooker

Sergeant Thomas Jefferson "T.J." Hooker (William Shatner) was the senior partner and behind the wheel of LCPD's Academy Precinct patrol unit 4A30. He partnered with a younger officer, his protégé, Officer Vincent Romano (Adrian Zmed) to show him the true ropes of being an effective police patrol officer.

"T.J. Hooker" aired 91 episodes over its five season run. "T.J. Hooker" broadcast 84 hour long episodes on the ABC Television Network, before being canceled in 1985. The series was picked up by the CBS Television Network, who produced and broadcast 17 new 90-minute episodes and one two-hour movie during the 1985/1986 season.

Answer: Tod Stiles

Tod Stiles (Martin Milner) drove the "powder blue" Corvette during the first season of the series "Route 66".

After learning that his late father had squandered the family fortune, Tod took to the road on his only remaining asset, a 1961 Chevorlet Corvette. Tod was joined on his journeys by friend Buz Murdock (George Maharis). The two traveled the famed highway, U.S. Route 66, stopping in cities and towns along the way, where they always found adventures, interesting people, and temporary work.

"Route 66" aired 116 episodes over four seasons, all filmed in black and white, on location, from 1961 until 1964.

The car in season was a light powder blue in color. During subsequent seasons, the color was changed to more "camera friendly" colors for filming. As the light blue paint reflected too much light during filming, in season two, the color was changed to "Fawn Beige". During the third and fourth seasons, the car was "Saddle Tan" in color.

Answer: David Michael Starsky

While it is supposed to be an unmarked undercover detective vehicle, every cop, robber, thug, thief, and gambler in Bay City knew that the bright red 2-door Ford Gran Torino with the distinctive white vector stripe on each side announced the arrival of "Zebra 3". The unique police vehicle was driven by Detective David Michael Starsky (Paul Michael Glaser), of the Bay City Police Department. In the passenger seat was his partner, Detective Kenneth "Hutch" Hutchinson (David Soul).

The hour long police drama series "Starsky & Hutch" aired for 4 seasons (1975-1979) with 93 episodes.

Answer: Bosco Albert Baracus

One of the most recognizable TV vehicles was the 1983 GMC Van from the 1983 action/adventure series "The A-Team". The black and gray van with the distinctive red stripe, was driven by Bosco Albert "B.A." Baracus. Because of his fearsome demeanor, Baracus was also known as "B.A." for "Bad Attitude".

"The A-Team" follows the exploits of a group of escapees from a military prison who were wrongly convicted for a crime they did not commit. While eluding their pursuers, they worked as underground "soldiers of fortune" assisting those who could not defend themselves. Other members of the team were; their leader, Colonel John "Hannibal" Smith, Lieutenant Templeton "Faceman" Peck, and their pilot, Captain H.W. "Howling Mad" Murdock.

"The A-Team" ran for 5 seasons (1983-1987), with 98 hour long episodes.

Answer: Pete Malloy

LAPD police patrol unit was driven by Senior Officer Pete Malloy (Martin Milner), in the 1968 police procedural drama series "Adam-12". Malloy's partner was Officer Jim Reed (Kent McCord) who handled the radio and paperwork duties

"Adam-12" highlighted the occasional excitement and often mundane duties of two regular police patrol officer.

"Adam-12" ran for seven seasons with 174 episodes.

The series derived its name from the call sign of the police unit "1 Adam-12".
In the parlance of the LAPD, the number "1" indicates the geographic patrol division the unit is assigned to ("1" represents Central Division), "Adam" is a two-officer patrol unit, and "12" indicates the specific area within the division the unit is assigned to normally patrols.

Answer: James Crockett

The high profile, high price car was assigned to and driven by Detective James "Sonny" Crockett (Don Johnson) on the series "Miami Vice". The choice of the flashy high performance car was to help Sonny maintain his cover identity of Sonny Burnett, a drug dealer. Crockett's partner was Detective Ricardo "Rico" Tubb.

Following a behind-the-scenes dispute on the use of the car, the car was replaced in the second season with a 1986 Ferrari Testarossas, type F110.
In the series storyline, the change in cars was explained by having Sonny's car blown to bits.

"Miami Vice" aired from 1984 until 1989 (5 seasons) with 111 hour long episodes.