Time to Say Goodbye Trivia Quiz

Answer: The Mentalist

The series finale of "The Mentalist" is titled "White Orchids". The episode title is quite fitting, as white orchids are extremely popular flowers at weddings, in part because they are said to symbolize purity, innocence, hope and love. The show spent almost the entirety of its first six seasons on Patrick Jane's quest to find the murderer and exact revenge. Ultimately, Jane does figure out who "Red John" is and kills the killer. With that long ordeal finally behind him, Jane comes to realize that he cares deeply about Teresa, a special agent who was also deeply involved in the "Red John" saga. When Teresa and Patrick marry in the finale, the last scene shows the two of them, away from the post-wedding festivities, sitting alone together. She reveals that she is pregnant.

Patrick is a little bit surprised but also elated, and the couple share a tender embrace. The series began with a man whose family was savagely taken from him, and it ends with him regaining that which he had lost -- hope, love, and a family.

The photo of a white orchid recalls the episode's title.

Answer: Even Stevens

The last episode of "Even Stevens" is titled "Leavin' Stevens", and it begins with the whole family watching television, eagerly awaiting election results -- the family matriarch, Eileen Stevens, is running for Congress. The news anchor announces that she has won, narrowly beating her opponent. Everyone is thrilled for her, but it's a bittersweet victory, because it means the Stevens family will be moving to Washington, D.C. The change is particularly difficult for Louis; on his last day at school, he tries to share his feelings with Tawny -- a girl with whom he shares a simpatico relationship -- but can't find the words. So later on, he decides to make a videotaped message to tell her how he feels.

Everyone's going-away plans are upended, however, when the next day, another news alert declares that, following a recount, Eileen Stevens has in fact lost the race. The family won't be moving. Louis makes a valiant effort to retake his tape before Tawny sees it, but he grabs the wrong one -- and discovers she too had recorded a farewell message. As Tawny sits in her room and watches Louis's video, and as Louis sits in his room and watches Tawny's video, the two junior-highers are both deeply moved by the other's touching words. Both videos end with "I love you." The next day at school, Louis and Tawny acknowledge that they saw the other's tape. Now knowing their feelings are mutual, the two walk off down the school hallway together, holding hands. "Absence makes the heart grow fonder" indeed -- when faced with impending separation, the two saw and took the opportunity to be truly open with each other. And now that plans have changed and no one is moving away, the young couple realize they are blessed with both togetherness and tender honesty.

The photo of two people going away from view (on a small train) is a nod to what the Stevens family are doing -- leaving.

Answer: House, M.D.

The finale of "House, M.D." is titled "Everybody Dies", recalling the title of the pilot episode, "Everybody Lies," a common phrase uttered by Dr. Gregory House, the doctor whose genius is rivalled only by his misanthropy. In the final story, Dr. House finds himself in a burning building and begins to hallucinate; not long after, Drs. James Wilson and Eric Foreman manage to figure out where House is -- but the burning building collapses, and the coroner confirms that Dr. House perished in the fire. On the day of the funeral, everyone tries to speak well of Gregory House -- except Dr. Wilson, who calls him a selfish jerk.

Dr. Wilson's tirade is interrupted by a text message: "SHUT UP YOU IDIOT." Later that day, he drives his motorcycle to a certain restaurant, gets out, and across the street is -- guess who -- Dr. House, sitting on the stairs outside another building. He explains how he faked his own death and escaped the burning house. Wilson remarks, "You're destroying your entire life. You can't go back from this. You'll go to jail for years. You can never be a doctor again."

"I'm dead, Wilson," House says -- because as far as everyone else knows, and according to the coroner's official report, he's deceased. "How do you want to spend your last five months?" Wilson -- who had long since refused to undergo chemo for his cancer -- realizes that his friend, the curmudgeonly Greg House, has sacrificed everything -- all so he can stay by Wilson's side for the last few months of his life. In the last scene, the two friends get on their motorcycles and drive off together, down a long, remote road, and eventually disappear from view.

The photo of headstones in a cemetery is meant to evoke the finale's title.

Answer: Dexter

The conclusion to "Dexter" is titled "Remember the Monsters?". This comes from a line of dialogue in a flashback sequence (more on that below). Few people in Dexter Morgan's life know he is secretly an anti-hero, and he's seemingly always struggled with whether he's really capable of "being human." For a long time, he was convinced that he was incapable of feelings or emotions, dismissing them as nothing more than part of a "disguise" to hide his dark side. As the series progressed, though, and as he experienced very-real loss, he realized he was in fact genuinely capable of caring about other people.

