You have questions. I have some answers.
Q: We just saw “I, Tonya,” and I was wondering how much of the skating Margot Robbie actually did.
A: Robbie, of course, played the notorious skater Tonya Harding in the comedy-drama based on Harding’s life. And she spent months training for the film, Emmy-winning skating choreographer Sarah Kawahara said in an interview with Indiewire. As a result, Kawahara said, “Margot did a lot of her own skating,” including high kicks, head rolls and “the position of prepping the triple axel and going into the triple axel and then landing it.”
That said, there were also two skating doubles that Kawahara did “the heavy lifting, the big jumps and the fast spins and the footwork.” Entertainment Weekly noted that special 3-D head scans of Robbie’s head were used to superimpose her on the doubles’ faces when they were close to the camera.
For those of you wanting to see this movie magic, “I, Tonya,” is now available on DVD, Blu-ray, digital and On Demand.
Q: I was watching my recording of the new program “Instinct” when it was cut off because of a late start. It appears that an NCAA basketball game went beyond its allocated time and delayed “Instinct.” There was no warning from CBS that they were going to cut off the program and no attempt to extend it. If they are going to cater to sports fans by extending their coverage, the entire programming should be shifted forward so that no shows are cut off.
A: As far as I know, “Instinct” was not cut off; it started about 37 minutes late in Ohio and ran in its entirety, as did the other delayed-by-basketball programs on the network that night. Your problem was one that crops up often when shows air after live events — especially sports such as football, basketball and golf. (This issue comes up a lot during NFL seasons when there are frequent late-afternoon games.) No one knows for certain when a live game is going to end, so advance schedules are at best an educated guess; at the same time, in most cases live games are carried to their conclusion even if that includes overtime, countless time-outs or other causes of extended time.
The problem, then, is in the recording of the shows. DVRs and other recorders react to the scheduled program time and end as originally planned. But if you suspect an event before your favorite show is going to run long, you need to add time to the scheduled recording. When I schedule on my cable DVR, I get a set of options including a choice of adjusting both the start and end time of a program to be recorded. If, then, I know a program is going to start late, I can adjust the start time, and if I think it will run longer than scheduled, I can add anywhere from one minute to two hours to the recording time. In almost all cases that ensures I will get the program I am looking for in its entirety.
Q: I would love to have a DVD of “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” starring Donny Osmond. Do you know if one is available? I would be so grateful to buy it for my daughters and myself.
A: Universal released a version of the production on DVD in 2000. It is billed as “inspired by” the London Palladium version of the stage show and, “specially filmed for video.” Besides Osmond, the cast includes Richard Attenborough and Joan Collins.
Q: We have found “Person of Interest” and “The Blacklist” on Netflix. How many episodes are there of each? Are they still making new episodes?
A: “The Blacklist” is in its fifth season and, after a short hiatus, will have new episodes on NBC starting April 4; it had aired 105 episodes before this break began. “Person of Interest” ended its five-season run in 2016 after 103 episodes.
