# Gimme some odd TV trivia **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 14, 2001, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gimme-some-odd-tv-trivia/93259 "2001-11-14T03:38:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Gartog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/22d042/32.png) [@Gartog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gartog)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2001, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gimme-some-odd-tv-trivia/93259/21 "2001-11-14T17:34:16Z")
**RealityChuck** Ok I’ll take your word for it. I didn’t mean to Hijack the thread. I’ll try and find smoe more trivia and post back later. ---
**Author:** ![Jinx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Jinx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jinx)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2001, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gimme-some-odd-tv-trivia/93259/22 "2001-11-14T17:46:08Z")
> [@](#): > > _Originally posted by Mr. Blue Sky \* > \*\*…In the tv show MA_S_H_, Alan Alda and Loretta Swit appear in every episode of the show…\*\* Wait a second…what about when Loretta Swit went on her honeymoon? Or, is there ONLY one (and the same) episode when she comes back crying about how Donald treated her? - Jinx ---
**Author:** ![Jinx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Jinx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jinx)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2001, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gimme-some-odd-tv-trivia/93259/23 "2001-11-14T17:52:32Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by GrizzRich \* > **Q-This show featured, as it’s main characters, a man, his mother-in-law, his daughter, and his nephew. Name it. > A-Beverly Hillbillies** I reckon I was asleepin’ all those years. I thought Granny was his Mom. Any specific episode come to mind when they clarify this? I mean, when your family tree don’t fork, it’s hard to tell! (Just kidding :D) Guess my brains got fried out by the cement pond! 😉 - Jinx ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2001, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gimme-some-odd-tv-trivia/93259/24 "2001-11-14T18:21:04Z")
Meet the Press is the longest-running commercial program Margaret Williams (Jean Hagen) was the first lead sitcom character to be killed off (Make Room for Daddy) Mary Kay and Johnny were the first TV couple to share a bed The Complete Guide to Prime Time, a great book! And wasn’t there an episode of M_A_S\*H where Hawkeye was in a jeep accident and spent the entire episode talking to a non-speaking Korean woman, with no other characters? ---
**Author:** ![Anal\_Scurvy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c57346/32.png) [@Anal\_Scurvy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anal_Scurvy)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2001, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gimme-some-odd-tv-trivia/93259/25 "2001-11-14T19:53:38Z")
Les Nessman had a bandage somewhere on him in every episode, and always in a different place. (Now to wait for someone to demonstrably say otherwise…) ---
**Author:** ![Agrippina](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8797f3/32.png) [@Agrippina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Agrippina)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2001, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gimme-some-odd-tv-trivia/93259/26 "2001-11-14T20:21:42Z")
David Hyde Pierce, who plays Niles Crane on **Frasier** , was hired because of his striking resemblence to Kelsey Grammer. Mr. Burns, on **The Simpsons** , got his name (Charles Montgomery Burns) from an incident in Matt Groening’s childhood: across the street from his house was a Montgomery Wards. One night it caught on fire, and hence, “Montgomery burns”. The Charles part is inspired by the Charles Foster Kane character on **Citizen Kane** , whom Mr. Burns bears striking resemblence to. When **The Seinfeld Chronicles** first aired, in 1989, NBC bought only four other episodes as they were sure it was going to fail. This, at the time, was the lowest amount of episodes a station ever bought for a new show. **Cheers** was originally going to take place in a hotel. The creators thought it neat to be able to bring in any new characters they wanted that way. But when they realized that most of the action took place in the bar, that’s where they set the show. ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_Rhosis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d9b06d/32.png) [@Sir\_Rhosis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_Rhosis)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2001, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gimme-some-odd-tv-trivia/93259/27 "2001-11-14T21:00:06Z")
In the first draft script for the Star Trek episode “Space Seed,” the character eventually known as Khan Noonian Singh was called Harold Erricson. Gartog, et al., my memory of reading Shatner’s memoir is that he relates that two versions (lips touch, lips don’t touch) were indeed shot, but NBC, after mch deliberation, had the courage to show the lips touching version. Sir Rhosis ---
