Where's Robert Stack when you need him? Sure, the 2002 Emmys are history, but the unsolved mysteries linger on. For example, who the heck was Tom Hanks winking at while presenting Oprah Winfrey with her humanitarian award? (Let's hope it was wife Rita Wilson.) And what was Katie Couric whispering to Saturday Night Live creator Lorne Michaels backstage in the press room. (We couldn't get close enough to hear, but it appeared juicy!) Luckily, we had better luck getting to the bottom of these brain teasers.
Does
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Question: I've noticed a couple of times that TV Guide and other sources have complained that no one ever made Nancy Drew since the 1970s version combined with The Hardy Boys. I remember a Nancy Drew show airing in syndication about five years ago. The Hardy Boys were either featured or had their own show in connection with it. Nancy was college age and touring around France (it looked like it was set there), but the show was English speaking. Please help me out Televisionary! — Teresa, Bel Air, Md.
Televisionary: You remember correctly, Teresa. A 30-minute syndicated version of Nancy Drew was produced from 1995-96 and sold with an updated Hardy Boys. The characters appeared in each other's series and most likely you watched them back to back since they were scheduled together in many markets.
Tracy Ryan starred as the nosy Nancy, an early-
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They like you, Conan O'Brien, they really like you! Sunday night's Emmy telecast heralded a return to good ol' Hollywood hijinks and glamour — and America tuned in to see it. The three-hour awards show averaged 19.8 million total viewers, with an estimated 40-45 million people watching at least some of it. According to a TV Guide Online poll conducted Monday, more than three-quarters of those surveyed gave O'Brien a thumbs-up on his hosting gig. For a complete Emmy wrap-up, click here.
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Question: I'm doing a report for my college English class on the greatest cartoons of all time. I remember an issue that you did on this. I don't know what month or year it was, but it would be useful if you could e-mail the list of them in order. Thank you very much. — Jamin, Fremont, Mich.
Televisionary: Jeez, kids these days. It would be even more useful if you'd go to the library, an old-fashioned practice from way back in the days when I was in school. It'd also be useful if you'd read the notice at the top of the page that says I don't do e-mail. Frankly, in the time you spent writing me, you could've looked it up yourself. And why aren't you reading a book for English class, anyway? (Wow, check me out — we all really do become our fathers, huh?) I shouldn't give you this, but it is my job, so go here and see if your lazy fingers are up to the task of clicking the pulldown menu.
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So what if HBO's 93 nominations amounted to nearly naught on Emmy night? Yes, they were robbed, but at least the cable net's stars licked their wounds in style at Wolfgang Puck's Spago in Beverly Hills. This annual bash is the post-Governor's Ball stop, and it's easy to see why: Where else can you find Tom Hanks, Ellen DeGeneres and Ozzy's kids all sipping cocktails in the same room?
How was Kelly Osbourne's first trip to the Emmys? "F---in' boring," the 18-year-old lamented. "And I'm sorry, but the red carpet s---s big b---s too. Who the f--- wants to wait in line to talk about them
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Question: What TV show has been nominated for the most Emmys and which show has won the most Emmys? — Mike, Howell, Mich.
Televisionary: Cheers holds the record for most Emmy nominations with a whopping 117, Mike. The answer to your second question changed as of about a week ago. At the creative arts Primetime Emmy Awards, Frasier won statues for Guest Actor in a Comedy Series (Anthony LaPaglia), Multi-Camera Sound-Mixing for a Series or Special and Multi-Camera Picture Editing for a Series, bringing its grand total to 30 Emmy wins since 1994. That's one more than The Mary Tyler Moore Show's previous record of 29 wins.
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Question: I was a h-u-u-u-ge Knots Landing fan and always wondered about some of the gossip of the day. Is it true the cast hated each other? How did they really get along? Thanks for the answer. — Harry K., Newark, Del.
Televisionary: Well, on the screen, Knots Landing was about a community of ambitious, scheming, somewhat narcissistic people trying to get theirs via means ranging from upright and fair to downright nasty. Behind the scenes, it was pretty much the same thing.
But that's only to be expected when you consider that the series, which launched on CBS in December 1979 as a Dallas spin-off revolving around Ewing black sheep Gary (Ted Shackleford) and wife Val (Joan Van Ark), saw more than 100 cast members march across its sets by the time it left the air nearly
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Oscar-nominated actor Nick Nolte checked himself into a substance abuse clinic after his arrest earlier this month on suspicion of drunk driving, Variety reports. The Prince of Tides star, who has spoken about his heavy drinking in the past, "voluntarily entered" the treatment facility shortly after his run-in with the law.
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Question: Are the SBC commercials narrated by Tommy Lee Jones? — Kelli, Loomis, Calif.
Televisionary: Yes, that is indeed Mr. Jones (Lonesome Dove, Men In Black) doing voiceover work for the telecommunications giant's ads.
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Question: There used to be a show — on for only one season, I think — called The Hat Squad. Do you remember this show and are you able to tell me the three actors who played the brothers, especially the blond one? They played cops or something like that and their father, who used to be a cop, was killed. Thank you. — Sharon, Terryville, Conn.
Televisionary: Nestor Serrano (Witchblade), Don Michael Paul (Models Inc.) and Billy Warlock (Baywatch) played three foster kids who grew up to join the L.A.P.D. and serve under their foster dad (James Tolkan), a police captain. They formed the Hat Squad, an elite crimefighting unit so named because... they all wore hats (fedor
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