US TV Show Anagrams #4 Trivia Quiz

Answer: Home Improvement

Tim Allen starred in 'Home Improvement' as Tim 'The Toolman' Taylor. 'Home Improvement' had two main parts. One was Tim's family life with wife Jill and their three boys, Mark, Randy, and Brad. The other main part of the show involved Tim and his cable television show which helped viewers with their own home improvements. Sadly, Tim wasn't as capable as his co-host, Al, and this provided many comedic moments, some of them requiring Tim to seek medical attention. 'Home Improvement' was made for eight seasons from 1991-1999.

Answer: Northern Exposure

Cicely, Alaska, was the home for 'Northern Exposure' from 1990 to 1995. New York medico Joel Fleischman (played by Rob Morrow) landed in Alaska to work as a doctor, fulfilling his part of an agreement to pay back his student loans. The town had eccentric characters the like of which Joel hasn't encountered before.

There were also some romantic tension with Maggie, the town's pilot, played by Janine Turner. Over six seasons and 110 episodes, the show was filmed in the town of Redmond, Washington rather than in Alaska.

Answer: The Simpsons

Lovers of 'The Simpsons' will know more trivia about them than I can manage to write here. For those who don't love 'The Simpsons' but like a good pun, there are plenty of puns in Springfield's shop names. If you need a sweet treat, you can visit The French Confection. For a family restaurant, try the Texas Cheesecake Depository or The Frying Dutchman for a seafood dinner. For younger players in need of a toy, there is Valley of the Dolls or J.R.R. Toykins.

The air conditioner store is called It Blows. If you don't watch to watch TV at all and need a book, there is a book store at the airport called Just Crichton and King Books. Legal troubles? Try the law firm of I Can't Believe It's A Law Firm! Need more incense or herbal soap? The new age store is called Karmaceuticals.

Answer: Wacky Races

With characters like Dick Dastardly, Penelope Pitstop, Peter Perfect, Professor Pat Pending, and The Gruesome Twosome, 'Wacky Races' was a cartoon series made in the late 1960s. There were two races in each episode and competitors would race each other in their unusual cars. Dick Dastardly was the sneaky cheat who never won a race. Penelope Pitstop drove the very pretty Compact Pussycat and maintained her femininity at all times. Professor Pat Pending drove a car of his own design which could be modified at the flick of a switch to become an aeroplane, a motorcycle or even a bowling ball.

Other racers included a couple of cavemen, a gang of 1920s mobsters, a lumberjack, and an army sergeant and a private driving a tank/car combination. 'Wacky Races' was only made for one season on air (17 episodes) but still evokes fond memories for those who enjoyed the show in their childhood, including me!

Answer: Moonlighting

Cybill Shepherd and a fairly unknown actor (at the time) called Bruce Willis starred in 'Moonlighting', a mixture of drama, romance, mystery and comedy. Cybill was Madelyn 'Maddie' Hayes, business partner of David Addison Jr. (Willis) in a detective agency called the Blue Moon Investigations.

The plots were centred on their clients and they mysteries they brought in for investigation, but there was also quite a bit of romantic tension between the leads for two and a half seasons until the relationship was consummated.

Some of the mystery of the show ended with this development. Shortly after that, Shepherd and Willis were both busy with other projects. Cybill was pregnant with twins while Bruce was making the first 'Die Hard' movie. Filming the episodes became more difficult and often ran behind schedule, the chemistry between the leads was difficult to maintain and the ratings fell. 'Moonlighting' was cancelled in 1989 after five seasons and 66 episodes.

Answer: Gunsmoke

'Gunsmoke' brought the American wild west into the audience's home for twenty years in over 635 episodes. Set in Dodge City, Kansas, the show brought characters such as Marshall Matt Dillon to life. Over its twenty year run on television, stars such as James Arness, Dennis Weaver, Amanda Blake and Milburn Stone portrayed life and the daily events of life in Dodge City. 'Gunsmoke' was made between 1955 and 1975.

Answer: The Facts of Life

'The Facts of Life' premiered in 1979. For nine seasons, Mrs. Garrett was the housemother to a group of boarding school girls. They matured and developed into young adults with guidance from Mrs. Garrett. 'The Facts of Life' made its first run on television from 1979 to 1988.

Answer: The Drew Carey Show

Drew Carey starred in the eponymously named show as an everyday kind of guy facing every day kind of issues at work and at home, doing it all with a sense of humour and his friends. Set in Carey's childhood home of Cleveland, Ohio, the show aired for nine seasons before ending in 2004.

Answer: Dallas

'Dallas' first went to air in 1978 and enthralled audiences with its scheming, manipulative and very wealthy characters. J.R. Ewing, played by Larry Hagman, was one of the central characters. J.R. (John Ross) was a philandering oil baron who used others for his own ends. He was shot at the end of the 1980 leaving viewers with the question 'Who shot J.R.?' until the next series began. The answer was revealed as Kristin Shepherd, one of his mistresses.

'Dallas' was on air for fourteen seasons, finishing up in 1991. It was revived in 2012 with Larry Hagman again appearing as J.R. Ewing but the show focused more on the next generation of Ewings.

Answer: All in the Family

'All in the Family' starred Carroll O'Connor as Archie Bunker, the old-fashioned WWII veteran bemused by the changes going on in society in the 1970s. Jean Stapleton was the deferential Edith, Archie's wife, who usually went along with what Archie says and ran their Queens, New York, household. Gloria, their daughter played by Sally Struthers, was married to Michael Stivic, played by Rob Reiner.

The relationship between Archie and Mike was uneasy, with Archie referring to Mike as 'Meathead'. It was all grist for the mill for this comedy which was made between 1971 and 1979, won numerous awards including Emmys, and spawned several spin-offs including 'Maude' and 'The Jeffersons'.