They Still Call Chicago Home Trivia Quiz

The 1993 remake, also set in Chicago, starred Tom Amandes as Eliot Ness and William Forsythe as Al Capone. The 1959 series starred Robert Stack as Eliot Ness, and Neville Brand only appeared as Al Capone in the first few episodes, which were based on Eliot Ness's memoirs. The start of the series focused on the underworld power struggle that ensued following Capone's imprisonment. The group of agents who were nicknamed The Untouchables because they refused to accept bribes became progressively more heroic, and branched out beyond the actual target of the original group into more widespread confrontation with villains of various sorts. A large array of criminal figures whose names were familiar to the viewing audience featured, often with little historical accuracy.

'The Untouchables' ran for four seasons until 1963, producing 118 episodes in addition to the pilot. The show provoked a number of controversies: Italian-Americans found it racist, J Edgar Hoover was offended that the agents were encroaching on the territory of crime that should be investigated by the FBI, its (for the time) high level of violence and portrayal of drug use and prostitution was considered by some to make it unfit tor television, and more.

Bob Newhart played a psychologist who bears his name, and whose persona carries strong connections with the standup routine for which he had become famous. Some of his best-known routines, for example, involved telephone conversations in which we only hear his side, and can work out what he is hearing from his responses. For several seasons, 'The Bob Newhart Show' started with him answering the phone - but then the scene developed into a comic situation. His persona (and apparently his actual character) was personable and easy to get along with, although capable of sarcastic asides.

The show focused more on Newhart's relationships with his wife and their neighbour than on his work as a psychologist, but the other doctor's working in the building where he practiced also played a role, with his patients making brief appearances. A few of these were seen often enough to become familiar - Jack Riley reprised his character of Eliot Carlin in guest appearances on several other shows.

The show ran for six seasons, from 1972 to 1978, producing 142 episodes, all filmed in front of a live studio audience.

'Good Times' was billed as the first American sitcom to feature an African-American family with two parents ('Julia', which debuted in 1968, featured Diahann Carroll as a nurse who was also a single mother). A spin-off of 'Maude' (which featured a character who originally appeared on 'All in the Family'), it showed the family life of Florida Evans (Esther Rolle), Maude's housekeeper who changed her husband (from firefighter Henry to odd-job man James), her social status (from middle class to impoverished) and her location (from outside New York City to Chicago) in the transition.

The producers and writers originally intended the show to deal with relatively serious issues with a comedic touch, as had been the case for 'All in the Family'. However, the character of JJ (played by Jimmy Walker) proved to be so popular with viewers that the show eventually pivoted to be more about his antics than social issues. One of the most enduring memories of the show is JJ's catchphrase, "Dy-no-mite!", which he produced in virtually every episode.

The show ran for six seasons, from February 1974 until August 1979, producing 133 episodes.

When young Punky Brewster (Soleil Moon Frye) was abandoned by her mother in a Chicago shopping centre, she and her dog, a golden retriever named Brandon, found an empty apartment in which to take refuge. There she was discovered by Henry (George Gaynes), the building's caretaker and her eventual adopted father.

The show focused primarily on the developing relationship between these two, but Punky's escapades with others her own age provided plenty of sub-plots. Her best friend was Cherie (Cherie Johnson), who lives with her grandmother in the same building.

The show ran for four seasons (two on NBC in 1984-1986, two in syndication from 1987-1988), for a total of 86 episodes. A 2021 revival in which Punky was a single mother of three who became a mentor to a young girl who reminded her of herself starred Soleil Moon Frye and Cherie Johnson as mature versions of their original characters. It lasted for a single season.

As Tolstoy famously wrote in 'Anna Karenina', "All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way." Al Bundy (Ed O'Neill), a shoe salesman whose life highlight was one high school football game, has a family that illustrates this in a comedy that some found to be an incisive satire, and others dismissed as tawdry humor. His lazy wife Peggy (Katey Sagal) has nothing better to do with her days than shop and watch soap operas; dim-witted daughter Kelly (Christina Applegate) wanders vaguely through life with her latest boyfriend; son Bud (David Faustino) constantly produces smart-aleck comments that don't help anyone feel better about themselves. this is definitely not 'Father Knows Best'.

Despite the fact that everyone seems to dislike the rest of the family, they do manage to pull together and support each other when the chips are down. This was the first primetime series broadcast on the Fox network, then in its fledgling stage, and reaching a much more restricted audience than could be reached by NBC, ABC and CBS. Nevertheless, it developed a steady viewership during its run, which amounted to 259 episodes in eleven seasons between April 1987 and June 1997.

