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TV Media Weekly | November 3 - 9, 2018 By Adam Thomlison TV Media Q: I'm looking for the name of an old movie I saw years ago about some soldiers caught in an underground compound during the war. They eventually run out of candles and must re- main in the dark for years. It might have had Peter Sellers playing a part, however it was not a comedy. A: You're quite right that this film is not a comedy. It is, in the words of a contemporary New York Times review, "a chronicle of slow deterioration." And to answer your question, it's called "The Blockhouse" (1973). It is, as you say, about an inter- national group of prisoners of war who become trapped in a cellar that has an ample supply of food and wine and an impressive, but ultimately insufficient, supply of candles. They remain trapped un- derground for six years, four of them in darkness after the candles run out. The Times reviewer, Janet Maslin, wasn't as taken with the film as you are. She also called it "grim, gray and almost as claus- trophobic as the situation," adding that "the story has very little ten- sion to it." The only good things she had to say about the film related to two of its stars. One of them was indeed Peter Sellers, and she said that he only succeeded when he verges on comedy, during the film's rare lighter moments. Q: Is it true that Alyssa Mila- no had a music career? A: In the mid-'80s, while she was at the peak of her teen success — while she was Sam in the be- loved sitcom "Who's the Boss" and starring opposite Arnold Schwarzenegger in "Commando" (1985) — Alyssa Milano was also a pop-music megastar. But only in Japan, which is exactly how she wants it. Confronted with her pop-star past in a 2013 episode of "Jimmy Kimmel Live," she expressed a bit of embarrassment, hiding her face while he played an old perfor- mance. She also said that she hadn't even been back to Japan since she was headlining stadiums there. Even at the time, she didn't want her Japanese success to cross over back home. In a 1991 inter- view with the L.A. Times, she said she didn't want to be one of those young actors who are "laughed at" for trying a music career. "I'd much rather have it released where it's appreciated rather than laughed at." Have a question? Email us at questions@tvtabloid.com. Please include your name and town. Per- sonal replies will not be provided. Hollywood Q&A By Andrew Warren TV Media T he days are getting short- er and the nights are get- ting crisper, and that can only mean one thing: Thanksgiving is on its way. With only a few weeks to go until Tur- key Day is upon us, Food Net- work is stuffed with more than 25 hours of programming that celebrate the most food-focused of holidays. Kicking off the festivities on Sunday, Nov. 4, is "Ultimate Thanksgiving Challenge." Gia- da De Laurentiis ("Giada at Home") serves as host for the competition series that brings five talented and experienced chefs together to cook the most decadent and delicious Thanks- giving dishes, while judges Alex Guarnaschelli ("Iron Chef America"), Carla Hall ("The Chew") and Christian Petroni ("Food Network Star") watch their every move. Over the span of the three-epi- sode series, Giada challenges the chefs to transform Thanksgiving classics in creative and delicious ways. In this week's premiere, the five contestants are tasked with taking a classic Thanksgiving side dish and reinventing it into something modern and unex- pected. The winner of that chal- lenge gets a special advantage to use in the second round, where the contestants are challenged to make a turkey dinner with only an hour on the clock — and as if that wasn't hard enough, they also have to incorporate an in- gredient that was at the very first Thanksgiving. Over the next two weeks, the remaining contestants will be asked to turn sweet desserts into holiday sides, transform Thanks- giving leftovers into meals that wouldn't seem out of place in a fancy restaurant, cook without the use of crucial kitchen equip- ment and utensils, and make a full Thanksgiving meal in just three hours. The holiday can already be a stressful time of the year, and the five competing chefs certainly aren't making it any easier on themselves, with one of them be- ing eliminated at the end of each episode. At stake, though, is a $25,000 prize that's guaranteed to fill the winner with a good dose of Thanksgiving cheer. "Ultimate Thanksgiving Challenge" kicks off Food Network's enormous amount of holiday programming on Sunday, Nov. 4. Five chefs compete in holiday-themed competition 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" Giada De Laurentiis hosts "Ultimate Thanksgiving Challenge" 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 Open House Nov. 3 - 9 am to 5 pm Nov. 4 - 1 to 4 pm

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