Q: I am enjoying "All Creatures Great and Small" very much! I was sad to only watch four shows. Please tell me, will PBS continue with the program?
A: First, there are seven episodes of the first season of the series, so you may have missed something. And, yes, there is a second season in the works with production set to start this month. Series writer Ben Vanstone told Salon.com the series is facing COVID-19 challenges but "because of the animal welfare stuff that we have to do anyway, we have to be very careful with how many people are on set, who's around what animals. We had a lot of biosecurity in place to make sure everyone's boots are clean, and not taking anything onto farms that shouldn't be taken on. So we're not too badly set up for it."
By the way, the series is based on books by James Herriot, which also inspired other screen adaptations, including a TV series in the '70s and '80s.
Poetic ending
Q: On the March 9 episode of "NCIS," Vance read a poem after Emily's death. Do you know the source of the poem?
A: The poem is called "Epitaph," by Merrit Malloy. Search the title and the author and you will find the full text; at least one site sells special prints of it.
No next time for 'nexT'
Q: Will "nexT" (or "NEXT") be returning?
A: The Fox drama, whose title was also written as "neXt," will not be doing any more episodes. In fact, it did so badly that Fox announced its demise after just two episodes aired — although the network did show the remaining eight telecasts. Low ratings and high production costs reportedly led to its end.
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