TV Q&A: 'Halt and Catch Fire' returns in summer

By Rich Heldenfels, Akron Beacon Journal

January 16, 2015 at 9:12PM
Lee Pace as Joe MacMillan - Halt and Catch Fire _ Season 1, Episode 10 - Photo Credit: /AMC James Minchin III/AMC
Lee Pace as Joe MacMillan in “Halt and Catch Fire,” which will return to AMC. (The Minnesota Star Tribune)

Q: I loved the show "Halt and Catch Fire." The cast was wonderful, the characters quirky and interesting, the music great, and the story of the development of personal computers was fascinating and exciting. Will the series come back or halt?

A: AMC is bringing the series back sometime this summer.

Farewell song

Q: On the season finale of "The Newsroom," what was the hymn sung at the funeral?

A: "Eternal Father, Strong to Save," aka the Navy Hymn. According to the U.S. Navy website, the words were written as "a poem in 1860 by William Whiting of Winchester, England, for a student who was about to sail for the United States. The melody, published in 1861, was composed by a fellow Englishman, the Rev. John Bacchus Dykes." It was a favorite of Franklin D. Roosevelt (who before becoming president had been secretary of the Navy) and played at his funeral; it was also played by the Navy band during ceremonies following the death of John F. Kennedy, who served in the Navy during World War II.

Marin gets around

Q: I would like to know if the woman who played Jon Cryer's wife on "Two and a Half Men" is also on "Madam Secretary" and "Red Band Society."

A: Yes, Marin Hinkle has played Judith, the ex-wife of Cryer's character, Alan Harper, on "Two and a Half Men." On "Madam Secretary," she has appeared as CIA agent Isabelle, and on "Red Band Society" she guest-starred as the mother of Emma Chota (Ciara Bravo).

'Doc Martin' makes house call

Q: Can you help me find DVDs of the early "Doc Martin" series?

A: There have been a couple of TV movies and six series (the British term for seasons) of the program; a seventh is in the works and should be available online late in 2015 and on U.S. broadcast TV sometime in 2016. You can find everything through Series 6 on DVD at Amazon.com. You can also find episodes online at Amazon.com, iTunes, Netflix and acorn.tv; there are fees for viewing.

E-mail questions (with name and address) to

rheldenfels@thebeaconjournal.com

about the writer

about the writer

Rich Heldenfels, Akron Beacon Journal