TV Q & A
Question: Can you tell us the name of a quiz show hosted by Bob Saget in the late ’90s or early 2000s?
ANSWER: Although it aired later than you remember it, the show you are thinking of was “1 Vs. 100,” which Saget hosted on NBC from 2006 to 2008. A single contestant tried to eliminate 100 people — called “the mob” — by answering questions correctly while people in the mob got the answers wrong. If the main contestant successfully outlasted everyone in the mob, he or she won the top prize, $1 million. The main contestant could also quit with the winnings in hand after a correct answer; an incorrect answer wiped out all of his or her winnings, with the remaining mob members getting the money instead.
QUESTION: For many years I have been a loyal “NCIS” fan. So perhaps you can imagine the sadness that accompanied the news that CBS was unable to re-sign Cote de Pablo. From what us fans can gather, the situation seems to have boiled down to money and contract terms. By her own admission, Cote loves her job and the character she plays. “NCIS” will not be the show we love without Cote/Ziva. As you may know, many “NCIS” fans have started a campaign to “Bring Back Cote!” but we’ve had a hard time getting anyone to highlight our campaign.
ANSWER: This is an abbreviated version of a much longer letter, one of several I have received about de Pablo’s leaving the series, and indicating that she is somehow being forced out. But it appears this is purely her decision. Here’s what Leslie Moonves, the top executive at CBS, said not long ago, according to Entertainment Weekly:
“We offered Cote de Pablo a lot of money, and then we offered her even more money, because we really didn’t want to lose her. We love her. We think she was terrific. And ultimately she decided she didn’t want to do the show. It was purely her decision. We’re, obviously, getting a lot of e-mails. There’s a lot of Twitter buzz about her, and rightly so. She’s a wonderful lady. Look, NCIS was the highest-rated show on television last year. We don’t like losing anybody. But we did everything humanly possible.”
Q: The name “Ireland” is a well-known one because of John Ireland, an actor I enjoyed seeing. Then an actress named Jill Ireland appeared on the scene and was married to Charles Bronson. Are Jill and John Ireland related?
A: No. John Ireland, born in Canada but brought up in New York, was for a long time a well-regarded actor for performances in films like “Red River” and “All the King’s Men” (the Broderick Crawford version). He died in 1992 of leukemia. Cancer also claimed London-born Jill Ireland in 1990; she had been dealing with breast cancer for more than five years at that point and wrote about it in a memoir, “Life Wish,” the title a variation on Bronson’s movie “Death Wish.”
Q: Are Larry Romano (Richie on “King of Queens”) and Ray Romano (“Everybody Loves Raymond”) related?
A: Although the last name is the same, they are not related.
Q: On “Body of Proof,” did they really think the viewers would not recognize Tommy as the old Peter, or am I crazy?
A: If you thought that the actor who played Peter was the same one who played Tommy on the Dana Delany drama, you are mistaken. Nicholas Bishop played investigator Peter Dunlop for the first two seasons, before his character was killed off. The third season saw the arrival of police detective Tommy Sullivan played by Mark Valley, whom you may know from series like “Boston Legal.”