120 1970s TV Show Trivia Questions and Answers (Groovy Decade Quiz)

Picture a weeknight in 1974. The supper dishes are draining by the sink, the set is warming up with that faint electric hum, and everybody drifts toward the living room to claim a cushion before the theme music starts. Three channels, one television, and the whole family watching together.

These were the shows that filled those evenings — the wisecracks you repeated at work the next day, the detectives you never missed, the families who felt like people down the street. Read each question, give yourself a beat to remember, then check the answer underneath. Keep score, or just let it all come back.

The Sitcoms Everyone Quoted

1. Which 1971 CBS comedy sat loudmouth Archie Bunker in his favorite armchair and changed what television could say out loud?

“All in the Family.” Carroll O’Connor played Archie and won four Emmys for it; Norman Lear created the show.

2. Who played Archie’s sweet, endlessly patient wife, Edith?

Jean Stapleton.

3. Edith’s outspoken, liberal cousin earned her own 1972 spin-off. Name the show.

“Maude.”

4. Another spin-off followed a striving couple who moved on up to a deluxe apartment on Manhattan’s East Side. What was it?

“The Jeffersons,” with Sherman Hemsley and Isabel Sanford as George and Louise.

5. In which sitcom did Redd Foxx play cantankerous junk dealer Fred Sanford, needling his son Lamont in the Watts section of Los Angeles?

“Sanford and Son,” adapted from Britain’s “Steptoe and Son.”

6. Mary Richards tossed her hat in the air as an associate producer at station WJM-TV in which city?

Minneapolis, on “The Mary Tyler Moore Show.”

7. Her gruff newsroom boss, played by Ed Asner, later carried his own hour-long drama. Name the character.

Lou Grant.

8. Valerie Harper took Mary’s wisecracking best friend back to New York in which spin-off?

“Rhoda.”

9. Leather jacket, two thumbs up — Henry Winkler’s Fonzie cooled his way through which fond look back at the 1950s?

“Happy Days,” where Ron Howard played Richie Cunningham.

10. A 1977 episode in which Fonzie water-skis over a penned shark gave us a lasting phrase for a show past its best. What is it?

“Jumping the shark.”

11. Which “Happy Days” spin-off set two friends loose on the line of a Milwaukee brewery?

“Laverne & Shirley.”

12. Robin Williams first landed as Mork from Ork on “Happy Days” before headlining which spin-off?

“Mork & Mindy.”

13. John Ritter took pratfall after pratfall in which 1977 comedy about a man sharing an apartment with two single women?

“Three’s Company,” adapted from Britain’s “Man About the House.”

14. Gabe Kaplan went back to his old Brooklyn classroom to teach the Sweathogs in which 1975 sitcom?

“Welcome Back, Kotter,” which made a star of a young John Travolta as Vinnie Barbarino.

15. Which “Maude” spin-off followed the Evans family getting by in a Chicago high-rise, with Esther Rolle as mother Florida?

“Good Times.”

16. Danny DeVito ran the Sunshine Cab Company from a caged dispatch desk in which 1978 comedy?

“Taxi,” where Andy Kaufman played the gentle mechanic, Latka.

17. On “WKRP in Cincinnati,” which earnest newsman solemnly reported live turkeys being dropped from a helicopter?

Les Nessman, in the beloved “Turkeys Away” episode.

The 4077th Says Goodbye

18. Which comedy-drama followed Army surgeons patching up the wounded at a mobile hospital during the Korean War?

“M*A*S*H,” set at the 4077th.

19. Its 1983 finale, “Goodbye, Farewell and Amen,” still holds a record. Which one?

About 106 million people watched it on February 28, 1983 — still the most-watched episode of any scripted series in U.S. history. Alan Alda directed it.

Cops, Crooks and Private Eyes

20. Which bald NYPD lieutenant worked a lollipop and asked suspects, “Who loves ya, baby?”

Kojak, played by Telly Savalas.

21. Rumpled raincoat, stub of a cigar — which Los Angeles detective trapped killers with “Just one more thing”?

Lieutenant Columbo, played by Peter Falk.