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2001, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gimme-some-odd-tv-trivia/93259/28 "2001-11-14T21:11:44Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Anal Scurvy \* > \*\*Les Nessman had a bandage somewhere on him in every episode, and always in a different place. (Now to wait for someone to demonstrably say otherwise…) \*\* In one episode of _WKRP_, Les explains this is because he has a pet dog that attacks him for some reason or another. In the first episode of _Seinfeld_ (The aforementioned “Seinfeld Chronicles”), Jerry calls Kramer “Kessler.” This is because the inspiration in name and character, Kenny Kramer, had not yet been asked permission by the producers for use of his name. In a later episode, Jerry states he called Kramer that at first because it said “Kessler” on his doorbell buzzer. ---
**Author:** ![psychogumby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c0e974/32.png) [@psychogumby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychogumby)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2001, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gimme-some-odd-tv-trivia/93259/29 "2001-11-14T21:20:00Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Jet Jaguar \* > \*\* > > > [@](#): > > > > \*Originally posted by psychogumby \* > > \*\*In every episode of **Seinfeld** , there is at least one scene with a Superman in the background (picture, figurine, comic book etc). \*\* > > Actually, Superman is either mentioned or shown in 128 out of 180 episodes, leaving 52 non-Superman episodes. The Superman magnet on his refrigerator does not first appear until the 4th season, and the figurine on the bookshelf doesn’t appear until the 5th. (Plus, there are a handful of episodes that have no scenes in Jerry’s apartment at all.) \*\* :eek: Will have to fire my fact-checkers and see if Cecil will lend me one of his for a while. One piece of TV trivia that has been fact-checked (from the Fortean Times FT135 June 2000, pg 51) is that during the blitz on London during WWII (1940) the BBC cancelled all TV broadcasts until the end of the war. When this directive was given, the BBC were broadcasting a Mickey Mouse cartoon. This cartoon was hastily terminated in the middle of a scene in order to comply with this directive. When the BBC started broadcasting again in 1945, the first show to be broadcast was that Mickey Mouse cartoon they didn’t get to finish screening the first time around. Allegedly, someone in the BBC with a sense of humour suggested that they start broadcasting the Mickey Mouse cartoon from where it was stopped in 1940, however the cartoon was reshown from the beginning. ---
**Author:** ![SylverOne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c0e974/32.png) [@SylverOne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SylverOne)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2001, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gimme-some-odd-tv-trivia/93259/30 "2001-11-14T21:27:07Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by bean\_shadow \* > \*\*David Hyde Pierce, who plays Niles Crane on **Frasier** , was hired because of his striking resemblence to Kelsey Grammer. > \*\* Not that I doubt you, and maybe I’m just blind, but I just don’t see it. 'Course, I don’t like that show and hardly ever watch it so I’m probably not the best judge. Bears more of a resemblance to Eddie if you ask me. 😃 Syl ---
**Author:** ![MJH2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a698b9/32.png) [@MJH2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MJH2)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2001, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gimme-some-odd-tv-trivia/93259/31 "2001-11-14T21:37:03Z")
(1) On _The Golden Girls_, Estelle Getty, who played the oldest character of the four principals, was the youngest actress. (2) In the same show, Rue McClanahan and Betty White were originally cast to play the roles of Rose (the nitwit) and Blanche (the “slut”), respectively. (3) Dame Joanna Lumley of _Absolutely Fabulous_ fame starred in _The Avengers_, pre-Diana Rigg. (4) The principal cast members of _Babylon 5_ formed a rock band as a result of working together on the show. (5) _Nobody_ was sorry to see Wesley Crusher (played by Wil Wheaton) leave _Star Trek: The Next Generation_. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2001, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gimme-some-odd-tv-trivia/93259/32 "2001-11-14T21:55:46Z")
> [@](#): > > (3) Dame Joanna Lumley of Absolutely Fabulous fame starred in The Avengers, pre-Diana Rigg. No – she was the first post-Diana Rigg female companion. Honor Blackman preceded Diana Rigg, and there was at least one male companion before Blackman. Trivia note: Honor Blackman, Diana Rigg, Joanna Lumley, and Patrick MacNee all went on to appear in James Bond films. ---
**Author:** ![Jet\_Jaguar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jet_jaguar/32/3562_2.png) [@Jet\_Jaguar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jet_Jaguar)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2001, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gimme-some-odd-tv-trivia/93259/33 "2001-11-14T22:05:35Z")
Here’s another bit of Seinfeld trivia: The bike in Jerry’s apartment is a Klein mountain bike. It’s there because Michael Richards (Kramer) is an avid cyclist and he told the set designer a bicycle would give the apartment a more interesting look. Also, Jerry never once used the bike on the show. ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2001, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gimme-some-odd-tv-trivia/93259/34 "2001-11-14T22:15:33Z")
