Downton Abbey transformed PBS from a sometimes stodgy channel into a destination network, drawing 5.4 million viewers for its second-season finale (doubling PBS' primetime average). Now, Downton creator Julian Fellowes has signed with NBC to create The Gilded Age, his first series for American broadcast TV. NBC is betting that the drama will attract the same audience for its depiction of New York's moguls of...
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Richard Dawson, the British entertainer best known as the original host of Family Feud, has died, The Associated Press reports. He was 79.
Dawson died Saturday from complications related to...
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Ivan Dixon, who was known for his role as the POW Kinchloe on Hogan's Heroes, has died. He was 76. The actor suffered from complications of kidney failure after a hemorrhage, his daughter told the AP. Dixon began his career on Broadway in the 1950s, appearing in notable works such as A Raisin in the Sun. He went on to act and direct for TV and film, including the 1972 flick Trouble Man.In addition to his credits, Dixon also was an outspoken advocate for creating more parts for black actors. Dixon is survived by his daughter, son and wife of 53 years. — Anna Dimond
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Question: It seems like every other movie I see advertised is based on a TV show, like The Dukes of Hazzard. But what about the other way around? I know there was a series based on My Big Fat Greek Wedding, but what other TV series have been based on a movie, and were any of them good?
Answer: There have been a handful of top-notch TV shows based on movies. The flop Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1992) was revived as Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997-2003); Robert Altman's acerbic M*A*S*H* (1970) became the long-running M*A*S*H (1972-1983); Neil Simon
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Question: Would you please describe for me The Rat Patrol, the TV program about the group of soldiers riding in a jeep in the desert? It was my son's favorite program! I recall that the group appeared on the cover of TV Guide. Thanks!
Answer: That I will, Glenn. The Rat Patrol, which ran on ABC for two years beginning in September 1966, was based on the exploits of the real-life British Long Range Desert Group and focused on three Yanks and a Brit fighting the Germans of the Afrika Korps in North Africa during World War II. Sgt. Jack Moffitt (Gary Raymond), a demolitions expert, was the lone Englishman of a crew commanded by Sgt. Sam Troy (Chris George). Youngster Pvt. Mark Hitchcock (Lawrence Casey) and Pvt. Tully Pettigrew (Justin Tarr) rounded out the Rat Patrollers, who tooled around the desert making life miserable for the remarkably slow German tanks and their remarkably myopic gunners,
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