22. A bright red Ford Gran Torino with a white stripe belonged to which pair of detectives, tipped off by an informant called Huggy Bear?

Starsky and Hutch.

23. Which easygoing private eye, played by James Garner, let his telephone answering machine open every episode?

Jim Rockford, of “The Rockford Files.”

24. Three women detectives took their orders from an unseen boss over a speakerphone in which 1976 sensation?

“Charlie’s Angels.” John Forsythe voiced Charlie, and Farrah Fawcett became a poster on a million walls.

25. Telly Savalas first played Kojak in a 1973 TV movie based on which real New York case?

“The Marcus-Nelson Murders.”

Families, Farms and the Frontier

26. Which Depression-era family called goodnight to one another across the dark of a Virginia farmhouse?

The Waltons — “Good night, John-Boy.”

27. Michael Landon played Charles Ingalls in which prairie drama set in Walnut Grove, Minnesota?

“Little House on the Prairie,” drawn from Laura Ingalls Wilder’s books; Melissa Gilbert played Laura.

28. NBC built that prairie series to go head to head with which rival family drama?

“The Waltons.”

29. A blended family of six children and a housekeeper named Alice filled which sitcom that ended its original run in 1974?

“The Brady Bunch.”

30. David Cassidy sang lead and Shirley Jones came along on a painted bus in which musical family sitcom?

“The Partridge Family.” Its single “I Think I Love You” reached number one in 1970.

Heroes, Escapes and Saturday Nights

31. Lee Majors played a test pilot rebuilt with bionic parts after a crash in which action series?

“The Six Million Dollar Man.”

32. Its success spun off which show, starring Lindsay Wagner as Jaime Sommers?

“The Bionic Woman.”

33. Lynda Carter spun from mild Diana Prince into which star-spangled heroine, beginning in 1975?

Wonder Woman.

34. Bill Bixby’s troubled scientist turned into a green giant, played by bodybuilder Lou Ferrigno, in which 1977 series?

“The Incredible Hulk.”

35. Passengers found romance aboard the Pacific Princess, under Captain Stubing, in which Saturday-night favorite?

“The Love Boat,” with Gavin MacLeod as the captain.

36. On a companion series, a small man in a white suit rang a bell and cried, “The plane! The plane!” Name the show.

“Fantasy Island,” with Ricardo Montalbán as Mr. Roarke and Hervé Villechaize as Tattoo.

37. Over eight straight nights in 1977, which miniseries traced Kunta Kinte and Alex Haley’s family and drew a record audience?

“Roots,” broadcast on ABC.

38. “Live from New York, it’s Saturday Night!” first aired on October 11, 1975, with which comedian as host?

George Carlin.

39. An orange 1969 Dodge Charger named the General Lee, a 01 painted on its doors, flew across the creeks of which 1979 show?

“The Dukes of Hazzard.”

40. After Farrah Fawcett left “Charlie’s Angels,” which actress joined the agency as Kris Munroe?

Cheryl Ladd.

Frequently asked questions

Why did the whole family watch the same shows back then?

Most homes had one television and only a handful of channels, so a hit was something nearly everyone saw. When “Roots” or the “M*A*S*H” finale aired, you could mention it to anybody the next morning and know they had seen it too.

Are these good questions for a group or a party?

Wonderfully. Read each one aloud, let folks call out the answer, and watch the stories start — where they were sitting, who they watched with. For more, try our 1960s TV show trivia questions and answers or our broader classic TV trivia questions and answers.

Which 1970s show was the biggest hit of all?

By the sheer size of its audience, the “M*A*S*H” finale stands alone — about 106 million viewers in 1983, a record that still stands for a scripted series.

Where do these facts come from?

Every date, name and detail here is drawn from the reputable sources listed below.

Sources

• The Mary Tyler Moore Show — Wikipedia
• Happy Days — Wikipedia
• Goodbye, Farewell and Amen (the M*A*S*H finale) — Wikipedia

Ready to test your memory? Play our trivia quizzes and see how much of the golden age of television you still carry with you.