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Television Q&A: What were name and rank of service academy shows?

Rich Heldenfels, Tribune News Service on

Published in Entertainment News

You have questions. I have some answers.

Q: I remember from the early '60s two half-hour shows. One was called, I think, “West Point” and had stories about the cadets. The other had stories about the Naval Academy. Any other info would be appreciated.

A: The shows you remember are anthology dramas “West Point” and “Men of Annapolis.” “West Point” originally aired from 1956 to 1957 and “dramatized actual events and persons from the files of West Point,” says “The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows.” “Names and dates … were changed, but the events were real.” “Men of Annapolis,” in 1957-58, was a syndicated series from the same production company as “West Point.”

Q: I recall a sitcom from the ‘70s called “The Mothers-In-Law.” Who starred in it?

A: The NBC comedy, which aired in 1967-69, starred Eve Arden and Kaye Ballard as longtime neighbors whose children (played by Jerry Fogel and Deborah Walley) had married each other. Herbert Rudley played Arden’s husband. Two actors played Ballard’s spouse: Roger C. Carmel (who left the show after one season, reportedly in a salary dispute) and then Richard Deacon.

There are a lot of showbiz accomplishments in the cast. For example, Arden starred in the classic sitcom “Our Miss Brooks” and Deacon was famous as Mel Cooley on “The Dick Van Dyke Show.” Ballard was a well-known performer in musical comedy. Carmel, for that matter, was known for playing Harry Mudd on the original “Star Trek.”

Q: Why has HGTV canceled “Bargain Block”? It's interesting, fun and an unusual way to rehab a home. Instead of the hugely expensive renovations on most shows, "BB" shows how we can improve neighborhoods in a more down-to-earth way.

A: HGTV did not offer a reason for dropping the series after four seasons, which hosts Keith Bynum and Evan Thomas announced in June. Thomas did tell People.com that home renovation shows are “a highly inefficient type of show to make … incredibly expensive per episode to make compared to simpler shows.”

 

Thomas and Bynum were caught off-guard by the decision and had been planning for a fifth season.

Since their company’s "revenue stream was built heavily off our television contracts,” Bynum told People.com their business was “derailed” by the cancellation. Still, he said, “we persist.”

Q: “Days of Our Lives” is celebrating 60 years this year. Are the producers and writers planning to publish a book celebrating this milestone?

A: I have seen no news about a book marking the anniversary of the show, which premiered on NBC on Nov. 8, 1965, and in recent years has been solely on Peacock. With or without a book, the show keeps going. Soap Opera Digest reported a while back that “Days” has been renewed for two more seasons.

Q: I have been trying to find three Abbott and Costello movies — “Hold That Ghost,” “In the Navy” and “Buck Privates Come Home” — and I haven’t had any luck. I remember watching them when I was younger and they were so funny I would love to watch them again. Can you help me to find out where I can find them?

A: There are several DVD sets of movies by the great comedy team. There is a package of all their Universal movies, including the ones you are looking for, and some budget-priced “best of” sets, with “Hold That Ghost” and “In the Navy” in Volume 1 and “Buck Privates Come Home” in Volume 2.

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©2025 Tribune News Service. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

 

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