Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen answers reader questions every Wednesday at TribLive.com in a column that also appears in the Sunday Tribune-Review.

Q: Can you explain why “Emmet Otter’s Jug Band Christmas” is not on TV? I’ve searched the Christmas listings for the past several years and it’s never on.

— Carol, via email

Rob: It’s likely because although Disney bought the Muppets, the media behemoth does not own Jim Henson’s much-loved 1977 TV special “Emmet Otter’s Jug-Band Christmas” or another Henson holiday special, “The Christmas Toy.” Disney has plenty of other Christmas shows, including those featuring the Muppets, so why bother paying extra to license “Emmet Otter”?

The good news is “Emmet Otter” is widely available, including for purchase ($9) on DVD, and for free streaming on Tubi.

The special is also included with an Amazon Prime subscription and JustWatch.com lists additional viewing options.

“The Christmas Toy” is included with an Amazon subscription and streams for free at Pluto TV.

Q: Is there any way to see “A Charlie Brown Christmas” on regular TV?

— Dean, via voicemail

Rob: Apple TV licensed the “Peanuts” specials several years ago. I think the first year, they allowed PBS to air the most popular specials, but in recent years, including this year, “A Charlie Brown Christmas” and the other holiday specials have only been available on Apple TV.

Apple does typically make them available for free briefly each holiday season – “A Charlie Brown Christmas” streams free on Apple TV on Dec. 13 and 14, no subscription to Apple TV required – but the program will not air on linear broadcast TV.

The special is available for purchase, including at Amazon.com.

Q: Who is the woman in the Amazon Christmas commercial with older ladies on sleds, the one who makes the purchase looks awfully familiar?

— Donna, via email

Rob: This ad, called “Joy Ride,” was originally released in 2023 and has been re-released this holiday season.

It is nigh impossible to track down the identity of actors in commercials, but after some internet sleuthing, I’m fairly confident, though I can’t guarantee, the woman on the far right side of the bench is Susan Grace, the one in the middle is Annie O’Donnell and the one on the far left who places an Amazon order is Maya Waterman.

Grace has a long list of credits and so does O’Donnell, including an indie film I’d never heard of that filmed locally, 2023’s “Two Lives in Pittsburgh.”

Waterman’s credits are less mainstream, so I have no idea where Donna may have seen her previously.

Q: When will “High Potential” return from hiatus to resolve the season two, episode seven, cliffhanger?

— John, Green Tree

Rob: “High Potential” has its mid-season return at 9 p.m. Jan. 6 on ABC.

Q: Why have the three local news stations changed neighborhood names to things like Upper, Middle Lower Lawrenceville? It has always been just Lawrenceville. I noticed the change happened when the hipsters moved in and house prices went up.

— Kim, via email

Rob: We answered this one before and what a former TV news producer told me is that it’s because reporters and producers are using Google maps to come up with location names. Coincidentally, the use of Internet maps does coincide with the gentrification of Lawrenceville, but the use of more specific neighborhood titles is less about “hipsters” moving in and more about easy access to online maps.

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