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TV Media Weekly | March 26 - April 1, 2016 By Adam Thomlison TV Media Q: While watching reruns of "The Big Valley," we noticed there was a fourth son, young- er than Jarrod, Nick and Heath. He was only in a few episodes. Can you give any in- formation as to who played this character and what the character's name was? A: The character Eugene Bark- ley, fourth son of the Barkley clan whose lives formed the basis of the classic western series "The Big Valley," left the ranch to go to college. That's the easy part. As for the man who played him, Charles Briles, that's a little trickier. He only appeared in the first season, which aired on ABC in 1965. He was drafted by the U.S. Army, also in 1965. This much we know. What we don't know is if these two facts are related. One version of events is that he was drafted while working on the show, which is why his char- acter was abruptly written out. The other is that the character wasn't very popular and so was written out, prior to the actor be- ing drafted. A review of the series in the Washington Post chalked up Eu- gene's departure to the fact that he "doesn't do or say much of anything." We do know that Briles didn't do much acting work after "Big Valley." However, what he did stuck mostly to the western genre. He appeared in a couple of episodes of "Bonanza" and "Pet- ticoat Junction," and he had a small role in the 1969 Elvis Pres- ley movie "The Trouble with Girls." That's particularly unfortunate since "The Big Valley" was such a star-maker for other members of its cast — namely Lee Majors (the eventual Six Million Dollar Man) and future "Dynasty" star Linda Evans. Oscar-nominated sil- ver screen great Barbara Stanw- yck was, of course, already a star before joining "The Big Valley" as the Barkley matriarch. 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 here's just no stopping "Chopped," it seems. The Ted Allen-hosted cooking competition series has been a Food Network favorite since 2009, and it's showing no signs of slowing down. It has more than 300 episodes under its belt, has had well over a doz- en multi-episode special series, and adaptations have been made in both South Africa and Canada. American audiences can even watch "Chopped: Canada" on the American Food Network — that's double the "Chopped!" Well, 16 Chopped Champions have decided that one win isn't enough: they're heading back into the "Chopped" kitchen for a chance at earning the title a sec- ond time. The latest season of "Chopped: Champions" pre- mieres Tuesday, March 29, with 16 past winners returning to face off against each other in this five-episode special competition. The first four episodes each feature four of these champions cooking for a panel of judges in the traditional "Chopped" fash- ion: over the course of three rounds (appetizer, entrée and dessert), they're each given a basket of four mystery ingredi- ents that they must feature in their meal, no matter how eso- teric, out of place or just plain weird those ingredients might be. They're also working under a strict time limit, but the panel of judges isn't forgiving. Whoever they decide has served up the worst dish in each round is chopped from the competition. This is "Chopped: Champi- ons," though — these chefs have already proven that mys- tery ingredients and a fast-mov- ing clock aren't stumbling blocks for them. To give the chefs a bit more of a challenge, the basket ingredients are some of the toughest ever seen in "Chopped." And, to make things even more interesting, each epi- sode also has a theme that these culinary wizards must cook around. In the fifth and final epi- sode of "Chopped: Champions," the winners of the four previous contests finally meet and throw down to determine who is the true Chopped Champion. Winning "Chopped" and be- ing named the Chopped Cham- pion is a dream for many chefs out there, but winning "Chopped: Champions" is an even bigger accomplishment. The special five-episode compe- tition gets underway Tuesday, March 29, on Food Network. This year's judges and host of "Chopped: Champions" Double the glory 'Chopped: Champions' welcomes back past winners 10 | Cooking this week Robin Hood Muffler 2 x 2.5" Noah's Ark 2 x 2" Barkers B&K 1 x 3" Main Street United Methodist 1 x 2" We Are A Smart Choice Foods Distribution Site! 830 S. Main St., Kokomo www.msumc.info • 457.8248 KOKOMO TRIBUNE print | online | mobile kokomotribune.com/ktdailynews YOU'RE INVITED. JOIN OUR DAILY NEWSLETTER NOW! EACH MORNING YOU'LL RECEIVE THE MOST CURRENT NEWS AND INFORMATION TO START YOUR DAY.

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