Question: I've been catching CHiPs reruns on TBS and was wondering if Erik Estrada, who played Ponch, was as much of a pain in the butt as I heard when that show was on. Was he? — Kim B., Lihue, Hawaii
Televisionary: Touch of insomnia, Kim? According to our lovable listings, TBS is running CHiPs in the wee, small hours of the morning.
Anyway, "pain in the butt" is a relative term, but the heartthrob (whose voice can currently be heard on The Cartoon Network's hilarious Sealab 2021) certainly took a hot temper along for the ride while straddling a California Highway Patrol cycle from September 1977 to July 1983 on the hit NBC show. Brought up poor in New York's tough East Harlem, the read more
Question: Is there any place on your site where I can view program schedules from the 1980s? — S.P., Boca Raton, Fla.
Televisionary: But of course. You can take a look at prime-time and Saturday-morning line-ups from the '50s through today in our 50th anniversary time-capsule section. (Be sure to take a look at some of our classic stories and ads while you're there.)
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Question: Someone help. Whatever happened to the superhero cartoons that used to come on after school in the 1970s (Thor, Captain America, The Hulk, Submariner, Spider-Man, Iron Man)? Is there a way I can still see these cartoons? Thanks a million. — Gregory R., Detroit, Mich.
Televisionary: Someone help? By Heimdall's beard, mortal, do you presume to invite others into my hallowed realm?
Sorry to geek out on you there, Gregory. How'd you like the Thor shtick? Not nearly as much as you'll like me telling you The Fantastic Four can be found on Boomerang, The Cartoon Network's classic-cartoon spinoff channel, I'll bet. (That is, of course, if your cable operator carries the channel.)
The other good news is that several '60s animated versions of various Marvel Comics properties are available on home video, though they may not be that easy to find. I don't like to give direct plugs to folks who really should be buying ads on our site (and thus
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Question: During the promos for American Dreams, there is a song with the lyrics "I want to show you..." What is the title of this song? It's really pretty.
Televisionary: Sounds like you're thinking of Scarlet's "Independent Love Song," which can be found on the band's album Naked or on the Bed of Roses soundtrack. You may also have heard Martha and the Vandellas doing "Heatwave" or Michelle Branch's version of Lesley Gore's "You Don't Own Me." In addition, the network used the cuts "So Was Red," from the Shawshank Redemption soundtrack, and "Victory At Ed Parker's," from the Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story soundtrack.
And just to head off the next question from you American Dreams fans, the show's theme song is performed by Tonic's Emerson Hart.
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Question: I am a huge fan of Charmed, but I'm confused. How did Prue die? Did I miss something?
Televisionary: She was killed at the end of season three by the assassin demon Shax and her obituary showed up in a newspaper at the beginning of season four. (In reality, she was killed by Shannen Doherty's exit from the show.) Her death kicked off a sequence of events that brought about the arrival of new sister Paige (Rose McGowan).
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Beware the ides of March! That's when HBO's Six Feet Under kicks off its third season, and as co-star Freddy Rodriguez tells TV Guide Online: "The first episode's gonna shock everybody. Somebody dies — and it's gonna freak you guys out!"
Of course, he's keeping mum about who croaks. But since every episode begins with a death, we're guessing this one's a lulu. Meanwhile, Rodriguez — who was Emmy-nominated this year for his role as embalmer Federico — simply looks forward to aggravating the Fisher brothers. Don't forget, he's no longer just an employee at the Fisher & Sons mortuary. "We're all business partners now," he says, "so there's just a lot of bumping of heads next year.
"I've always had conflict with the two brothers, but now more than ever because they're bad businessmen, and here I am stepping in as pa
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Twenty-five years after his death, it's time to forget those 'Elvis is alive' rumors. Tonight, he turns up in heaven! Well, 7th Heaven anyway. When the WB show's producers sought a way to depict Rev. Eric Camden (Stephen Collins) living out his rock star fantasy, they decided to resurrect the King. The odd part is, turning Collins into Presley wasn't as hard as they imagined!
"Stephen Collins is not an unbelievable Elvis, he's a believable Elvis," exec producer Brenda Hampton tells TV Guide Online. "He's so good at singing as Elvis that we are afraid people are going to think that he's miming — but he's actually singing [himself]. I think our audience will be stunned."
The Presley parody arises from Eric's necessity for emergency open-heart surgery in tonight's episode (a
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Jason Statham — star of the just-released thrill ride The Transporter — isn't surprised that people are comparing him to another recently-discovered action hero: Vin Diesel. But the British toughie is hard-pressed to draw a parallel that's anything but skin deep. "It's probably the short haircut and the rough voice," he tells TV Guide Online of his similarities to the XXX hunk. "[But] I think that's where it ends."
One major difference between the two well-muscled butt-kickers: Statham doesn't like to parade around naked in his films. Of course, the 35-year-old hottie will make an exception if the flesh baring is integral to a particular scene — as it was for The Transporter's spectacularly inventive oil slick sequence. To take on a
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A funny thing happened during the final minutes of last night's change-of-pace Will & Grace. Nobody was laughing. After discovering that Grace had broken their no-boyfriends pledge (by canoodling on the side with special guest star Harry Connick Jr.), a wounded Will ordered Grace to move out! Is this the end of the line for TV's favorite gay-straight duo?
According to exec producer Jhoni Marchinko, viewers shouldn't look for a quick resolution — especially considering some of the hateful (if not true) things that were said during Thursday's brutal confrontation. Then again, Will & Grace is a comedy about two best friends. "It's not our intention to keep these people apart," she assures TV Guide Online. "But we want to make the fight real, and then we want to earn the make-up.
"Our whole plan this ye
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7th Heaven's Jessica Biel knows naughty girls need love, too. That's why she agreed to play lingerie-lovin' Lara in The Rules of Attraction — opening today and co-starring fellow WB star James Van Der Beek (Dawson's Creek). As kinky coed Lara, Biel boozes it up, snorts cocaine and beds her best friend's crush. Repent, you sinful hussy!
But Biel insists Rules isn't mere teenybopper trash á la American Pie. While the characters are debauched, there's justification for it. "[Director] Roger Avary is not about t--s and ass," she tells TV Guide Online. "It
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