In the last episode, Dexter's main focus -- at least at first -- is to safely relocate to Argentina, along with Hannah (his current romantic partner) and Harrison (his son from a previous relationship). All flights to and from the airport end up being grounded, however, and not long after, Dexter receives grave news: His foster sister, Debra Morgan, has been shot by a serial killer. While an impending hurricane forces the Miami airport to continue nixing all flights, Dexter goes to the hospital to see Debra. After doing well at first, she suffers a stroke and is put on life support.

In a flashback, Debra tells Dexter that he's always cared for her, even when they were children; she used to be terrified that monsters lurked in the dark, but her brother Dexter always reassured her. Back in real-life, after finding and murdering the man who shot his sister, Dexter disconnects Debra's life-support machine, slips her out of the hospital, and gently lays her now-lifeless body in the ocean. In the end, he comes to a realization: All the people who he cares about die, and he's always at least partly responsible. "I destroy everyone I love," he tells himself. Deciding he has to protect Hannah and Harrison from himself, he calls to say that he loves them. The next day, Hannah -- who has since safely arrived in Argentina -- reads in the paper that Dexter Morgan's boat has been found -- at least, the wreckage of it.

The last scene reveals that Dexter is actually still alive, somewhere in the Pacific Northwest, working for a lumber company, having exiled himself to a life of isolation. He silently enters his small house, sits down, looks out the window, and then solemnly stares off into the distance. It's the end of a bittersweet story -- of one man who willingly removes himself from those he loves, in the hope and belief that his sacrifice will lead to the others' lives being safer in his absence.

The photo of two "monsters" alludes to the episode's title.

Answer: Phineas and Ferb

The concluding episode of "Phineas and Ferb" is "Last Day of Summer". The title is a fitting counterpart to the series' theme song, which describes the stepbrothers' attitude -- basically, that summer vacation won't last long, so they've resolved to have a great summer, enjoy the opportunity to have adventures, and make the most of each day.

With autumn just around the corner and just one more afternoon before the school year begins, stepbrothers Phineas and Ferb are determined to make the most of the day -- and they want to go out with a bang. They've spent the summer well, going on wild adventures and inventing countless fantastical contraptions. Their older sister Candace, of course, has been doing the same thing every single day -- trying to get Mom and Dad to see for themselves what the boys are up to.

Things begin to get weird, however, when Candace goes to visit her friend Vanessa -- the one whose father happens to be Dr. Heinz Doofenshmirtz, the town's resident mad scientist. Candace accidentally activates his newest device, the "Do-Over-Inator," which allows a person to live the same day over again. Well, the machine works -- but strangely, Candace and Heinz are the only ones who realize that time is repeating itself. What's more, the same day repeats not once but over and over, a la "Groundhog Day."

As it turns out, things grow increasingly strange every time the day loops back to the start. After numerous cycles, Phineas and Ferb disappear -- they don't just go "missing"; they cease to ever have existed at all, and only Candace knows this. Heinz's device has created a temporal rift -- a tear in space-time itself -- and Candace determines to find a way to save her brothers, as the flow of time continues to grow more and more unstable.

Heinz, who is also aware that his machine is causing the day to repeat, initially uses that knowledge to his advantage, but when he finds himself no closer to the satisfaction he thought it would help bring, he starts rethinking his scheme and decides to try to set things right. Vanessa -- who has helped him see that he's actually a nice guy, not the evil scientist he's tried to be for so long -- is impressed at her father's change of heart.

Candace too has changed -- after a summer of doing the same thing over and over, trying to get Phineas and Ferb in trouble, she realizes that even though they bug her, she loves her brothers. When she finally finds them, trapped outside the flow of time, she tells them how glad she is they're safe. With some help, she manages to rescue them AND disable the do-over device just in time. So for both Candace and Dr. Heinz Doofenshmirtz, the events of the last day of summer has finally put things in perspective. In a little post-credits scene, Phineas steps outside to wave goodbye to the audience.

The photo of a marked-up calendar date refers to the start of autumn and the new school year.

