Television Q&A

By Rich Heldenfels

A previous mailbag had a reader asking about a new Sherlock Holmes. I said I did not know of a recent one other than those played by Benedict Cumberbatch, Jonny Lee Miller and Ian McKellen. Then came this letter:

Q. Previews show Martin Clunes (“Doc Martin”) as Holmes and, sadly, I cannot remember who will play Watson. Their costumes are definitely of the Victorian period, and it will be shown on “Masterpiece.”

A. Not exactly, although I think this is where the idea of a new Holmes came from. Clunes – a fixture of this column thanks to all the fans of “Doc Martin” – stars in “Arthur & George,” a British production about Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the writer who created Holmes.

According to “Masterpiece,” where it will air in the U.S. on PBS starting tonight, “this three-part adaptation of Julian Barnes’ acclaimed novel follows the separate but intersecting lives of two very different men: a half-Indian son of a vicar who is framed for a crime he may or may not have committed, and Doyle, who investigates the case.” When it aired in England, a reviewer for the Guardian said the novel “has been translated sympathetically and successfully to the screen, with fine performances,” but “the shadow of Sherlock Holmes is everywhere, more so than in the book. Too much so, I think.”

Q. Are Mackenzie Lintz from “Under the Dome” and Madison Lintz of “The Walking Dead” sisters?

A. They are, and they are not the only actors in their family. You also may have seen brothers Macsen and Matt. You can find out more about them at lintzkids.com.

Q. I was wondering about the TV series “Weird Loners” on Fox. Will it be renewed? It was great to see a TV series where the main characters’ last name was Polish and the same as mine – Lewandowski. And they even pronounced it correctly.

A. Fox ended the series after its little-watched, six-episode first season.

Q. We really enjoyed “Aloha Vet” on Nat Geo WILD and saw recently that Dr. Scott Sims from the show had died. However, we have seen nothing about what happened. We would really like to know.

A. The veterinarian on the Hawaiian island of Kauai died in late July after a two-month battle with bladder cancer, the Honolulu Star-Advertiser reported. “Sims was popular on Kauai, but he treated animals across the state, flying to other islands in a small plane he built himself,” said the newspaper. “People loved his passion for saving stricken animals – a guinea pig with a tumor, a goat with a hernia, an unconscious horse in a rocky stream bed. There’s even a pig out there that can see again, thanks to Sims.”

Q. About 45 years ago, I had the pleasure of seeing a movie from Israel called “Casablan,” a takeoff of “West Side Story,” only with Hebrew actors and dialogue. I was told it was also made in English. Could you find out if MGM still has this film so it would be available to show on MGM HD?

A. MGM originally distributed the movie in the U.S. in the early ’70s, but I am not sure which rights it still owns. It was produced by Menachem Golan, who also directed, and his business partner, Yoram Globus, and reportedly was made in both a Hebrew and English version.

You may want to look for it as “Kazablan,” as the title is spelled on a DVD available from SISU Home Entertainment, self-described “marketer and distributor of Israeli and Jewish video, audio, book and multimedia properties.” The DVD is in Hebrew with English subtitles. If your local retailer cannot get it, sites selling the DVD include sisuent.com and amazon.com.

Do you have a question or comment for the mailbag? Write to the Akron Beacon Journal, 44 E. Exchange St., Akron, OH 44309 or email rheldenfels@thebeaconjournal.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.

2015 Akron Beacon Journal

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