You have questions. I have some answers, starting with a “Doc Martin” update.
Is there any chance additional seasons of “Doc Martin” are in the offing?
As I have said before, the series starring Martin Clunes is one of the most-asked-about shows for this column. And I have noted before that a seventh season is in the works.
So here’s the update: The seventh run is set to begin in September overseas. American Public Television, which distributes the series in the U.S., is anticipating a release here in January. There’s even a chance of a preview in December, so keep an eye out for that. And a new behind-the-scenes special, “Doc Martin: Seven Grumpy Seasons,” will be available to stations in late November.
(Note that, while “Doc Martin” airs on public TV stations, it is not a PBS show per se, so it’s up to local programmers to pick it up. A rep for American Public Televisionsaid, “Viewers may want to check with their local public television stations to let them know of their interest.”)
There are also new audio and video podcasts on APT’s “Doc Martin” fan page on tumblr: docmartinapt.tumblr.com.
Can you tell me what is going on with “Under the Dome” this season? We have watched the last two seasons but this year we get confused every time we watch an episode. I have never seen so many character changes going back and forth! Why didn’t they just end the show last year? It seems the writing is all over the grid.
I can’t say whether it is more messed up this year than before, since its nuttiness pushed it off my viewing grid for good in the second season. But CBS will keep it going as long as there are enough viewers to justify the investment — and the network claims that “Dome” does very well when you count people watching an episode within seven days of its initial telecast. (Yes, the networks can track that.)
It’s not clear how long CBS can keep this going. A top network executive told reporters in early August that the dome will come down at the end of this season — but did not say if that means the end of the show. Entertainment Weekly reported that the third-season finale has been written “to serve as a potential series finale or a season finale,” and “there is at least one element that opens up a new path for how the story could continue.”
On “Dancing With the Stars,” how are the dancers and celebrities matched up and who makes the decision? Sometimes it seems as though certain dancers never get a break and are always paired with a celebrity you know doesn’t have a chance to win the Mirror Ball.
The producers of the show decide who gets whom and base that on compatibility between pro dancers and “stars,” and on what might make good television. Still, I have long felt they play favorites, for example, giving Derek Hough performers who provided him the best chance to win — which he has done five times.
A few years ago, I talked to Mark Ballas about this. Pointing to his friend’s wins with Jennifer Grey and Nicole Scherzinger, Ballas said, “Anybody could do that. I made the finals with Bristol Palin,” who was not known for her dancing. “That’s something to be proud of,” Ballas said.
Whatever happened to “Memphis Beat” starring Jason Lee? My wife and I really enjoyed this police show and its good cast of characters.
TNT ended the series in 2011 after two seasons.
