Sunday Quiz | Test your TV knowledge on World Television Day
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The United Nations celebrates November 21 as World Television Day as TV remains the single largest source of video consumption globally. On October 2, 1925, Scottish inventor John Logie Baird successfully transmitted the first television picture with a greyscale image in a 32-line vertically scanned image, at five pictures per second. What could be seen on TV was ‘Stooky Bill’, a prop made of plaster of paris with bright coloured make-up. What was stooky bill, something you’d see in children’s parties?
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A university study showed that due to a certain genre of television dramas, jurors in a trial have unrealistic expectations and expect more categorical proof than forensic science is capable of delivering. They expect instant answers from techniques such as DNA analysis and fingerprinting, when actual forensic processing often takes days or weeks. This gulf between reality and fiction was amplified by a certain American TV show that ran for 15 seasons and followed detectives in the Las Vegas police department. What show is this after which this effect is named?
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In 1969, under orders of President Richard Nixon, the U.S. government wanted to cut Public Television funds to a meagre $10 million. A then unknown TV host called Fred McFeely Rogers spoke before the senate. His testimony was “considered one of the most powerful pieces of video presentation ever filmed” which led to an unprecedented jump in the funding from $9 to $22 million and cemented his legacy as a model on how to use TV to help children and families. In 2019, a movie was made about him starring his cousin Tom Hanks. How better do we know Fred?
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Earl Wild was an American jazz and classical pianist who in 1939 became the first pianist to perform a recital live on television. The small studio was lit by so many bright and hot lights that the ivory piano keys started to warp. In 1997, he became part of history again when he became the first pianist to do something else which we all now are familiar with, thanks to the pandemic. What did Wild become the first to do which many musicians do nowadays?
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On the TV show Buffy the Vampire Slayer, on October 15, 2002, in the fourth episode of the show’s final season, the character Willow turns to Buffy and asks if she has done something to find out more information about a certain female character. When the other character doesn’t understand, Willow tells her that it is in fact a search engine. This is the first instance of a certain noun being used as a verb onscreen. What was the word?
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Nancy Cartwright is an award-winning American voice actress who has been on a particular show for 31 years where she has voiced multiple characters but is most identifiable with a certain lead character. Which iconic TV show does she work with and which lead character known for being a brat does she voice?
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In 1990, music manager Benny Medina was marketing a TV show based on his life which revolved around a poor black kid growing up in East LA but becoming friends with a rich white kid in Beverly Hills. He pitched it to legendary producer Quincy Jones but changed it to a rich black family instead. Jones offered the role to a young rapper who had got into financial distress, but he, having never acted before, was apprehensive. The show was called The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and went on to become iconic and launched the rapper’s acting career. Which box-office star owes his career to this show?
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In 1993, Matthew, an aspiring actor and writer, pitched to NBC a comedy TV show he had co-written about a group of adolescents living together called Maxwell’s House. The network turned him down because they already had a similar TV show in the works. He eventually went on to star in that show to critical acclaim. What show did Matthew end up in?
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This is a British anthology television series that explores near-future dystopias utilising a speculative science fiction technology. Its 22 episodes have been credited with making the anthology format popular and being prescient of the times. The name of the show is a reference to the reflection of an individual that is created by the effect of a TV or computer screen when switched off. What is the name of the show?
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ER was an American TV series which followed the medical drama in the emergency room at a general hospital in Chicago for 15 years. ER was actually written by author Michael Crichton to be a movie and he took the script to Steven Spielberg to see if he might be interested, but instead they got to talking about a new book Crichton was writing. Eventually, he agreed to sell the film rights to his upcoming book to Spielberg and they never talked about ER. What is the name of the movie which started a multi-billion dollar franchise?