Turn It Down! Trivia Quiz

Answer: Alcoa Presents: One Step Beyond

Running from 1959-1961 "Alcoa Presents: One Step Beyond" was hosted by actor John Newland. The stories explored each week had supernatural or paranormal overtones and were purported to be based on real events. Many young actors worked on this show before they reached stardom, including Robert Blake, Pernell Roberts, and Elizabeth Montgomery.

Answer: Rod Serling

Rod Serling hosted the anthology program "Night Gallery" from 1970-1973. Many of the stories were written by Serling himself or other noted authors such as H.P. Lovecraft. The initial pilot was the directorial debut of Steven Spielberg and featured the actress Joan Crawford in one of her very last acting roles before her death.

Although not popular with critics, this program had a large cult following who watched the program for years in syndication.

Answer: HBO

"Tales from the Crypt" ran from 1989-1996 on the cable channel HBO. The program was based on the 1950's EC comics of the same name. Many major actors and actresses were featured on this program, some long after their demise. The paranormal aspect of most of these stories also included more graphic violence and overt sexuality than most anthologies of the time.

Answer: Tales of Tomorrow

"Tales of Tomorrow" was one of the earliest television science fiction anthology shows. It was unusual in that the program was geared towards adults instead of children as were most science fiction programs at that time. It featured stories by some of the greatest authors of science fiction and horrors Jules Verne, Arthur C. Clark and Mary Shelley.

Answer: Funeral March for a Marionette

"Funeral March for a Marionette" by Charles Gounod is the piece of music that is most often associated with Alfred Hitchcock and was used in the opening sequence for every episode of this show. One of the most successful mystery anthology programs, this show lasted for ten seasons.

In 1962, the name of the program was changed to The Alfred Hitchcock Hour. Dozens of major stars appeared on this show including Bette Davis, Bruce Dern, Audrey Meadows, and Dick Van Dyke, just to name a few.

Answer: False

This is false. "Journey to the Unknown" was a 1968 British show that lasted only one year. It had a science-fiction/supernatural theme. Only 17 episodes were filmed and were later woven together to make four full length movies. The show featured many famous actors of the time but was canceled after just one year.

Answer: Ray Bradbury

All 65 episodes of this program were written by Ray Bradbury. Most episodes are a mixture of drama, science fiction and fantasy with a little bit of horror occasionally. Anthology programs often featured famous movie stars and "The Ray Bradbury Theater" was no different.

Many of the episodes were based on novels or short stories that he had published previously. Bradbury also hosted the show doing an opening narration that led into the story.

Answer: Rod Serling

The original "The Twilight Zone" was the creation of Rod Serling. It was so popular that two revivals followed as did a movie by the same name, a radio series, a magazine, and a comic book. Critics were unprepared for this program nor the public response to it. Episodes frequently included themes that terrified some of the public, including the end of the world, alien invasion, and nuclear war. "The Twilight Zone" is possibly the most successful television anthology program of this genre.

Answer: Challenging the viewer to decide if each story was fact or fiction

Running from 1997-2002, "Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction" challenged the viewers to decide if the stories shown were true or not. Some episode featured four true stories, while some featured four that were not. There was no way to tell, it was up to the viewer to decide. And it should be noted that the viewer was often, if not usually, wrong.

This, is in part, because life can be stranger than fiction.

Answer: The Outer Limits

"The Outer Limits" was a black and white science fiction television program that focused more on science fiction as opposed to monsters, supernatural phenomena or the bizarre. This was a popular program and featured many of the stars of the time. Every one of its episodes ended the this way:
"We now return control of your television set to you. Until next week at the same time, when the control voice will take you to-
The Outer Limits." I am not sure any of us have really ever regained control of our televisions since this program was on. There are many who might argue that television took control of the population as soon as it entered our living rooms.