Q: Now that "The Goldbergs" has ended, ABC still has a good comedy lineup on Wednesday nights with "The Conners," "Not Dead Yet" and their best show, "Abbott Elementary." But the slot after "Abbott" has had a rerun of that show or "Celebrity Family Feud." Why did ABC cancel a very funny show like "Home Economics" when it would have been a perfect fit after "Abbott Elementary"?
A: ABC did try the comedy starring Topher Grace in that slot, without great success. By the end of its third season, the Hollywood Reporter said, the show "had the smallest Nielsen-measured audience among the five ABC comedies that aired during the regular September-to-May season in 2022-23."
A 'Time' to remember
Q: What can you tell me about the show I remember called "It's About Time"? It was a comedy about astronauts who travel back in time to the era of cave men.
A: "It's About Time" originally aired on CBS for a single season in 1966-67. At first it had two astronauts (played by Jack Mullaney and Frank Aletter) accidentally transported back in time, where they encountered a Stone Age tribe (Imogene Coca, Joe E. Ross, Mike Mazurki and others). Midway through the season, the astronauts got back to the present day — with some of the tribe accompanying them. That didn't bring any more viewers.
End of the line
Q: You often cite "The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows." The latest, ninth edition, which I own, is from 2007. Will there be an updated 10th edition to include later shows?
A: I wore out my first copy of the ninth edition and had to replace it. But I don't think we will ever see a new edition. The vast number of shows in recent years make the task daunting; the ninth edition was more than 1,800 pages. Even back in 2007, Tim Brooks — co-author with Earle Marsh — told TV critic Aaron Barnhart that assembling all the material was becoming too much.
No longer 'Lost'
Q: In the 1960s TV series "Lost in Space," Dr. Smith stowed away on the Robinson family's spaceship. Who played that character? I heard that he was an accomplished Broadway actor. Is this true?
A: Jonathan Harris played Dr. Zachary Smith, who sabotaged the Jupiter II and set the Robinson family on its three-season TV journey in 1965-68. When Harris died in 2002, his New York Times and Los Angeles Times obituaries both mentioned "Lost in Space" first among his credits. He had done stage work, including appearing on Broadway, but the bulk of his work was in TV.
British export
Q: Can you tell me anything about "Rising Damp"? I think it was on PBS perhaps in the late '60s. It starred Frances de la Tour.
A: The comedy, a British import carried by public TV stations here, originally aired from 1974 to 1978, with a movie following. Leonard Rossiter starred as a grouchy landlord; de La Tour was one of the tenants. I have seen DVDs for sale on Amazon (although you need to check that they are U.S.-compatible), and subscription streamer BritBox lists it. There's also a nifty website about the show, risingdamp.org.
Write to brenfels@gmail.com.
