You have questions. I have some answers.
Q: There has been a lot of Carol Burnett on TV lately. I loved the shows but I never seemed to see (and maybe I just missed it) anything about how she had broken into TV. Seems in the back of my mind that she worked on, I think, Garry Moore鈥檚 show. Can you tell me more?
A: Yes. To begin with, for people tuning in late, Garry Moore was the crew-cut, bow-tie-wearing host of daytime and prime-time shows for CBS in the 1950s and 鈥�60s. Affable as all get out, he was also the original host of the game show 鈥淚鈥檝e Got a Secret鈥� and a host of a revival of game show 鈥淭o Tell the Truth.鈥� In one of her memoirs, Burnett called him 鈥渁 television icon. ... When he spoke to you through the camera, he made you feel you were the only one he was interested in.鈥� He passed away in 1993.
In his heyday, Moore鈥檚 programs were major launching pads for young talent, among them Burnett, who first appeared on Moore鈥檚 daytime show in a comedy team with Ken Welch. Several years later Moore asked Burnett to fill in when scheduled guest Martha Raye was ill. Learning the material for the live, Tuesday-night show in just two days, Burnett so impressed Moore that she was invited to be a regular on his show beginning in the fall of 1959.
By then, Burnett was also a Broadway star, in the show 鈥淥nce Upon a Mattress鈥�; Moore started taping his show on Fridays, and Burnett would rush from the taping to the theatre where she was doing 鈥淢attress.鈥� 鈥淚 was young and had not one but two jobs of a lifetime,鈥� she later wrote.
Q: Jason Ritter is so good in 鈥淜evin (Probably) Saves the World.鈥� Is he John Ritter鈥檚 son?
A: Jason is indeed the son of John Ritter, who passed away in 2003, and John鈥檚 first wife, the actress Nancy Morgan. Jason has had a solid career in movies and TV, with the latter including roles on 鈥淛oan of Arcadia,鈥� 鈥淭he Class,鈥� 鈥淕oliath鈥� and 鈥淧arenthood.鈥� He has twice been nominated for Emmys, as a guest actor on 鈥淧arenthood鈥� and as outstanding actor in a short-form series, for 鈥淭ales of Titans鈥� on go90.com.
Q: Is there anywhere I can watch 鈥淒r. Quinn, Medicine Woman鈥� since it isn鈥檛 on INSP now?
A: At this writing, Hallmark Channel has weekday repeats of the 1993-98 drama starring Jane Seymour.
Q: Are the shows 鈥淢 Squad鈥� with Lee Marvin and 鈥淢an with a Camera鈥� with Charles Bronson available anywhere?
A: Both shows have been released on DVD. 鈥淢 Squad,鈥� a police show starring Marvin as Lt. Frank Ballinger, ran for three seasons on NBC from 1957 to 1960. 鈥淢an with a Camera鈥� (1958-1960, ABC) had Bronson playing Mike Kovac, a freelance photographer who also solved crimes.
Q: Are they planning on putting 鈥淣CIS: Los Angeles鈥� on Netflix anytime soon? We love this show but have not been able to watch it in its current time slot.
A: With so many different streaming services (Netflix, Hulu, Acorn, CBS All Access and so on), it can be tough to figure out who has which show; it鈥檚 similar to trying to figure out which premium service 鈥� HBO, Epix, Showtime, Starz or something else 鈥� has rights to a movie you like.
While 鈥淣CIS: LA鈥� is not on Netflix, some episodes are available via CBS All Access. Still more are on Amazon.com and iTunes. But you鈥檒l pay a fee to see them.
