Pop culture Q&A

August 22, 2010 at 12:00a.m.

By Rich Heldenfels

McClatchy Newspapers

Q. Did I miss the pilot episode of “Blue Bloods”? If not, when will it be aired?

A. “Blue Bloods” is a coming CBS series about a family involved in law enforcement in New York City. The cast includes Tom Selleck, Bridget Moynahan and Donnie Wahlberg, and you can see a clip from it on CBS.com. At this writing, its premiere is set for Sept. 24.

By the way, fans of Selleck’s Jesse Stone movies will be pleased to know that a seventh has been shot and an eighth is being written. (The first six are all on DVD.) Selleck told TVSquad.com that he would not have agreed to “Blue Bloods” if it got in the way of more Stones.

Q. What is the name of the lady doctor that DiNozzo on “NCIS” met while undercover trying to get her father? She is beautiful.

A. That was Dr. Jeanne Benoit, played by Scottie Thompson. She appeared in quite a few episodes during the show’s fourth and fifth sea- sons. Credits for the Harvard- educated actress credits also include Showtime’s “Brotherhood,” NBC’s “Trauma” and the most recent big-screen “Star Trek.”

Q. I recently saw a movie called “Daniel’s Daughter” on the Hallmark Channel. I wonder if you could tell me whereabouts in New England it was filmed.

A. The 2008 movie starring Laura Leighton is set in New York and in the town of New Kerry, Mass. But it was made in Toronto and Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.

Q. Was there a DVD or tape made from a PBS spy/mystery series based on the trilogy of books by author Len Deighton? I believe the titles were “Berlin Game,” “Mexico Set” and “London Match.” The main characters are a husband-wife team of English agents, Bernard Samson and wife Fiona. It was on PBS sometime in the early ’90s. We were riveted to the TV every Sunday evening waiting for the next installment, and we’d love to see it again.

A. PBS’ “Mystery!” series aired the 13-part program “Game, Set and Match,” adapted from the three Len Deighton novels you mentioned, during the 1988-89 season. Ian Holm played Bernard Samson, and Mel Martin played Fiona. Unfortunately, I have not found an authorized release on home video.

Q. I saw a movie about 10 years ago with Anne Archer called “Indiscretion of an American Wife.” I could never see the beginning or the end. I’ve tried to find it on DVD or VHS to no avail. There is a movie version with Montgomery Clift, but that is not the one.

A. The Anne Archer film, a remake of the 1953 movie with Montgomery Clift and Jennifer Jones, originally aired on Lifetime in 1998. I do not know of an authorized DVD release. It appears there was a VHS release, but I could not find it, either. This appears to be my week to disappoint people. Sorry.

Q. In the ’80s I watched a movie several times called “Pieces of Eight,” I think, starring Paul Newman, I thought. Dreary, frozen terrain where ice-cave dwellers perpetually played a dicelike game called POE. Certain amount of intrigue and terror. Anything about this movie?

A. Ah, success! Paul Newman, frozen location, weird game — that’s “Quintet,” a 1979 film directed and co-written by Robert Altman. And it is available on DVD, although I would not rank it among the best work by either Newman or Altman. I could find no similar film called “Pieces of Eight,” but mailbag readers should drop me a line if they know of one.