Day: July 6, 2020

News and Quick Comments

“Stargirl,” a summer surprise, is renewed

Right now, we’re short of good news and of new, scripted shows in the summertime.
So here’s something that combines both: “Stargirl” (shown here) has just been renewed for next season.
The show was created for the DC Universe streaming service, then set a two-part plan: Each week this summer, a new episode reaches DC on Mondays, then airs at 8 p.m. Tuesdays on CW.
The result has been a pleasant surprise, with smart writing and sharp casting. It still has six more episodes for this summer … and now more: For next year, DC Universe will drop out; CW will air each episode first, then move it to its next-day streamers. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / July 6, 2020
News and Quick Comments

More Reiner tributes on the way

The first phase of TV’s Carl Reiner tribute has finished now, but there’s much more on the way.That includes “Dick Van Dyke Show” reruns on digital networks and Hulu, plus five movies July 28 on cable’s Turner Classic Movies.
That first phase included CBS rerunning two “Van Dyke” episodes that had color added by computer. One of them – Laura (Mary Tyler Moore) accidentally tells the world that her husband’s boss Alan Brady (Reiner) wears a toupee – was hilarious. The other – a nude painting of Laura, who had posed fully clothed – was only so-so; it was apparently chosen strictly because Reiner played the artist.That toupee episode reran Sunday on the digital MeTV network and will run yet again at 10 p.m. this Friday (July 10) on the digital Decades TV. And you can catch all of the “Van Dyke” episodes on Hulu.

Other tributres continue, That includes: Read more…

By Mike Hughes / July 6, 2020
Daily Best Bets

Best-bets for July 8: Tough folks, real and sci-fi

1) “Tough as Nails” debut, 8 and 9 p.m., CBS. Here is tough-guy Americana – a retired Marine with four combat tours, a scaffold-builder, two firemen and more. And here are tough women, too – a farmer, a welder, an ironworker … and Michelle Kiddy (shown here), baggage-handler who is 62 and described as “5-foot-nothing.” That’s the charm of this working-skills show. which Phil Keoghan co-produces (with his wife), directs and hosts. The bad news is the repetition of cliches; the good news is a solid human core. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / July 6, 2020
Stories

The Vidal sisters shared some joy … temporarily

Last year, there was joy in the Vidal world.
Both sisters were cast in ABC pilots. “We freaked out,” Christina Vidal told the Television Critics Association in January.
Their shows got orders as mid-season replacements. She and Lisa went to New York for the “upfronts,” when actors meet advertisers. “It was like the biggest, craziest party in New York …. It was so exciting, a dream come true.”
And then? By coincidence, both halves of the dream faded. Lisa Vidal’s “The Baker and the Beauty” ran this spring, got weak ratings and was canceled; Christina’s “United We Fall” (shown here) fell into limbo and then into the summertime Read more…

By Mike Hughes / July 6, 2020