Question: Has the incredibly handsome Eric McCormack of Will & Grace ever been in a movie I could rent on video?
A. The credit sheet of the incredibly handsome (and incredibly married) Eric McCormack is dominated by TV movies, most of which are not released on video. However, you can get The Audrey Hepburn Story, in which he had a supporting role, or the big screen feature Free Enterprise, in which he had top billing.
Q. Is The Wire coming back? My wife and I really dug that show.
A. HBO has ordered a second season of the crime drama. It will probably air in late spring or early summer.
Q. Please settle a family feud. Are Bonnie Hunt and Helen Hunt related? I seem to recall they are sisters.
A. They are not related. Bonnie Hunt, a Chicago native, is one of four girls and three boys in her family. Helen grew up in Hollywood in a show business family. Her father, Gordon Hunt, is a director and acting coach.
Q. As important questions go, this one is not. However, many of the questions asked are somewhat inane. But I did happen to see Jerry Springer recently. Are these people for real or are they hired? Where do they find people with no dignity whatsoever, who are willing to bare their personal histories and body parts on TV. Also, I wonder if some of the things the guests say are scripted.
A. The inane questions make this column. You differ from the norm in that you realize your query is inane. Springer’s guests are supposedly real, although there have been instances of ringers — actors looking for face time on the tube — making up stories. Why does it surprise you that people will trade in their dignity to get on TV? Haven’t you seen sorry souls eating worms or getting buried in rats on Fear Factor; women groveling before The Bachelor? Springer is not scripted. However, guests are encouraged to behave like animals, which isn’t a stretch for many of them.
