# 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:** 11\ **Page:** 4
**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 15, 2001, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gimme-some-odd-tv-trivia/93259/61 "2001-11-15T23:08:39Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by RealityChuck \* > \*\* > > > [@](#): > > > > Also, Gunsmoke holds the record for most episodes (635) for a primetime show (news programs are not included). > > Sorry, but no. “Captain Video” ran five days a week for four years, four days a week for an additional three months, plus nearly a year on Saturdays. I don’t believe they did reruns, either. But assuming they had new episodes 39 weeks a year (the standard in the 50s), that’s over 880 episodes in prime time (which began at 7:00 p.m. at the time). > \*\* Really? [Johnny Carson] I did not know that![Johnny Carson] My source book (from 1988) listed shows and their total numbers of episodes in existance and available for syndication. I wonder how many of those Captain Video shows are still around. ---
**Author:** ![Tars\_Tarkas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Tars\_Tarkas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tars_Tarkas)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2001, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gimme-some-odd-tv-trivia/93259/62 "2001-11-15T23:14:48Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Santos L Halper \* > **L&O** will have to be on the air for about another seventeen seasons to have more episodes than **Gunsmoke** … > > \*\* Maybe they’re gonna cheat and combine all the Law and Orders together as one show… ---
**Author:** ![Santos\_L\_Halper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/santos_l_halper/32/1_2.png) [@Santos\_L\_Halper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Santos_L_Halper)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2001, 7:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gimme-some-odd-tv-trivia/93259/63 "2001-11-16T07:43:41Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Tars Tarkas \* > \*\*Maybe they’re gonna cheat and combine all the Law and Orders together as one show… \*\* Well, then we could combine all the **Star Trek** shows together. Another year or so and **they’ll** be number one… 🙂 Eric ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Frink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/977dab/32.png) [@Mr.Frink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Frink)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2001, 9:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gimme-some-odd-tv-trivia/93259/64 "2001-11-16T09:59:28Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Santos L Halper \* > **Law & Order** isn’t even close to #2 (it’s actually #24). For a list of shows with the most episodes, check here: [http://www.angelfire.com/trek/proutsy](http://www.angelfire.com/trek/proutsy) > > Eric \*\* I stand corrected on my _Law & Order_ trivia (the last time I’ll give any credence to a self-aggrandizing interview with a television producer!) Since this thread has so many TV trivia buffs on it, I’m going to throw out a question: The creator of the TV show _Buffy the Vampire Slayer_ is producing a spin-off for one of the characters which will air exclusively on the **BBC**. Is this a first? Has there ever been a British television series that was spun-off from an American series, with the same actor playing the same character? ---
**Author:** ![Hometownboy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/5e9695/32.png) [@Hometownboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hometownboy)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2001, 6:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gimme-some-odd-tv-trivia/93259/65 "2001-11-17T06:59:06Z")
Sorry, I don’t know the answer to **Frinkboy** ’s question but my favorite bit of TV trivia concerns **What’s My Line**. On the very last episode of the original version of the series (which ran from 1950 to 1967 on CBS) the “Mystery Guest” was the host John Daly himself. Since every show was done live and there were no reruns, he was the emergency backup Mystery Guest in case one of them didn’t show up. Fortunately, that never happened, and so for the final show, he was able to take the role. I remember vividly watching his explanation on that final show. Mr. Daly was incredibly smooth and every inch the gentleman. For more info [A great WML site with screen captures, no less](http://www.geocities.com/TelevisionCity/4439/wml50.html) ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2001, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gimme-some-odd-tv-trivia/93259/66 "2001-11-17T16:11:16Z")
Frasier is not the first Cheers spin-off. Carla’s ex-husband Nick had a shortlived sitcom-The Tortelli’s. Nick was a sleazy TV repairman. Other characters were his moron, plastic wife, Loretta and …and…I remember a son. The plot of one episode centered around a commercial in which Nick promises to eat a bug if he can’t fix your TV. Naturally, a dissatisfied customer holds him to that promise. Fox had a short-livbe sitcom titled Whoops. The premise was that after someone accidentally triggers WWW3, 5 survivors find eachother and move to a farm in the country. Episodes included-a crystal that makes breasts grow, deciding which of the 3 men and 2 women should have children, and Santa Claus seeking refuge at the farm-he mentions killing the elves and Mrs Claus. Tarzan was a cartoon before Disney.IIRC, Filmation made a saturday morning cartoon series. For some reason, Tarzan’s pet monkey, Cheetah, was renamed Nikima. ``` Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles was the first animated series to feature an electric guitar in its theme song, ``` ---
**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 17, 2001, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gimme-some-odd-tv-trivia/93259/67 "2001-11-17T16:22:41Z")
Tarzan’s pet monkey was named Nkima by Edgar Rice Burroughs in his many Tarzan novels. For some reason MGM, in the Weissmuller films, decided to name him Cheetah. Sir Rhosis ---
**Author:** ![Frank\_O.Pinion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/839c29/32.png) [@Frank\_O.Pinion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank_O.Pinion)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2001, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gimme-some-odd-tv-trivia/93259/68 "2001-11-17T18:08:48Z")
On the 1950’s TV show “The Phil Silvers Show”, Phil Silvers played an army sargeant named Ernie Bilko, stationed at Fort Baxter, Kansas. Later in the series, Bilko set up a sceme that got his entire base re-stationed in California. What was the name of the new base? Answer: Camp Fremont. On the “Dukes of Hazzard” tv show, Bo, Luke, and Daisy were cousins. On one episode, Luke was re-united with his long lost brother. What was his brother’s name? Answer: Jed Duke. On only one episode of “I Love Lucy” did Fred and Ethel Mertz own a dog. What was the dog’s name? Answer: Butch. What do Mike Wallace, Johny Carson, Dick van Dyke, and Gypsy Rose Lee have in common? Answer: They were all at one time game show hosts. ---
**Author:** ![ignatzmouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b2d939/32.png) [@ignatzmouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ignatzmouse)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2001, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gimme-some-odd-tv-trivia/93259/69 "2001-11-17T19:20:41Z")
> [@](#): > > The premise was that after someone accidentally triggers WWW3, Did the program explain what happened to the first two Webs?🙂 ---
**Author:** ![whitetho](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whitetho/32/1059_2.png) [@whitetho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whitetho)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2001, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gimme-some-odd-tv-trivia/93259/70 "2001-11-17T20:16:11Z")
[QUOTE] \*Originally posted by RealityChuck \* \*\* > [@](#): > > UPN was the second TV network owned by Paramount. They also owned Dumont in the early 50s – one important reason why Dumont failed (all the networks were losing money back then, but the big three had networked-owned stations to put them into the black. Dumont couldn’t own affiliates because Paramount did.)\*\* Actually, Paramount didn’t own DuMont outright, it just had a minority investment in the network. This was however enough of a financial entanglement to limit the number of stations that each could own. At this time no one entity could own more than five TV stations in the U.S., so Paramount’s two stations (KTLA in Los Angeles and WBKB in Chicago) meant that DuMont was limited to owning three stations – WABD New York, WTTG Washington, and WDTV Pittsburgh. WTTG is the only DuMont station that still has its original call letters – it was named after DuMont Chief Engineer Thomas T. Goldsmith. ---
**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 17, 2001, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gimme-some-odd-tv-trivia/93259/71 "2001-11-17T20:45:28Z")
Paramount was going to attempt to start a network in the late 70’s with _Star Trek: Phase II_ as its anchor show. Instead, the show became _Star Trek The Motion Picture_. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gimme-some-odd-tv-trivia/93259.md?page=3)