In “Saving Private Ryan” (shown here), D-Day filled 21 minutes; in “The Longest Day,” it filled three hours.Still, these movies – separated by 36 years and huge leaps in cinema – had the same effect: They showed the horror and triumph of the day that marked the beginning of the end of Europe’s nightmare.As Thursday’s milestone — the 75th anniversary of D-Day – nears, we can see both on cable. Here’s a sampling: Read more…
1) “MasterChef Junior” finale, 8-10 p.m., Fox. This began with 24 home chefs – all talented and all ages 8-13. Now we have the final three, each 11. Che Spiotta is from Boiceville, NY,, in the Catskills … Malia Brauer is from Santa Clarita, Cal. … Ivy Angst (shown here with Gordon Ramsay) is from Atlanta and especially interesting: Going by Little Chef Ivy, she’s 3-foot-6, with a form of dwarfism that causes short limbs. She masters the kitchen, with the help of a stool; now she has a shot at a $100,000 prize. Read more…
1) “The Bachelorette,” 8 p.m., ABC. Life is much easier for the guys who gets one-on-one dates with Hannah Brown: One gets a mini-concert by country star Jake Owen; the other strolls around Boston, drinks in the “Cheers” bar … and plays basketball with two Celtics (Jaylen Brown and Terry Roszier) in their arena. The other guys? They have a rugby game (shown here) that sends one to the hospital. Read more…
For the next couple months, it seems, our TV sets will be space-crazy.
And it won’t end there. The National Geographic Channel has just announced a “The Right Stuff” series that will begin next year.
Most of this is keyed to July 20, the 50th anniversary of the moon landing. ABC already featured that in its “1969” series …. PBS has declared this its “Summer of Space” … and cable channels are piling on. Read more…
1) “Burden of Truth” season-opener, 8 p.m., CW. For summertime, the old “Supergirl” slot goes to … well, to the former Lana Lang. That’s the role Kristin Kreuk had in “Smallville”; she went on to “Beauty and the Beast” and then to this role as a tough lawyer. In the first season (shown here) she and Billy (Peter Mooney) won millions for teens in her old home town. Now she’s in a big city, Billy isn’t … and neither is happy. There’s potential, but Kreuk pushes her stern facade to a stony extreme. Read more…
1) “The Handmaid’s Tale” (any time Wednesday, Hulu) and “Big Little Lies” (9 p.m. Sunday, HBO). Two years ago, these dominated the Emmys. “Handmaid” won for best drama series, “Lies” for best mini-series. Their stars, Elisabeth Moss and Nicole Kidman, also won. “Handmaid” and Moss won again last year; as the third season arrives, she’d seeking ways to rebel. “Lies” took last year off, but returns with a new mystery and its old stars (Kidman, Reese Witherspoon and Shailene Woodley, shown here) … plus Meryl Streep. Read more…
1) “Wedding at Graceland,” 9-11 p.m., Hallmark. Six months ago, “Christmas in Graceland” had two aspiring musicians (Kellie Pickler and Wes Brown, shown here) fall in love at Elvis Presley’s former home, with Elvis’ holiday songs on the soundtrack. It was a ratings hit, so now they’re back … and have just three weeks to plan a Graceland Chapel wedding. There’s lots of Presley here – Priscilla plays herself, Lee Brice sings an Elvis song and we’ll hear more Elvis on the soundtrack. Read more…
Let’s forget any notion of summertime silliness.
This weekend (May 31 to June 2) has some important chances to ponder the past and present, in non-fiction and fiction. And all of these will be around afterward; consider: Read more…
There’s a special quality to Ruth Westheimer.
You could call it puckish or pixie-like or impish. She prefers “joie de vivre” and “zest for life.”
By any name, it’s impressive. Here is a tiny (4-foot-7) woman with a genial face and a quick wit. As milestones approach – a documentary Saturday on Hulu, three days before she tuns 91 – she seems downright joyous, whether giving sex advice or just having fun.
“I tell everybody not to retire, but to rewire,” Westheimer said. “And I’ve been very fortunate that I’m very healthy. I skied until a few years ago.” Read more…
1) “Blindspot” season-finale, 8 and 9 p.m., NBC. Let’s be happy with leftovers. The official TV season ended nine days ago, but “Blindspot” still had three episodes left – one last Friday and two tonight. In this first hour, Dominic starts to enact Madeline’s cataclysmic scheme. In the second, the team (including Sullivan Stapleton, shown here, as Weller, tries to stop an attack from spreading. Then the fifth and final season waits until mid-season. Read more…
