Tommy Westphall Universe II Trivia Quiz

Answer: Mark Craig

The doctors who visited "Cheers" were Donald Westphall (Ed Flanders), Mark Craig (William Daniels) and Daniel Auschlander (Norman Lloyd). It was in the "St Elsewhere" episode "Cheers" (what else?) which aired on March 27, 1985. In their visit, the doctors met Carla Tortelli (Rhea Perlman), Norman Peterson (George Wendt) and Cliff Claven (John Ratzenberger).

Victor Ehrlich was played by Ed Begley, Junior. He did do a crossover in "Homicide: The Movie" (2000). Before he became an international movie star, Denzel Washington played Philip Chandler. And Howie Mandel did Wayne Fiscus before "Deal or No Deal."

"Saint Elsewhere" was a medical drama focused on a Boston hospital. According the "Tommy Westphall Universe" theory, the whole show was in the imagination of a young autistic boy (Chad Allen). Conversely, all shows linked to "St Elsewhere" are also imaginary.

Answer: Seattle

Frasier Crane moved to Seattle, his hometown, to take care of his aging father.

Frasier (Kelsey Grammar) was first seen on "Cheers" as Diane Chambers' psychiatrist and love interest. "Cheers" was one of the most popular sitcoms of all time, airing from 1982 to 1993. It centered on a Boston bar "where everybody knows your name." Frasier appeared in 204 of the show's 271 episodes.

"Frasier" was almost as successful as "Cheers," with 263 episodes between 1993 and 2004. Grammer continued as Frasier, hosting a radio call-in show.

Answer: Niles Crane

Niles (David Hyde Pierce) and Daphne (Jane Leeves) appear in "Caroline and the Bad Back", the fourth episode of the series, which aired October 12, 1995. Niles was Frasier's neurotic brother and Daphne was Martin's physical therapist who eventually became Niles' wife.

John Mahoney was Frasier's father Martin, a retired police officer. Dan Butler was "Bulldog" Briscoe, one of Frasier's co-workers at the radio station. Peri Gilipin played Roz Doyle, Frasier's producer at the radio station.

"Caroline in the City" starred Lea Thompson as a cartoonist in New York City. It was on the air from 1995 to 1999.

Answer: Jonathan Eliot

Caroline met Jonathan in "Caroline and the Folks" which aired on November 2, 1995.

Jonathan Silverman played Jonathan Eliot, the title character of "The Single Guy," which aired for two seasons on NBC (1995-1997). It is about a struggling writer seeking to find romance in New York City. Despite having one of the choicest pieces of television real estate imaginable, between "Friends" and "Seinfeld," the show never really caught on.

Sam Sloan (Joey Slotnick) was Jonathan's friend. Manny Cordoba, played by veteran actor Ernest Borgnine, was the wise doorman. Trudy (Ming Na-Wen) was Sam's wife.

Coincidentally (or perhaps not), "Caroline and the Folks" also contains a crossover with "Friends" in which Chandler Bing (Matthew Perry) attempts to pick up Annie Spodaro (Amy Pietz).

Answer: Ross

Ross Geller (David Schwimmer) appeared on the episode "Neighbors" on November 2, 1995. Jessica Hecht played Janeane Percy-Parker during the first season of "Single Guy." In a surreal twist, Hecht would go on to play Susan Bunch, the woman who married Ross' ex-wife Carol.

Do I really need to describe "Friends?" Six friends hang out at a coffee house in New York City. Laughter and drama ensue. Ross Geller was a paleontologist whose wife left him when she discovered she was a lesbian. Really, the show was funny. It was on the air from 1994 to 2004.

Answer: Phoebe

Lisa Kudrow had been playing a ditzy waitress on "Mad About You" when she got the part of Phoebe on "Friends." The producers explained the actress being on both shows by making Ursula Phoebe's twin sister.

The producers of "Friends" included a cameo with Jamie (Helen Hunt) and Fran (Leila Kenzie) in which they mistake Phoebe for Ursula. It was in "The One With Two Parts: Part 1" which aired on February 23, 1995.

Answer: Alan Brady

"Mad About You" was a romantic sitcom which aired from 1994 to 1999. Paul (Paul Reiser) and Jamie (Helen Hunt) Buchman were a young married couple in New York. Paul was a documentary filmmaker.

The brilliant Carl Reiner appears as Alan Brady in the episode "The Alan Brady Show" which aired February 16, 1995. Paul hires Alan Brady to narrate a documentary on the history of television. Reiner is one of the pioneers of television comedy, both writing and acting in "The Dick Van Dyke Show" (1961-1966).

Answer: Buddy Sorell

Buddy Sorell is hired as a jokewriter by Danny's wife Kathy (Marjorie Lord) in the episode "The Woman Behind the Jokes" which aired October 21, 1963.

"The Dick Van Dyke Show" featured Van Dyke as Rob Petrie, one of the writers on a comedy variety show. Buddy Sorell (Morey Amsterdam) and Sally Rogers (Rose Marie) were his co-workers. The brilliant Mary Tyler Moore played Rob's wife Laura. It aired from 1961 to 1966.

"The Danny Thomas Show" starred the comedian as Danny Williams. It was on the air an amazing 344 episodes between 1953 and 1965. It was originally known as "Make Room for Daddy."

Answer: The Andy Griffith Show

No surprise that "The Andy Griffith Show" has its roots in the "Danny Thomas" episode "Danny Meets Andy Griffith" which aired February 15, 1960. In the episode, Danny is arrested by small town sheriff Andy Taylor, who has a stranglehold on the town. Frances Bavier did appear, but as Henrietta Perkins, not Aunt Bea. Ron Howard did appear as Opie, and his father Rance was also in the episode. The character of Andy Taylor was reworked for the subsequent television series.

"The Andy Griffith Show" aired from 1960 to 1968. It focused on wise sheriff Andy Taylor, bumbling deputy Barney Fife (Don Knotts), Taylor's son Opie (Howard) and Aunt Bea (Bavier).

Answer: Jim Nabors

Jim Nabors starred in "Gomer Pyle, USMC" from 1964 to 1969. As Gomer, he would usually do something incredibly dumb that he somehow managed to redeem by the end of the episode. Nabors generally played a bit of a goofball during much of his career, but was also well known for his incredible singing voice. Nabors appeared on 23 episodes of "The Andy Griffith Show" as Gomer.

Jack Dodson was Howard Sprague, and Howard McNear was Floyd Lawson. George Lindsey was Gomer's cousin, Goober.

Gomer Pyle had a crossover with "The Lucy Show" in 1966 with the episode "Lucy Gets Caught up in the Draft." The show re-teamed Vivian Vance and Lucille Ball, who had created the idea of sitcoms on "I Love Lucy" in the 1950s. I could continue with connections to "The Lucy Show" but the rabbit hole is probably deep enough by now.