Month: November 2022

Daily Best Bets

Best-bets for Nov. 26: Awards show nudges cartoons aside

1) “TheGrio Awards,” 8-10 p.m., CBS. In a late switch, CBS has pushed two Christmas cartoons to next Saturday. Instead, it debuts these awards for Black icons (plus “Jeffersons” producer Norman Lear). Patti LaBelle (shown here) will sing and receive an award. Also singing are Yolanda Adams, Tyrese and Fantasia. Other awardees are Dave Chappelle, Jennifer Hudson, Kenan Thompson, Queen Latifah, Tyler Perry, Ben Crump, Allyson Felix and more. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / November 24, 2022
News and Quick Comments

Here’s an all-inclusive (almost) list of Christmas TV

When the Thanksgiving Day parade (shown here) begins, one thing will be clear: TV’s Christmas season has begun.
Yes, some cable channels have slipped in some new movies early. They’re like that.
But the rush begins on Nov. 24-27. During those four days, the Christmas line-up includes at least 20 new cable or streaming movies … three new music specials … one new cartoon special, plus eight classics (including “Grinch” and “Frosty”) … and a few classic big-screen movies, including “Wizard of Oz” (twice), “Polar Express” (twice) and all-day marathons of “Elf” and “Christmas Vacation.”
And all of that is before the Freeform channel starts its annual “25 Days of Christmas” rush. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / November 24, 2022
Daily Best Bets

Best-bets for Nov. 25: Grinch, Frosty, Josh, more

1) “How the Grinch Stole Christmas,” 8 p.m., NBC. One of TV’s greatest half-hours(shown here) sprang from a convergence of genius. Dr. Seuss wrote the witty story and Chuck Jones – a mastermind behind Bugs Bunny and the Road Runner – animated it brilliantly. Boris Karloff narrated and Thurl Ravenscroft (the voice of Tony the Tiger) sang about a mean one, Mr. Grinch. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / November 23, 2022
Weekly Previews

Week’s top-10 for Nov. 28: a three-reindeer week … and more

1) “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” and more. For 58 years, Rudolph has been TV’s top reindeer; now CBS has a three-deer week. “Rudolph” airs at 8 p.m. Tuesday, followed at 9 by the debut of “Reindeer in Here” (shown here). The bumbling Bliz (Adam Devine) may have ruined Christmas; he tries to save it, with the help of his oversharing friend and a lonely boy. And the witty “Robbie the Reindeer,” bumped last week by an awards show, is 8 p.m. Saturday. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / November 22, 2022
Daily Best Bets

Best-bets for Nov. 24: Parade launches Christmas season

1) Thanksgiving Day parade, 9 a.m. to noon, NBC and CBS (but on the West Coast, CBS will delay until about 1 p.m. PT. The mega-parade has 12 bands, lots of balloons and 28 floats, often with stars onboard. It will be Jimmy Fallon with the Roots, Mario Lopez with his family, Gloria Estefan with her daughter and granddaughter and Santa (shown here) wrapping things up. Near the start, NBC has the Broadway casts of “Funny Girl,” “The Lion King,” “A Beautiful Noise” and “Some Like It Hot”; CBS counters with the casts of “Moulin Rouge” and “Six.” Read more…

By Mike Hughes / November 22, 2022
News and Quick Comments

Quick change: Award show will be Saturday (Nov. 26)

There’s a new awards show coming – quickly. And some Christmas cartoons will be delayed to make room.
In an unusually speedy move, CBS announced that it will air “Byron Allen Presents TheGrio Awards,” from 8-10 p.m. Saturday (Nov. 26) on the network and on Paramount+. The shows that had been scheduled then — “Robie the Reindeer” and “The Story of Santa Claus” – will move back a week, to Dec. 3.
Allen, 61, is a former comedian and actor who has become one of the major Black owners in the TV world. His company owns The Weather Channel plus regional sports channels, digital channels, TV stations and shows.
Now he’s created awards that will go to Black icons (including Dave Chappelle, shown here) and to Norman Lear, the 100-year-old producer known for “All in the Family,” “The Jeffersons: and more. “Grio” is based on a word for an African storyteller. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / November 21, 2022
News and Quick Comments

New Christmas movies: Here are the best (and worst)

Sure, all those cable Christmas movies look the same.
They have the same sunny faces, same glittery settings, same songs (public-domain, no problem getting rights) in the background.
But once you get past that, they vary widely. There are some good ones (really); that includes “Must Love Christmas,” shown here. There are also some awful ones (obviously) and a lot in-between.
We sampled a dozen of them, many from around Thanksgiving weekend, when key ones arrive. The dates listed here are when they first air, but don’t worry: Christmas movies, like old Christmas sweaters, never really go away: Read more…

By Mike Hughes / November 21, 2022
Daily Best Bets

Best bets for Nov. 23: ancient Egypt, modern Thanksgiving

1) “Tutankhamun: Allies and Enemies,” 8 and 9 p.m., PBS. It was 100 years ago (this Saturday, Nov. 26) that Howard Carter chiseled a peephole. “Can you see anything?” his patron asked. The reply: “Yes, wonderful things.” After five years, he had found the tomb of King Tut (depicted here); 5,398 objects, mostly gold, were there. This film looks back and leaves questions: We still don’t know who was Tut’s mother, how he died or whether this was meant to be his tomb. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / November 21, 2022
Daily Best Bets

Best-bets for Nov. 22: native star, country chaos

1) “American Masters,” 9-11 p.m., PBS. Buffy St. Marie (shown here) tells of being bullied and blacklisted, of being abused as a child and of surviving (barely) a dangerous romance. Still, she has emerged as a vibrant force – a singer, songwriter, actress and Indian-rights activist. Her “Universal Soldier” has been recorded by 157 people; her “Up Where We Belong” won an Academy Award. Here’s a compelling portrait of a zestful performer at 81. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / November 20, 2022