Container Top
Homes   Jobs   Cars   Shopping
Search

Events Calendar

EVENT SEARCH:

In This Section


Most Read Stories


Blogs:


Akron Law Café:
The Supreme Court at the Tipping Point - Be Sure to Vote

Car Chase:
Welcome to Car Chase!

The Heldenfiles:
Report: New "Project Runway" Delayed

Patrick McManamon:
A midweek visit to the Browns as they prepare for Dallas

Browns Bulletin:
Still need Cowboys tickets?

Cleveland Browns:
Ready if needed

Cleveland Indians:
Indians get 10th road win in a row 9-3.

Akron Aeros:
For those tracking the Aeros Saturday…

Akron Zips:
Syracuse calls audible, replaces QB late in week

Varsity Letters:
Week 3 Football Scoreboard

Kent State Sports:
Singletary suspended and other notes

The Sports Mix:
OSU v. OU: Third Quarter

Ohio Politics:
Bill O'Neill On Iraq and Health Care

All Da King's Men:
Facts Are Not Personal Attacks

Blog of Mass Destruction:
Surge, 9-11, And POW

HRLite House:
Request for Publications - Fire, Police, & Job Analysis

Akrocentric:
"Sunflower," a poem by Frank Steele

Akron Gamer:
Rhythm game info bonanza

BokBluster:
Pitbull Moose Party

Ohio Travels with Betty:
Michelle is looking for a cabin or B & B off I-75 in Northwest Ohio.

Sound Check:
LeRoi Moore, Dave Matthews Band saxophonist dies

Tia's Trends:
ICSC Columbus

Old cartoons can be found on cable TV or on DVDs

'North Country' movie released on disc format

By Rich Heldenfels
Beacon Journal popular culture writer

If it's Thursday, this must be the mailbag. . . .

Q: I used to enjoy watching Warner Bros. cartoons on the television. As far as I can determine, they have completely disappeared from television. Could you tell me why that is the case?

A: Some have moved to cable. The Warner empire includes a couple of cartoon channels, Cartoon Network and Boomerang, that draw on the company's cartoon library, with Boomerang emphasizing what it considers classic cartoons.

But a look at its Web site finds a lot of Hanna-Barbera 'toons in the mix, and that ''classic'' goes back to roughly the late '50s. And that gets to the issue of why so many things disappear; newer generations of material are classic to young people, and the relatively recent ''classics'' squeeze out a lot of the old.

For the really vintage stuff, you should probably go to DVD for sets like the Looney Tunes collections.

Q: I've been trying to find a copy of ''Shame, Shame on the Bixby Boys,'' a 1982 comedy Western starring Monte Markham.

A: My references say the movie came out in 1978, but either way, I have not seen an authorized release on VHS or DVD. I have seen fans' references to acquiring copies, but not where those copies came from.

Q: I have been watching for a rerun of the new movie ''North Country'' ever since it was first shown on Lifetime network. It was shown once and as far as I know, it has never been shown again. Most new movies are reshown many times by a network. What is the deal on this one?

A: I'm not sure when you saw North Country on Lifetime, but it's not that new. The movie starring Charlize Theron is from 2005. Theron and co-star Frances McDormand were nominated for Oscars as best actress and best supporting actress, although the prizes went to Reese Witherspoon from Walk the Line and Rachel Weisz from The Constant Gardener, respectively. It has been released on DVD.

Q: What happened to the TV series ''Shark'' with James Woods? It was a favorite of mine, but I haven't seen it listed lately.

A: CBS decided not to renew it for a third season.

Q: Is ''Lincoln Heights'' ever coming back with new shows? (I'm really bad with names. Hope I have the name right. It's the show with a black family . . . father is a policeman, mother a nurse, and three school-age children.) It seems every program I like is always taken off the schedule. Guess the good guy doesn't win on TV at least!!!

A: Well, Lincoln Heights has. Its third season of 10 episodes will begin Sept. 16 on ABC Family.

Q: I was wondering if you knew anything about a TV show that was on briefly in the early '90s on WKBD (Channel 50) in Detroit called ''Oops.'' It was a comedy about five or six people that survived a nuclear attack (all survived for different reasons) and I believe there were six or so episodes. It was funny.

