What’s the title of disaster drama?
Q: Last year I watched a show about a wormhole that appeared in downtown Los Angeles. Several people fell through and found themselves in another dimension. It ended abruptly. I cannot remember the name of that show. A:
That sounds like “La Brea,” the NBC drama in which people fell through a sinkhole into “a mysterious and dangerous primeval land.” The network has ordered a second season set to premiere this fall. One place you can catch up with the 10 episodes in the first season is on Peacock.
Q: I recently watched a Sundance Now series called “Ten Percent” featuring Dominic West in an episode. Could this be an older, English version of the French series “Call My Agent!”? A:
You are correct about the similarity of the two series, but the sequence is different. “Ten Percent” is a new series and an English-language adaptation of “Call My Agent!” That French series about talent agents premiered in 2015 and has found a wide audience through Netflix. Variety reported a while back that there are numerous adaptations done or in the works in different countries, including Turkey, India, Canada, South Korea and the Philippines.
Q: What happened with season two of CBS’ “Blood and Treasure”? COVID-1 9 delayed filming, but there has been no mention since of whether that was ever completed. A:
The drama will begin a second season on July 17, but TVLine has reported that it will be on streamer Paramount+ instead of the CBS broadcast network. Since the first season ended almost three years
ago, you may want to catch up on the older episodes — also on Paramount+.
Q: I remember a blackand-white movie from the’60sor’70s.Ithada professor experimenting with some liquids and saw that a baseball with some of the liquid on it would roll around items in his tray. I have forgotten a lot of the story, but he became a pitcher. I pray you can name this movie and where I might see or purchase it. A:
It sure sounds as if you saw “It Happens Every Spring,” a 1949 comedy starring Ray Milland as a professor who accidentally creates a substance that repels wood — so that balls with it cannot be hit by baseball batters. While that sounds whimsical, the American Film Institute catalog notes that “the studio encountered major problems with representatives of professional baseball. Despite the studio’s numerous pleas, Commissioner Albert B. ‘Happy’ Chandler, would not grant permission to use actual team names in the film as it was ‘the story of a cheat.’ ” Still, the movie does show up on TV from time to time, is available for rent
via Amazon Prime Video and Vudu, and has been released on DVD.
Q: I was watching “Beach Blanket Bingo” and noticed Michael Nader. I believe he is the son of the actor George Nader. Are these actors still with us? A:
Leading man and novelist George Nader died in 2002 at age 80. Actor Michael Nader, who was George’s nephew, passed away in 2021 at age 76.
Update: In May, I noted that Showtime had canceled “American Rust” after one season amid some unenthusiastic reactions to the show. Well, streaming service Freevee (formerly known as IMDb TV) was more enthused. It has ordered a second season with Jeff Daniels and Maura Tierney returning as the stars. Production will start later this year. And Daniels said in a statement that this is a show “built for streaming.”
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.