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Quiz: We Bet You Can’t Name These 1970s Sitcoms By the Side Character

You know the shows based on main characters, but what about a side character only?
‘The Partridge Family’
‘The Partridge Family’ | Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

When it comes to the theme songs, you can name the shows immediately. Main characters? They’re no problem. However, how well do you remember the ‘70s sitcoms when it comes to the side characters? That’s the next quiz we have for you, so you can keep putting the ‘70s knowledge to the test:

How did you do? If you scored 10/10, then we’re impressed, and you definitely deserve all the bragging rights. Why not share with your friends to see how well they do? Then you can have a weekend packed with all the shows you got wrong to see where the side characters pop up!


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The Socially Conscious Shows of the 1970s

TV and movies of the 1970s were known for the action, crime, and the drama, but when it came to the sitcoms, it was a chance to raise some social issues. This was the time period when shows started to break down the barriers, addressing some of the many issues of the 1950s and 1960s on TV.

All in the Family, which ran from 1971 to 1979, was not afraid to touch on racism the generation gap, feminism, and many more social issues that affected everyone, making it a TV show that anyone could find a way to relate to.

Good Times, which ran almost during the same time period between 1974 and 1979, delivered the first Black two-parent family sitcom. This was another chance to break down the barriers, highlighting Black families, while also discussing the working-class and financial constraints. The focus was on the family striving to get by in a Chicago housing project.

The Mary Tyler Moore Show showed us a single career woman taking on the television newsroom, a trailblazer for working women characters.

Of course, there were still many other favorites that captured the hearts of fans. The Brady Bunch, The Partridge Family, and Mork & Mindy all helped to bring some of the topics that we’d already fallen in love with throughout the ‘50s and ‘60s. They all helped to push the genre forward, staying on top of the types of storylines fans wanted to see and the types of people who needed more representation.

Do you love to test your knowledge? Check out the Mental Floss quiz page, where we publish new challenges on a daily basis, covering TV, music, and much more.

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