What do you think the chances are I ask a question about dinosaurs in this quiz. Let’s go!
Pop Quiz Hot Shot
1) In the film there is a children’s playground called Jurassic Park. In the Lost World novel, the first sequel Crichton wrote, which character did Crichton “resurrect”, in reference to Sherlock Holmes, who had died in the original novel?
2) The best bit from the soundtrack is that the band The B-52s (as the BC-52s) perform the theme song. The B-52s are famously from Athens, GA, which is the same hometown as what other incredibly famous 80s/90s band?
3) I guess this could be a tough one. Elizabeth Taylor’s final theatrical performance is in The Flintstones as Wilma’s mother. She was famously married 8 times to 7 men. Besides Richard Burton can you name any of those men?
4) The Flintstones is famously a primetime animated sitcom, much like the Simpsons. After the Simpsons premiered to gangbuster ratings, other animated sitcoms followed. Can you name the one season wonder animated sitcom involving rodents who live under the White House? This is rather obscure.
5) John Goodman didn’t want to play Fred, but felt like he had to because otherwise the movie wouldn’t have been made. It was during a table read for what 1989 Spielberg film that Spielberg himself announced that he wanted Goodman to play Fred (much to Goodman’s chagrin)?
Bonus NYTimes Listing Question: The Flintstones had its primetime premiere on February 21st, 1997 (yeah, it must have been doing great home video sales to take over two years to premiere). Naturally, TMC brought out the big guns. Name this Kurt Russell classic:
Answers
1) The chaos theorist Ian Malcolm was “killed” in the original novel. But as a homage to Sherlock Holmes, Crichton decided to bring him back. It helped, I suppose, that Crichton only wrote the novel because Spielberg was going to make a sequel movie regardless, and Malcolm has survived in the movie (and was a beloved character at that).
2) That would be R.E.M. I was listening to the R.E.M. song Shiny Happy People the other day and thinking to myself, man, I didn’t realize that R.E.M. had someone that sounded exactly like Kate Pierson from the B-52s, that’s nuts. But yeah, she was just a guest singer on that specific song.
3) Eddie Fisher is maybe the easiest one, since that is who she divorced to marry Burton. Otherwise there was Conrad Hilton Jr., Michael Wilding, Mike Todd, John Warner, and Larry Fortensky. Eddie Fisher is Carrie Fisher’s father (with Debbie Reynolds).
4) That would be Capitol Critters. Later in the 90s there would be plenty (The Critic, King of the Hill, Family Guy, Futurama, etc.), but there were a few rough years in the early 90s where they seemed to really not understand what made The Simpsons appealing.
5) Always. Spielberg + Goodman I guess must mean Always. At least for the late 80s it must mean that. I’ve never seen Always, but I do know it is in Dawson’s closet of shame for the three “bad” Spielberg films. In Dawson’s Creek, Dawson is notably obsessed with Spielberg.
Bonus NYTimes Listing Answer: You best believe that is Captain Ron with Martin Short. It is a television classic. Played 76 times on television in the 90s. I watched it many a time.
Wait, should I just make this a Captain Ron quiz?
Bad Movie Twins 