A World of Television Trivia Quiz

Set in the fictional town of Cicely, Alaska, 'Northern Exposure' explored the eccentric residents of that town, initially focusing on newcomer Dr Joel Fleischmann, forced to work there for four years as part of a scholarship deal for his medical studies, suffering cultural shock on his transition from New York City.

The show originally aired from 1990 to 1995. Over time, the focus expanded to create a strong ensemble show, with quirky characters ranging from Maurice (a multimillionaire ex-fighter pilot who owns the town's newspaper and radio station, and was responsible for arranging to have Joel be assigned to the town) through Chris ( the station's DJ who provides regular commentary on events) and Holling (town mayor and owner of The Brick, which seems to be the town's main bar and restaurant) to Maggie (the pilot who provides the town's main connection with the outside world). Joel and Maggie have a love-hate relationship over the years, but it is their final breakup that is made the excuse for his departure (which was actually necessitated because Rob Morrow was unable to get a satisfactory contract arrangement).

The tone of the show is set in the opening credits, which show a moose wandering the streets of the town. That scene, along with most of the rest of the show, was filmed in the state of Washington.

When bankruptcy forces the Rose family to leave their opulent lives behind and take up residence in in a town that the father had purchased as a joke for his son, they initially plan to get out again as fast as possible, but slowly learn to appreciate the town (and get in touch with themselves and each other). The series, brainchild of Eugene and Dan Levy who play the father and son, originally aired from 2015 to 2020, and never specified exactly where Schitt's Creek was, just that it was in an isolated part of Canada, well away from anywhere.

The members of the Rose family (Eugene Levy as Johnny, the father; Catherine O'Hara as Moira, the mother; Dan Levy as the son David; Annie Murphy as daughter Alexis) are initially fairly repellent human beings, quite self-obsessed and oblivious to those around them. This has made it hard for some people to appreciate the series, but if you persevere through the first season, you will find yourself softening, as they display the insecurities that have driven them, and start to develop an awareness of the fact that those around them also have needs. This is aided, of course, by the presence of suitable locals with whom they interact: Stevie Budd manages the motel where the Rose family has taken up residence in two adjacent rooms, Roland Schitt is the mayor, his wife Jocelyn runs the women's a capella singing group.

The show was filmed in Toronto (interior scenes) and in nearby rural areas.

'Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's The Lost World', to use its full title which acknowledged its inspiration, was set somewhere in the Amazon River basin. The 1912 book on which the series (which originally aired between 1999 and 2002) was loosely based was part of the series of adventure titles featuring Professor George Challenger. The show's premise is that he is leading an expedition searching for a lost world rumored to exist in the jungle. Their hot air balloon crashes on a previously-unknown plateau on which prehistoric creatures still survive, side by side with local natives.

The team encounter dinosaurs, humanoid lizards, giant bees and more. There appear to be various planes of reality on the plateau, with past and present mingling and mysterious magical elements coming into play. This gives them plenty of chances for danger and adventure as they try to find a way off and back to the rest of the world. Because the show was unexpectedly cancelled after the end of the third season, it ended with a cliffhanger - will Veronica's planned sacrifice to save her friends work, or will it lead to destruction?

The show was actually filmed in Australia (!) at the Village Roadshow Studios in Queensland.

'Fawlty Towers' is the name of a madly dysfunctional hotel in the town of Torquay, a seaside town on the south coast of England. The show was created by John Cleese (who plays Basil Fawlty, the manic hotel owner) and Connie Booth (Polly, the chambermaid who provides a bit of sanity). Basil's wife Sybil (Prunella Scales) tries to keep him under control, with little success. The hapless waiter Manuel (Andrew Sachs) is constantly scrambling to understand what he needs to do, with Basil declaring, "Don't blame him, he's from Barcelona" as if that explained everything.

There were only twelve episodes of the show produced in two seasons; the first aired in 1975, the second in 1979. Perhaps the paucity of episodes is partly responsible for the enduring esteem in which the show is held: it regularly ranks highly in polls seeking to determine the most popular or influential shows in English television. For fans like me, every episode is a gem with new joy to be found every time it is viewed.

While the show was filmed in England, it was not filmed in the southwest where it was set. Exteriors of the hotel were shot at a golf club in Buckinghamshire, and other exterior shots around London. Interiors were filmed at the BBC Television Centre in Shepherd's Bush (London).

'The Madame Blanc Mysteries', which premiered in 2021, is set in the south of France, in the fictional village of Sainte Victoire. At the start, Jean White (Sally Lindsay) travels to the town, where she and her recently-deceased husband owned a cottage, to sort out the messy details behind his death and the loss of all their assets. She slowly accumulates information, along the way solving another local mystery, often using her expertise as a dealer in antiques. (At the time of writing this quiz, after four seasons, there is still much to be resolved.)

As her French is limited, Jean is heavily reliant on the assistance of local taxi driver Dom (Steve Edge) both as a translator and for his familiarity with the locals. After a while, the local Chief of Police, Caron (Alex Gaumond) actually comes to rely on her, calling on her assistance when he feels her knowledge will be useful.

Although the village was inspired by Vauvenargues in the Bouches-du-Rhône department of France, the show was filmed in Malta, with the village of Sannat doubling for Sainte Victoire.

