Q 01/05

On which network did Roots first air in January 1977?

A) ABC

B) CBS

C) NBC

D) PBS

Answer · why

A) ABC

ABC had shown its hit miniseries of the year before, Rich Man, Poor Man, in weekly instalments; Roots ran night after night instead.

Q 02/05

Over how many consecutive nights was Roots originally broadcast?

A) Two

B) Four

C) Eight

D) Sixteen

Answer · why

C) Eight

Eight nights in a row was a new way to run a miniseries, and its success made the consecutive-night run the model for the blockbusters that followed.

Q 03/05

How many Primetime Emmy nominations did Roots receive?

A) 12

B) 21

C) 30

D) 37

Answer · why

D) 37

It won nine, plus a Golden Globe and a Peabody Award.

Q 04/05

Roughly how many viewers watched the final episode of Roots?

A) 3 million

B) 10 million

C) 30 million

D) 100 million

Answer · why

D) 100 million

100 million viewers, almost half the country, saw the last night, and the series sent Americans of every background off to trace their own family tree...

Q 05/05

What did Alex Haley call Roots' blend of history and invention?

A) Docudrama

B) Faction

C) New Journalism

D) Autofiction

Answer · why

B) Faction

Faction was Haley's word for it: he said he had traced his family back to Kunta Kinte, but admitted that most of the dialogue and incidents in the boo...