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December 19 - 25, 2021 WHATS UP! T11 Advance Pest Control 2 x 2 TAKE 5 Solution on page T23 Use the clues above and beside the grid to fill in the squares Gibson Chiro 3 x 2 BY ADAM THOMLISON TV Media Q: One of my family's holi- day traditions is to watch "L.A. Confidential" at Christ- mas. Are we alone? It's hard to find on TV in December. A: You're far from alone in considering the 1997 neo-noir classic "L.A. Confidential" to be a Christmas movie, but it's a bit of a reach. PopSugar.com calls it "Christ- mas-adjacent" and admits that "there's nothing festive about the plot," but the site nonethe- less includes the film in its list of "11 Christmas movies for anyone who hates the holiday season." That's not to say you have to hate the holidays to love the movie, just that it manages to be Christmas-themed without be- ing festive. Set at Christmas and featuring a Bing Crosby-heavy soundtrack with plenty of festive decora- tions, the plot is about a cop re- opening the infamous "Bloody Christmas" police-brutality case (a real event, by the way, in case you weren't already losing your Christmas cheer). This puts it in the same cate- gory as "Die Hard" (1988) and "Lethal Weapon" (1987) — mov- ies that lean into the Christmas trappings without adopting its traditional themes. It's interesting to compare this to, say, 1998's "You've Got Mail," a heartwarming romantic come- dy that's been adopted by many as a Christmas movie despite barely mentioning Christmas at all. Instead, it seems to make the Christmas cut on the strength of its themes of the importance of love, togetherness and family — themes that are almost totally absent from "L.A. Confidential." Q: Why isn't anyone doing more Nero Wolfe movies? Agatha Christie's Poirot keeps getting redone, but I thought Wolfe was every bit as good. A: It would appear that Nero Wolfe is forever doomed to come up just short against Her- cule Poirot; there have been multiple Nero Wolfe films and TV shows, but Poirot got (many) more. And it seems that he'll continue to do so. There are no new Wolfe pro- ductions planned, and there hasn't been one since 2012. Meanwhile, Poirot films and TV shows keep getting made — a lavish new big-screen produc- tion of Agatha Christie's "Death on the Nile" is slated for release next year. In fact, there hasn't been an English-language Wolfe produc- tion since the end of the defini- tive A&E series in 2002. (The 2012 TV series was Italian, and there was a series of Russian telefilms in the late 2000s as well.) Poirot's advantage over Wolfe is borne out in literary-critical circles as well. For example, in 2000, Bouchercon, the well-re- spected convention of mystery fans and creators, nominated Wolfe for its Series of the Centu- ry award, and his author, Rex Stout, for Writer of the Century. In the end, however, the awards went instead to Poirot and his creator, Christie. This runner-up status aside, Wolfe, the heavy-set, reclusive New York detective, is rightly re- garded as a giant (pardon the pun) in the mystery genre. Stout wrote him into dozens of novels and short stories from the 1930s through to the '80s. Even here Wolfe loses out to Poirot, though just barely: Stout wrote 33 Wolfe novels and 41 short stories and novellas. Christie, meanwhile, put her fussy Belgian sleuth into 33 nov- els and 51 short stories (plus a play). Have a question? Email us at questions@tvtabloid.com. Please include your name and town. Personal replies will not be provided. Kim Basinger stars in "L.A. Confidential" HOLLYWOOD Q&A Rogers 479-636-5590 • Springdale 479-756-1788 Eureka Springs 479-253-8967 www.advancepestcontrolnwa.com Family Owned, Competitively Priced, Quality Service Since 1981 PEST CONTROL | TERMITE FERTILIZATION | WEED CONTROL PRE-EMERGENTS 93 West Colt Square, Suite 3 Fayetteville, AR 72703 479-587-0227 www.thegibsoncenter.com Knee Pain, Instability & Potential Loss of Independence Is this concerning to you? $ 49 Special Includes consultation, evaluation & 1 knee rejuvenation session For new patients only This could be you! Is this you?