TV Q&A: 'Vera' will return for sixth season

Q: The British detective series "Vera" was one of my favorites. It seemed as if there were two new episodes in 2015, and then it disappeared. Did I just miss most of the season, or did something else happen? Will the series be back? Is it running somewhere else?

A: There have been five series (as the Brits call seasons) of the program starring Brenda Blethyn, with a sixth in production. Each season has consisted of four episodes. The fifth season, which began airing on public TV stations this year, consisted of "Changing Tides," "Old Wounds," "Muddy Waters" and "Shadows in the Sky."

All five seasons are streaming on acorn.tv, a subscription service, and four are on Amazon Instant Video, iTunes and DVD. The fifth will be available on DVD on Sept. 29. Look for the sixth season on public TV in 2016.

Q: Several years ago I saw a cable channel named the Aviation Channel (or something like that), which later changed to the Military Channel. I haven't seen it lately. Can you tell me if it is still around, or did they change the name again?

A: You should now be looking for the American Heroes Channel, the rebranding of the Military Channel in 2014. It now presents heroes from outside the military as well. Before it was the Military Channel, it was Discovery Wings Channel with a focus on aviation.

Q: Please give me some information about Elyes Gabel, who plays Walter O'Brien on "Scorpion."

A: Born in London, Gabel, 32, lived for a time in Canada and now resides in London and Los Angeles. An experienced stage actor, he has been on-screen in TV's "Body of Proof," "Game of Thrones," "The Borgias" and "Casualty," and in the movies "A Most Violent Year," "World War Z" and "Interstellar."

Q: I was a big fan of two shows that I cannot seem to find anywhere on Netflix or Amazon Prime: "Dobie Gillis" and "The Real McCoys." Do you have any info as to where they might be found on television or streaming somewhere?

A: For those of you tuning in late, "The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis" was one of TV's more inventive comedies during its 1959-63 run; Dwayne Hickman and Bob Denver co-starred. A complete-series box has been released on DVD and repeats can be found on Me TV.

"The Real McCoys" starred three-time-Oscar winner Walter Brennan as the head of a farm family that moved from West Virginia to California; the comedy also featured Richard Crenna and ran originally from 1957 to 1963. It is on the digital channel Cozi TV (cozitv.com). The six seasons have been released on DVD by various companies in individual season sets.