Vic Lundin, probably best known for his role as “Friday” in the movie “Robinson Crusoe on Mars” was the first Klingon ever to appear on “Star Trek.” Gordon Griffith was the first person ever to play Tarzan on film. (OK, it’s not TV, but I thought I’d throw it in.) Dick Sargent was the first choice to play “Darren” on “Bewitched.” The actors who portrayed the main German soldiers in “Hogan’s Heroes” were all Jewish: (Werner “Col. Klink” Klemperer, John “Sgt. Schultz” Banner, Howard “Maj. Hochstetter” Caine (Cohen), and Leon “Gen. Burkhalter” Askin). And which member of McHale’s Navy would yelp “Oy vey!” whenever trouble arose? Not Seaman Gruber (played by Carl Ballantine) as you might expect, but the POW Fuji. ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2001, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gimme-some-odd-tv-trivia/93259/35 "2001-11-14T22:44:02Z")
In Nichelle Nichols’ memoir “Beyond Uhura,” Nichelle writes that the NBC suits demanded the kiss be cut because of the Southern marketing concerns. Roddenberry told them they would shoot two versions of the scene, one with the kiss and one without, and the suits could decide which one to use. She and Shatner forced shooting into “golden time” by messing up the kissing scene, then they sabotaged the non-kissing version (Shatner out-Kirking himself, crossing his eyes, etc.). It was unshowable and there was no time to reshoot it, so the suits relented. She goes on to say that the episode generated a lot more fan mail than other episodes, including one from a “white southern gentleman” who was opposed to “race mixing,” but who conceded that anytime a “red-blooded American” like Captain Kirk has the chance to kiss a woman as beautiful as Uhura, he’s not going to fight it. ---
**Author:** ![ianzin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/ed655f/32.png) [@ianzin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ianzin)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2001, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gimme-some-odd-tv-trivia/93259/36 "2001-11-14T22:48:54Z")
John Cleese and Connie Booth wrote the first series (6 shows) of Fawlty Towers. How much do you think they were paid in total by the BBC for writing all 6 shows? Hint: This was back in 1975. v v v v v v v v Answer: £900. Not 900 each. 900 **total**. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2001, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gimme-some-odd-tv-trivia/93259/37 "2001-11-14T22:49:36Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by mobo85 \* > \*\* > > > [@](#): > > > > \*Originally posted by Anal Scurvy \* > > \*\*Les Nessman had a bandage somewhere on him in every episode, and always in a different place. (Now to wait for someone to demonstrably say otherwise…) \*\* > > In one episode of _WKRP_, Les explains this is because he has a pet dog that attacks him for some reason or another. > \*\* And I believe the actual reason was that on the first day of filming the actor playing Les Nessman had a bandage from a cut and they just went with it. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2001, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gimme-some-odd-tv-trivia/93259/38 "2001-11-14T23:33:18Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Jinx \* > \*\*Wait a second…what about when Loretta Swit went on her honeymoon? Or, is there ONLY one (and the same) episode when she comes back crying about how Donald treated her? > > - Jinx \*\* Just checked, she does appear in that episode. I knew all these tapes I’ve been making and collecting would come in handy someday! ---
**Author:** ![Gregor\_Samsa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a6a055/32.png) [@Gregor\_Samsa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gregor_Samsa)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2001, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gimme-some-odd-tv-trivia/93259/39 "2001-11-14T23:37:20Z")
The theme song for the cartoon [Franklin the Turtle](http://www.nelvana.com/franklintheturtle/index.html) is sung by [Bruce Cockburn.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=97728) ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2001, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gimme-some-odd-tv-trivia/93259/40 "2001-11-14T23:38:46Z")
Kelsey Grammer is well on his way to being the actor who has portrayed the same character for the most consecutive years. His first appearance as Fraiser was on an episode of _Cheers_ in 1983. The current record is held by James Arness who was Matt Dillon for 20 years on _Gunsmoke_ (1955-1975). Also, _Gunsmoke_ holds the record for most episodes (635) for a primetime show (news programs are not included). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gimme-some-odd-tv-trivia/93259.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gimme-some-odd-tv-trivia/93259.md?page=3)