You have questions. I have some answers.
Q: My question is not so much an entertainment question as a technical one. When a movie has the actors in a car, the glass seems so clear 鈥� no streaks, etc. How do they do this? I would sure love to get the glass in my car to look that good.
A: While you can find some complicated-sounding explanations, independent filmmaker J.R. Bookwalter says the answer is 鈥渁n easy one, and fairly inexpensive too.鈥�
The man behind the classic 鈥淭he Dead Next Door鈥� and many other movies says the process 鈥渏ust requires a polarizing filter on the camera lens, which does all kind of cool things like remove glare and reflections from windows as well as increase contrast in the sky. Similar technology is used in modern eyeglasses to cut down on glare.鈥�
Q: Can you tell me if 鈥淢idnight, Texas,鈥� will be back? I love the books and was really enjoying the show.
A: The series based on the books by Charlaine Harris begins its second season Oct. 26. There will be some changes. Sarah Ramos and Yul Vazquez, who co-starred in the first season, will not be regulars in the second. They may be back as guest stars. The series will also have new showrunners in Eric Charmelo and Nicole Snyder, who had been consulting producers on the first season.
Q: Please, please, PLEASE let CBS know that there are many followers for 鈥淐ode Black鈥� and we will be heartbroken if it is cancelled. It is such a good show and the thought of it being cancelled is SO sad.
A: Sorry, but I must break your heart. The series is coming to an end, with the finale set for July 18. But the show will try to wrap things up in that last episode. Showrunner Michael Seitzman said on Twitter that 鈥淲e always suspected this would be the last season. We wrote it to end that way.鈥�
Fans of the show have already been asking me if another network might pick up the show. I don鈥檛 know of any plans at this writing. That sort of thing happens just often enough to get fans鈥� hopes up (this year, 鈥淟ast Man Standing,鈥� 鈥淏rooklyn Nine-Nine鈥� and 鈥淟ucifer鈥� have found new homes at Fox, NBC and Netflix respectively), but many shows are done when their networks say so.
Q: In our local newspaper, there was an article about a Berlin bomb squad concerned with Second World War-era unexploded bombs. I seem to recall there was a TV show about a squad of men who defused bombs in London after World War II. I believe the show was called 鈥淯XB.鈥� Am I correct?
A: First, thank you for still reading a newspaper. As to your question, you are probably remembering 鈥淒anger UXB,鈥� which aired on 鈥淢asterpiece Theatre鈥� in 1981. (UXB, of course, is shorthand for 鈥渦nexploded bomb.鈥�) The 13-episode drama concerned a bomb disposal unit in England during, not after, the Second World War. There was a DVD release of it, but you can also see the old episodes on YouTube.
Q: When is Dreamworks鈥� 鈥淗ow To Train Your Dragon 3鈥� going to be released? According to the DVD of the second movie, the story is a trilogy, so there should be one more instalment.
A: There is. 鈥淗ow to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World,鈥� to use the official title, is currently scheduled for release on March 1, 2019. Here鈥檚 one description: 鈥淣ow chief and ruler of Berk alongside Astrid, Hiccup has created a gloriously chaotic dragon utopia. When the sudden appearance of female Light Fury coincides with the darkest threat their village has ever faced, Hiccup and Toothless must leave the only home they鈥檝e known and journey to a hidden world thought only to exist in myth.鈥�
