Television show - Quiz
Television show
  • 1. What is the first step in the development of a new television show?
A) Developing elements like concept, characters, crew, and cast
B) Hiring a marketing team
C) Broadcasting the first episode
D) Filming the first season
  • 2. What is a pilot in the context of television production?
A) The final episode of a season
B) A show that is cancelled mid-season
C) A prototype for the first episode of a series
D) A script written by a network executive
  • 3. According to Eric Coleman, what is a common misconception about pitching shows?
A) That it is very difficult to get in and pitch
B) That networks do not want new ideas
C) That pilots are too expensive to make
D) That writers need an agent to pitch
  • 4. What happens if an audience responds well to a television pilot?
A) The show is immediately cancelled
B) The entire cast is replaced
C) The show is sold to a film studio
D) The network picks up the show for the next season
  • 5. What might a network do if they do not want to air a show immediately?
A) Increase the episode count to 50
B) Delete all recorded footage
C) Save it for mid-season
D) Release it exclusively online
  • 6. What must a creator do if a network passes on their show entirely?
A) Retire from the industry
B) Shop it around to other networks
C) Change the genre to a documentary
D) Self-publish the show online
  • 7. What is the typical maximum number of episodes for British dramas using team writing?
A) 50 episodes
B) 100 episodes
C) Around 13 episodes
D) 5 episodes
  • 8. Which television show is mentioned as a wholly BBC production?
A) EastEnders
B) Fawlty Towers
C) The Office
D) Life on Mars
  • 9. How many writers usually build sitcoms in the United Kingdom?
A) One or two writers
B) A massive team of fifty writers
C) Twenty writers
D) Ten to twelve writers
  • 10. How many episodes are usually produced for British sitcoms once approved?
A) Fifteen
B) Six or seven
C) Twenty or thirty
D) One or two
  • 11. Who is in charge of running a show in most nations?
A) The lead actor
B) The distribution manager
C) The executive producer
D) The network CEO
  • 12. What are the three parts of producing an individual episode?
A) Writing, casting, and marketing
B) Pre-production, principal photography, and post-production
C) Development, pitching, and cancelling
D) Planning, rehearsing, and airing
  • 13. Can an executive producer cast themselves in their own show?
A) Never
B) Only if the network mandates it
C) Very occasionally
D) Always
  • 14. Which show was developed by Kudos in association with the BBC?
A) Blackadder
B) EastEnders
C) Monty Python's Flying Circus
D) Life on Mars
  • 15. What is the British English term for a TV program?
A) Feature
B) Broadcast
C) Serial
D) Programme
  • 16. Which of the following is excluded from the general definition of a television show?
A) Breaking news
B) Streaming content
C) Episodic series
D) Miniseries
  • 17. What are annual sets of episodes called in North America?
A) Seasons
B) Miniseries
C) Series
D) Segments
  • 18. What is a feature film produced for broadcast by a network called?
A) Episodic series
B) Telefilm
C) Television special
D) Miniseries
  • 19. What has made traditional television schedules less relevant?
A) Transcontinental cable
B) Microwave relay
C) Streaming television
D) Electronic guides
  • 20. When did the first national live television broadcast occur in the US?
A) September 4, 1948
B) September 4, 1951
C) January 1, 1954
D) January 1, 1965
  • 21. Who was nicknamed 'Mr. Television'?
A) King George VI
B) Harry Truman
C) David Sarnoff
D) Milton Berle
  • 22. What term is used for a one-off television show?
A) Episode
B) Miniseries
C) Variety show
D) Television special
  • 23. What does OTT stand for in the context of streaming?
A) Original-television-transfer
B) On-time-transmission
C) Over-the-top
D) Over-the-air-technology
  • 24. In what year did the last holdout of daytime network shows convert to color?
A) 1966
B) 1965
C) 1972
D) 1954
  • 25. What caused a halt to television development during the 1930s and 1940s?
A) The Great Depression
B) Lack of broadcast towers
C) World War II
D) Lack of advertising
  • 26. Which type of television program features actors playing characters in a historical or contemporary setting?
A) Drama
B) Documentary
C) News
D) Game show
  • 27. What happened to character changes in episodes before the 1980s?
A) They evolved over five seasons
B) They were usually undone by the end
C) They defined the rest of the series
D) They became permanent
  • 28. Which television series is mentioned as having a predetermined story running over a five-season run?
A) Babylon 5
B) St. Elsewhere
C) Hill Street Blues
D) The News Hour
  • 29. Who commented on the ambiguity and complexity of television narratives in 2012?
A) A local newscaster
B) The Academy of Television
C) An unnamed documentary producer
D) Steven Soderbergh
  • 30. Which of these is considered a fictional genre according to the text?
A) Animation
B) News
C) Reality television
D) Documentary
  • 31. What is a characteristic of pre-1980s television shows?
A) They remained static without story arcs
B) They relied on complex, multi-season narratives
C) They always featured progressive plot changes
D) They were filmed in non-linear order
  • 32. Who is chosen to plan an episode's final look?
