You have questions. I have some answers.

Q: Three things get my goat when I watch cop/law shows. The first is that when the police or FBI are going to get a suspect, they yell their name from half a block away, and a chase ensues. Why don’t they just sneak up on them and grab them? Second, when they go to a suspect’s house, most of the time the back door isn’t covered. They break down the front door, see the suspect go out the back, chase ensues. Third, it’s so obvious that when a character gets coffee, or buys coffee, and it’s in a paper cup, there is nothing in there. There was one instance when the lawyer just got the coffee and was walking and talking and swinging the cup back and forth. Maybe I watch too much TV. LOL.

A: I hear you. Your first complaint is one my wife often mentions. As for the second, I have seen some shows where the back door is covered. And, as you know, sometimes those coffee cups are full — if only so they can be spilled on a character dressed for an important meeting. I also have a mental list of overused phrases, including, “Wait, I’ve got something” in any investigation, and “I’m just going to have a conversation with him” before a beating or worse. Unimaginative writing can wear us all out. But doesn’t that also make us more aware of really good writing?

Q: In the early 1960s, in a small-city drive-in, we saw a movie called “Ladybug Ladybug,” showing the world being destroyed by an atomic bomb. At the end, two teenagers climbed into an old icebox, closing the lid after they saw a huge flash of light — leading viewers to believe they would suffocate and die. Did I remember the title correctly? Is it still available for viewing?

A: There is indeed a movie called “Ladybug Ladybug,” from 1963, which follows young people after the threat of a nuclear attack. Eleanor Perry wrote the script, and her then-husband Frank Perry directed. The cast included Nancy Marchand, Estelle Parsons and William Daniels. But some of the details are different than you remember – including the refrigerator scene, which involves only one child.

The movie has been released on DVD and Blu-ray, and you may be able to find it in your local library; I just saw it listed at mine. There is also a good-looking print on YouTube.

Q: No matter what I do, I cannot find “Mr. Brooks,” starring Kevin Costner. It was such a complicated movie and totally out of character for Costner. Do you know how I can find it and play it?

A: The film starring Costner as a serial killer met with a mixed reaction when it premiered in 2007, but it has not disappeared. I found it on Paramount+, and there has been a DVD release.

Q: I remember as a young boy a program on TV called “Tales of Tomorrow” and a program called “Lights Out.” Is there a way of getting them?

A: For those of you tuning in late, “Tales of Tomorrow” was a science-fiction series that originally aired on ABC in 1951-53, making it one of the earliest sci-fi shows, according to “The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows.” “Lights Out,” which began as a radio show, was a series of suspense and supernatural stories, airing on NBC in 1949-52. I have found episodes of both shows on YouTube. The quality isn’t great — but just think of them as like the way you might have first seen them, scratchy arrivals via rabbit ears.
There have also been DVD sets of “Tales of Tomorrow.”

Tribune News Service