Pop culture Q&A

March 25, 2012 at 12:00a.m.

Pop culture Q&A

By Rich Heldenfels

Q. One of my favorite shows is “A Gifted Man.” I hope that the most recent episode was not the last one.

A. The March 2 episode of the CBS drama was billed as the season finale, so there are no more new episodes in the hopper for this TV season. Nor do the prospects for a second season look good. While the official word likely will wait until CBS announces its 2012-13 lineup in mid-May, several analysts have already pegged “A Gifted Man” as a goner.

Q. I don’t know who else to turn to about this question. In the early 1960s, CBS broadcast a program, “The American Pageant” or “Story.” It was a program that told stories about American history. I have not found it in any searches for old TV programs; the series probably lasted one or two seasons. Wondering if you ever heard of it? If so, is it available in DVD?

A. After we talked a bit more and you mentioned the show was on Friday night, it turned out you were thinking of “The Great Adventure,” a CBS series that aired 1963-65. It dramatized great moments in history. According to “The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows,” the National Education Association worked on the show; some episodes dealt with the massacre at Wounded Knee, Wild Bill Hickok (with Lloyd Bridges), Sam Houston, the Hunley submarine and the discovery of a vaccine against smallpox. Unfortunately, I have not been able to find an authorized video release of the programs.

Q. I was wondering if AMC has figured out an ending for “The Killing” that was a series last winter, or are we to decide what happened ourselves?

A. The series, which begins its second season next Sunday, promises that you will learn who killed Rosie Larsen at some point in the second season. But Veena Sud, who runs the show, said in a magazine interview that it won’t be until the end of that season; this is, after all, a show that takes its time telling a story. By the way, the first season is now on DVD and Blu-ray, and includes a version of the first-season finale that is a bit longer than the televised cut.

Q. Two of my favorite episodes of “Frasier” are the ones with Niles and Daphne dancing the tango and Niles dressed as Jesus. I have tried to find them by the show titles on various DVDs but that has not worked. Can you tell me if there is any other way to find these shows among the various DVD sets?

A. With some help from Google, the TV.com website and YouTube, I found that the tango is in the episode “Moon Dance” in the third season. Directed by Kelsey Grammer (who played Frasier), it is ranked among the series’ best episodes; besides being in the third-season DVD set, it’s included in the recent “fan favorites” collection of eight episodes from the show’s run. Niles in Jesus-wear is in “Merry Christmas, Mrs. Moskowitz,” from the sixth season; Grammer directed that one, too, and it’s in the sixth- season DVD collection.

Q. I was pleased to see Michael Dorn appearing in episodes of “Castle.” What else has he been doing since playing Worf on “Star Trek: The Next Generation”? Will he be in any future episodes of “Castle”?

A. Dorn has been in three episodes of Castle to date, and I do not know if he will be doing more. Since “Star Trek: The Next Generation” ended — almost 18 years ago — he has been on “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine,” in several “Star Trek” movies and part of related video games; been a voice in animated series including “Gargoyles,” “Cow and Chicken,” “Family Guy” and “Superman,” as well as guest-starring on live-action series. He also wrote, directed and starred in 2002’s “Through the Fire,” a TV comedy pilot that did not become a series.

2012 the Akron Beacon Journal

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