You have questions. I have some answers.
Q: Will “The Amazing Race” be back?
A: A new season, the 31st, is due sometime in 2018-19, but I do not have an air date yet. The show’s casting site, www.theamazingracecasting.com, is accepting applications for the 32nd season, which will be shot in the summer of 2019.
Q: Probably the funniest comedy series I ever saw in my life was BBC’s “Little Britain.” It starred two comedians who played a multitude of characters in their skits. What are the two actors doing now and will more episodes ever air?
A: Following a radio version, TV’s “Little Britain” aired for three seasons on the BBC, the last of which was in 2007. A successor, “Little Britain USA,” aired for six episodes on HBO in 2008. I do not know of any plans for more, but these days “The X-Files,” “Murphy Brown,” “Will & Grace” and other shows keep me from saying never again.
The stars and writers on the show were David Walliams and Matt Lucas. Lucas has been in the movies “Bridesmaids” and “Alice Through the Looking Glass,” among others, as well as TV shows such as “Portlandia,” “Galavant,” “Bull” and “Doctor Who.” Walliams has continued acting, in some movies as well as several British TV shows, but is better known as an author of children’s books, estimating sales of 26 million copies in 53-plus languages of titles such as “Ratburger,” “The World’s Worst Children” and “The Ice Monster.”
Q: Why did Amanda Blake leave “Gunsmoke”? Were there health reasons? When she left, the show wasn’t the same. Also, they had Milburn Stone, who played Doc, go out of state to a school, but when he came back he looked great. Was that health reasons, too?
A: Blake, who played Kitty on the classic western, told the Chicago Tribune in 1985 that she left in 1974 because she had grown tired of traveling from her Phoenix home to Hollywood to make the show. “They gave it a shot for a year after me and it didn’t work anymore,” she added. “That’s a nasty thing for me to say, but it’s true.” And, in fact, the series ran only one more season after Blake’s departure. She did play Kitty again in a 1987 reunion movie; she died in 1989.
Milburn Stone had a heart attack in 1971 and missed several episodes while recovering. When he returned to the series, he remained until it ended in 1975. He died in 1980.
Q: Was I the only one who was surprised at the departure of Monica Dawson from “Chicago Fire”? Why did she leave — salary dispute, contract was up?
A: Monica Raymund, who played Gabby Dawson on the NBC drama, was at the end of her contract when she decided not to stay with the show. In one published interview, she said, “I felt like I was hungry to explore a different role, a different story. I wanted to explore a different world. I had been in Chicago for five years and just personally where I was in my life, I was ready to create my home and kind of plant some roots in Los Angeles. ... it’s wonderful to be employed for that long and to have job security. ... But sometimes you have to take a risk to diversify your opportunities.”
