80s Trivia: Which of these video games' protagonist is female?

Video games are known for their male protagonists.  With few exceptions, this has always been the case, largely since video games appeal so much to the male demographics.  However, during the 80s, one game broke the mold.  Off of Pocket Trivia: 80s Trivia - Which of these video games' protagonist is female?  Was it?

• Excitebike
• Bomberman
• Dragon Warrior
• Metroid

80s Trivia: What was the nationality of the man who tried to kill Pope John Paul II?

Like US Presidents, Pope's are not strangers to assassination attempts.  The 1980s saw one major assassination attempt on the Pope John Paul II, the only Pope of the decade.  John Paul II survived an attempt on his life by two men, despite being shot four times, with two bullets lodging in his lower intestines.  From Pocket Trivia: 80s Trivia - What was the nationality of the men who tried to kill Pope John Paul II?  Were they Iraqi, Turkish, Russian or Croatian?

80s Trivia: What was the name of the Nintendo product that allowed you to enter cheat codes for any game?

Video games can be frustrating.  Really frustrating.  I'll never forget the time that, disputing the call made against my attempt to steal 2nd base in Super Bases Loaded 2, I threw the cartridge clear across the room (in my defense, I think I was nine).  Anyway, they sometimes seemed designed to be impossible, thus making you play again and again - this is particularly prevalent in arcade games.

For video games, this could be really problematic - you get three or four levels into a game, no sweat, but then BAM, you get stuck on one section and can never break through.  Fortunately for kids like me, Nintendo developed a product that allowed you to enter cheat-codes into a game that came with a specified cheat (infinite weapons, lives, continues, etc).  So, off of Pocket Trivia: 80s Trivia - What was the name of the Nintendo product that allowed you to enter cheat codes for any game?   Was it:

• Game Destroyer
• Game Shark
• Game Wizard
• Game Genie

80s Trivia: What state did 'Saved By the Bell' originally take place in?

Who grew up in the 80s and didn't love Saved by the Bell?  It was practically a generational requirement.  The show has proven to be so popular that it spawned multiple iterations of the original series, including different classes, college years and a couple of made for TV movies.  I mean, Zach Morris was just the definition of cool!

The first class of Saved by the Bell wasn't even called Saved by the Bell - it was called Good Morning, Mrs. Bliss and featured Zach, Screech, Lisa, Mr. Belding and other characters who didn't make it to the main show: Mikey, Nikki and Mylo.  So, today's question, off of Pocket Trivia: 80s Trivia - What state did this iteration 'Saved By the Bell' take place in? Minnesota, California, Indiana or Florida?

80s Trivia: What was the nickname of the character who died on Cheers?

Real life sometimes gets in the way of television production - as if any proof was needed, just look at Ashton's Kutcher's new new gig as the star of Two and a Half Men after Charlie Sheen's...whatever.

Sometimes, this happens in an even more sad manner.  The 80s mainstay Cheers is a great example of this, when one character died after the actor that portrayed him past away.  So, off of Pocket Trivia: 80s Trivia -  What was the nickname of the character who died on Cheers?  Was it Norm, Geronimo, Huff or Coach?

80s Trivia: What made-for-TV movie depicted the aftermath of a nuclear war between the US and Russia?

The 1980s were a decade of dangerous possibilities; namely that the Cold War could end the world as we know it.  Potential Armageddon never seemed too far away, and this was captured by much of the media.  One made-for-TV movie became known for its doomsday-scenarios, heart-wrenching characterizations and graphic depictions of a post-nuclear America.  Off of Pocket Trivia: 80s Trivia - What made-for-TV movie depicted the aftermath of a nuclear war between the US and Russia?  Was it Rise of the Resistance, The Day the Earth Stood Still, Red Dawn or The Day After?

80s Trivia: What happened to Danny Tanner's wife in Full House?

