Month: October 2021

Best-bets for Oct. 4: crisis in LA, turning point on “The Voice”

1) “9-1-1,” 8 p.m. , Fox. Los Angeles life has been rough lately. The season’s first episode had a ransomware attack; the second had a citywide blackout. Now the blackout continues; the rapist who attacked Athena (Angela Bassett,shown hee in a previous episode) has escaped; Athena races to protect her family. And Maddie (Jennifer Love Hewitt), struggling with postpartum depression, makes a big decision. Read more…

Rita Moreno: A chaotic career goes forever

Rita Moreno’s movie career has lasted approximately forever.
She was 18 when her first film, the soon-forgotten “So Young, So Bad,” opened. And her newest one?
That’s Steven Spielberg’s “West Side Story,” on Dec. 10. “On Dec. 11, I’ll be 90 …. The planets are aligned,” she told the Television Critics Association.
That’s a 72-year span, highlighted in a documentary at 9 p.m. Tuesday (Oct. 5) on PBS. It’s a story in which her role in the original, 1961 “West Side Story” movie (shown here) takes a key spot. Read more…

Best-bets for Oct. 3: Two seasons end, one begins

1) “Grantchester” season-opener, 9 p.m., PBS. On one level, this is an uncommonly bright hour: The crimesolving vicar vacations at a summer resort with his housekeeper (plus her husband), his curate (plus his secret lover) and his Geordie (they’re shown here) the cop (plus wife and kids). A solid murder mystery ensues – while planting the seeds for wrenching moments in the weeks ahead. There’s a lot of that sometimes; the “Call the Midwife” season-opener, at 8 p.m., is exceptionally grim. Read more…