Why Be Remotely Interested?

I'm sure by now you know via my extensive billboard campaign and that stunt where Kate Thornton and five orphans attempted to cross Niagra Falls in a suit made out of discarded quiz books (we shall miss them greatly) but I *do* have a new quiz book available for pre-order.

You can click here to go to the pre-order page.

But why should you be interested? I get that there are a lot of similar books out on the market, many available in The Works with titles like "The Thousandest Most Pub Quiz Pints Questions Ever In The World Volume 96" and "Ian Botham's Big BovrilTM Book Of Trivia About The Sport Games". Well as this paragraph shows, I have a very...unique sense of humour and that permeates throughout the entirety of the fifty plus quizzes featured.

Thats not to say the questions are false...except for the ones in the true or false games, of which there are four special rounds devoted to "Probably Definitely True Facts About"... Doctor Who, soap operas, The Simpsons and season finales. Here are eight statements, which of them are true?

A. Cletus (aka "the slack jawed yokel") has children called Incest, Q*Bert and Stabbed In Jail. 

OR

B. In Russia, Homer Simpson is known as Mr American and his stupidity is used as an example of the West's weaknesses. 

A. Actor Don Hastings soiled himself during a live episode of "As The World Turns" after badly misjudging a fart.

OR

B. The cast of Eastenders once released a cockney knees-up party album. 

A. The sound The TARDIS makes on take off is a warped recording of a seagull being frightened.

OR

B. The Doctor is actually a trained medical doctor.

A. Upon reaching its final episode in 1983, “M*A*S*H” had been running longer than the actual Korean War itself.

OR

B. The finale of “Lost” ended in a satisfying way that tied up every single loose end from the series.

(The true answers are A, B, B and definitely not B)

There are also fictional tweets by Donald Trump on a number of TV shows, past and present. Can you work out what the Wotsit-mawed lunatic is allegedly burbling about here?

1. Breaking Bad, 2. Dick N Dom In Da Bungalow, 3. Fun House, 4. The Day Today

And there's letters from similarly vexed humans to the television listings magazines - what shows are being discussed here?

1. Blakes 7, 2. Cheers, 3. Coronation Street, 4. Not The Nine O'Clock News

There's also rounds about robots, catchphrases, The Beatles on TV, theme tunes, live programmes, Netflix and the online revolution, game shows, spin-offs, remakes, famous mothers, kids shows, booze, radio transfers, foreigners, Great Telly Years (1969, 1990, 1982 and 1977) and a bunch of Christmas stuff for good measure! The suggested age range is anything from 18 to 65, and probably beyond! Its accessible but challenging where it needs to be with lots of speciality rounds for all the family. 

The whole book took me about three months to research and write along with using my limited design skills to put together and edit. The title was Tanya Jones' suggestion though. (Go visit her blog Gypsy Creams about archaic magazine clippings right now!) I wrote every word, bar the excellent foreword by one of my best friends the writer, researcher and 'TV Clangers Man' Tim Worthington. So if you think all that effort was worth checking out or have a friend who loves telly and would welcome a unique, not in the shops, limited-edition pocked sized gift, then click the below link to read more and pre-order. 

This is the link he was just talking about then. hi! 

I'm very proud of this book, as I am with my previous two quiz collections (which are still available on Lulu Press) and I hope people will buy it and enjoy it. Or at least buy it. Thats definitely the important part. And if you're still not sure yet, check out this 30+ page preview PDF I put together here. There's also a bonus package I'm putting together for fans with badges, a board game variant, downloads and my back catalogue. 

Thank you and happy quizzing! 

QUIZ: Adventures In Time And Face

Happy birthday Lalla Ward!

Not only were you one of the most beloved companions to The Doctor at one of the most successful periods in the show's history but you played Romana II, an actual Time Lord of your very own. Few people travelling in the TARDIS back in the day could take on the title character for intellect and pluck AND could regenerate when necessary.

But what if Romana regenerated again? But could only regenerate into the forms of people who shared the exact same birth date as Lalla Ward? And people had to name who it was that had taken over the companion roles to various Doctors. Well with the most advanced digital rendering technology, we can make that a possibility! Sounds like a quiz to me.

Who's new at helping Who? 

1. Pat Morita (Mr Miyagi), 2. Adam Woodyatt (Ian Beale), 3. Gilda Radner

4. Cyril Smith (MP and paedophile), 5. John Cusack, 6. John Inman, 7. Mel Brooks

8. Peter Baynham, 9. Clint Boon (Inspiral Carpets), 10. Henry The Eighth

As Doctor Who once said, "Hello, I am Doctor Who, may I use your toilet?" I think we can all believe in that. Clever Prime.

QUIZ: Doctor Who And The Ratings Terror

Are we still doing the 1996 thing? Well, okay then. Looking back at Tuesday's TV quiz, there were a few folks surprised I'd missed out what was for them the biggest telly event of the year - no, not the episode of Seaquest DSV where Darwin said "knackers" - but Doctor Who which was back back BACK! For 85 minutes! (89 without PAL speedup) And then it was gone again! Which from a modern perspective, eleven years and four Doctors into a revival, was a blessing in disguise, no matter how good Paul McGann was in the role.

It had rated well enough to finish ninth in the week's TV with over 9 million viewers on a Bank Holiday Monday in May. Sadly in America, the story was always that it was crushed by its competition and only managed 5 and a half million. Enough to launch fifty Netflix series on now but in 1996, not great for national US television. So, what did it go up against? Well, that's for you to tell me in The Great Time Lord Rivalry Of 1996...

Here are six screengrabs from the actual episodes up against Doctor Who the night of May 14th 1996 (The John Larroquette Show, Wings, Moesha and CBS' Totally Animals amazingly did not make the list) but can you work out what the programmes are?

And as a bonus, here are four more programmes and episodes that aired that same week on the same channel as Who. (Fox.) Can you guess them all?

Answers after Jimi Hendrix picks up his puppy.... 

Home Improvement (Alarmed by Burglars), Roseanne (Heart & Soul), Ellen (The Tape), Frasier (The Focus Group), 3rd Rock from the Sun (Selfish Dick), NYPD Blue (Closing Time), The X Files (Talitha Cumi), The Simpsons (Homerpalooza), Beverly Hills 90210 (Ray of Hope), Married...with Children (The Joke's on Al)