Answer: The Weakest Link

One of the most famous quiz shows that began in the U.K. was "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire." Another program was "The Weakest Link", made iconic by Anne Robinson, who really introduced the idea of the "anti-host" persona, serving to antagonize the players rather than cheer for and encourage them. Though the show found just as much success in the U.S., it was the English version that proved longer-lived, cranking out nearly 1700 episodes until 2012.

Just by way of quick gameplay discussion, each episode has nine people on a team at the beginning. During the rapid-fire quiz rounds, each player tries to build and maintain a "chain" of right answers -- the more right without a miss, the more money to be won -- but a wrong answer forfeits the money, forcing the team to restart the chain. After each round of questions, one player has to be eliminated by majority vote. As the saying goes, "a chain is only as strong as its weakest link," and at least in theory, that was the premise of how the team should operate -- by voting to get rid of the individual who is least useful to the overall team. But players can vote for anyone for any reason, meaning the *statistically* weakest player often is not the one who gets ousted. This changes in the final round, when the team has been reduced to two members. The objectively better player (of the last round) is deemed the night's "Strongest Link" and receives the prize. The other person, like all others eliminated, is simply told the famous last words: "You are the Weakest Link. Goodbye."

In the final episode, gameplay was largely unchanged, though the first quiz round consisted of Anne asking simple "trivia" questions about herself and the program itself. Once the game's head-to-head round had been played out, yielding one final winner and loser, attention shifted solely to Anne. Normally she signed off by saying, "Join us again next time for (another episode of) 'The Weakest Link.' Goodbye."

The line was revised to "This has been 'The Weakest Link...'" But instead of rolling the credits as usual, the show abruptly cut to a minute-long montage of short clips from the series, set to Tom Jones' song "She's a Lady." While Anne Robinson was famous for her stoic expression and no-nonsense attitude, this revealed it was all just an act. The clips show her dancing, making jokes, making faces, and even (unintentionally) breaking character -- grinning and chuckling as she tries not to.

After the montage, the camera cuts back to Anne in the empty studio. With a wink and a knowing smile, she delivers the last word of her sign-off line -- "Goodbye." As she does so, the last few studio lights go dark.

The photo is a clue to the show's title, because what's depicted is a *chain-link* fence.

Answer: Touch

The sadly short-lived series "Touch", whose concluding episode is titled "Leviathan", is enormously complicated in its plot. Eleven-year-old Jake sees extraordinary things through numbers -- and though he is mute, he has much to communicate. The show's focus is on the many ways in which people communicate -- "how our lives all touch one another," to quote the creator. Plot-wise, the first season focuses on the various individual numbers Jake observes, writes down and/or acts upon. Because Jake does not speak, his father often initially struggles to understand his son's silent actions -- though somehow, it always culminates in someone being healed or reunited with a loved one.

The second season enlarges the story's premise and reveals that Jake is part of the "Lamed-Vav Tzadikim" -- Hebrew for "[the] thirty-six Righteous Ones." As one of the characters explains: "God will allow humankind to exist as long as there are 36 righteous people in the world. ... They walk among us, blessed with the capacity to feel the suffering of the entire human race. And they work to alleviate that suffering."

As an aside, the idea of the "36 Righteous Ones" is a very-real concept from Jewish mysticism -- that their righteousness effectively keeps the world worthy of being preserved and saved by God. The way the show builds on this concept is by also revealing that each of the numbers Jake knows are special in several ways. As one of the 36, part of his gift is knowing the special numbers -- and the role of the Righteous Ones is to use their God-given "second sight" in ways that unite, heal and maintain goodness and order.

Complicating matters, however, is another realization: All of these numbers, which once seemed unrelated, are actually all connected -- combined, they form a special numerical sequence. In the wrong hands, however, the completed sequence can be exploited and misused. The point of the finale is that a sinister corporation knows this, and they need Jake in order to have the finished sequence -- though he will not survive the process of extracting this knowledge from his mind.

Ultimately, Jake's father learns the location of his son -- and another girl, also one of the 36 -- and manages to eventually expose the company, which it turns out has tortured and experimented on many people in years past who know this special sequence. Avram, a student of Jewish mysticism and a friend, gives Jake's father a special amulet his son had found -- whoever holds it is the protector of the Righteous Ones. For now, Jake's father will take that role, but in due time, Jake is destined to be the next protector of the 36.

