Pop culture Q&A

March 11, 2012 at 12:00a.m.

Pop culture Q&A

By Rich Heldenfels

Q. Has the TV show “Bones” on Fox been canceled? Has it aired and I have missed it? The last show I saw was when Bones and Booth had found an apartment to live together, and their baby had not been born yet. I really like this show, and I hope it has not been canceled.

A. As I mentioned in last week’s mailbag, the show has just been in hiatus, in part because of co-star Emily Deschanel’s maternity leave. But, since that answer, Fox has announced a new return date and night for the show. It will be back April 2, with telecasts at 8 p.m. Mondays. “House” will move to 9 p.m. Mondays.

“House,” as you may know, is in its final season; a retrospective special is set for 8 p.m. May 21, followed by the series finale at 9 p.m. “Bones” will be pre-empted on that night.

Q. Several months ago, we watched “The Touch” with Kevin Bacon as a father trying to reconnect with his autistic son. It was listed as a pilot episode, but we’ve found no ensuing episodes. Is it still on somewhere?

A. The TV series “Touch,” starring Kiefer Sutherland, had a sneak preview some time back as Fox tried to drum up interest in the program. Although a previous premiere date was announced, the latest news from Fox includes a replay of the previewed episode at 9 p.m. Thursday, followed by telecasts of new episodes beginning March 22.

Since we are catching up with schedule changes, Fox’s 25th- anniversary special, previously announced for April 1, now will air April 22.

By the way, the anniversary marks Fox’s programming prime time with series such as “Married ... With Children” and “21 Jump Street” (which has gotten a big-screen reboot) in April 1987. The network’s first program was late night’s “The Late Show Starring Joan Rivers” in October 1986.

Q. Please tell me about Ryan Gosling. I saw a movie called “The Notebook” on TV and I had never heard of him or Rachel McAdams.

A. Gosling, 31, is a native of Canada and one of the most highly regarded young actors working today. He has an Oscar nomination to his credit, for his performance in “Half Nelson” in 2006. He was nominated for two Golden Globes this year, as best actor in a drama for “The Ides of March” and best actor in a comedy or musical for “Crazy, Stupid, Love” and for an Independent Spirit Award for his work in the violent drama “Drive.” (He did not win any of those prizes.) Besides 2004’s “The Notebook,” other distinguished performances include his work in “Blue Valentine” (2010), opposite Michelle Williams, and “Lars and the Real Girl” (2007). You also may have spotted him in a supporting role in “Remember the Titans” or in a number of TV performances earlier in his career.

Gosling has been linked to quite a few actresses, including McAdams, but she reportedly is now dating Michael Sheen, with whom she worked in “Midnight in Paris.” McAdams, 33, also is Canadian. Her credits include the Robert Downey Jr. Sherlock Holmes films, where she played Irene Adler; “The Time Traveler’s Wife”; “Wedding Crashers”; and “Mean Girls” (where she was the meanest meanie).

Q. I would like to know the name of the African-American man who plays a lab tech on “Body of Proof,” and is he the same man who did the Miller Lite or Bud beer commercials. (Not sure which beer.) He sure sounds like the same person.

A. And he is. Windell D. Middlebrooks, a veteran of many TV shows, became even more noticed when he starred in commercials for Miller High Life. The native Texan plays Curtis Brumfield on ABC’s “Body of Proof”; he also has appeared on “Scrubs,” “Cougar Town,” “Parks and Recreation” and other series.

Do you have a question or comment for the mailbag? Write to the Akron Beacon Journal, 44 E. Exchange St., Akron, OH 44309 or rheldenfelsthebeaconjournal.com. Please mark the email or envelope with “mailbag.” Letters may be edited for publication. Please do not phone in questions. Individual replies cannot be guaranteed.

2012 the Akron Beacon Journal

Distributed by MCT Information Services