Who didn't love Full House?  If you didn't, you're probably evil, or something.  Seriously, the show was a staple of the late 80s/early 90s and a fixture on ABC's famed TGIF line-up.  The show featured the three Tanner daughters and Dad and two Uncles, as well as the related family, all living under one roof.  There was, however, no Mom - and where the Mom went is the source of today's trivia.  Off of Pocket Trivia: 80s Trivia - What happened to Danny Tanner's wife in Full House? Did she leave the family after Michelle's birth, die of cancer, killed by a drunk driver or killed in a house fire?

80s Trivia: What character famously died on Sesame Street?

If you grew up in the 80s (or 70s, 90s, 00s or today, for that matter), you watched Sesame Street.  The program has set the bar for everything that kids television should be.  It is fun, educational and humorous - for both the kid and the parent.

That being said, the show is also known to tackle some pretty heavy issues, including racism, AIDS (the South African version of the show features a character with HIV) and death.

Reflecting the death of this characters real-life actor, Sesame Street was forced to explain to Big Bird, and indeed, its entire children's audience, what death was and what happened to this character.  The resulting scene led to one of the most touching TV scenes in the past thirty years.  Off of Pocket Trivia: 80s Trivia -  What character famously died on Sesame Street?  Was it Maria, Gordon, Mr. Hooper or Dan?

80s Trivia: Who was Reagan referring to when he said, 'slipped the surly bonds of Earth to touch the face of God'?

Ronald Reagan was called the Great Communicator for a reason: simply put, he gave some of the greatest speeches in US History and inspired a nation that had endured a rough decade in terms of political leadership.  In one of his greatest speeches to the nation, Reagan paraphrased  the poem "High Flight" by John Gillespie Magee when he said: "slipped the surly bonds of Earth to touch the face of God."  Off of Pocket Trivia: 80s Trivia: Who was President Reagan referring to?  The 1986 Mets, the Challenger Astronauts, Pan Am Flight 103 victims or 1983 Beruit Bombing victims?

80s Trivia: Which of these was one of Nintendo's slogans in the 80s?

Nintendo and 80s commercials are two mainstays of this great decade.  Corny scripts, bad acting and "cutting edge" graphics are in particular for what Nintendo commercials became known.  And, like any awesome product of the 80s (or more recently), Nintendo had an awesomely bad slogan.  So, from Pocket Trivia: 80s Trivia - Which of these was one of Nintendo's slogans in the 80s: "Enter Mario's World" "Join the Nintendo Fan Club" "Nintendo do, Sega don't" or "Now you're playing with power!"

80s Trivia: Who sang the theme song for 'Miami Vice'?

You don't get much more 80s than Miami Vice.  The music, the cars, the culture and the terrible, terrible clothing just screamed about the decade that so many of us would love to forget.  And let me emphasize one item again: the music.  Miami Vice was renowned for its use of music in its episodes, often spending serious cash to acquire the rights to use certain songs in episodes.  Many musicians also served as guest stars during the show.  So much original music was created for the series that it actually had three soundtracks released.

Its theme song, replete with synthesizers (many, many synthesizers) and no lyrics, was classic Vice.  So, off of Pocket Trivia: 80s Trivia -  Who composed the theme song for 'Miami Vice'?  Was it Peter Gabriel, Phil Collins, Jan Hammer or Elton John?

80s Trivia: What movie is this quote from: 'Screws fall out all the time, sir. The world's an imperfect place.'

This question is dedicated to Mrs. Pocket, who loves this quote and this movie.  It's one of only two quotes in her Facebook profile.  Yup, it's that important.

Anyways, off of Pocket Trivia: 80s Trivia - What movie is this quote from: "Screws fall out all the time, sir.  The world's an imperfect place"?  Is it Less Than Zero, The Breakfast Club, Sixteen Candles or Pretty in Pink?

80s Trivia: What was 'Black Monday'?

Most of Pocket Trivia: 80s Trivia deals with Pop Culture questions - things like music, movies and TV.  That being said, sometimes we do get into the hard news portion of this decade - and there was certainly no shortage of that.  So, here is today's question:  What was Black Monday?  Was it a massive firing at the Security & Exchange Commission, a Supreme Court Ruling, FEC Regulation or a crash of the Stock Market?

