South Florida Sun-Sentinel (Sunday)
Is ‘Roswell, NewMexico’ returning?
Q: I just heardthat “Riverdale” will be back with anewseason. What about“Roswell, New Mexico”?
A: That will be a midseason offering on theCW, which in this case means aroundMarch orApril 2021, or possibly later. Because of the pandemic’s effect on production, the network delayed launching whatwould have been its fall lineup most years until early 2021. For example, among returning shows: “Batwoman,” withnew star JaviciaLeslie, will be on Jan. 17; “All American” on Jan. 18, “Riverdale” and “Nancy Drew” on Jan. 20, “Legacies” on Jan. 21, “Charmed” on Jan. 24, “Black Lightning” on Feb. 8, and “The Flash” on Feb. 23.
Q: CBSpreempted the last two episodes of “Manhunt” (about the Atlanta Olympicsbombing in 1996) recently for an election special. Are they going to finish showing these lasttwo episodes in the miniseries?
A: The coverage preemptedCBS’ primetime programming in just part of the country, with “Manhunt” still airing on theWest Coast. As a result, the network has not so far announced plans to reshow the episodes. It has made them available online at CBS.comand streaming at theCBSAllAccess site.
Q: OneMemorialDay in the ’80s, a program about the building of the VietnamWarMemorial was shownonone of the majornetworks. It began with someone’s idea that something should be done to honor the VietnamWar dead and then followedwith the contest to pick the type of memorial, onto the actual building of it. Iwas somovedby the whole story and Iwould love to see thatfilmagain. Can youidentify thename and letmeknowwhere I might be able to see it or buy a copy?
A: Afterwe talked about this some more, themovie proved to be “ToHeal a Nation,” a 1988TVfilm starring EricRoberts as Jan Scruggs, aVietnam veteran whose efforts led to the building of theVietnam VeteransMemorial. Itwas released onVHS, and you can find it onYouTube and onDVD. But, unfortunately, theDVDI sawon Amazon appears to be an import that will notwork inmany U.S. players.
Q: I lovewatching “The Untouchables” onH&I. I wonder if the stories are based onfactual events, and if EliotNess and the Untouchableswere real characters ormadeupby Hollywood.
A: There reallywas a federal agent named EliotNess, and a squad called theUntouchables, whose pop-culture appeal inspired novels, TVseries and theKevin Costner movie. But therewas a lot of fiction in the various works.
Do you have a question or comment about entertainment past, present and future? Write toRich Heldenfels, P.O. Box 417, Mogadore, OH44260, or brenfels@gmail.com. Lettersmay be edited. Individual replies are not guaranteed.