Q: I've been watching the CW show "Arrow," and the name of one of the characters sounds familiar. I don't know how to spell it, but it sounds like "Ghoul." Anyway, wasn't he a villain in one of the Batman movies?
Ra's al Ghul was indeed the villain in "Batman Begins" (2005), the first in the recent series of films in which Christian Bale starred as the Caped Crusader. What you've hit on here is the fact that Batman and "Arrow's" main character, Oliver Queen, inhabit the same fictional universe.
Both started as comic book characters before ever going on screen. In the DC Comics series, Oliver Queen's superhero alter-ego was named Green Arrow.
Bride By Design, on TLC
Cameras follow Alabama-based bridal designer Heidi Elnora as she sketches and sews to create the perfect dresses for her clients. The series debut shines the spotlight on bride-to-be Tia, who wants to stand out among her fellow baseball wives with two dresses.
Bones, on Fox
The murder of a local psychic sends the Jeffersonian team spiralling into the world of fortune tellers in this new episode. Bones (Emily Deschanel) and Booth (David Boreanaz) look to a psychic, Avalon Harmonia (Cyndi Lauper), for help in solving the case.
Chicago P.D., on NBC
Hank Voight (Jason Beghe) leads an elite team of officers in a new episode of the Dick Wolf drama. The team includes by-the-book Det. Antonio Dawson (Jon Seda), former bad girl Erin Lindsay (Sophia Bush) and undercover veteran Alvin Olinsky (Elias Koteas).
Q: Why are all the hosts of BBC's "Top Gear" wearing flags on their lapels? It looks like the flag of Texas but not quite.
You must have been watching the first episode of season 22, when all three hosts wore lapel pins of the Chilean flag.
There was no official announcement, or even an unofficial one from notoriously loose-lipped host Jeremy Clarkson, but the pins were likely a subtle thank you to Chile, which helped the "Gear"-heads out of a significant jam back in October.
One Big Happy, on NBC
Lizzy (Elisha Cuthbert) is thrown for a loop when Prudence (Kelly Brook) moves into the apartment in this new episode. With Prudence's boxes and belongings piling up, Lizzy is pressed to clean her ex's things out of a closet.
2 Broke Girls, on CBS
Aspiring cupcake queens Max (Kat Dennings) and Caroline (Beth Behrs) lean on each other when the going gets tough. The unlikely friends work together at a diner where they’re surrounded by their colorful “work family."
Q: Is A&E's "Rodeo Girls" toast? I used to run the barrel races as a kid and really enjoyed these ladies and all their drama and adventures.
It's a little hard to say, but it's looking like "Rodeo Girls" has taken its last trip around the barrels.
The show's long-term prospects were muddy to begin with. Though A&E officially announced it as a "six-episode series" before its premiere in December 2013, the show's official website lists those six episodes as being part of season 1, suggesting that there was at least the possibility of a season 2.
Late Laughs for the week of March 22 - 28, 2015
Conan: Conan O'Brien
Last night, Alejandro González Iñárritu won Best Director and Best Picture for “Birdman.” I don't have a joke here, I just wanted to impress you with my sensual pronunciation of "Alejandro González Iñárritu."
During her acceptance speech last night, Patricia Arquette did call for equal pay for women. Then, Oprah stood up and said: "She's right, I can't live like this."
New Releases for the week of March 22 - 28
Into the Woods
Based on the award-winning Broadway musical of the same name, a star-studded ensemble cast brings classic fairy tales to life. A villainous witch (Streep) offers to remove a wretched curse from a baker (Corden) and his wife (Blunt), but only if they retrieve four special items for her. Their quest brings them to meet some of the most legendary fairy tale characters, including the beanstalk-climbing Jack (Huttlestone), Cinderella (Kendrick), Little Red Riding Hood (Crawford) and Rapunzel (Mauzy). With the help of the baker and his wife, they each end up with the happy ending that they were looking for. But, as time goes on, they all realize that what at first might seem like a happy ending can actually have rather unhappy consequences.
Director: Rob Marshall. Stars: James Corden, Emily Blunt, Meryl Streep, Daniel Huttlestone, Lilla Crawford, Anna Kendrick, Mackenzie Mauzy. 2014. 125 min. Fantasy.
Unbroken
Based on a true story, this Academy Award-nominated film documents the shocking conditions of Japan's Second World War prisoner of war camps. Louie Zemperini (O'Connell) is a former Olympian, now operating as a bombardier in the Pacific theater against the Japanese. When he and his crew are sent on a rescue mission, their own plane crashes and they end up being captured by the enemy and put in PoW camps. There, his fame as an Olympian draws unwanted and violent attention from a Japanese corporal (Ishihara), who delights in trying to break this American hero.
Director: Angelina Jolie. Stars: Jack O'Connell, Takamasa Ishihara, Domhnall Gleeson, Garrett Hedlund. 2014. 137 min. Drama.
Confessions of a Prodigal Son
A modern retelling on the classic story of the prodigal son. A rebellious son leaves his family and home behind on his own journey of self-discovery. Along the way, he meets a professor who challenges everything that he thought he knew about how the world works, and makes him realize that, no matter what, everyone should get a second chance.
Director: Allan Spiers. Stars: Kevin Sorbo, Tanya Chisholm, Michael Bolten, Creagen Dow, Nathan Clarkson. 2015. Drama.