TV in the 21st Century Quiz | TV By Year

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. In the 2005 version of the television series "Kojak", what actor played the role of New York Police Lieutenant Theo Kojak?

Answer: Ving Rhames

Rhames played the bald, fedora wearing, lollipop sucking, no nonsense
NYPD police detective lieutenant. In the original 1973 series, Telly Savalas played the suave, smooth talking detective for five years.

2. In 2004, Heather Locklear and Blair Underwood starred in a series about two managers competing for the top position at their workplace. What was the setting for this series?

Answer: an airport

The plot revolves around the operations of Los Angeles International Airport, the worlds 5th busiest airport, and follows a competition between an ambitious runway manager (Locklear) and an equally ambitious terminal manager (Underwood) as they vied for the recently vacated airport director position. NBC stopped production of the series after 13 episodes due to low ratings.

3. The 2002 series "Monk" followed the exploits of a brilliant, obsessive, compulsive, and sometimes defective private detective. What city police department often hired him as a special consultant to assist in the investigation of their most difficult homicide cases?

Answer: San Francisco

Tony Shalhoub starred in the title role as a one time brilliant San Francisco police detective. Monk grew up with obsessive-compulsive disorder. Following the death of his wife Trudy in a car bomb attack, Monk suffered a nervous breakdown and became catatonic, refusing to leave his house for three years. With the help of a registered nurse, Monk was finally able to leave the house and he began to perform consulting work for the police department on particularly difficult cases.

For his outstanding character portrayal, Shalhoub has earned four Emmy award nominations for 'Outstanding Actor in a Comedy Series'
(2003, 2004, 2005, and 2006) and three wins (2003 and 2005 and 2006). In previous projects, Shalhoub co-starred for 7 years (1991-1997) as cab driver Antonio Scarpacci in the television series "Wings".

In a departure from his mild mannered role of Capt. Leland Stottlemeyer on "Monk", Ted Levine played the role of serial killer Jame "Buffalo Bill" Gumb in the 1991 thriller "The Silence of the Lambs" with Jodie Foster.

4. In the 2001 series "Alias", an international spy who believed she was working for the American CIA (Central Intelligence Agency) learned that her real employer had been a mercenary group of rough spies. She became a double agent, now worked with the CIA. On her assignments, who was her regular partner?

Answer: Marcus Dixon

Carl Lumbly played the role of Marcus Dixon, the agent who was most often partnered with Agent Sydney Bristol (Jennifer Gardner). Lumbly was born on August 14, 1952 in Minnesota (USA) and was the son of Jamaican immigrants. Performers on the series have earned five Emmy nominations for their work, including two nominations (2005 and 2003) for series star Jennifer Gardner for "Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series".

5. In 2005, Jim Tinewsky (Benjamin Bratt) and Eli McNulty (Dennis Hopper) starred in a series as operatives set in what location?

Answer: the Pentagon

The series "E-Ring" was about military officers who planned and monitored top secret military operations from the Pentagon. The series title is a reference to the offices along the outer edges of the Pentagon. The network, NBC, gave the show a full season of 22 episodes, but only aired 14 episodes.

6. Robert Urich, Lisa Ann Walter, and Sherri Shepherd co-starred in a 2001 series that gave viewers a behind-the-scenes look at the production of a television show. As "art imitates life" and vice versa, what was the name of this series?

Answer: Emeril

"Emeril" gave viewers a comical behind the scenes look at the production of a television cooking show. The show starred famed chef Emeril Lagasse. The show was based on the real-life television cooking show "Emeril Live" on the Food Network.

7. In 2005, the Food Network released "Iron Chef America", an updated version of the cult classic food preparation contest, "Ryori No Tetsujin", known to audiences in the United States as "Iron Chef". On the new version of the show, who was not one of the four American Iron Chefs?

Answer: Chen Kenichi

Chen Kenichi appeared on the show for the entire run of the series. He was the designated Iron Chef Chinese, who specialized in Chinese Szechwan cooking styles, and was holder of the longest winning streak for an Iron Chef with 14 battles.

8. In 2005, Geena Davis starred as Mackenzie Allen on a new television series. What was the primary setting for that series?

Answer: the White House

Following the unexpected death of President of the United States Teddy Bridges, Vice President Mackenzie Allen becomes the first woman President of the United States in this series entitled "Commander-in-Chief."

9. On what 2003 television series could lead character Joe Renato be found?

Answer: "The Handler"

Joe Pantoliano played the title character on this series. The stories revolved around a FBI agent who trained and handled rookie agents who took undercover assignments to solve crimes in the Los Angeles area. Pantoliano is probably best remembered for his performances in two movies as Deputy U.S. Marshal Cosmo Renfro in the "Fugitive" movie series.

10. In a 2005 series, Kyra Sedgwick starred as a quick thinking, fast talking deputy chief of police, in charge of the Department's Priority Homicide Division. What is the last name of Sedgwick's character?

Answer: Johnson

Sedgwick plays the role of LAPD Deputy Police Chief Brenda Leigh Johnson. In a late night talk show interview in July of 2006, Sedgwick relayed to Jay Leno on the "Tonight Show" that to publicize her show, "The Closer", and to add to the number of viewers, the producers of the show mailed hundreds of letters to people with the last name Johnson. The letter explained that Deputy Chief Brenda Johnson would not be able to attend the Johnson Family Reunion due to her commitments on her new show, "The Closer".
For a few days afterward, the LAPD switchboard was flooded with calls regarding the letter. A few callers wanted to know if a special arrangement could be granted so Brenda Johnson could attend the family union. The majority of callers wanted to know where the Johnson Family reunion was being held.
The producers failed to advise LAPD about this publicity action, so the actual police incoming telephone system was caught completely by surprise by the surge in calls.

Some references for this quiz:

Internet Movie Data base
www.imdb.com

"The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows"
Eighth Edition, October, 2003, by Tim Brooks and Earle Marsh

Source: Author airbossjohnson

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor ladymacb29 before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.

TV in the 21st Century Trivia Quiz

What do you remember about television shows and characters that made their debut during the first five years of the 21st Century?

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