1) “The Big Bang Theory,” 9:30 p.m., CBS. Some great shows — “Seinfeld” and “Sopranos” and such – have had so-so finals, but not this time. TV’s best comedy departed with wit, warmth and more. Here’s the first half (shown here), with Sheldon and Amy nervously awaiting Nobel news; the rest is next week.. Read more…
Tamron Hall had just blitzed through a rich range of subjects.
She’d invoked the talk-show masters – Oprah and Donahue – plus Mike Douglas and more. She’d ranged from the nobility of her sharecropper grandfather to the day she hung up on her friend Prince.
But she also surprised us cinematically: Her favorite movie now is “Shrek”; her “favorite growing up was ‘Rocky,’ because he got up.”
That’s what she’s done: She got up from her low point – NBC gave her morning hour to Megyn Kelley – and now has a syndicated show, starting Sept. 9 (see www.tamronhallshow.com). Read more…
1) “Country Music: Live at the Ryman,” 8-10 p.m., PBS. Next Sunday, Ken Burns’ brilliant “Country Music” begins. First, here’s a great concert — country’s best songs, done superbly. Many are jet-paced: Ricky Skaggs, Marty Stuart, Vince Gill and other gifted instrumentalists go high-octane. But there are also ballads, sung with heartbreaking passion – a Johnny Cash one by his daughter Roseanne … a Hank Williams one by his granddaughter Holly (shown here in a previous concert) … “Crazy,” sung with stunning power by Rhiannon Giddens. Read more…
Let’s designate this as the ultimate tourist experience:
One day in 2011, Susan Olsen says, a bus had stopped outside the house that used to be shown as the exterior of the “Brady Bunch” home. Tourists looked around at … well, not much. And then …
“The ‘Wienermobile’ pulled up and Cindy Brady got out.” Read more…
1) “Country Music,” 8 p.m. Sunday, PBS, rerunning at 10. Here is Ken Burns at his best – the start of an eight-night documentary that has depth, detail, great music and rich waves of humanity. Dayton Duncan wrote superb narration, supplemented by smart talking-head commentary – especially from Marty Stuart, Dolly Parton and the late Merle Haggard. The opener starts with the 1927 recording sessions that discovered Jimmie Rodgers and the Carter family (shown here), then sees the Grand Ole Opry begin. Read more…
1) “Saturday Night Live,” 11:29 p.m., NBC. As a first-time host, Halsey reflected on when she was a Jersey girl named Ashley Frangipane, watching “SNL” every week. Now, at 24, she’s a mono-named star – and an impressive one. As music guest(shown here) in this rerun, Halsey had some Gaga-esque moments, offering visual and vocal splendor. And as host, she blended into sketches well. It was a night that had a so-so start, then soared, including some clever satires of politicians with blackface pasts. Read more…
Memories of Valerie Harper – fun ones, funny ones – will reach digital TV over the next few days.
The reruns are from “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” and “Rhoda,” Both shows seemed to share the upbeat approach of Harper, who died Friday (Aug. 30) at 80.
“I had a very positive mom,” she said in 2014, adding: “I’ve always thought that life is here to have fun and to meet people …. But this really brings you up short, when you hear that you have limited time.” Read more…
1) “Live From Lincoln Center,” 9-10:30 p.m., PBS. OK, this isn’t live AND it isn’t from the Lincoln Center; other than that, the title is quite accurate. We follow the Chamber Music Society, as it visits and performs in iconic Greek settings (shown here). Classical pieces flow from the Ancient Amphitheater of Larissa, the Church of the Taxiarchon in Pelion and more. Read more…
1) Pro football season-opener, 8:20 p.m. ET , NBC. In 1920, the Decatur Staleys were 10-1-2, almost becoming the first champions of what’s now the National Fooball League. They became champs the next year … then changed their name to the Chicago Bears. The ’21 season was also when the Green Bay Packers joined, creating a fierce rivalry. Now the NFL’s 100th season begins with the 199th game between them. The Packers (led by Aaron Rodgers, shown here) lead 97-95-6, but the Bears, who host, are coming off a 12-4 season. Read more…
A generation ago, Teal Piper (shown here) recalls, wrestling didn’t seem like an equal-opportunity workplace.
“Women were really accessories to the men,” she said. They were there for sex appeal.
She once expressed that opinion to her father – possibly in a snarky, teenager way. “He just let me have it.” He slammed his fist, broke the table, and lectured that women work twice as hard.
It should be mentioned that her dad, the late wrestling star Rowdy Roddy Piper, had table-thumping strength plus social consciousness. “He had three daughters and he was a feminist at heart.” Read more…
