Q: I love this quirky show "Doc Martin" that ended so suddenly without any indication of its return. Would you know anything about it?
A: Well, it is one of the shows I get asked most about, because of the fervor of its fans and the oddities of its scheduling.
As I have mentioned before, the U.S. rights to "Doc Martin" are owned by Acorn TV, a streaming service, which after a time grants telecast rights to a distributor that sells the program to individual public TV stations. Again, to the stations, not to PBS as a whole. Those stations then schedule it according to their needs. Last year Acorn completed its first run of the show's ninth season, the most recent one to be completed, and has it available for streaming along with the eight previous seasons. Acorn has not yet decided when to release Season 9 to TV stations, but it is on DVD and Blu-ray.
I should also point out, as you await new telecasts, that the ninth season consists of just eight episodes, in keeping with other recent seasons of the show. So savor them when you find them. There's no clear word yet about a 10th season.
Dead or alive?
Q: Can you please let us know if it's true that John Thibodeaux, a supporting cast member of CBS' "The Late Show," died? The news was suddenly displayed at the end of a recent show.
A: That was a joke that, apparently, not everyone got. In a "Late Show" telecast in December (rerun more recently), staffers from the show asked "Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker" cast members questions. Thibodeaux asked Billy Dee Williams what he would do if he had the force. Williams, in classic "Star Wars" fashion, made a choking gesture toward Thibodeaux, who began hacking. The choking was repeated, followed at the end of the segment by an "in memoriam" card for Thibodeaux. Enough people wondered about that for Thibodeaux to promptly tweet, "Not dead."
E-mail brenfels@gmail.com.