'Daktari', set at a fictional animal behavior study centre in eastern Africa, was inspired by the 1965 film 'Clarence, the Cross-Eyed Lion', and aired from 1966 to 1969. Clarence, of course, reprised his role from the film - with several doubles, both named Leo. Apparently Clarence was afraid of motorized vehicles, so needed a stand-in for some scenes; he also was not as good at producing a savage growl for closeup shots as his other double.

While fans may have turned in for Clarence, he was not actually at the centre of most stories. Nor was Judy, the pet chimp who performed regular 'cute' turns. The plots more often involved veterinarian Marsh Tracy (Marshall Thomas) and his staff dealing with injured animals, and protecting them from poachers and/or officials who wanted to confiscate them for one reason or another.

While the setting was ostensibly in eastern Africa, some of the animals shown were not actually appropriate for that area - as noted by the kind of person who checks that kind of thing instead of becoming involved in the action. Scenes involving actors were mostly filmed in a place called Africa USA - a ranch about 65 km from Los Angeles. Some scenes set inside the hospital were filmed in Florida. Long shots of the countryside were mostly filmed in Mozambique.

The pilot film for 'The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency' was a faithful adaptation of the first novel in Alexander McCall Smith's series of novels about Mma Precious Ramotswe, who uses an inheritance to move to Gaborone (capital of Botswana) and set up a detective agency. There was only a single series of six episodes released in 2008-2009, so many of the 25 novels remain as material for possible future series or films to use, following the exploits of Mma Ramotswe (Jill Scott) and her assistant Mma Grace Makutsi (Anika Noni Rose), alongside her developing romantic relationship with Rra JLB Matekori (Lucian Msamati), whose expertise as a car mechanic often comes in useful.

This show was notable for being filmed in Botswana. The pilot, which was originally intended to be released theatrically, was the first film ever made there - the 1980 film 'The Gods Must Be Crazy' which was set in Botswana was actually filmed in South Africa.

This six-part series, released in 2018, was set at Pine Gap, a military defense facility run by the United States with the cooperation of the Australian government which is located near Alice Springs, in Australia's Northern territory. If you knew that, you would not be surprised to hear that it is a thriller series, with international intrigues.

The central characters include Gus Thomson (Parker Sawyers), the US mission director at the facility, and his intelligence team - an uneasy combination of American and Australian agents who must work together to confront an evolving series of threats. Then there is the Chinese business man who wants to establish a mine nearby, a security threat that hovers in the background. Of course, there is the obligatory romance to complicate matters.

Given that Pine Gap is a top secret military facility, it is not surprising that most filming was done in Adelaide studios, with establishing external shots in the Northern Territory.

'Neighbours' is a soap opera that first started airing in Australia in 1985, and ran more or less steadily for 40 years, with some changes of network and time slot, and a couple of cancellations followed by revivals. As of the time this quiz is being written, it has been announced that it will once again finish with the last episodes planned to go to air in December 2025.

As is the case for any soap opera, the storylines are complex, and the characters constantly changing as residents of the fictional Melbourne suburb of Erinsborough move in and out. The story started with three households all living on Ramsay Street whose residents worked in the nearby Lassiters complex - which conveniently has a bar, a hotel, a small café, a police station, a number of offices, and a park for outside meetings. For the first ten years, it was not made clear whether Erinsborough was located near Sydney or Melbourne, but since 1994 more external shots including recognisable Melbourne features have been included.

'Neighbours' has been one of Australia's most successful media exports, especially in the United Kingdom where a number of the actors have been able to parlay their origin on the show into a successful career. The highest profile example of this would be the success of Jason Donovan and Kylie Minogue; the 1987 wedding of their characters (Scott Robinson and Charlene Mitchell) broke all kinds of viewing records, and provided a valuable springboard into a music career.

The external shots of Ramsay Street are filmed in the Melbourne suburb of Vermont South, using an actual dead-end court whose families vacate the premises for filming. Of course, stories frequently allow the characters to travel and be seen in other parts of Australia and even overseas.

Originally airing between 2005 and 2010, 'Outrageous Fortune' followed the lives of an Auckland-based family of career criminals whose matriarch decides it is time for them to relinquish their criminal ways, and become law abiding citizens. The tipping point for Cheryl West (Robyn Malcolm) came when her husband Wolf (Grant Bowler) is incarcerated for four years. She quits her job in a stolen goods shop, and makes several attempts to set up an honest business. Wolf disapproves, and tries to get her back on the old criminal track; their grown children are also reluctant to change their lifestyles. Life is not made any less complicated when Cheryl gets romantically involved with Detective Sergeant Wayne Judd (Kirk Torrance).

'Outrageous Fortune' won a number of awards, and was popular enough to lead to several international adaptions: 'Honest' ran in the UK for a single season in 2008, and 'Scoundrels' was similarly unsuccessful in the US in 2010. Perhaps the Kiwi ironic humor didn't travel well. 'Westside', a prequel that saw Antonia Prebble (who played Loretta West, the youngest daughter, in the original series) star as Rita West, Loretta's grandmother. It ran for six seasons.

The show was filmed in Auckland and some nearby areas.