Year: 2021

Stories

Yes, she’s still sorta spunky, sorta Punky

Most child actors nudge cautiously into interviews.
Handlers lurk nearby. Producers and co-stars show up to do most of the talking.
None of that was needed when “Punky Brewster” began in 1985. Soleil Moon Frye, 8, strode in alone; she soon was talking to reporters about everything from horror movies to footware.
Her show lated four years and Frye then faded from attention; most young actors do. But now a new “Punky Brewster” series (shown here) arrives Thursday (Feb. 25) on the Peacock streaming service, with Frye still in the title role, now as a mom. “Punky is such a part of me,” she told the Television Critics Association. “I don’t know where I end and she begins.” Read more…

By Mike Hughes / February 23, 2021
Daily Best Bets

Best-bets for Feb. 25: lots of laughs, tad of drama

1) “Mom,” 9 p.m., CBS. Last week, Jill — rich, single and flirty met Bonnie’s therapist Trevor — poor, divorcing and clumsy. (He’s shown here at a previous low point, dealing with Bonnie in sparse quarters. Jill was enamored … and Bonnie was dismayed. Now the relationship grows; that means more scenes with Rainn Wilson (“The Office”) as Trevor, which is “”Mom” at its best. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / February 23, 2021
Daily Best Bets

Best-bets for Feb. 24: Dramas are messy and/or funny

1) “Snowfall” season-opener, 10 p.m. to midnight, FX; also, midnight and 2 a.m. When this show started, Franklin and Melody (shown here) were college-bound kids, smart and diligent. When the third season ended, he was big in the drug boom of 1980s Los Angeles; she was an addict who shot him. Then viewers had to wait; 17 months later, we finally get more. She vanished; he barely survived and is trying to end the chaos. This is beautifully written and filmed, but way too harsh for many viewers. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / February 22, 2021
Stories

It’s a culture shock for Lois Lane … and for the actors

Superman, of course, has a big city to protect.
Metropolis needs him; sometimes, the whole world does. The Daily Planet may need Clark Kent, too.
But Clark is still a Kansas kid; now the new “Superman & Lois” series (shown here) nudges him back home to Smallville. The show debuts at 8 p.m. Tuesday (Feb. 23) on CW, reruns at 9 p.m. Saturday (Feb. 27) on TNT, then settles into a CW spot at 9 p.m. Tuesdays.
“We talked a lot about shows like ‘Everwood’ and ‘Friday Night Lights’ and (a small-town) family drama that had Superman in it,” writer-producer Todd Helbing told the Television Critics Association. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / February 21, 2021
Daily Best Bets

Best-bets for Feb. 23: Superman, super workshops

1) “Superman & Lois” debut, 9-10:30 p.m., CW. Yes, Superman (shown here) has a whole city (Metropolis) – and a whole world – to protect. But at the core, he’s still a Kansas kid; in this well-crafted opener, he’s tugged back home with his family. His wife, Lois Lane, is still a star reporter, but his own newspaper job is wobbling. They have twin boys – one a top athlete, the other brainy and reclusive – who don’t know their dad’s secret … and might develop his superpowers. Now their lives will transform Read more…

By Mike Hughes / February 21, 2021
Stories

In the pandemic, makers, fixers and gamers thrive

Amid the economic gloom of the pandemic, there are still some fields doing better than ever.
They range from gamers to fix-it folks to streaming services. That’s been clear during the Television Critics Association’s winter sessions – which are conducted via Zoom, another growth area.
One show locked into the trend is Tim Allen’s “Assembly Required (shown here), at 10 p.m. Tuesdays on the History Channel, starting Feb. 23). “A pandemic, forcing us to be in our homes, … gives people the free time,” said April Wilkerson, the show’s do-it-yourself expert. People are “putting it into using their hands.”
Some boom areas include: Read more…

By Mike Hughes / February 21, 2021
Daily Best Bets

Best-bets for Feb. 22: a soulful, dramatic night

1) “Independent Lens: Mr. Soul!” 10 p.m., PBS. Back in 1968, variety shows had … well, little variety. They were mostly white, mostly mainstream. Then “Soul” debuted on public-TV, reflecting the range of host Ellis Haizlip (shown here). It had Stevie Wonder, Gladys Knight and Patti LaBelle, but it also had jazz, poets and philosophy. Nikki Giovanni talked to James Baldwin; Haizlip talked to Louis Farrakhan and Stokely Carmichael. This vibrant film (by Melissa Haizlip, Ellis’ niece) ends with waves of emotion. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / February 20, 2021
Daily Best Bets

Best-bets for Feb. 21: Is it Christmas already?

1) “All Creatures Great and Small” season-finale, 9 p.m., PBS. On Christmas Eve, nerves are tattered. The widowed Siegfried frets about courtship … his brother (shown here) suspects the veterinary school has flunked him … their housekeeper wonders if her son will visit … and James, the new vet, is forlorn: He never told Helen he loves her; now she has a Christmas Day wedding. Each of these stories is written and acted with subtle skill; it’s a great finish to a good first season. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / February 19, 2021
Weekly Previews

Week’s top-10 for Feb. 22: from “Snowfall” grit to Globes glitter

1) Golden Globe awards, 8 p.m.ET Sunday, with red-carpet at 7, NBC, (on the West Coast, 5 p.m. PT, repeating at 8. Tina Fey and Amy Poehler (shown here in a previous year) again host — but on opposite coasts. Fey’s in New Yorik, Poehler in Los Angeles. Viewers might not recognize many of the nominated movies, but may know the TV shows – all of them from cable or streaming: The nominated dramas are “The Crown,” “The Mandalorian,” “Ozark,” “Ratched” and “Lovecraft Country”; the comedies are “Emily in Paris,” “The Great,” “Ted Lasso,” “The Flight Attendant” and “Schitt’s Creek. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / February 19, 2021
Daily Best Bets

Best-bets for Feb. 20: Fun fiction or tough true tales

1) “The Long Island Serial Killer: A Mother’s Hunt for Justice,” 8-10:03 p.m., Lifetime. For its 400th original movie, Lifetime went to some familiar names. This is written by John Pielmeier, who has had four Broadway plays (including “Agnes of God”) and three Humanitas nominations (winning for TV’s “Choices of the Heart”). Kim Delaney (shown here), an Emmy-winner, plays a mom trying to nudge police into action. It’s a solidly crafted film, with a real-life story that has odd surprises, but no convenient finish. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / February 18, 2021