In a closing narration, Jake says (to the viewers), "My name is Jake. I was born on October 26, 2000. I've been alive for eleven years, nine months and twelve days. And in all that time, I've only said a few words. But I'm getting the hang of it now. And there's a lot more I have to say."

The final title, "Leviathan", refers both to a large ship (where Jake had been captive for a time) as well as to something of colossal size or power -- such as the international corporation that had planned to exploit Jake's knowledge.

The photo is simply a hint to further suggest the show's title, "Touch".

Answer: Person of Interest

"Person of Interest" ends its story with the episode "return 0", the meaning of which merits some explanation and discussion. But first, most fundamentally, the gist of the show is this: A man named Harold Finch is the creator of a masterwork of AI -- a surveillance system of sorts simply called The Machine. Though it was designed for the U.S. government, Finch covertly uses the Machine himself, as he realizes that the government is only interested in averting major terrorist attacks, not 'smaller' crimes involving ordinary civilians.

So along with a man who calls himself John Reese, Finch does what the government will not do -- use this mass-surveillance device to help save countless lives. When the Machine identifies someone as a "person of interest," it means that person is likely to either perpetrate a crime -- or be a victim of one. But the Machine does not know *what* will happen or *how*, only who will be involved, so it's up to Reese and Finch to unravel the unknowns and stop the crimes from occurring.

Harold Finch taught and programmed his creation's AI for benevolence -- to care about human beings, to help stop those who would do evil, and to protect would-be victims. But there's a problem: Another mass-surveillance machine exists, called Samaritan. And unlike Finch's Machine, Samaritan has no concern for morality or for life. No, this second device believes that the only way to maintain order is to establish itself -- by any means necessary -- as a totalitarian 'ruler' of humanity. And for that matter, Samaritan's own self-preservation is one of its top priorities.

What happens at the series' end is the culmination of these two entities, with completely opposite aims. The Machine devises a plan to eliminate Samaritan -- namely, via a computer virus. The extent of the ramifications is far too complex to elucidate, but it's a sense of purpose, and understanding of the value of life (and death) that prompt both Reese and the Machine to sacrifice themselves to ensure the other computer is terminated.

A recording from the Machine reveals its feelings: "Let me tell you what I learned. I learned everyone dies alone. But if you meant something to someone -- if you helped someone or loved someone -- if even a single person remembers you -- then maybe you never really die."

The episode's title, "return 0", is a term from computer programming. In simple terms, it effectively means that a program ran succcessfully and with no errors -- computer-speak for a "happy ending" of sorts.

Answer: Strange Days at Blake Holsey High

Another series that goes into the almost inconceivably vast realm of things like space-time and parallel worlds, "Strange Days" is surprisingly intricate for a show originally written for teens and families. The last part of the story, simply titled "Conclusions," brings a lot of both questions and answers, but also gives some degree of finality to the goings-on.

Earlier in the series, when Josie went through the wormhole one day, an ordinary silver qigong ball suddenly turned into a small object that contained an infinite source of energy. One man, named Victor Pearson, had been working with his wife, Sarah, on time-travel technology -- and in their hands, the energy in the qi ball would be used responsibly. But from another, future timeline, is the mysterious Andreas Avenir -- a man who will stop at nothing to take that power source and give himself absolute control over time and space.

When an experiment went awry, Victor's wife went missing -- trapped sort of in an area beyond space-time. Victor and his son, Vaughn, have been trying to find a way to bring her back ever since. And further complicating matters, the finale reveals that Mr. Avenir is actually Josie's father. In other news, the real Josie, having unwittingly interfered with how events were supposed to play out, has become stranded in an isolated alternate timeline.

Though Sarah is in a place and time indeterminate, she manages to send a device -- a holographic message -- warning the others of Avenir and his intent to steal the power once and for all. Josie confronts her father, and when he refuses to abandon his plans, she decides she must stop him. Vaughn, on the other hand, has been tricked by Avenir with the false promise of bringing Sarah, his long-missing mother, back.

It merits noting that also earlier in the series, Josie was accidentally cloned. The school janitor -- who is not what he appears -- knows that two Josies cannot exist in the same universe, so "Josie 2" is given a different mission: To be an Observer. The Observers are those who, through indirect means, are meant to ensure the integrity of the flow of time, and to stop those who would manipulate it. Jumping back to the finale, Josie 2 makes a sacrifice to take the real Josie's place as the lone occupant of the distorted timeline she caused.

