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TV Media Weekly | July 15 - 21, 2017 By Adam Thomlison TV Media Q: Will "The Crimson Field" on PBS ever be back? A: Sadly, no, World War I medi- cal drama was canceled after its first season in 2014 and won't be returning. It's always tricky to tell with these PBS/BBC shows — the net- works are never clear about whether the shows are miniseries or regular series with short sea- sons (the first season only had six episodes). They also don't con- form to any kind of annual sched- ule — years can go by between "seasons" of a British show. However, the fact that "The Crimson Field" was canceled, and that there could have been more seasons, was confirmed by series writer Sarah Phelps, who wrote on Twitter that she was "gutted" to learn that her show had been axed. British news site Radio Times reported at the time that she had planned for four more seasons, to match the years of the war — the first season took place in 1914. In fact, the show was part of the BBC's long list of war-cente- nary programming, which it launched in 2014. "'The Crimson Field' was our landmark drama series that launched the start of the BBC's World War I coverage. We are very proud of 'The Crim- son Field' and hugely grateful to all those who worked so hard on it." It went on to say, however, that it was canceling the show "in order to create space for new shows and to keep increasing the variety of BBC One drama." Q: Has "Robot Chicken" ever been sued by any of the celebrities it makes fun of so freely? A: Not yet, or at least not suc- cessfully enough that we've heard about it. Irreverent stop- motion sketch series "Robot Chicken" has gotten away with what it does for 12 years now be- cause what it does is considered parody and is thus covered under the somewhat vague "fair use" rules in American copyright law. Lawyer Cliff Ennico wrote a column for the media distribu- tion company Creators Syndicate specifically addressing "Robot Chicken" and fair use. The idea of protecting parody under the law is that it is "trans- formative" — it is not an at- tempt to make money from con- fusion with an original, copy- righted work or image, but rather to create something new from such material. Have a question? Email us at questions@tvtabloid.com. Please include your name and town. Personal replies will not be provided. Hollywood Q&A By Andrew Warren TV Media I n my kitchen, cakes aren't exactly art. Oh, they're al- ways moist and most defi- nitely delicious, but the fanci- est decoration I can handle is a drizzled ganache, and maybe some sprinkles. We've all seen real works of pastry art, though, whether they're in display win- dows at a downtown bakery, a towering testament at a big wedding celebration or a cre- ation shown off in shows like "Cake Wars." At Sideserf Cake Studio in Austin, Texas, though, they're all about taking artful cakes to the next level. The small bakery has earned national attention over the years — so much, in fact, that it has earned its own Food Network show, "Texas Cake House," which premiered its sec- ond season just last week and currently airs Monday evenings. You can catch a new episode Monday, July 17. For cake artist Natalie Side- serf, cakes aren't just pretty things to eat — they're the me- dium of her art. She doesn't just decorate her sweet creations, she sculpts them into beautiful, inspired and sometimes grue- some sculptures (her husband is a big horror movie fan) that wouldn't look out of place in an art museum. Speaking of her husband, Dave quit his day job when Nat- alie's cake business really took off, and now supports her busi- ness full time. "Texas Cake House" isn't just about the in- credible cakes and the many hours that go into the creation of each and every one. It's also a look at what really goes on behind the scenes when cou- ples go into business together, as they work their way through all the ups and downs of the workplace and the stresses of owning a business. It's that personal touch and connection between its stars that really makes "Texas Cake House" so special. It's far from the first show about a successful bakery ("Ace of Cakes" is probably one of the better-known series of its kind), but no other show features the magic of a young couple that's very much in love working side by side to fulfill their dream — and what a sweet dream it is! Join Natalie and Dave Sideserf in their Austin cake studio in "Texas Cake House," airing Mondays on Food Network. Dessert becomes art in 'Texas Cake House' 10 | Cooking this week Sunspot 2 x 2" Vicker's Graphics 2 x 1.5" Tech Repairadise 2 x 1.5" Natalie and Dave Sideserf as seen in "Texas Cake House"

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