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TMCNet: Pop culture Q&A: 'Law and Order' actress a 'CSI: Miami' veteran [BC-TV-QUESTIONS:AK]

[February 09, 2010]

Pop culture Q&A: 'Law and Order' actress a 'CSI: Miami' veteran [BC-TV-QUESTIONS:AK]

(Akron Beacon Journal (OH) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Q: Is Alana De La Garza of "Law and Order" the same actress who portrayed Horatio Caine's wife, Delko's sister, on "CSI: Miami" and who died of cancer on the show? A: The Columbus, Ohio, native played Marisol Delko Caine on the CBS drama before joining NBC's long-running series. But while Marisol had cancer, she was shot to death.

Q: Some friends think that they saw "Dexter" on network TV before it was shown on Showtime. Is this possible? The current content doesn't seem network-friendly! A: It did not air first on broadcast, but the drama about a serial killer did air on CBS in 2008, when the network was hurting for fresh programming because of the writer strike. Episodes were edited to meet the network's broadcast standards and time constraints.

Q: Years ago I saw a movie called "The Green Pastures." I think it told Bible stories from an African-American point of view. Is this movie available on DVD? A: It is. Turner Classic Movies also airs it from time to time, although it is not currently scheduled.

The film, made in 1936 and based on an earlier Broadway play, "was for many years the most successful Negro film Hollywood had ever released," film historian and critic Donald Bogle notes in his "Blacks in American Films and Television." Bogle says the cast is outstanding but that the movie is too laden with caricatures of African-American life.

Q: Why do almost all the DVDs you buy have the black line at the top and bottom of the screen? Is there a way to buy one that doesn't have them? A: For many movies and TV shows, the aspect ratio _ the comparative length and width of the screen _ is different than it is on a traditional TV screen. You may have seen written notices at the beginning of some movie telecasts saying the movie has been reformatted to fit your screen; that means the picture has been modified from, say, a 16:9 ratio to fit the 4:3 ratio of your TV. While that makes your TV screen look nice and full, it also means you are not seeing the movie as it was originally made, and are losing both the detail and the framework the filmmaker originally intended.

As a result _ and with newer, fancier TV sets offering an aspect ratio closer to movies' _ movies and cinematic-aspiring TV shows are offered in so-called "widescreen" presentations. But this means that their rectangular image leaves those black lines at the top and bottom of the screen. Similarly, if you watch something in the TV format on a widescreen TV, you get black lines on the left and right side.

Your best bet is to get used to the black lines. They are not your enemy. If you really don't like them, buy only videos marked as full-screen or full-frame, or indicating an aspect ratio of 4:3 or 1.33:1. But not all productions are released in that form.

Q: I am trying to remember the name of a movie, I believe was on Lifetime a few years ago, maybe longer. It was about twins, one a housewife and the other lived, I think, in Venice. The housewife went to Venice, then they changed places. The housewife was killed and the sister (from Venice) ended up with the husband and her sister's kids. Any ideas? And if so, is it on DVD? A: Although there are some differences in details, it is most likely you are remembering "Deceptions," a TV-movie with Stefanie Powers as twins who swap lives during a trip to Venice. It was based on a book by Judith Michael. I do not know of an authorized DVD release of the film.

___ Do you have a question or comment about movies, TV and other popular culture? Write to rheldenfels@thebeaconjournal.com or the Akron Beacon Journal, 44 E. Exchange St., Akron, OH 44309. Please mark the note for Mailbag and do not phone in questions.

Letters may be edited. Individual replies cannot be guaranteed.

___ (c) 2010, Akron Beacon Journal (Akron, Ohio).

Visit Akron Beacon Journal Online at http://www.ohio.com/.

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.

KeyWords:: BC-TV-QUESTIONS:AK BC TV QUESTIONS AK

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