You have questions. I have some answers.
Q: What is the current status of the show "Manifest"?
A: NBC has ordered another season of the series but I cannot say exactly when it will be back.
Q: Would you happen to know if the latest version of "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" with Jimmy Kimmel as host is still being taped?
A: The finale of the most recent season of "Millionaire" aired on June 4. ABC has ordered another season for 2020-21.
Q: There was a TV movie in the late '70s to early '80s about a high school band called "Cotton Candy." It was a great period piece and I would love to have it on video. Has it ever been issued on DVD or VHS?
A: That is not just any TV movie. The 1978 film was directed by Ron Howard, written by Ron and his brother Clint (with their father Rance as an associate producer). Rance and Clint are in the movie, along with Charles Martin Smith and Manuel Padilla Jr., both of whom had been in "American Graffiti" along with Ron. But I do not know of an authorized release on DVD or VHS (and I do not recommend bootlegs). Nor did it pop up on the major streaming services. There is a copy of it on YouTube, but even the person who put it there admits the image quality is terrible.
Q: I have a question about "The Conners." It seems to me long ago on "Roseanne" that Jackie had a son. And I think I remember Roseanne having another baby boy. Neither of them has been mentioned in the new show. Do you know why?
A: Creative changes. When "Roseanne" came back, her son Jerry Garcia Conner was said to be working on a fishing boat in Alaska. As for Jackie's son Andy, he no longer exists. "Conners" showrunner Bruce Helford told TVLine that "We made a conscious decision that certain years were going to be part of the dream that was revealed at the end of the run of the original Roseanne, and (Andy) was part of the dream. Andy fell into the same category for us as (the Conners) winning the lottery; (it's) something we chose not to acknowledge."
Q: On an episode of the classic series "Maverick," Warner Bros. recycled the Rick's Cafe set from "Casablanca" and used a shot from the flick. It had World War II German officers in full uniform, for a Western supposedly set in the 1870s! My question is why? How could they have such utter contempt for the audience, on one of the most fondly remembered series of the last century?
A: The episode you recall, "Escape to Tampico," includes several references to "Casablanca," including in the set and the main guest star, Gerald Mohr, an actor known in part for a resemblance to "Casablanca's" Humphrey Bogart. And yes, there is a shot taken from that Bogart film, noticeable not only for the German soldiers but for a glimpse of Leonid Kinskey as Sascha the bartender. It's tempting, in these meta times, to think "Maverick" used the scene as a deliberate homage to "Casablanca." But it's more likely that the tight-fisted studio was just being cheap and reusing footage, especially when the size and quality of TV sets at the time made it less likely people would notice a lot of details. By the way, one fan of the show spotted another anachronism in this episode: a Gibson guitar years before one would have been made.
Q: During this chaotic period for many people, I think rerunning "The Waltons" would give people a respite and temporarily take them to a quieter, gentler time. Any chance of that happening?
A: Reruns of the beloved family drama have been showing on INSP, Hallmark Drama (not the Hallmark Channel) and MeTV.
