US TV Show Anagrams #10 Trivia Quiz

Answer: The Addams Family

Yum! Steamed cabbage for lunch with Gomez, Morticia, Wednesday, Pugsley, and the rest of the Addams Family who resided at 1 Cemetery Lane. 'The Addams Family' brought to life the cartoon characters created by Charles Addams from 1938 and first published in 'The New Yorker'.

Essentially a family sitcom, the Addams family were not your typical nuclear family in the style of 'Leave it to Beaver'. Sure, they had two kids (Wednesday and Pugsley) but that is where the similarity ends. Uncle Fester would put a light bulb in his mouth and create illumination. The butler, Lurch, could be summoned with a gong, but his duties were alleviated by a hand in a box which would pop out when needed. The hand in a box, called Thing T. Thing, was actually played by Ted Cassidy who also played Lurch. The family pet, called Kitty, was a fully grown lion.

Answer: The Sopranos

'The Sopranos' centred around Tony Soprano (played by James Gandolfini), an organised crime boss, husband, father, son and philanderer who dealt with the every day situations many of us have but through the eyes of someone with standing in a criminal organisation.

As the series progressed over six years and 86 episodes, the storyline contained many of the issues you'd expect to see in a mob movie and then some. The original inspiration behind 'The Sopranos' was the idea of a mob boss in need of psychiatric help to deal with issues relating to his mother.

The story grew into a highly-rating show that was lauded with critics' praise. The Writers Guild of America declared 'The Sopranos' Number 1 on their list of the 101 best written TV series of all time. 'The Sopranos' was set in New Jersey (as opposed to New York state) and was filmed in New Jersey from the show's original screening in 1999, to 2007.

Answer: Designing Women

Sugarbaker Designs, started by sisters Julia and Suzanne Sugarbaker, was the focal point of 'Designing Women'. Storylines involved the Sugarbakers' lives, both business and personal, as well as the people who worked for them at the firm. 'Designing Woman' ran for seven years, finishing in 1993.

Answer: The Partridge Family

You take a mother of five and her children, all of whom have some musical talent, put them on a bus, and there's a hit TV show for you. Shirley Jones starred as Shirley Partridge, mother of Keith, Laurie, Danny, Chris and Tracy, who formed 'The Partridge Family'. On the show they had hit records, toured the country, performed on television and in concerts, all while the kids still went to a regular school.

The band was managed by their agent, Reuben Kincaid. The band had hits in real life and David Cassidy (Shirley Jones' stepson in real life) became a huge star in the 1970s with teenage girls around the world swooning over him. Susan Dey played Laurie Partridge and went on to a successful acting career. Danny Bonaduce played Danny Partridge, the precocious middle child, and went on to a radio career. All that from a TV show which lasted 96 episodes over four seasons.

Answer: Boston Legal

Running for five seasons, 'Boston Legal' starred veteran stars William Shatner, Candice Bergen and James Spader in their roles as lawyers working at Crane, Poole & Schmidt, a Boston law firm. Originally a spin-off from 'The Practice', 'Boston Legal' ran from 2004 to 2008 in its original showing.

Answer: The Big Valley

Set on a Californian ranch in the 1870s, 'The Big Valley' was the story of the Barkley's ranch run by widowed matriarch Victoria Barkley (Barbara Stanwyck). Her children Audra, Jarrod and Nick featured in the show, along with Heath, their half-brother and illegitimate son of their father. Running for four seasons, 'The Big Valley' finished in 1969.

Answer: Bosom Buddies

'Bosom Buddies' only ran for two seasons in the early 1980s but it notable for the starring role a young actor called Tom Hanks played. Tom and his co-star Peter Scolari starred as young men in need of accommodation but unable to afford anything other than a room in a hotel designated as a women's only establishment.

This meant they had to disguise themselves as women in order to live in the building.

Answer: The Twilight Zone

Rod Serling, a New York writer, had various jobs (including parachute tester) prior having success as a writer. He went on to write over half the scripts for 'The Twilight Zone' and narrate every one of the 156 episodes in the original series. 'The Twilight Zone' episodes were mostly thirty minute long stories of ordinary people going about their normal lives when the extraordinary occurred.

The episodes brought wild notions such as time travel, nuclear war and mass hysteria to the ordinary folks in the suburbs.

In five seasons between 1959 and 1964, Rod Serling's show made such an impact that two revival series were made within the next forty years. Neither had the success of the first series. Steven Spielberg produced 'Twilight Zone: The Movie' in 1983 in an attempt to recapture the original magic.

Answer: Gilmore Girls

The 'Gilmore Girls' are mother and daughter Lorelai and Rory Gilmore who live in Stars Hollow, Connecticut. Lorelai was a single, teenage mother who ran away from the privileged upbringing because of her pregnancy. She settled in brilliantly, bringing up Rory who was sixteen years old when the show began in 2000. Central to the storyline was the relationship between the girls themselves, and the romantic entanglements and friendships that develop in the show. 'Gilmore Girls' ran for seven seasons.

Answer: The West Wing

'The West Wing' was written about the behind the scenes events and everyday goings on in that big building at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave, Washington D.C. otherwise known as The White House. It's one of my favourite shows of all time and I can't throw enough superlatives upon it, but I'm biased.

The Writers Guild of America agrees with me about the writing though. In 2013, the organisation listed 'The West Wing' at number ten in their list of '101 Best Written TV Shows', with 'The Sopranos' being number one. 'The West Wing' brought viewers the exceptional, mundane, funny, sad and thought-provoking moments in the lives of President Josiah (Jed) Bartlet, his family and staff in 156 episodes over seven seasons from 1999 to 2006.