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TV Media Weekly | October 6 - 12, 2018 By Adam Thomlison TV Media Q: Does Neil Patrick Harris sing the theme for "A Series of Unfortunate Events"? A: Much like his character, Count Olaf, in the sort-of children's series "A Series of Unfortunate Events," Neil Patrick Harris is a multi-talent- ed master thespian. That means he's a singer as well as an actor, as you can tell when you hear him do the show's theme. It makes practical sense to get the show's star to do the theme in this case, because it changes re- peatedly as the plot advances. It also makes sense to get Harris to do your music if you can be- cause he's so darn good at it. He won a Tony Award in 2014 for his lead in the rock musical "Hedwig and the Angry Inch," and he seems to try to sneak songs in every other chance he gets, whether it's on his short-lived talk show "Best Time Ever With Neil Patrick Harris" in 2015, his recurring voice gig in the proper kids show "The Penguins of Madagascar," or his musical num- bers during the various awards shows he's hosted (the Oscars, the Tonys and more). Q: Why hasn't anyone re- booted "Miami Vice" yet? All the other old shows are getting redone, but none was as big as "Vice." A: As a matter of fact, "Miami Vice" is getting a reboot. Or, at least, it might be. Action star Vin Diesel an- nounced in August 2017 that he was planning a reboot of the series (presumably so he could star in it), working with writer Chris Morgan, with whom he previously worked on several Fast and the Furious movies (and those films definitely owe a debt to the fast-car worship of "Miami Vice"). The news made a big splash at the time, when, as you say, every- body was rebooting everything, but not a word has been heard since. This suggests the project is at least on hold — at the time, Diesel said he was planning it for the 2018-19 season, and that obvious- ly hasn't happened. Currently, Die- sel's busy filming another big- screen project — the comic book adaptation "Bloodshot." Speaking of comics, if you're real- ly hankering for an updated "Vice," that might be your route. In 2015, Lion Forge Comics and IDW Publish- ing did a comic book miniseries ti- tled "Miami Vice Remix," which saw Crockett and Tubbs ride their sports- car again, tackling a massive Miami underworld conspiracy to flood the streets with a drug that turns people into something like zombies (a nice reference to a popular episode in the original series). Have a question? Email us at questions@tvtabloid.com. Hollywood Q&A By Andrew Warren TV Media L et's be honest: winning Food Network's "Chopped" isn't easy. Not only do the contestants have to out- cook three other equally skilled chefs, but they also have to deal with a basket of must-use ingredi- ents that run the gamut from household staples to the outright bizarre. And that's not all: throw in a ludicrously short amount of preparation time and all of the trappings that come from cooking in a TV studio, and you really can't fault the contestants that find themselves floundering. So winning "Chopped" is al- ready brag-worthy, but there's an even tougher challenge. The latest "Chopped Champions" tourna- ment launches Tuesday, Oct. 9, on Food Network, with 16 previous winners returning to the Chopped Kitchen for a chance to take on their peers and take home a $50,000 prize. Of course, the bragging rights don't hurt, either. As always, the irreplaceable Ted Allen ("Queer Eye") is in the kitchen as host, and a rotating panel of the series' regular judges, including Alex Guarnaschelli, Marc Murphy, Chris Santos, Maneet Chauhan, Scott Conant, Amanda Freitag and Geoffrey Za- karian, taste and critique each dish, ultimately deciding which chefs have served passable food — and which will be chopped. In Tuesday's premiere episode, there's excitement in the kitchen during the appetizer round when a fire extinguisher is needed for the first time in the history of "Chopped." Then, once they pop open the entree baskets, the con- testants discover a combination of salty and sweet ingredients that need to be brought together in a harmonious way, while the dessert baskets contain an uncon- ventional surprise. Throughout the competition, the chefs face sweet and syrupy black garlic, take hammers to a novelty candy, struggle with min- iature, time-consuming eggs, and are wowed by a massive choco- late surprise. After four episodes, only four of the 16 returning champions will be left, and in the toughest three-course meal of their lives, they'll face off to deter- mine which one gets to take home the $50,000 prize. The latest "Chopped Champi- ons" tournament gets under- way with 16 returning winners on Tuesday, Oct. 9, on Food Network. 'Chopped' winners face off against each other 10 | Cooking this week Moore's Home Health 2 x 2" Family Health Clinic 2 x 1.5" White Lilies N Paradise 2 x 1.5" Ted Allen hosts "Chopped Champions" White Lilies N Paradise 333 North Philips Street • Kokomo, IN 765 - 459-0637 • w w w.whiteliliesinparadise.com Mon – Wed: 9 am – 4 pm • Tues, Thurs – Fri: 9 am – 5 pm • Sat: 9 am – 1 pm Give T hanks With Fall Flowers

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