Television Firsts 2 Quiz / Test | TV Mixture

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. 1952 saw the first morning network news show appear in the world. It starred Dave Garroway and his chimp called J. Fred Muggs. What was the name of this show which was sponsored by the National Broadcast Company?

Answer: "NBC's Today Show"

"Today" is ranked by "TV Guide" as #17 of the 50 greatest shows of all time. Sigourney Weaver's late dad Pat created this show as well as "The Tonight Show". Over the years there were many controversies like Bryant Gumbel's Memogate who demeaned Willard Scott ("holding us hostage to his bad tastes") and Gene Shallit for his lousy movie reviews.

It also had a Today Girl, Estelle Parsons the first, but that ended in 1966 with Barbara Walters who called it a glorified coffee gofer.

2. In 1953, this series was the first whose theme song peaked at Number 3 on the Billboard Top 60 pop chart. It was a police drama which starred 2 partners and it only took ONE word to describe it. What was the name of this series?

Answer: "Dragnet"

Early TV was dominated by comedy and variety shows. "Dragnet" proved that action shows could compete and further police dramas drew some guidance from it. When it went into syndication, "Badge 714", Joe Friday's badge Number, was chosen. The show's ending provided the outcome of the case including the judgment of the judge or jury and the length of the sentence, if any.

3. Jessica Tandy and Hume Cronyn starred in the first network series to be broadcast solely in color. It had no prior episodes in black and white. What was the name of this MAN and WIFE series?

Answer: "The Marriage"

Jessica and Hume were real life husband and wife. This series sit-com, "The Marriage", lasted for only 7 episodes during the summer of 1954. Hubby and wife left on a tour and although there was talk of renewing it, it never happened. An article by Laurence Laurent in "the Washington Post" noted that it was one of the best summer replacement series. One of the children in the show was played by Susan Strasberg.

4. There were many ROCKS in this show and lots and lots of prehistoric fun. What was the first animated series made for prime-time network?

Answer: "The Flintstones"

"The Flintstones" is also the first animated series to have a story about infertility, when Barney and Betty became depressed after Pebble's birth, because they could not have children. It was inspired by the Jackie Gleason series "The Honeymooners" and after the two-minute premier, Gleason threatened to sue Hanna-Barbera for plagiarism.

5. The first prime-time program to show cartoons was the "CBS Cartoon Theater" beginning in 1956. Who was the host of this series?

Answer: Dick Van Dyke

Dick Van Dyke hosted this series during its 3 month/13 episode life. Although other cartoon series like "Bill Barker's Cartoon Series" and "Mighty Mouse" were earlier, they were during the daytime only. And if you look closely enough, you will see that the TV set used was a CBS-Columbia one; yes Virginia, CBS made TVs at that time. Dick interacted with the cartoon characters but it was not successful especially compared with "The Wonderful World of Disney".

6. Although it was still illegal at that time, one daytime soap opera had the first abortion storyline. Now if you don't know of any soaps, then you must be from MARS or VENUS. What was the name of this show?

Answer: "Another World"

"Another World" aired on NBC from 1964 to 1999. It was also the first to have a crossover character, Mike Bauer ("Guiding Light" to "Another World"), the first to go to one hour then to 90 minutes and back to one hour, first to spin off new shows and the first soap to have a theme song break the Billboard 100.

As an aside, soap operas or soaps derived this sobriquet from their first sponsors on radio.

7. Breaking from years of stereotyping, "I Spy" was the first network series to have a BLACK actor, who later played Dr. Huxtable in a series with his own name in the title. Who is this actor?

Answer: Bill Cosby

"I Spy" was not, however, the first TV series to do so. A New York TV station aired a series called "Harlem Detective", a half-hour crime series featuring two black plainclothes heroes. It lasted 4 seasons from '54-58 and the leading characters, Bill Cosby and Robert Culp teamed up for a movie in 1972 called "Hickey & Boggs". Bill Cosby married Camille Hanks, who is not related to Tom Hanks, but distantly related to Nancy Hanks, mother of President Lincoln.

8. This series starring Robert Conrad and Ross Martin, is the first science fiction WESTern WESTern TV series. What is the name of this series that aired from 1965 to 1969?

Answer: "The Wild, Wild West"

"Wild, Wild West" was set during the presidency of Ulysses S. Grant. James West, played by Robert Conrad, who seemed to collect beautiful women, and Artemus Gordon, who was the creator of gadgets and master of disguises, were always involved in crushing some devious plot to destroy the USA. People have compared it to "James Bond on horseback". Due to the violence in the show and pressure from watchdog groups, it was canceled in 1969 and the '69 season saw no detective nor western series debut. In syndication it was shown after school and a lawsuit was brought by the Foundation to Improve Television. Judge John Sirica of Watergate fame, dismissed it.

9. In 1966, a British TV show was the first to be broadcast by an American network (ABC) in prime time. If you didn't write positive reviews about it, some say that the British government would RETALIATE against the writer. What was the name of this series?

Answer: "The Avengers"

Patrick MacNee as John Steed and Diana Rigg as Mrs. Emma Peel starred in the spy-fi series. It started in 1960 as "Police Surgeon" in Britain and the doctor was killed in the last episode and his wife had to avenge his death. Thus, "The Avengers" were born.

In total it lasted from 1961-1969 and spawned "The New Avengers" from '76-'77. The wrong answers were all British TV shows. More about this series can be found at: http://theavengers.tv/

10. You may have to go into OUTER SPACE to find out the first TV show to use the word 'hell'. What series heard a lead actor say, "Let's get the hell out of here"?

Answer: "Star Trek"

It was Stardate 1967 when Captain Kirk uttered the unthinkable phrase with a word that should not have been spoken at that time. The original series pilot "The Cage" starred Jeffrey Hunter ("King of Kings" and "The Searchers") as Captain Christopher Pike, but was rejected by NBC big-wigs as being too intellectual. Gene Roddenberry was not about to give up and revamped the series. Lloyd Bridges and Jack Lord were not interested in the new character of Captain Kirk, thus William Shatner was introduced; from there followed five more series based on the concept of going boldly where no man has gone before. Trekkie fans go here: http://www.startrek.com/

Source: Author thaibob

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor ladymacb29 before going online.
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Television Firsts 2 Trivia Quiz

This is the second in the series of TV firsts. Just name the TV show or character that was first to accomplish this or that. It may be more difficult, for the uninitiated in the classics, than the previous one in this series.

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