July 24, 2013 - Beverly Hills, California, U.S. - John C. McGinley arrives for TNT's 25th Anniversary Party at theBeverly Hilton Hotel. (Credit Image: © Lisa O'Connor/ZUMAPRESS.com) (Newscom TagID: zumaglobal097455.jpg) [Photo via Newscom]

Q: Are Jimmy Fallon and Justin Timberlake really the close friends they seem to be when they’re on television together?

— Steve Klein, Stuart, Fla.

A: We’d have to reason it’s pretty tough to fake that degree of camaraderie, and we can base it on a couple of recent examples.

One was the very obvious kick Fallon got out of watching Timberlake imitate him during the “Family Feud” spoof on their December episode of NBC’s “Saturday Night Live,” on which Fallon was the nominal host but Timberlake was much more than the “musical guest” he was billed as.

Also, there was the entire week of “Late Night With Jimmy Fallon” episodes Timberlake did last March on NBC. Of course, there was a professional benefit for him — it was a supersized promotional vehicle for the release of his “20/20 Experience” album — but it also was clear they enjoyed having that much time to “play together.”

Q: Didn’t John McGinley do a Stephen King movie?

— Larry Sikorski, Cudahy, Wis.

A: Close. It actually was an adaptation of the Dean Koontz suspense novel “Intensity,” first televised by Fox in 1997. McGinley played the protagonist who took a serial-killing survivor (Molly Parker) captive.

Q: What was the name of the woman who anchored ABC’s weekend news a few years ago? I haven’t seen her since, and I wonder what she’s doing.

— Sue Brubach, Bridgeport, Ohio

A: You’re likely thinking of Carole Simpson, who retired from ABC News in 2006 and has been teaching journalism at Boston’s Emerson College since. She still appears occasionally on media analysis programs to discuss coverage of stories, and an annual scholarship in her name is offered to minority students by the Radio Television Digital News Association. Her autobiographical book “NewsLady” was published in 2010.

Q: I haven’t seen Grace Park on “Hawaii Five-0” lately. Has she left the show?

— Wayne Carter, Columbus, Ohio

A: No. She actually has resurfaced recently on the CBS crime drama reboot, which reduced the presence of her character, Kono, this season because of story needs. Kono has been on the run following her involvement in an undercover operation to expose corrupt former cops.

Q: How many years has “It’s a Wonderful Life” been an annual Christmas Eve television tradition?

— Mary Stark, Ventura, Calif.

A: Though it had been around on TV before, the Frank Capra-directed 1946 classic really took off as a home-screen staple in the late 1970s and early 1980s, after the basic copyright on the film accidentally had been allowed to lapse. Many outlets then latched onto it, and particularly with the growth of cable, you usually could find some channel starting it every hour on the hour.

That changed in the mid-1990s when Republic Pictures claimed it was the owner of the story (Philip Van Doren Stern’s “The Greatest Gift”) on which the rights to any film version — in other words, “It’s a Wonderful Life” — was based. The claim was supported legally, and a deal was made with NBC to become the exclusive television presenter of the movie.

Q: I’ve read that Katie Couric’s talk show is going off the air. When will that happen?

— Erin Sloan, Buffalo, N.Y.

A: The plan is for it to remain in production until early summer. Since such syndicated talk programs usually have full-season cycles, the run probably will finish out with a couple of months of repeats.

Q: I enjoyed the recent PBS special “How Sherlock Changed the World.” Who was the first actor to play Sherlock Holmes?

— Edward March, Canal Winchester, Ohio

A: Though “Anonymous” is credited with the part in a 1900 short subject titled “Sherlock Holmes Baffled,” the first named actor to portray the legendary literary detective evidently was Gilbert M. “Broncho Billy” Anderson in another short subject, the silent mystery “Adventures of Sherlock Holmes,” five years later.

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