80s Trivia: Where did the ponies on 'My Little Pony' live?

I'm going to make a brave, if not slightly painful admission here:  As a young lad (say 5 or 6), I loved My Little Ponies.  There, I said it.  I loved that cartoon and begged my parents to let me get one of the figures, which they eventually did...for the life of me, I can't remember its name!  Anyway, My Little Ponies was a staple of the 80s - between the cartoons, movies and toys, they were quite ubiquitous for some time, even making a comeback in the 00s.  So, off of Pocket Trivia: 80s Trivia - Where did the ponies on My Little Pony live?  Candy Valley, Sweet Valley, Dream Valley or Hope Valley?

80s Trivia: Which of these characters was not on Fraggle Rock?

Fraggle Rock was, bar none, my favorite all time 80s TV show.  It was hysterical, adorable and provided grown-up lessons in a language that kids could understand and adults could appreciate.  To those of us who loved the show, its cast of characters is legendary.  So, here is today's question, off of Pocket Trivia: 80s Trivia -  Which of these characters is not from Fraggle Rock?  Is it The Trash Heap, Boober, Gonzo or Sprocket?

80s Trivia: What movie had this famous line - "Why don't you make like a tree, and get out of here?"

I cannot think of a preamble to this quote, one of the best of any 80s movie, so let's just go for it today.  From Pocket Trivia: 80s Trivia, what movie features this gem:  "Why don't you make like a tree, and get out of here?"  Is it Cocoon, Back to The Future, The Goonies or Spies Like Us?

80s Trivia: Who killed John Lennon?

We frequently deal with questions related to Presidential assassination attempts, or actual assassinations.  However, tragically, every now and then we venture into the same area, but for music.  As most of you are probably aware, John Lennon was killed by a crazed fan on December 8, 1980, one of the worst days in music history.  Off of Pocket Trivia: 80s Trivia - What was the name of the man that killed John Lennon?  Was it John Hinckley, Mark David Chapman, David Berkowitz or Phil Rudd?

80s Trivia: What band's drummer has only one arm?

80s music contains a variety of fascinating facts, different sounds and one-hit wonders.  Like recent decades, musicians of the 80s were no less prone to tragedy then their counterparts in other decades.  One drummer in particular seemed to epitomize those tragedies - and, really, the ability that all of us have to overcome obstructions in our path.  So, off of Pocket Trivia: 80s Trivia - What band's drummer has only one arm?  Is the answer Def Leppard, Motley Crue, Guns 'N Roses or Metallica?

80s Trivia: Tracy Ullman briefly had a Top 10 hit with what song?

Tracy Ullman is a British actress & comedian, best known for her comedy work.  She had her own show on HBO from 1987 - 1990 - that show was, among other things, the platform by which The Simpsons was first launched in America.

However, Ullman is also a musician, and actually had a Top 10 hit in 1983.  So, off of Pocket Trivia: 80s Trivia - what was the name of the Tracy Ullman song that reached the Top 10 in America and the UK?  Was it I'm So Excited, They Don't Know, You Broke My Heart or Three of a Kind?

80s Trivia: What Wang Chung song appeared on the soundtrack of 'The Breakfast Club'?

We spent the week doing US History & US Presidential Trivia, so now we'll head back to the 1980s.  For some reason, I'e been listening to "St. Elmo's Fire" OVER AND OVER again - my wife is probably going to kill me soon.  Regardless, this got me thinking about 80s soundtracks - and specifically the breakfast club.  So, I took one of my favorite 80s bands, Wang Chung, for this question off of Pocket Trivia: 80s Trivia:  What Wang Chung song appeared on the soundtrack of 'The Breakfast Club'?  Is the answer Fire in the Twilight, Everybody Have Fun Tonight, Wait or Hypnotize Me?