You have questions. I have some answers.
Why didn’t Mark Harmon’s son play young Gibbs in “NCIS: Origins”? He played it on “NCIS” when they showed the younger Gibbs.
Sean Harmon, the elder son of Mark Harmon and Pam Dawber, did indeed appear as a younger version of his father’s character in seven episodes of “NCIS.” But Mark recently told Variety that Sean chose not to act in the prequel series — even though it was Sean’s idea and he is an executive producer on “Origins.”
“He’s an actor, writer, producer, a surfer — he does a lot of things,” Mark said. “You have to come to decisions about what you want to do in life, or what you think’s important. I just think he made a choice and … he likes executive producing.”
Now playing Gibbs on “Origins” is Austin Stowell, whose previous credits include “The Secret Life of the American Teenager” and “Bridge of Spies.”
Did Disney make two movies called “The Haunted Mansion”? I recently saw the one that starred Owen Wilson in it, thinking it would be the one starring Eddie Murphy.
The Walt Disney Company did indeed inflict two “Haunted Mansion” movies on us, twice exploiting the theme park feature (and adding to a subgenre that also includes “Jungle Cruise,” “Tower of Terror” and sundry “Pirates of the Caribbean). “The Haunted Mansion,” with Eddie Murphy, premiered in 2003. “Haunted Mansion” (no “the”), with LaKeith Stanfield, Tiffany Haddish and Owen Wilson, arrived in 2023 — presumably because the 20-year gap made for a new generation of theme park attendees as potential fans. Still, the first movie was a greater success at the box office. You can compare their quality on Disney+.
Will there be another season of “For All Mankind”? I feel like they left us hanging!
The alternate history of the U.S. space program will have a fifth season on Apple TV+ In addition, the “For All Mankind” team has been given the go-ahead for “Star City,” another alt-history series focusing on the Russian space program. According to Variety, two of the show’s co-creators said, “Our fascination with the Soviet space program has grown with every season of ‘For All Mankind.’ The more we learned about this secret city in the forests outside Moscow where the Soviet cosmonauts and engineers worked and lived, the more we wanted to tell this story of the other side of the space race.”
I just saw the “Saturday Night” movie, and it got me wondering where I can find the “SNL” episode with Milton Berle. I understand it was one of their worst and it was taken out of reruns. Does it exist anywhere?
Yes. While the movie about the first night of the legendary sketch comedy series (which had its 50th anniversary on Oct. 11) includes Berle as a character, his reputation at “SNL” is based on his hosting the 17th episode of the fourth season. As many accounts have it, Berle was such an obnoxious, awful presence that producer Lorne Michaels refused to replay that episode for years. But you can find it now, for example, on Peacock and Prime Video. The Berle-hosted show is indeed terrible. Even the $1.99 fee on Prime is too much to pay.
I’m looking for the name of an actor on “Hill Street Blues” who played a gang leader who got along with the captain. He died in a car accident. Could you tell me his name?
You are thinking of Trinidad Silva, who played Jesus Martinez on “Hill Street.” He was an acclaimed actor whose skill in a guest role as Martinez led to dozens of appearances on the series. Edward James Olmos called Silva “one of the most gifted persons I’ve worked with.” He was 38 in 1988 when a driver ran a red light and struck Silva’s pickup, killing him instantly.
