South Florida Sun-Sentinel (Sunday)
Where is Alba in Fox series ‘L.A.’s Finest’?
Q: I remember during the summer Fox heavily promoted a new cop-buddy showwith Jessica Alba, called “L.A.’s Finest” so I thought. Now when I watch “L.A.’s Finest,” it’s not a comedy buddy show and Alba doesn’t seemto be in it. What am I missing, and where is Alba?
A: There is indeed a show on Fox called “L.A.’s Finest,” and it does co-star Alba. She and Gabrielle Union play police partners operating in what Fox called “the universe of the Jerry Bruckheimer ‘Bad Boys’ franchise.” That is, Union’s character, Syd
Burnett, is the sister of Marcus Burnett, Martin Lawrence’s character in the “Bad Boys” movies. (Union first played Syd in “Bad Boys II.”) TheTV show aspires to the actionand-comedy mix of those movies, even in details. Alba’s character is Nancy McKenna, i.e. the partners are named Syd and Nancy — an allusion to the notorious SidVicious and Nancy Spungen. And the episode titles are all taken fromthe names of movies.
Q: Ihave a very curious question. I recently watched an old episode of “Little House on The Prairie” about the Winoka Warriors. There is an actor named Brad
Wilkin, who played the role of a blind teenager named Tom Carlin. I Googled him to seewhat hewould look like now. Therewas a picture of what he looked like then. It also stated tha the was born in1995. That can’t be possible because this episode that he appeared inwas in1978 and he also appeared in the Waltons in 1973! Something just doesn’t addu p at all. Is it possible that there are two actors with the same name?
A: The Brad Wilkin born in 1995 is an Australian rugby player. Brad Wilkin the actor is significantly older. These days, he goes by Garratt Wilkin and is known for leading the Parrotheads, a Jimmy Buffett tribute band.
Q: Can you please tell me what happened to “The Twilight Zone” and “The Invaders,” two of my favorite shows, and to Roy Thinnes and Rod Serling?
A: “The Twilight Zone” has had many incarnations, even though host, narrator and driving force Rod Serling died in 1975. The most recent version, done for streaming service CBS All Access, has had Jordan Peele as host and an executive producer for two seasons so far. That follows the original, Serling-hosted series in 1959-65, the big-screen movie adaptation in 1983 (notorious
for an accident that killed three cast members) and several TV revivals.
“The Invaders” originally aired on ABC in 196768 and starred Thinnes as a man trying to prove therewere aliens disguised as humans on Earth; he reprised the role in a 1995 “Invaders” miniseries.
Now82 years old, Thinnes is reportedly retired from acting.
Do you have a question or comment about entertainment past, present and future? Write to Rich Heldenfels, P.O. Box 417, Mogadore, OH 44260, or brenfelsgmail.com.