HOW SQUARE-EYED WERE YOU IN 2019?
Take our family quiz on the top shows of the year
WITH massive stars and even bigger budgets, 2019 was the year that TV went galactic. But were you really paying attention, or were you simply blown away by the onscreen spectacle? Take this quiz — compiled by our TV reviewer CHRISTOPHER STEVENS — to find out.
1. Which former nurse from Call The Midwife plays Prince Charles’s lover, Camilla Shand, in The Crown?
A) Charlotte Ritchie B) Emerald Fennell C) Jessica Raine D) Helen George
2. Who is lined up to play Mrs Thatcher in the next Crown series?
A) Gillian Anderson B) Meryl Streep C) Kim Cattrall D) Jamie Lee Curtis
3. What role did Oscar-winner Helen Hunt play in World On Fire, the World War II drama?
A) Matron in a hospital for PoWs B) Wife of conscientious objector Douglas (Sean Bean) C) American journalist in Poland D) Lover of Nazi Rudolf Hess
4. Lesley Manville, who played snooty Robina Chase in World On Fire, also starred in which sitcom?
A) Detectorists B) Motherland C) Ghosts D) Mum
5. After a Starbucks coffee cup was spotted in a scene during the final season of Game Of Thrones, what explanation did the cable network HBO give via Twitter?
A) ‘Winter chocolate mocha is coming’ B) ‘Daenerys (Emilia Clarke) ordered a herbal tea’ C) ‘It wasn’t an accident, it was product placement’ D) ‘The worst ending in TV history, and you’re complaining about the coffee cup?’
6. How did two million fans react to the Game Of Thrones finale?
A) They hailed it as a work of imaginative genius B) They signed an online petition to have the whole of the last season remade C) They burned DVDs across the American South D) They emailed the Democrat party HQ pleading for Daenerys to run for President against Trump
7. Which acting dame played the over-sexed Russian monarch in Catherine the Great?
A) Julie Walters B) Helen Mirren C) Kristin Scott Thomas D) Emma Thompson
8. Which of these actors was not playing one of Catherine’s lovers or ex-lovers?
A) Kevin McNally as Alexei Orlov B) Richard Roxburgh as Grigory Orlov C) Rory Kinnear as Ivanovich Panin D) Jason Clarke as Grigory Potemkin
9. Which former Doctor Who co-starred with Michael Sheen in Good Omens?
A) Christopher Eccleston B) David Tennant C) Matt Smith D) Peter Capaldi
10. Good Omens was based on a book by Neil Gaiman. Which other Amazon Prime blockbuster is based on Gaiman’s work?
A) The Marvellous Mrs Maisel B) The Man In The High Castle C) Mr Robot D) American Gods
11. On Sir David Attenborough’s Seven Worlds, One Planet, we learned how Sumatran rhinos communicate in the dense rainforest. What do they do?
A) They leave pungent scent markings B) They trample figures-of-eight in the foliage C) They sing to each other D) They emit sub-sonic rumbles
12. Seven Worlds, One Planet also revealed low-status macaques on Gibraltar steal what gifts to impress alpha monkeys?
A) Baby macaques B) Tourists’ handbags C) Food from cafe tables D) Hats from humans
13. Who plays both the sadistic druid Veran and his brother, Harka the Dead Man, in the deliriously surreal Roman drama Britannia?
A) David Morrissey B) Mackenzie Crook C) Julian Rhind-Tutt D) Hugo Speer
14. What does Prince Phelan of the Canti carry around in his shoulderbag on Britannia?
A) A talking rabbit B) An infallible love potion C) His sister’s head D) His severed fingers
15. Which former Mad Men star played the heroic scientist battling to prevent nuclear meltdown in Chernobyl?
A) Jon Hamm B) John Slattery C) Vincent Kartheiser D) Jared Harris
16. Jessie Buckley, fireman’s widow Lyudmilla in Chernobyl, will star in which smash-hit American crime series next year?
A) True Detective B) Fargo C) Better Call Saul D) Mindhunter
17. His Dark Materials, rumoured to be the most expensive BBC show ever at £5.6 million per episode, featured CGI animals including what fighting creatures in armour?
A) Elephants B) Polar bears C) Eagles D) Tigers
18. Every human in His Dark Materials has a ‘daemon’, a soul in animal form. What shape was the daemon of Lord Asriel (James McAvoy)?
A) Snow leopard B) Arctic fox C) Polar bear D) Walrus
19. Which hugely popular drama came to an end this year?
A) Line Of Duty B) Poldark C) Cold Feet D) Peaky Blinders
20. Which major Hollywood star played a media baron in MotherFatherSon?
A) Colin Farrell B) Tom Cruise C) Mel Gibson D) Richard Gere
21. Julien Baptiste (Tcheky Karyo), the French detective with the limp, had his own series — a spin-off from which thriller serial?
A) The Missing B) Broadchurch C) Line Of Duty D) Marcella
22. Ardal O’Hanlon announced he was leaving Death In Paradise — but which well-known face will replace him?
A) Alexander Armstrong B) Douglas Henshall C) Ralf Little D) Greg Davies
23. Taskmaster, the most successful original show ever to air on the Dave channel, is moving to Channel 4. Who won the latest series?
A) David Baddiel B) Katy Wix C) Jo Brand D) Ed Gamble
24. The nostalgic Cold War mystery Summer Of Rockets was set in which decade?
A) Forties B) Fifties C) Sixties D) Seventies
25. Which former England cricket captain joined Paddy McGuinness and Chris Harris on Top Gear?
A) Alastair Cook B) Kevin Pietersen C) Michael Vaughan D) Andrew Flintoff
26. Keeley Hawes did not feature in which of these costume dramas?
A) Traitors B) Gentleman Jack C) Summer Of Rockets D) The Durrells
27. Elen Rhys and Julian Looman were acclaimed for a light-hearted crime show set on which Balearic island?
A) Majorca B) Ibiza C) Minorca D) Formentera
28. The stars of Horrible Histories returned with a sitcom that combined slapstick with poignant moments. What was it called?
A) Spooks B) Spirits C) Ghosts D) Spectres
29. Martin Clunes, star of Doc Martin, tried to bring back the old-fashioned family sitcom with a show about a grumpy driving instructor. What was his name (and the show’s title)?
A) Darren B) Kevin C) Alan D) Warren
30. Holliday Grainger played a detective on the promotion fasttrack in The Capture. The thriller focused on what tech twist?
A) DNA cloning B) Teleporting C) ‘Deep fake’ videos D) Faster-than-light travel
31. Tactless and accident-prone as ever, Alan Partridge (Steve Coogan) returned to present a TV show called This Time. Who played his co-host Jennie?
A) Susannah Fielding B) Ashley Jensen C) Aisling Bea D) Kelly Macdonald
32. Gentleman Jack was based on the life of which unmarried 19th century woman?
A) Florence Nightingale B) Emily Bronte C) Anne Lister D) Harriet Martineau
33. Renegade sex slave Offred (Elisabeth Moss) became an armed guerrilla fighter as The Handmaid’s Tale turned into open warfare. How did she help dozens of children escape from Gilead?
A) She commandeered a plane B) She stole a boat C) She held the President hostage D) She hijacked a motorcade
34. Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s Fleabag returned for a second season to critical acclaim. Who played her love interest, the ‘hot priest’?
A) Jonah Hauer-King B) Josh O’Connor C) Richard Madden D) Andrew Scott
35. How did the town of Derry celebrate the stars of their homegrown sitcom, Derry Girls?
A) With a mural on a pub wall B) With the keys to the city C) With a marching band D) With an all-night school disco