You have questions. I have some answers.
Q: I am a big fan of “Lingo” on Wednesday nights on CBS. Several weeks ago, although it was in my TV listings, the show did not air. This continued. I have a feeling that some higher-up at CBS had a dislike for the program.
A: Your listings may not have kept up with a decision by CBS in March to bench “Lingo” even though the series has been picked up for a second season, and there are four unaired episodes from the first season. CBS did say that the four episodes will be part of the next season. As for why a popular show was pulled off the air, one observer theorized that “the move is possibly due to potential strikes in the industry. Contracts with the Writers Guild, Directors Guild, and SAG-AFTRA (actors union) all expire in the coming months. Networks are trying to prepare for possible production delays that will impact the fall television season by filming early and trying to stockpile content.”
Q: We have watched nine seasons of “Seaside Hotel” on PBS Passport and love the series. Will there be a 10th season?
A: Yes. The Danish series (known as “Badehotellet” in its home country) will have a 10th season which will also be its last. According to the show’s website (and the English translation of its content), the authors behind the show said in 2022 that it was never meant to be “an eternity series.” The writers originally planned to end the series after five seasons but felt inspired to do more; still, they have no more plans beyond Season 10.
As for when you might see that last season, it’s expected in 2024. COVID caused delays and fewer episodes for the eighth and ninth seasons. The writers think the show deserves a better ending – and more episodes in its final season.
Q: Back around 1954-56, Disney’s “Mickey Mouse Club” had a series called, I believe, “Spin and Marty” about boys in a Western summer camp. Do you think Disney will release this show again? Also, what can you tell me about the actors who played the boys?
A: “The Adventures of Spin and Marty," about young people at a Western summer camp, starred Tim Considine as Spin and David Stollery as Marty. Three serialized seasons aired during "The Mickey Mouse Club." Disney+ has the first season of “Spin and Marty” from 1955. That season was also released on DVD in 2006 as part of the “Walt Disney Treasures” line of DVDs. You can find that, but it can be expensive.
Considine often appeared in Disney productions, including mouse-club serials “The Hardy Boys” and “Annette” (with Annette Funicello). He was also Mike, the eldest child on “My Three Sons” in its first five seasons. Eventually moving away from acting, he had a long career as a sports and automobile writer and photographer before passing away in 2022 at the age of 81.
Stollery, now 82, left acting a few years after "Spin and Marty" was done. He became an automobile designer for General Motors and then Toyota, where he designed the 1978 Toyota Celica; according to his "Disney Legends" biography, he directed the design of more than 22 Toyota models and “later established his own manufacturing company, making a patented fiberglass lifeguard tower.”
Mailbag update: Last year I said there would be a second season of “Joe Pickett,” and now we know when. Paramount+ will premiere the new season with two episodes on June 4, with more episodes following weekly.
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