Pop culture Q&A

April 18, 2010 at 12:00a.m.

By Rich Heldenfels

McClatchy Tribune

Q. With the number of new movies being shown in 3-D, I’m wondering why the number of theaters able to show 3-D is so limited.

The cost of a movie night is enhanced greatly if you have to travel 45-60 minutes (one way) to find a theater capable of showing those movies. Is it very expensive for the theaters to convert to that format? Thanks.

A. According to the Associated Press, it costs about $70,000 to convert one movie screen to the digital 3-D process that is drawing people to movies such as “Avatar,” “Alice in Wonderland” and “Clash of the Titans.”

The appetite for 3-D did not explode until late last year when “Avatar” hit; “Clash,” for one, was made in 2-D and then converted to 3-D to take advantage of the craze. So expect to see more 3-D screens as the studios’ 3-D output increases.

That said, not everyone wants to see movies in 3-D. As someone who wears glasses, I am well aware of how awkward it can be to put a pair of 3-D specs on as well.

And while I would want to see “Avatar” only in its 3-D version, movies such as “Alice” and especially “Clash” are not greatly enhanced by the fancier process — especially when I consider the price difference.

3-D presentations charge more per ticket than for the 2-D versions of movies. At one local theater, for an evening show of “Clash,” an adult ticket was $8.50 for 2-D, $12 for 3-D and $14 for XD 3-D (with wall-to-wall and ceiling-to-floor screens). And that’s before you get the popcorn.

Q. There was a “House” episode titled “The Half-Wit,” which featured a character who had limited mental capacity but astounding musical ability. At one point, House played a melody on a keyboard that he had composed years before, but could not develop further. The patient spontaneously composed and played the next part of the piece.

I would love to know the name of this beautiful piece and its composer. Can you find this out for me?

A. According to the DVD commentary on that third-season episode, the music was written by Jon Ehrlich, a TV-music composer who does original material for “House.”

Ehrlich actually wrote it in high school but could not figure out how to finish it — much the way House could not figure out how to finish the piece in the episode. I do not know of a recording of that music, although there is more than one attempt to replicate it on YouTube.

By the way, the patient in that episode was played by musician Dave Matthews. And before playing House’s piece, he and House play a bit of the Boomtown Rats’ “I Don’t Like Mondays.”

Q. I watched the last new episode of “The Forgotten” and was under the impression, from the way it ended, that ABC had canceled it. Please tell me I’m wrong.

A. Wish I could, but things do not look good for the Christian Slater drama. ABC originally planned to air two more episodes before the one you saw, which wrapped up a major plot line running through the series.

Instead, it skipped over those two to run the wrap-up, which works as a series finale as well as a season finale.

Although the show is not officially canceled (and there are still two unaired episodes), this maneuvering suggests that ABC has had enough of the program.