Television Mysteries Trivia

Dorky Geeky Nerdy Trivia

66 | Television Mystery Shows

00:00 / 13:42

The clues are out there. Can you solve this week’s mystery? Thirty questions about Television Mysteries. Everything from Murder, She Wrote to Sherlock Holmes. Dig in and solve the case with Television Mysteries Trivia.

Loved Columbo? Couldn’t miss Miss Marple? Then this is the episode for you.

This week’s questions come from our one and only, Blaine Dowler. If you love a good mystery, his Bedtime in the Public Domain podcast will be featuring The Murder of Roger Ackroyd soon. So subscribe and listen. You won’t be disappointed. And be sure to say hi!

When you’re done with Television Mysteries Trivia, can we ask a small favor? We need your feedback. Down at the bottom of this page is a quick, two-question survey that lets us know what you think of the topic and the difficulty.

Music is Big Blues by Jason Shaw

Extra Credit Podcasts & Videos

Dig into more murder mystery mayhem with these extra podcasts. And let them know Dorky Geeky Nerdy sent you.

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Episode Transcript/Quiz

The clues are all there, can you solve the mystery?

Hey detectives, I’m Brian Rollins and this is the Dorky Geeky Nerdy Trivia Podcast. Every week, we bring you thirty puzzling questions about a given topic. This week, we’re going to sleuth out TV Mysteries.

This episode was written by my co-host, Blaine Dowler and you can catch him reading stories on the Bedtime in the Public Domain podcast. He’ll be starting up a fresh new mystery, The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie soon. So, if you’re a fan of classic literature, be sure to tune in. I’ll put a link in the show notes, so you can find it.

Got your notepad and your magnifying glass? Good. Let’s begin.

The Dorky Round

Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman hit the public awareness in a big way as a result of starring in which series?
1. BBC’s Sherlock
Which “Jake and the Fatman” spinoff featured Dick Van Dyke as Dr. Mark Sloan, a mystery solving doctor?
1. Diagnosis: Murder
Which detective series had a phone related joke in the opening credits each week?
1. The Rockford Files
Which detective series kept audiences coming back wondering if David and Maddie would ever become a couple?
1. Moonlighting
Which franchise about police scientists lasted for 15 seasons and a series ending movie, while also launching spinoffs set in Miami, New York, and (arguably) Cyberspace?
1. CSI: Crime Scene Investigations
Which recent Sherlock Holmes adaptation made waves in fandom for casting Lucy Liu as Watson?
1. Elementary
Which series about a mystery-solving retired English teacher ran for 264 episodes and four made for TV movies?
1. Murder, She Wrote
Which detective series propelled Don Johnson to the height of his fame?
1. Miami Vice
Nathan Fillion and Stana Katic starred in what detective series?
1. Castle
Rock Hudson and Susan Saint James played what husband and wife detective pair for six seasons?
1. McMillan and Wife

The Geeky Round

Which “fish out of water” series had a cowboy in a very urban environment?
1. McCloud
Which 1980s detective show featured a title character who didn’t technically exist?
1. Remington Steele
Which detective series featured a Vietnam veteran living on a friend’s property?
1. Magnum P.I.
Which expensive defense attorney was famous for his penny pinching and love of hot dogs?
1. Ben Matlock
Which three season wonder managed to get a movie and a relaunch due to fan support and Kickstarter?
1. Veronica Mars
Who played “the obsessive compulsive detective”?
1. Tony Shaloub played Adrian Monk.
Which married detective couple, whose series name is a play on words, were cared for by a butler named Max?
1. Jonathan and Jennifer Hart
Which actor used to work with Jack Webb in “Johnny Modero” and “Pete Kelly’s Blues” for radio before moving on to play half the title pair in “Jake and the Fatman”?
1. William Conrad
Which George Peppard role may have been loosely inspired by “Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar”?
1. Banacek
Although Richard Belzer played Detective John Munch in “Law and Order,” “Law and Order: SVU,” “Law and Order: Trial by Jury,” “The X-Files,” “The Beat,” “Arrested Development,” “The Wire,” and “30 Rock,” the character was created for an entirely different show. Which show was that?
1. Homicide: Life in the Streets

The Nerdy Round

“Cagney and Lacey” featured two female detectives, with Tyne Daly as Lacey. Who played Cagney in the pilot episode before being recast as Meg Foster?
1. Lortta Swit, who would have preferred to continue in the role, but she was not released from her contract to play “Hot Lips” Hulihan on MASH.
Which character, whose books were written under the collective pseudonym of Carolyn Keene before being adapted into three different television series, is a stated inspiration of Supreme Court Justices Sandra Day O’Connor and Sonia Sotomayor to former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and former First Lady Laura Bush?
1. Nancy Drew
Which detective’s cameo in the 1978 “Superman” film was cut after being deemed too distracting?
1. Theo Kojak
Which legal drama was America’s first weekly one hour scripted television series, launching out of a radio show that lasted for about 3000 episodes?
1. Perry Mason
Which literary detectives, adapted for television more than once, were created by Canadian author Charles Leslie McFarlane under a pen name?
1. The Hardy Boys. Multiple authors have written their stories under the pen name Franklin W. Dixon.
Which series got its start when a spy asked a typical housewife to give a package to “the man in the red hat”?
1. Scarecrow and Mrs. King
Which USA Network series had a musical episode special in addition to a follow up movie?
1. Psych
Which Canadian law enforcement officer first came to Chicago on the trail of the killers of his father and, for reasons that don’t need exploring at this juncture, remained attached as liaison to the Canadian consulate?
1. Constable Benton Fraser
David Suchet played Hercule Poirot for the first time solving which case?
1. The Adventure of the Clapham Cook
Which Agatha Christie inspired series caused a stir when its pilot episode changed the identity of the killer and added a lesbian relationship?
1. Agatha Christie’s Marple

Episode Conclusion

And that’s all we have for this week. Maybe you’ll be inspired to check out some of these shows if you’re still stuck at home.

We’ll be back again next week for more trivia, here’s your clue:

“Which Marvel superhero received her training in Russia’s Red Room?”

It’s been too long since we had a comic book episode, wouldn’t you say?

A huge thanks to Blaine for the questions this week. Be sure to send him a thank you.

I’m your host, Brian Rollins. Thanks for listening and stay alert for clues.

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