‘New People’ among early shows with odd length

You have questions, I have some answers.

I have memories of a show called “The New People,” which aired about 1970. It seems to me that each program was only 45 minutes long. Am I correct? What information can you give me?

We tend to think of scripted network TV shows these days as running 30 minutes or an hour, but that was not always the case. In the earliest days of television, some shows ran 15 minutes. There were also 90-minute movies and, sometimes, 90-minute series such as “The Virginian” and “Name of the Game.” In 1964, NBC tried airing three overlapping sitcoms in a 90-minute slot; the umbrella title was “90 Bristol Court,” after the address of the apartment complex where the characters in the three shows lived.

In 1969, ABC tried filling 90 minutes with two 45-minute shows, “Music Scene” at 7:30 p.m. Mondays (prime time started earlier then) and “The New People” at 8:15 p.m. “Music Scene” was a performance show featuring Janis Joplin, James Brown, Buck Owens and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, among others. “The New People” was a drama about a group of college students stranded in a Pacific island test-site following a crash; they were supposed to start their own, new society. Rod Serling had a hand in the show.

Neither program was successful, both ending in January 1970.

I would like to know if a show I saw about Miami trying to get gambling as Fidel Castro was taking over Cuba will be aired again, and what the name was.

I think you are remembering “Magic City,” a period drama starring Jeffrey Dean Morgan. It ended after two seasons. You can find those seasons on Netflix, Amazon Instant, iTunes, DVD and Blu-ray.

Whatever happened to Bob Beckel, the lone liberal on the daily talk show “The Five” on Fox News Channel?

We can argue about how “liberal” Beckel is another time. On April 30, Fox News released a statement to the Mediaite site saying the following:

“Bob Beckel has entered a rehab facility for treatment of an addiction to prescription pain medication. His relapse developed over the last several months as he tried to cope with extensive back pain before and after he underwent major back surgery. We hope our viewers and the public will respect Bob’s privacy during this difficult time.”

Beckel has acknowledged substance-abuse problems in the past.

We like “Mountain Men” that was on the History channel. Will it be back on anytime soon? We have not seen it in several months.

The series begins a new season on June 18. According to TV.com, all three previous seasons began in late May or early June. With seasons consisting of no more than 16 episodes run weekly, that means there’s a long break between seasons. But, as I’ve said before, keeping track of telecasts can be tricky, whether because of a limited number of episodes or because a season is split into smaller parts with a break in the middle.

I am wondering if the summer series “Taxi Brooklyn” is returning at all.

NBC has no plans to continue the program starring Chyler Leigh and Jacky Ido. Leigh will be back on TV this fall in CBS’ “Supergirl,” where she will play the foster sister of the super-powered Kara (Melissa Benoist, “Glee”).