Pop culture Q&A

July 10, 2011 at 12:00a.m.

By Rich Heldenfels

McClatchy Newspapers

Q. It is all your fault that I am suffering from frustration. You said “The Killing” was so good that I watched. So intriguing was the story that I stayed through all 11 episodes. Since I’m almost 80, I told my son that if I died before “The Killing” ended, he should come to my grave and tell me “who done it.” And then they left you hanging. How could they be so cruel? I’ll tell you one thing, I’m not signing on for another 11 episodes.

A. You are not the only person to write in unhappily about the way the AMC series did not resolve its main mystery — who killed Rosie Larsen — at season’s end. (The first season also ran 13 episodes, so I hope you did not miss a couple.) Another reader griped that the finale “was so contrived and idiotic that I found myself actually laughing as it ended.” A top AMC executive told Entertainment Weekly that the network had not expected such a backlash and it “underestimated the passion viewers have for closure within this season.”

According to the Hollywood Reporter, Veena Sud, who ran the series, was pleased by the passion of the reaction — comparing it to that for the ambiguous series finale of “The Sopranos.” She has promised the second season will reveal Rosie’s killer.

Q. I was wondering whatever happened to “The Million Dollar Drop.” I thought it was a fun show. Is it ever returning?

A. “Million Dollar Money Drop,” to use its full name, was based on a concept that was successful internationally but not a big draw for U.S. viewers. It also encountered some unexpected controversy when one couple was eliminated for giving what the show said was the wrong answer — but was in fact correct. In any case, Fox did not include it in its plans for next season.

Q. I watched a “Highway to Heaven” episode called, I believe, “Going Home, Going Home,” about Mark saving his grandpa’s farm. I think it was either filmed in Oklahoma or Oklahoma was the setting. Can you tell me the location — state and town?

A. Indeed I can. The episode of the 1984-89 series was set in Oklahoma, in a town called Twin Rivers, where Mark (played by Victor French) had spent part of his childhood.

Q. Could you please tell me if the Oscar-winning British actor who was featured as one of the voices in “Gnomeo & Juliet” is the same Oscar-winning British actor who is featured as the voice of Finn McMissile in “Cars 2”?

A. Michael Caine is the voice of Finn in “Cars 2” and was the voice of Lord Redbrick in “Gnomeo & Juliet.” Caine has won two Academy Awards, as best supporting actor for “Hannah and Her Sisters” and “The Cider House Rules,” and was nominated four other times, all as best lead actor, for “The Quiet American,” “Alfie,” “Educating Rita” and “Sleuth.”

Q. Since “Rocky” was released in 1976, has Sylvester Stallone ever appeared in a movie he wasn’t the star of?

A. Although much of the time he has been top-billed in his movies — and directed many of them to boot — there have been times since Rocky’s success when Stallone was not a leading man. Among them: He was a supporting voice in “Antz,” had an unbilled cameo in “Staying Alive” (the misguided “Saturday Night Fever” sequel that Stallone directed) and was not the main character but the villain in “Spy Kids 3-D.”

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2011, Akron Beacon Journal

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