Pop culture Q&A

March 21, 2010 at 12:00a.m.

By Rich Heldenfels

McClatchy Tribune

Q. Can you tell me why “The Bonnie Hunt Show” is ending? I look forward to her show each day and will miss her and her crew. I am 84 years old, so does that mean the show doesn’t appeal to younger viewers? Also, please give me an address for her show.

A. The syndicated talk program, currently in its second season, simply did not have enough viewers to continue. As Broadcasting & Cable reported, it had an average rating of 0.8 — less than 1 percent of homes with television — which is not high enough for a first-run weekday show. You can contact her through her show’s Web site, www.bonniehunt.com.

Q. We’re watching the eighth season of “The Waltons.” Michael Learned and Richard Thomas are missing. How long was “The Waltons” on and why did Thomas and Learned leave?

A. The Waltons aired for nine seasons as a regular series, with several TV movies following. According to “The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows,” by Tim Brooks and Earle Marsh, Learned — who played Olivia Walton — asked to be written out of the show when her contract expired so she could pursue other projects. By that time, Thomas had already left for other work; Richard Wightman appeared as John-Boy in some later episodes of the series. Both Learned and Thomas did return for TV movies.

Here’s another Waltons-ish question:

Q. I’d like to know if the movie “Spencer’s Mountain” with Henry Fonda and Maureen O’Hara will be on TV anytime soon. Love it. Who played Clayboy? My library didn’t have the movie.

A. The movie, a precursor to “The Waltons” from series creator Earl Hamner Jr., is available on DVD for about 10 bucks. Clayboy was played by James MacArthur, also known from “Hawaii Five-0.”

Q. Around 1970, a movie was released called “Joe,” with Peter Boyle playing the title character. It was a sleeper hit then because of its highly political themes. However, I never see it on TV or in rental stores. Why?

A. I can’t tell how your rental stores make their inventory decisions. The movie, which also included a young Susan Sarandon, is available on DVD. I have seen it for sale on Amazon.com and for rent via Netflix. It’s also in the catalog of my local library.

Q. A number of years ago I saw about two-thirds of a movie from the late ’40s or early ’50s and have never seen it since so I could finish the story. I thought it was titled “Ground Zero” but the only movie I have found with that title is an Australian film made much later. This black-and-white movie concerns hoodlums who have kidnapped some folks and hole up in a ghost town not knowing it is ground zero for an atomic test the next morning.

A. I think you are remembering a 1952 movie called “Split Second,” directed by Dick Powell and co-written by Irving Wallace. It is available as a made-to-order DVD through the Warner Archive line, which you can find at www.wbshop.com.

Q. Is “My Name Is Earl” gone for good? We always got a good laugh from it.

A. It is done, but reruns have been airing on the ion network.