Day: July 29, 2022

Daily Best Bets

Best-bets for July 31: Archie, Rev. Will and raging Jackie Rohr

1) “City on a Hill” season-opener, 10 p.m., Showtime. Jackie Rohr is one of TV’s great characters, an FBI agent rippling with intelligence and rage. As last season ended (14 months ago), corruption probes grew and he turned in his badge. Now he’s near-bottom — to the delight of an honest prosecutor. Perfectly played by Kevin Bacon and Aldis Hodge (shown here), these two are great opposites. This opener also has strong moments for Corben Bernsen and Ernie Hudson. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / July 29, 2022
Stories

PBS: It’s not young and wild, but sorta trying

As reporters waited for PBS’ virtual press conferences to begin, a pop song boomed out. Over and over (18 times in all) the Strumbellas declared: “I’m young and wild.”
An interesting song choice. “Young” and “wild” are things we keep assuming that PBS people are not.
By image, at least, PBS viewers are old and tame and secretly English. They watch “Antique Roadshow,” conduct antique lives and grumble about Sundays without “Downton Abbey.” Their hero (David Attenborough, 96) would even be considered elderly on CBS.
That image, however, collides with the PBS shows and goals. The network is often diverse — from Chuck D (shown here) to a Mexican-American cartoon heroine —  and occasionally youthful. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / July 29, 2022