Chicago is clearly a hotbed for medical shows, with 'Chicago Hope' and 'ER' debuting on consecutive days, and 'Chicago Med' adding to the medical drama action in 2015. Like any good not-for-profit hospital, the fictional Chicago hospital where 'Chicago Hope' was set had more than a few quirky characters, whose internal conflicts helped create dramatic tension when the medical problems didn't get in the way.

Phillip Waters (Hector Elizondo) was a chief of staff dealing with an emotionally preoccupied cardiac surgeon (Geoffrey Geiger, played by Mandy Patinkin) who got regular support from neurosurgeon Aaron Shutt (played by Alan Arkin) and contended with Kate austin (Christine Lahti) to be the chief of surgery. In the ER Daniel Nyland (Thomas Gibson) slept not only with as many members of staff as he could manage, but also with his patients' family members, while Billy Kronk (Peter Berg) had a tendency to behave recklessly.

Running for six seasons, between September 1994 and May 2000, 'Chicago Hope' aired 141 episodes. Fans of 'NCIS' might recognise some familiar faces: Mark Harmon, who later played Leroy Gibbs, was an orthopedic surgeon in the last three seasons; Rocky Carroll, later NCIS Director Leon Vance, worked in the ER at the same time; Lauren Holly, who played the NCIS director who preceded Leon Vance, joined the cast for the final season.

Jim Belushi starred in the title role, a laid-back father of three 9until the twins are born in the last season) who would rather play the blues in his garage or watch sports (primarily his beloved Cubs, Bears, Bulls and Blackhawks) on television than take responsibility for completing any task that looks as if it might require some effort. Despite his rudeness and self-centered approach to life, we are expected to respond sympathetically when he (inevitably) finds himself in strife.

Jim is always contrite about his mistakes, but virtually never apologises for them. This show has been cited as an example of the trope in which an apparently rather mediocre man has a very intelligent and attractive wife; the audience is led to feel there must be more to him than meets the eye, since she is there.

The show ran for eight seasons, from October 2001 until June 2009, airing 182 episodes.

The American version of 'Shameless' moved the location from a council estate in Manchester (where the original UK series was set) to the South side of Chicago. The premise of the show remained the same: unemployed single father Frank Gallagher (William H Macy) is too busy abusing various substances to provide for his six children, who get themselves involved in various scams in order to survive. His oldest child is Fiona (Emmy Rossum), who has shouldered as much responsibility as she could for raising her younger siblings - but she has plenty of problems of her own to deal with.

Despite the grim-sounding premise, the series is a comedy, and was nominated for a number of awards in that category, with Macy winning several SAG Awards for Best Actor in a Comedy Series in 2015, 2017 and 2018, and Eddie Perez winning Primetime Emmy awards for stunt coordination in 2016, 2017 and 2020.

'Shameless' ran on Showtime for eleven seasons, between January 2011 and April 2021, with 184 episodes aired.

Dick Wolfe, the man behind the 'Law and Order' franchise, was also involved in setting up the 'Chicago One' franchise. As of the time of writing this quiz, there have been four series: 'Chicago Fire' (started October 2012), 'Chicago P.D.', 'Chicago Med' (first aired November 2015) and 'Chicago Justice' (2017). Because they are all set in the same television universe, there are periodic crossover episodes. Many episodes of all of them end with a scene in a bar called Molly's, which is owned by three of the firefighters from the original series.

The shows all focus on the private lives of people involved in delivering these essential community services, and how these affect their ability to perform in a professional capacity. 'Chicago P.D.' is set in the 21st District of the Chicago Police Department, where the chief of the Intelligence Unit (Hank Voight, played by Jason Benghe) runs a tight ship, but in early seasons has to deal with a lot of hostility because he it thought to be a dirty cop; we eventually find out that he was working undercover to locate corrupt police officers. Even when they suspect him, those who work with him have to respect his zeal in pursuing criminals (although viewers may find his tendency to take the law into his own hands a bit problematic).

The star of this reality home renovation show is Alison Victoria, an interior designer who buys and restores old Chicago homes, hoping to sell them. The first two seasons saw her working with her business partner at the time, but that relationship broke down, and she continued solo.

The houses chosen are usually old, sometimes designated as landmark buildings (which adds restrictions to what they will be able to do), and generally offer a sequence of unexpected problems along the way - as seems to be generally the case for any home renovation show, or where would the tension come from? Anyway, walls get knocked down, appropriate furniture and interior furnishings (such as wallpaper or paint, floor coverings and curtains) get purchased, and Alison emerges more or less triumphant.

As of the time this quiz was written, four seasons (44 episodes in total) had aired between 2019 and 2024. As well as the regular shows, there were nine specials aired at the same time as episodes in the first two seasons. Starting with the third season, Alison expanded her activities to include some renovations in other cities, while most episodes remained based in Chicago.