Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen answers reader questions every Wednesday at TribLive.com in a column that also appears in the Sunday Tribune-Review.
Q: Why is WTAE-TV playing a commercial over and over and over about Kristen Powers?! I am up late and it plays so much I could scream. It plays over and over and back-to-back … it is so annoying. They have had other “newbies” and didn’t do that.
— Mary Ann, Jeannette
Rob: When a TV station has a shiny new anchor, they are going to put a spotlight on that person. And honestly, it doesn’t happen that often in Pittsburgh that there’s a newcomer from out-of-town plopped behind the anchor chair during evening or late weekday newscasts, so I’m not surprised at the extent of the promotion Channel 4 has undertaken.
Q: We are big fans of History Channel’s “Mountain Men.” The nice thing about it is that you don’t have to like every person because they hop from person to person and they are pretty authentic. But why don’t they tell viewers at the beginning of the season what happened to characters who left?
For instance, they seemed to be introducing the storyline of Tom’s brother when he moved near Tom, but we haven’t seen any more of him. Even Tom’s dog is gone without a word. The couple who homestead and make knives have disappeared. What happened to the couple from Alaska? How did their horses fare over the winter? Did they get their pilot’s licenses? Obviously, they want you to get invested in these people, but then they leave you hanging.
— Nancy via email
Rob: So here’s the thing with creating reality docu-series: Sometimes the realities of life get in the way. And if a real-life person decides they no longer want to be filmed, the show can’t force them to participate. Not to say the show couldn’t explain what happened to a disappeared character, but that’s apparently not something the producers of “Mountain Men” choose to do.
Per the show’s executive producers, “‘Mountain Men’ highlights the lives of very independent individuals who live in some of North America’s must rugged and wild locations.
“When they leave the series, there are a number of reasons why we do not go back for updates, but probably the most prevalent reason is respecting their privacy and lifestyle. Also … Tom’s brother Jack continues to be part of the series. And Tom and Nancy’s dog Ellie is still alive and well, but not as active as she once was.”
At 9:30 p.m. Nov. 3, History debuts a spin-off competition series, “Mountain Men: Ultimate Marksman,” an eight-episode show that “tests some of the world’s top marksmen and markswomen by using centuries-old historical weapons like primitive knives, bows and firearms.”
Q: For some weeks now, the site RottenTomatoes.com has listed the drama “Transplant” as airing third-season episodes on NBC on Friday nights. Why does it not seem to be available on this areas NBC station, Channel 11? Will it eventually appear?
— Toni, Latrobe
Rob: “Transplant” is not currently airing anywhere in the United States because NBC declined to renew the show for a third season. The show’s original Canadian broadcaster did renew “Transplant” and episodes are airing on Friday nights in Canada.
Turns out the RottenTomatoes.com data provider is presenting the dates when the show airs in Canada, but listing its most recent American broadcast home, NBC. And evidently the website is unable to manually change the listing information until the episodes actually air in America — which may never happen unless another American network/streaming service picks up “Transplant.”
Might be best to rely on a different website for listings – I use TVGuide.com – going forward.
