Year: 2020

Daily Best Bets

Best-bets for Oct. 27: Strong drama, top documentaries

1) “This Is Us” season-opener, 9-11 p.m., NBC. The best drama on broadcast TV is back – and sooner than originally announced. That has to be a good sign for viewers who want a dab of normalcy. When they last saw, Kevin was furious at Randall (Sterling K. Brown, shown here) for convincing their mother to leave town for an experimental Alzheimer’s treatment; he even blurted that he wishes his parents had never adopted Randall. Now we jump forward a few months, the the 40th birthday for both men and their sister Kate. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / October 25, 2020
News and Quick Comments

Yes, books — real, physical ones — are still an artform

Yes, this is an era of Twitter and Tik Tok and tiny treatises. Thoughts are expressed in 280 characters.
But there’s a flip side to that. “The physical book is alive and well, thank you very much,” Mark Dimunation says in “The Book Makers” (shownhere), which airs Tuesday (Oct. 27) on PBS World and then is at pbs.org.
He should know; he works at the Library of Congress (as head of the rare books division), a place that has 38 million books. There are plenty more coming, as the film finds at the CODEX Book Fair. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / October 25, 2020
Daily Best Bets

Best-bets for Oct. 26: Latino heroes, frantic soulmates

1) “Essential Heroes: A Momento Latino Event,” 9 p.m., CBS. While waiting for its shows to return, CBS is making good use of open spots on its schedule. Two shows – this Latino hour and Thursday’s “Every Vote Counts” –mix music and celebrities. Tonight, Gloria Estefan (shown here in an earlier photo) hosts (with Eva Longoria and Ricky Martin) and sings. Also performing are Pitbull, Juanes, Luis Fonsi and Kelsea Ballerini Read more…

By Mike Hughes / October 24, 2020
Stories

“Undoing”: Lies, murder and a secretive Hugh

As a director, Susanne Bier has been busy muddying the images of stately Englishmen.
First, she cast Hugh Laurie as a cruel arms dealer in “The Night Manager.” Now she has Hugh Grant as a husband clinging to secrets – possibly murder – in “The Undoing,” at 9 p.m. Sundays on HBO.
“I just go for Hughs,” she joked. Such casting can be calculated … or whimsy. There’s “an element of intuitive sense,” she told the Television Critics Association in January. “There is a certain matchmaking fun about it.”
One match was already in place: Nicole Kidman (shown here with Grant) would star and David E. Kelley would produce and write the scripts, adapting a novel. That combination worked for “Big Little Lies,” which drew eight Emmys (including best mini-series and best actress, for Kidman) and eight more nominations. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / October 23, 2020
Weekly Previews

Week’s top-10 for Oct. 26: “This Is Us” leads trio of openers

1) “This Is Us” season-opener, 9-11 p.m. Tuesday, NBC. Here’s a sign that TV is nudging back to normal: The best broadcast-network drama returns – sooner than first announced and with back-to-back episodes. Birthdays are big here – shared by Kevin, Kate and their adopted brother Randall. Now it’s their 40th, amid gloom. Their mom left to try an experimental Alzheimer’s treatment; as last season ended (shown here), Kevin blamed Randall for her decision and blurted out that he wishes his parents never adopted him. It could be tense. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / October 23, 2020
Daily Best Bets

Best-bets for Oct. 25: Old ‘Scream,” new dramas

1) “Scream” (1996), 9-11:30 p.m., CBS. We’re starting the final week (at last) before Halloween, with horror films everywhere. CBS has one of the best (airing a tad later than first planned). It began with a clever script from Kevin Williamson (“Dawson’s Creek”); then Wes Craven directed it beautifully, using a talented, young cast. Drew Barrymore has a great prologue; then the main body of the film stars Neve Campbell (shown here), Courteney Cox, Skeet Ulrich, David Arquette, Rose McGowan and more. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / October 23, 2020
Daily Best Bets

Best-bets for Oct. 24: Big Ten is back; so is Adele

1) “Saturday Night Live,” 11:29 p.m., NBC. After three straight terrific episodes, “SNL” has a sort of diva summit: Adele (shown here) hosts, with H.E.R. as music guest. It’s the first time Adele has hosted “SNL” (or anything else) and only the third time she’s done the show. The first was on Oct. 18, 2008; she was 20 and Americans were about to elect Barack Obama. Now she’s back, shortly before another election. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / October 22, 2020
News and Quick Comments

CBS sets start dates for more shows

By the end of next month, CBS will have most of its fall line-up in place.
The network has just announced five more season-openers – “The Unicorn” on Nov. 12, “Bull” on Nov. 16, “FBI” and “FBI: Most Wanted” on Nov. 17 and “SEAL Team” (shown here) on Nov. 25.
Previously, it announced 10 November starts, ranging from three comedies Nov. 5 to “NCIS” on Nov. 17.
That leaves only five shows in limbo – all three Friday ones (“MacGyver,” “Magnum” and “Blue Bloods”), plus “Evil” and CBS’ only new drama this fall, Queen Latifah in “The Equalizer.” Read more…

By Mike Hughes / October 21, 2020
Daily Best Bets

Best-bets for Oct. 23: A classical master and baseball’s classic

1) “American Masters: Where Now Is,” 9 p.m., PBS. Michael Tilson Thomas was just 24, a California kid descended from cantors and Yiddish-theater stars, when he became assistant conductor of the Boston Symphony. The conductor became ill at intermission and he took over. He became a star … just as Leonard Bernstein once did, in similar circumstances, at 25. Like Bernstein, Thomas (shown here), 75, brings passion and telegenic flair. This film has warm personal moments and others that are mainly for classical buffs. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / October 21, 2020