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Q: I saw a show several months back, in the wee hours of the night, that I liked. I know it was produced by “Bronco,” who does a lot of evening drama shows like “Hill Street Blues.” There would be a court case, and most of it was behind the scenes, when court would recess or break. I don’t know the name of it, but I found it to be a very interesting show and would love to see them run more.
A: You probably caught episodes of “Raising the Bar,” a lawyer series starring Mark-Paul Gosselaar. It aired for two seasons on TNT and was produced by Steven Bochco, who was also behind “Hill Street Blues,” “L.A. Law” and other series. TNT decided not to order a third season because of low ratings. The first season is available on DVD.
Q: Can you tell me what Molly Price and Jason Wiles from “Third Watch” are doing now? Have not seen them on television for a long time. Both are such talented actors. Any information would be appreciated.
A: When you get used to seeing an actor on a show week after week, it does sometimes seem as if they have disappeared when that show ends. But Price, who played Faith Yokas on the NBC drama, went on to the short-lived “Bionic Woman” remake and has guest-starred on “Lie to Me” and “The Mentalist,” among other shows. Wiles (Bosco Boscorelli) has been on “Six Degrees,” “In Plain Sight,” “Army Wives” and other programs. He is also in the cast of “Persons Unknown,” a thriller series that has not yet aired.
Q: When I was a child, probably late 1950s or early 1960s, my mom took me to a movie, likely a musical, which featured a song with a lilting melody entitled, I believe, “Drink, Drink, Drink.” I assumed it was from a wedding movie and recently watched “Seven Brides for Seven Brothers,” but that wasn’t it. Any thoughts?
A: You are probably remembering the 1954 big-screen adaptation of Sigmund Romberg’s “The Student Prince.” Edmund Purdom starred, with his musical performances dubbed admirably by Mario Lanza.
Q: Is the “Cold Case” series available on DVD? I have searched the Internet and found boxed sets of seasons 1-6 from three companies, but they ship from China and I’m reluctant to purchase there when nothing is showing up for sale in the U.S.
A: To date I do not know of an authorized release of the CBS drama. The sets you are seeing are most likely unauthorized copies of episodes. I do not recommend purchasing bootlegs, since you cannot be sure of the quality of either the merchandise or the seller.
Q: I have been anxiously awaiting “Men in Trees” on DVD and the second season of “Picket Fences.” Any idea when they will be out?
A: I do not know of a release date for either in an authorized DVD set at this time. (If you do spot such a set for sale, it is most likely a bootleg.) Shows do not make it to DVD for all sorts of reasons, including trouble with rights to some element in the show (especially music) and the possibility of poor sales. Even though its first season was released on DVD, “Picket Fences” appears to have run into problems with its second season. Hulu.com, which is streaming all of the first season and part of the second, has a note saying it cannot show six second-season episodes “due to music rights issues.”
Q: Several summer seasons of replacement series ago, we watched “Maximum Bob.” It starred one of the Bridges brothers. Absolutely hilarious! Whatever happened to that show and why wasn’t it ever picked up as a regular series on prime time TV?
A: Based on the novel by Elmore Leonard, the series originally aired on ABC in August and September 1998. Beau Bridges starred as “Maximum Bob” Gibbs, a tough judge; the cast also included Liz Vassey and Kiersten Warren. The production team included producer-director Barry Sonnenfeld, who had done well by Leonard with the big-screen adaptation of “Get Shorty.” If the ratings had been good enough, ABC would have ordered more than the seven original episodes. Unfortunately, the show did not measure up, and was soon gone. But it still pops up on lists of shows canceled too soon.
Contact the writer:
rheldenfels@thebeaconjournal.com
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