Will ‘The Son’ return?
You have questions. I have some answers.
Q: I really liked the series “The Son” with Pierce Brosnan and wonder if it will be back. I found it very entertaining. Do you have any info on it?
A: The series, which aired on AMC, ended after two seasons and a total of 20 episodes. Nellie Andreeva of Deadline.com said the series, which was canceled shortly before its second season premiered, “did draw respectable viewership though it was oldskewing” (which is bad for commercialcarrying programs such as those on AMC). In addition, Andreeva said Brosnan “had signed a shortterm contract which is the case with many movie stars who do TV series these days.”
Q: What happened to the network show where all the characters lived in the same New York City building? They were diverse and seemed to know each other like a communal family. I think the title had “neighbor” in it. I liked the concept.
A: I believe you are referring to “The Village,” an NBC drama about the people in and around a Brooklyn apartment building, which the network clearly thought could be another “This Is Us.” It did not meet NBC’s ratings expectations and was canceled after a single season, though then and since I hear from fans of the program.
Q: Hi Rich! You did a good job explaining where Opie’s first name might have come from in the real world (from a wellknown bandleader or a friend of Andy Griffith). But considering the inshow universe, here’s a thought: Opie is also a last name. In the 1940 census, over 300 peo
ple in the U.S. had the last name Opie. And since we don’t know anything about her that would contradict it, maybe Opie is Opie’s mother’s maiden name. Using surnames as given names was very big in the South.
A: It’s a fun theory. But it’s hard to see it as more than speculation since Opie’s mother who had died before the series began — was never mentioned by name.
Q: I am wondering if the possible CBS children’s film festival movies or shorts that were aired on Saturday afternoons in the late ’60s and early ’70s are available to watch. I remember one took place on a Japanese playground and involved a friendship between a chubby kid and his more agile friend. Another
story centered on a poor kid in NYC that secretly adopts and feeds his cat without disclosing this to his mother. They all had a life lesson involved.
A: CBS offered films for young people on Saturdays under a couple of different names beginning in the late 1960s. “CBS Children’s Film Festival,” according to the book “Total Television,” featured films from around the world. The Japanese one you mention was called “Skinny and Fatty.” There was also the “CBS Children’s Hour,” which ran for a single season in 196970 and was best known for “J.T.,” the drama about the boy and his cat that you recall. (That awardwinning production starred Kevin Hooks, later an adult actor and director, and was replayed for years.) Because
films came from a variety of countries and sources, finding the individual shows in the series is a challenge. While several vendors offer “J.T.” on DVD, I do not know of an authorized one, but it is also on YouTube. For the festival offerings, there’s an extensive list at kukla.tv/ cbs.html, a site devoted to the puppetsandperson team of Kukla, Fran and Ollie, who long hosted “Children’s Film Festival.” The site also has information about where you can find the films.
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 brenfels@gmail.com. Letters may be edited. Individual replies are not guaranteed.