The real Josie, then, having had all of this explained to her and knowing what to do, confronts both Avenir and Vaughn. Ever since the school's construction by Avenir in the 1800s, he has awaited an opportunity for someone to put the qigong ball into his special device, which will empower him absolutely. Both Josie and Vaughn have the ability to use the ball's power, and with some help from Sarah and Victor, Josie manages to destabilize Avenir's device; thwarted once and for all, he disappears into oblivion, and Sarah steps out of the portal, freed.

The Janitor, meanwhile, has also made a great sacrifice -- he came long ago from an unimaginably distant future, as an "Observer of Observers." In the process of helping prevent Avenir's conquest, however, the Janitor knowingly lost the ability to return to his original time. But because the black hole has finally evaporated and everyone is safe, he does not regret his sacrifice.

The image is of a pin that, of course, says "BLACK HOLE." In Canada, where the show originated, the series was also known as "Black Hole High". The name "Blake Holsey" is a bit of wordplay, and the fictional school's namesake.

Answer: The Mole

This is the series finale of the reality show "The Mole." In fact, every version of it -- at least in the U.S. iteration, anyhow -- ends more or less the same way -- insofar as the finale is always titled "Who Is The Mole?", and it always ends with one fate for each of the three players: One person loses, one person wins the prize money that the team accumulated and banked throughout the season, and the third person is unmasked as the Mole.

Also, as an aside regarding the international versions. The show actually came to the U.S. after originating in Belgium as "De Mol" ("The Mole"), where the series continues in active production. The same is true for the Finnish and Dutch adaptations, where it is known as "Myyra" and "Wie is die Mol?", respectively. Certain rules and changes to the format exist from country to country, but as stated, our interest is on the American program.

Now then -- to backpedal a little, from the outset of the game, several rules are in place. Each episode, the remaining team members try to achieve some sort of objective or solve a riddle within a time limit. Succes means that money is earned toward the jackpot, but failure means the bank doesn't increase. The Mole -- who, of course, was pre-chosen and may not reveal their identity -- is tasked with discreetly sabotaging the team's efforts.

At the end of each "day" (episode), all players -- including the Mole -- are sequestered, and each person takes a test that asks 20 multiple-choice questions about the game thus far; most of it requires having paid attention to various details about the day's activities and location. Once the test is over, everyone is brought into one room. In random order, each contestant's fingerprint is displayed on a screen. If the background lights up green, that player is safe -- at least for the time being. If the screen turns red, however, that person is declared "the Mole's latest victim" and faces "The Execution." Not nearly as grisly as the name suggests, no actual harm comes to the player, but it does mean he or she is out of the game. Rule-wise, the day's loser is whoever had the lowest score on the test; that person takes their belongings and is escorted away. For obvious reasons, the Mole cannot be eliminated.

When it does come time for each series' finale, the day's particulars -- location, activities, et cetera -- will of course vary from series to series, but the last challenge still involves one last chance to win money for the pot. And as sunset draws near -- both literally and figuratively -- the three players take one last test, and then all is revealed in "The Final Execution." The runner-up -- and thus the Mole's last victim -- wins nothing, while the winner -- the one person who survived all the saboteur's efforts -- receives the full prize earned over the episodes. (The Mole also receives a stipend from the production company, but they are forbidden to ever disclose the amount.)

The host brings the declared winner to finally meet the Mole, who reveals his or her identity. A few days later, all the team members are reunited to watch a recap of the season, including the Mole's various deceptions and sabotages, as well as some very-well-hidden clues as to their identity. With all now revealed, the winning contestant is congratulated once again for completing the game, and the Mole also "takes a bow" as everyone acknowledges that person's cleverness in keeping up the ruse without arousing undue suspicion. Even though it was all just a game and in good fun, at last there is closure -- the whodunit and deception are done, and everyone parts ways ... until the next series, when a new group and a new defector will again play this most-intriguing game of cat-and-mouse.

The photo depicts two things: A fingerprint (similar to the stylized one used in the show's logo), and an above it, a different kind of "mole" -- also spelled "mol," as in "molecule" -- a scientific unit of measurement of how many molecules (or atoms) are in a given substance.