Year: 2020

Daily Best Bets

Best-bets for Nov. 23: Gilmores return, stars dance

1) “Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life,” 8-10 p.m., CW; continues through Thursday. Before triumphing with “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,” Amy Sherman-Palladino infused “Gilmore Girls” with that same blend of deep characters and whip-smart dialog. The show only won one Emmy (“Maisel” already has 20), but ran seven seasons and had this Netflix mini-series. Lorelei is running the inn and her daughter visits. (They’re shown here.) Past co-stars – Melissa McCarthy, Jared Padalecki and Milo Ventimiglia – also appear. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / November 21, 2020
Daily Best Bets

Best-bets for Nov. 22: Music stars and the Grinch

1) “American Music Awards,” 8-11 p.m., ABC. It’s time to link performers, award-show style. Bebe Rexha (shown here) is with Doja Cat, Bad Bunny with Jhay Cortez. Jennifer Lopez is with Colombian star Maluma; Justin Bieber does “Lonely” with Benny Blanco and “Holy” alone, There’s more – Katy Perry (singing “Only Love”), The Weeknd , BTS, Billie Eilish, Lil Nas X, Dua Lipa, Lewis Capaldi, , Lil Baby, Nelly, Megan Thee Stallion, Shawn Mendes, Dan + Shay, Bell Biv DeVoe and Machine Gun Kelly. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / November 20, 2020
Stories

“Black Narcissus”: Worlds collide, high in the Himalayas

If you remake a movie every 70 years or so, you can expect some changes.
One example is “Black Narcissus” (shown here), the sprawling mini-series that airs at 8 p.m. Monday (Nov. 23) on FX, then moves to Hulu.
Based on a 1939 novel, this was a 1947 movie that’s well-liked by movie elite: “My wife (Emily Mortimer) had made a (Martin) Scorsese movie,’” actor Alessandro Nivola said in a Television Critics Association virtual session. “He made ‘Black Narcissus’ required viewing for all of the actors in the movie …. I remember loving it.”
The basic story persists: Nuns travel high in the Himalayas, to revive an abandoned mission. Soon, there are culture clashes, plus jealousy and deep loneliness. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / November 20, 2020
Weekly Previews

Week’s top-10 for Nov. 23: Parade, cartoons and lotsa football

1) “Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade,” 9 a.m. to noon Thursday, NBC, repeats 2-5 p.m. Each year, this marks the start of TV’s Christmas season – this time, a season of change. The fuss of past years (shown here) will be gone. Floats will “parade” for one block, before the NBC cameras. There will be no spectators, no outside bands; some performances will tape in advance. The line-up has Broadway musicals (“Hamilton,” “Mean Girls,” “Get Ready,” “Jagged Little Pill”) and individuals — Dolly Parton, Bebe Rexha, Sofia Carson, Leslie Odom Jr.,, many more. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / November 20, 2020
Daily Best Bets

Best-bets for Nov. 21: “Carol,” “Croods,” classics

1) “A Nashville Christmas Carol,” 8 p.m., Hallmark. TV loves to mix music and romance. Graceland and Dollywood movies have thrived; a new Dolly Parton film (“Christmas On the Square”) arrives Sunday on Netflix. Here’s a movie filled with people who have had No. 1 country hits (Wynonna, Kixx Brooks, Sara Evans) … or might (RaeLyn) … or is married to somone who has them (Kimberly Williams-Paisley). A producer (Jessy Schram, shown here) does a country-music special with her ex-boyfriend, Read more…

By Mike Hughes / November 19, 2020
Daily Best Bets

Best-bets for Nov. 20: old musical, young hacker

1) “Great Performances: Holiday Inn,” 9 p.m. PBS. With a shutdown on Broadway and beyond, we appreciate a vibrant burst of musical memories. This one happens to have a weak story, brightened by some terrific Irving Berlin songs. A 1942 movie told of an inn that’s open only on holidays. Berlin inserted some songs he’d written previously (“White Christmas” and “Easter Parade”) and wrote more. This stage production (shown here) also added his “Blue Skies,” “Cheek to Cheek” and more. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / November 19, 2020
News and Quick Comments

Good news: A new way to see Charlie

The dire prospect of a no-Charlie-Brown season has now eased slightly.
In a last-minute change, two classic cartoons will air at 7:30 p.m. (6:30 Central) on PBS Kids and on some PBS stations. Both are on Sundays:
– Nov. 22: “A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving.”
– Dec. 13: “A Charlie Brown Christmas” (shown here). Read more…

By Mike Hughes / November 19, 2020
Stories

“For Life”: A real-life jailhouse-lawyer story

TV dramas keep returning to the basics – crime, cops, lawyers and doctors.
Still, one variation has been elusive. “People have been trying to make the jailhouse-lawyer show forever and couldn’t crack it,” said writer-producer Hank Steinberg.
His solution was to starf with a real-life example. Now “For Life” (shown here) starts its second season (10 p.m. Wednesdays, starting Nov. 18), making a quick pivot Read more…

By Mike Hughes / November 17, 2020
News and Quick Comments

Cable in 2021? TBS, TNT, TruTV try

After facing a brutal 2020, some cable channels are ready for better things in 2020.
TBS will lasunch the “Go-Big Show” – a competition that may grab cable’s wrestling fans – on Jan. 7. Then TNT will launch the second season of “Snowpiercer” (shown here), its ambitious fantasy drama, Jan. 25. The next day, TBS starts a new season of its “Misery Index” game show.
Eight days later, Tru TV will start the season for its “Impractical Jokers,” followed by the new “Fast Foodies” and “Impractical Jokers: After Party.” Read more…

By Mike Hughes / November 17, 2020
Daily Best Bets

Best-bets for Nov. 19: A 15-year demon hunt ends

1) “Supernatural” series finale, 9 p.m., CW, with preview at 8. For 15 seasons, two brothers(played by  Jared Padalecki, shown here, and Jensen Ackles) have battled demons and intermittently saved the world. In the preview, Eric Kripke says he created the show with “the love of urban legends I’ve had my whole life.” Then he added more. The show, Misha Collins (who plays Castiel) says, has “the most epic mythology humanity can contrive.” We see that in the preview, ranging from angels to Lucifer, from a teen musical to a Scooby-Doo cartoon. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / November 17, 2020