A: The show was called Woops! and aired on Fox in 1992. It involved six people who had survived a global nuclear disaster. According to The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows, the cast included Fred Applegate, Lane Davies, Cleavant Derricks, Meagan Fay, Marita Geraghty and Evan Handler. Ten episodes aired. I do not know of a video release.

Do you have a question or comment about movies, TV and other popular culture? Write to rheldenfels@thebeaconjournal.com or the Akron Beacon Journal, 44 E. Exchange St., Akron, OH 44309. Please mark the note for Mailbag and do not phone in questions.

Letters may be edited. Individual replies cannot be guaranteed.


Rich Heldenfels writes about popular culture for the Beacon Journal and in a blog at http://www.ohio.com. You can find more columns, questions and answers at http://www.ohio.com/entertainment/heldenfels.

 

If it's Thursday, this must be the mailbag. . . .

Q: I used to enjoy watching Warner Bros. cartoons on the television. As far as I can determine, they have completely disappeared from television. Could you tell me why that is the case?

A: Some have moved to cable. The Warner empire includes a couple of cartoon channels, Cartoon Network and Boomerang, that draw on the company's cartoon library, with Boomerang emphasizing what it considers classic cartoons.

But a look at its Web site finds a lot of Hanna-Barbera 'toons in the mix, and that ''classic'' goes back to roughly the late '50s. And that gets to the issue of why so many things disappear; newer generations of material are classic to young people, and the relatively recent ''classics'' squeeze out a lot of the old.

For the really vintage stuff, you should probably go to DVD for sets like the Looney Tunes collections.

Q: I've been trying to find a copy of ''Shame, Shame on the Bixby Boys,'' a 1982 comedy Western starring Monte Markham.

A: My references say the movie came out in 1978, but either way, I have not seen an authorized release on VHS or DVD. I have seen fans' references to acquiring copies, but not where those copies came from.

Q: I have been watching for a rerun of the new movie ''North Country'' ever since it was first shown on Lifetime network. It was shown once and as far as I know, it has never been shown again. Most new movies are reshown many times by a network. What is the deal on this one?

A: I'm not sure when you saw North Country on Lifetime, but it's not that new. The movie starring Charlize Theron is from 2005. Theron and co-star Frances McDormand were nominated for Oscars as best actress and best supporting actress, although the prizes went to Reese Witherspoon from Walk the Line and Rachel Weisz from The Constant Gardener, respectively. It has been released on DVD.

Q: What happened to the TV series ''Shark'' with James Woods? It was a favorite of mine, but I haven't seen it listed lately.

A: CBS decided not to renew it for a third season.

Q: Is ''Lincoln Heights'' ever coming back with new shows? (I'm really bad with names. Hope I have the name right. It's the show with a black family . . . father is a policeman, mother a nurse, and three school-age children.) It seems every program I like is always taken off the schedule. Guess the good guy doesn't win on TV at least!!!

A: Well, Lincoln Heights has. Its third season of 10 episodes will begin Sept. 16 on ABC Family.

Q: I was wondering if you knew anything about a TV show that was on briefly in the early '90s on WKBD (Channel 50) in Detroit called ''Oops.'' It was a comedy about five or six people that survived a nuclear attack (all survived for different reasons) and I believe there were six or so episodes. It was funny.

A: The show was called Woops! and aired on Fox in 1992. It involved six people who had survived a global nuclear disaster. According to The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows, the cast included Fred Applegate, Lane Davies, Cleavant Derricks, Meagan Fay, Marita Geraghty and Evan Handler. Ten episodes aired. I do not know of a video release.

Do you have a question or comment about movies, TV and other popular culture? Write to rheldenfels@thebeaconjournal.com or the Akron Beacon Journal, 44 E. Exchange St., Akron, OH 44309. Please mark the note for Mailbag and do not phone in questions.

Letters may be edited. Individual replies cannot be guaranteed.


Rich Heldenfels writes about popular culture for the Beacon Journal and in a blog at http://www.ohio.com. You can find more columns, questions and answers at http://www.ohio.com/entertainment/heldenfels.

 



Story tools

Email  Email   Print  Print   Save  Save   Reprint  Reprint   Popular  Most Popular   Reprint  Subscribe

Share this story

AddThis Social Bookmark Button