You have questions. I have some answers.
Q: There has been a lot of Carol Burnett on TV lately. I loved the shows but I never seemed to see (and maybe I just missed it) anything about how she had broken into TV. Seems in the back of my mind that she worked on, I think, Garry Moore’s show. Can you tell me more?
A: Yes. To begin with, for people tuning in late, Garry Moore was the crew-cut, bow-tie-wearing host of daytime and prime-time shows for CBS in the 1950s and ’60s. Affable as all get out, he was also the original host of the game show “I’ve Got a Secret” and a host of a revival of game show “To Tell the Truth.” In one of her memoirs, Burnett called him “a television icon. ... When he spoke to you through the camera, he made you feel you were the only one he was interested in.” He passed away in 1993.
In his heyday, Moore’s programs were major launching pads for young talent, among them Burnett, who first appeared on Moore’s daytime show in a comedy team with Ken Welch. Several years later Moore asked Burnett to fill in when scheduled guest Martha Raye was ill. Learning the material for the live, Tuesday-night show in just two days, Burnett so impressed Moore that she was invited to be a regular on his show beginning in the fall of 1959.
By then, Burnett was also a Broadway star, in the show “Once Upon a Mattress”; Moore started taping his show on Fridays, and Burnett would rush from the taping to the theatre where she was doing “Mattress.” “I was young and had not one but two jobs of a lifetime,” she later wrote.
Q: Jason Ritter is so good in “Kevin (Probably) Saves the World.” Is he John Ritter’s son?
A: Jason is indeed the son of John Ritter, who passed away in 2003, and John’s first wife, the actress Nancy Morgan. Jason has had a solid career in movies and TV, with the latter including roles on “Joan of Arcadia,” “The Class,” “Goliath” and “Parenthood.” He has twice been nominated for Emmys, as a guest actor on “Parenthood” and as outstanding actor in a short-form series, for “Tales of Titans” on go90.com.
Q: Is there anywhere I can watch “Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman” since it isn’t on INSP now?
A: At this writing, Hallmark Channel has weekday repeats of the 1993-98 drama starring Jane Seymour.
Q: Are the shows “M Squad” with Lee Marvin and “Man with a Camera” with Charles Bronson available anywhere?
A: Both shows have been released on DVD. “M Squad,” a police show starring Marvin as Lt. Frank Ballinger, ran for three seasons on NBC from 1957 to 1960. “Man with a Camera” (1958-1960, ABC) had Bronson playing Mike Kovac, a freelance photographer who also solved crimes.
Q: Are they planning on putting “NCIS: Los Angeles” on Netflix anytime soon? We love this show but have not been able to watch it in its current time slot.
A: With so many different streaming services (Netflix, Hulu, Acorn, CBS All Access and so on), it can be tough to figure out who has which show; it’s similar to trying to figure out which premium service — HBO, Epix, Showtime, Starz or something else — has rights to a movie you like.
While “NCIS: LA” is not on Netflix, some episodes are available via CBS All Access. Still more are on Amazon.com and iTunes. But you’ll pay a fee to see them.
