Day: April 18, 2022

Daily Best Bets

Best-bets for April 19: “Black-ish says farewell

(This is slightly out of order; for the April 20 beat-bets, scroll down one.)
1)“Black-isn: finale, 9 p.m., ABC. One of TV’s most important comedies concludes. In its first seven seasons, “Black-ish” received 25 Emmy nominations, including four for best comedy series. It has Peabody and American Film Institute awards, a Television Critics Association win for best comedy and a Golden Globe for Tracee Ellis Ross, who stars with Anthoy Anderson (they’re shown here). Tonight, with his parents leaving and his kids pondering college, he considers a change … and gets advice from gymnast Simone Biles. That’s followed at 9:31 by “Black-ish: A Celebration.” Read more…

By Mike Hughes / April 18, 2022
Daily Best Bets

Best-bets for April 20: fact and fierce fiction

1) ”Snowfall” season-finale, 10 p.m., FX, rerunning at 11:11, 12:22, 1:33. “There might be a problem,” one character says, late in this high-octane episode. You think? By that point, there are huge problems for everyone. For just a moment, things seemed fine: After splitting from Teddy, Franklin (shown here in a previous episode) was in love, in real estate and maybe leaving the drug world. Then came crescendos of deceit, rage and violence. Intense and powerfully acted, this sends the show in fresh directions next season. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / April 18, 2022
News and Quick Comments

Here’s the schedule for Earth Day TV

As Earth Day arrives (Friday, April 22), the streaming networks and PBS are piling up specials. Here’s a round-up.
COMING UP
–Wednesday (April 20), then at pbs.org and the PBS Video app: PBS has “Changing Planet” at 8 p.m., launching a seven-year effort to study key areas. “Earth Emergency” follows at 10.
— Friday: Three films debut on Disney+ (see separate story). “Polar Bear” (shown here) is from the DisneyNature people, whose lush films are usually in theaters the week of Earth Day. The others are from National Geographic: “Explorer: The Last Tepui” follows Alex Honnold (the climber of “Free Solo” fame), as he leads a climb up a 1,000-foot cliff, so a botanist can study an “island in the sky.” Also, “The Biggest Little Farm: The Return” revisits John and Molly Chester, city people creating an eco-friendly farm in California. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / April 18, 2022
Stories

Earth Day? It will be big on our TV screens

The first Earth Day of the Covid years brought a bright-eyed, bright-skies novelty. In Northern India, for instance, people were delighted; for the first time, they could see the Himalayas.
The second pandemic Earth Day even brought a film about slowed-down world: “The Year the Earth Changed” saw nature rebounding vibrantly.
Now comes the third one (shown here with climber Alex Honnold on Disney+). Filmmaking has been difficult, but there’s still a big, ambitious line-up — see separate list under “news and quick comments” — on PBS and the streaming channels. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / April 18, 2022