You have questions. I have some answers, including a lot of trips in the Wayback Machine.
Q: Since first watching the movie 鈥淪tarman鈥� it has always been one of my favourites and I still watch it every once in a while. What I never have understood is why they never made a sequel as Jenny was left pregnant by the Starman. It would have made a great sequel.
A: There was, in a way. The original movie 鈥淪tarman,鈥� from 1984, starred Jeff Bridges as an alien who takes the form of the dead husband of a grieving widow (Karen Allen). It was widely admired, with one reviewer praising it for 鈥渟ensitivity, love and humour seldom seen on today鈥檚 screens.鈥�
Although the Starman returned to his planet at film鈥檚 end (since he would die if he stayed on Earth), there seemed to be more story to tell. So, in 1986, came the TV series 鈥淪tarman,鈥� with Robert Hays in the title role. According to the book 鈥淭otal Television,鈥� the series was set 14 years after the film; Starman returned to Earth to help the son he had fathered and to find the missing Jenny. The series ended after a single season, with the finale having father and son reunited with Jenny (now played by Erin Gray). That appeared to be the end of the story 鈥� until 2016, when a planned 鈥淪tarman鈥� movie remake was announced. We鈥檒l see if that eventually happens.
Q: I hope you can help me find the name of a movie I saw on TV, possibly around 1995, and how I might obtain it. It was about a group of people reuniting on the anniversary of the Allied invasion of Normandy and starred Lauren Bacall, Jeanne Moreau and an English actor whose name I do not remember. I live in a senior community with many Second World War veterans and the movie would be perfect for our viewing on the anniversary of D-Day.
A: The film, originally shown on the BBC in 1993, is called 鈥淎 Foreign Field.鈥� The cast included Alec Guinness, Leo McKern, Edward Herrmann, John Randolph and the actresses you mentioned. It has been released on DVD. I have seen it for sale on Amazon.com (Make sure you get the version compatible with U.S. players) or you may want to check your local libraries to see if it鈥檚 available there.
Q: My favourite show was 鈥淒r. Quinn, Medicine Woman鈥� with Jane Seymour but I cannot find the reruns lately. Is there any way to see it?
A: Episodes of the 1993-1998 series are listed for the Hallmark Drama channel (which is a channel apart from the Hallmark Channel, Hallmark Movies & Mysteries and Hallmark Movies) several times a day. Check whether your TV provider carries it. Other options: The entire series has also been released on DVD; as I mentioned with another title above, you could see if your local libraries carry it. Amazon.com has episodes available for digital viewing 鈥� for a fee, or at no extra cost with a Prime membership.
Q: Would you help me with a nagging question of mine, please? With the announcement of old shows getting new life breathed into them (鈥淲ill and Grace,鈥� 鈥淩oseanne,鈥� etc.) are you aware of any effort to bring back my favourite from decades ago, 鈥淏anacek鈥�?
A: I am not, with one exception I will mention in a moment. For those of you tuning in late, 鈥淏anacek鈥� starred George Peppard as the ultra-cool insurance investigator Thomas Banacek, who was especially good at sorting out seemingly impossible cases. It aired during the heyday of mysteries on NBC, the most enduring of which was 鈥淐olumbo,鈥� but 鈥淏anacek鈥� had only a brief run in 1972-74. I do not know of any current plans to bring it back. However, you are not the only diehard fan. In March 鈥淭he Simpsons鈥� had an episode called 鈥淗omer Is Where the Art Isn鈥檛鈥� featuring a dead-on parody of 鈥淏anacek,鈥� with Bill Hader giving voice to an investigator named Manacek. You can find that On Demand and on the Fox Now streaming service.