A) The producer
B) A director
C) The scriptwriter
D) The camera operator
  • 33. Which of the following is a task during pre-production?
A) Sound mixing
B) Final color grading
C) Storyboarding
D) Editing footage
  • 34. What are complex scenes translated into to clarify action?
A) Animatics
B) Photographs
C) Blueprints
D) Audio recordings
  • 35. Can a director typically work on more than one episode at a time?
A) No
B) Only on weekends
C) Only for short shows
D) Yes
  • 36. Who was the preeminent provider of outside broadcast coverage in the UK for most of the 20th century?
A) The BBC
B) Sky
C) ITV
D) Channel 4
  • 37. What does a second unit crew allow a production to do?
A) Film a different scene at the same time
B) Complete the script faster
C) Edit the film on location
D) Hire more lead actors
  • 38. What are used to film conversations from different angles?
A) Animatics
B) Script supervisors
C) Stunt doubles
D) Stand-ins
  • 39. What is adjusted to meet altering requirements?
A) Scripts
B) Actors
C) Cameras
D) Locations
  • 40. Who often performs the specialized visual and digital effects for a show?
A) The lead actors
B) The show's main producer
C) External specialized companies
D) The television network staff
  • 41. What is the typical length of a US hour-long drama excluding ads?
A) 37–42 minutes
B) 57–59 minutes
C) 45–48 minutes
D) 52 minutes
  • 42. What is the typical length of a US 30-minute sitcom excluding ads?
A) 15–17 minutes
B) 22–25 minutes
C) 28–30 minutes
D) 18–21 minutes
  • 43. What length are episodes on subscription-based channels like HBO?
A) 28 minutes
B) 45–48 minutes
C) 52 minutes
D) 37–42 minutes
  • 44. What is the standard duration for television shows in France?
A) 52 minutes
B) 60 minutes
C) 30 minutes
D) 45 minutes
  • 45. What duration defines an internet-based series as a web series?
A) Less than 25 minutes
B) More than one hour
C) Exactly 30 minutes
D) Less than 10 minutes
  • 46. What is a primary factor affecting audience opinion on show length?
A) Content overload
B) The number of actors
C) The quality of the camera
D) The location of filming
  • 47. What is the primary concern of broadcasting executives regarding their programming?
A) The number of sponsors
B) The quality of acting
C) Production duration
D) Audience size
  • 48. What is the average cost to produce a broadcast network drama episode in the United States?
A) $10 million
B) $5 million
C) $1 million
D) $3 million
  • 49. Which financial system do many scripted network shows in the United States use?
A) Grant-based funding
B) Deficit financing
C) Public domain funding
D) Sponsor-only financing
  • 50. Who retains ownership of a show under the deficit financing system?
A) The actors
B) The advertisers
C) The network
D) The studio
  • 51. Which show was able to charge $419,000 per commercial during the 2007–08 season?
A) Friends
B) NCIS
C) Grey's Anatomy
D) CSI
  • 52. What is the primary factor in deciding if a show is kept alive?
A) Social media trends.
B) Critical acclaim.
C) Actor salaries.
D) Nielsen ratings.
  • 53. What is an alternative source of reprieve for a canceled series?
A) Strong home video viewership.
B) Positive newspaper reviews.
C) Winning a public award.
D) Petitioning by the cast.
  • 54. What is one way to offer a program for syndication?
A) Barter exchange.
B) Subscription fee model.
C) Public auction.
D) Government subsidy.
  • 55. Which term is described as being similar to an extended television movie?
A) Event series
B) Miniseries
C) Anthology series
D) Limited series
  • 56. Which of these is an example of a 1970s miniseries adaptation?
A) Luther
B) Roots
C) Fargo
D) Under the Dome
  • 57. Which show is cited as an example of a limited series?
A) The National Dream
B) 24: Live Another Day
C) The Million Second Quiz
D) Killer Women
  • 58. Which organization had to change its award categories to accommodate limited series?
A) The Hollywood Reporter
B) The Primetime Emmys
C) The Television Academy Awards
D) The Golden Globe committee
  • 59. Which show is given as an example of an event series?
A) 24: Live Another Day
B) American Horror Story
C) Roots
D) True Detective
  • 60. When do popular Australian night-time dramas usually go into recess?
A) Winter period
B) Summer period
C) Spring period
D) Autumn period
  • 61. During which months do popular Australian dramas typically run?
A) February through November
B) January through December
C) April through November
D) March through October
  • 62. When does the soap opera Home and Away usually begin a new season?
A) Late January
B) Mid-March
C) Late August
D) Early December
  • 63. What is the typical episode count per season for Home and Away?
A) 150
B) 230
C) 300
D) 100
  • 64. What is a hiatus during the Olympics called for the show Home and Away?
A) Olympic break
B) Olympic gap
C) Olympic recess
D) Olympic cliffhanger
  • 65. How many episodes did the first series of Doctor Who in 1963 feature?
A) Forty-two
B) Thirteen
C) Fourteen
D) Twenty-five
  • 66. Which television show had 30 episodes in series seven?
A) Home and Away
B) Doctor Who
C) Waterloo Road
D) Survivor
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