You have questions. I have some answers.
Q: With Christmas rapidly approaching, I was wondering if there was a DVD for the "John Denver and The Muppets: A Christmas Together" special. The music is on CD.
A: I do not know of an authorized release on DVD or any home-video format of the 1979 special, which suggests there is a problem clearing rights to material in it. I have seen bootlegs for sale, but I don't recommend unauthorized releases because you can never be sure about either the quality or the vendor. If you just want to see it again, someone posted it on YouTube, although the sound was scratchy in the version I watched.
And I am trying not to think of Christmas "rapidly approaching" in October � regardless of what retailers are already selling.
Q: Have I missed the return of "Bones"? I like the series very much and know this will be the last season.
A: Fox has not yet begun airing the final season of the mystery drama starring Emily Deschanel and David Boreanaz. You should look for those last 12 episodes early in 2017.
Q: I was wondering what happened to "Amazing Race" this fall season. Will it be back?
A: Yes. CBS has ordered another round of the series to air sometime in 2016-17, and the new season was in production during summer 2016. But the network has not yet set an airdate.
Q: One of the best sitcoms ever produced for TV was "Frank's Place" which aired, I believe, in the 1980s. Do you know if it will ever be released for syndication or on DVD? I understand that there was a problem with copyrights to the music on the show but I have hoped for a long time that that issue could be resolved.
A: "Frank's Place" was indeed one of the best series on television when it aired on CBS in 1987-88. A mix of comedy and drama, its tale of a Boston college professor who inherited a New Orleans restaurant boasted quality writing and acting, the latter led by Tim Reid ("WKRP in Cincinnati"). Reid was also an executive producer on the show along with writer-producer Hugh Wilson, also a "WKRP" alum.
Unfortunately, the ratings were not great and CBS had little faith in the show. Given the critical acclaim, it ordered a second season but then changed its mind, reportedly because of ratings declines when reruns aired in the summer of 1988.
There have been occasional reruns in the ensuing years, but no authorized DVD release. The recent "TV (The Book)," which ranks Frank's Place among the 100 best shows of all time, says its unavailability is tragic but "the soundtrack's expertly chosen mix of blues, jazz, rock and prewar standards made it too expensive to relicense for DVD and online streaming platforms." Episodes have appeared on YouTube, although the video quality in a couple I checked was not good.
Q: My husband and I watch old "Laramie" shows every day. We both wanted to know what ever happened to the stars, John Smith and Robert Fuller.
A: Smith, who played Slim Sherman on the 1959-63 western, continued acting after the series ended, though not as a regular on another hit series. He died in 1995 at the age of 63. Robert Fuller, who played Jess Harper, went on to other success, including as Dr. Kelly Brackett on the series "Emergency!" He is still with us at the age of 83.
