You have questions. I have some answers.
Q: Stumper! My brother and I watched a Saturday morning cartoon in the 1980s I believe. The opening credit scene was a teenage boy and girl on a scooter being chased through the streets of a city. It then morphs into animation for the show itself. They were part of a teen rock band that I think gets transported to another world where they fight bad guys and struggle to get home. What is it?
A: This isn’t a stumper (although I do have folders full of questions I’ve not been able to answer). When I linked you to a YouTube video of a show called “Kidd Video,” it fit your memories. According to the reference book “Total Television,” the show originally aired on NBC from 1984-87 and later in 1987 on CBS. The book calls it “an imaginative blend of live action, cartoons, and rock videos … centered around a four-piece rock band that was seized by the evil Master Blaster” and turned into cartoon characters. The live-action cast included Gabriele Bennett, Robbie Rist, Steve Alterman and Bryan Scott.
Q: Where is the show on CBS in a big-city hospital with an up-and-coming female doctor whose dad is also a doctor and whose mother is on board of directors?
A: You are thinking of “Good Sam,” which starred Sophia Bush and Jason Isaacs. CBS canceled it after a single 13-episode season.
Q: I am wondering if “Hill Street Blues” is available on any site. Best show ever!
A: One place to catch up on the police show classic is Hulu. I loved it — the pilot is on my TV as I write this — but is it the best show ever? Alan Sepinwall and Matt Zoller Seitz ranked it 12th in 2016’s “TV (The Book): Two Experts Pick the Greatest American Shows of All Time.”
And since some of you are wondering, the shows ahead of “Hill Street” in the book are, in descending order, “The Simpsons,” “The Sopranos,” “The Wire,” “Cheers,” “Breaking Bad,” “Mad Men,” “Seinfeld,” “I Love Lucy,” “Deadwood,” “All in the Family” and “M.A.S.H.”
Q: I watch a lot of “Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman,” and I was wondering why they switched Colleens. I liked the first one.
A: There were indeed two actresses playing Colleen Cooper, adopted daughter of Dr. Michaela “Mike” Quinn: Erika Flores from 1993 to 1995 and then Jessica Bowman from 1995 to 1998 and a 2001 reunion movie. (Dr. Quinn was, of course, played by Jane Seymour.)
The casting change stirred up a lot of viewers. In a 1996 letter on the “Dr. Quinn” website, producer Tim Johnson said, “Erika Flores left the show to pursue other interests. … primarily school. She's auditioned for movies, but her primary focus, to our knowledge, is school. After all, she's only 16 years old. The events leading up to her decision to leave the show did include CBS's request that she sign a 5-year contract. Erika did not want to commit to that extended period of time, and CBS would not allow anything but (all the series regulars, including Jane Seymour, are required to sign a 5-year contract.) We, as producers of the show, were able to convince CBS to double Erika's salary in an attempt to keep her on the show. But she still was unwilling to commit to 5 years. This being the case, we had no other choice but to replace her.”
Q: I enjoyed watching the movie “Snowed-Inn Christmas” starring Bethany Joy Lenz and Andrew Walker when it came out in 2017. After the movie was over there was a short song and dance routine between the two that I thought was very good. I have never again seen this song and dance routine after watching the movie. Can you tell me if it is available anywhere?
A: YouTube has the music video, a duet set to the classic tune "How About You?" By the way, for this movie and video, Lenz was billed just as Joy Lenz.
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