Year: 2023

Best-bets for Dec. 7: Opry rocks around Christmas tree

1) “Christmas at the Opry,” 8-10 p.m., NBC. Here are country stars of all sizes, from 4-foot-9 Brenda Lee to 6-foot-6 Trace Adkins. Lee recorded “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” (shown here) 65 years ago; she was 13 then and followed with a dozen top-10 hits, led by the No. 1 “I’m Sorry.” Also performing: Wynonna Judd (who hosts), Kelly Clarkson, Chris Janson, Mickey Guyton, Adam Doleac, Lauren Alaina, Mitchell Tenpenny, Meghan Patrick and Breland. Read more…

Best-bets for Dec. 6: high drama for romance and Republicans

1) “Buccaneers,” Apple TV+. A week from the terrific finale, we finds lives in chaos. Nan loves two good men – Theo (a decent Duke) and Guy (his longtime friend and sometime foe). She also hates her sister Jinny, who revealed a secret to the world: Nan — shown here at the left with Theo — isn’t really descended from wealth; she was adopted at birth and “illegitimate,” a damning thing in the high society of the 1870s. Read more…

Too much Christmas? Not by these standards

Sure, we might wonder if TV overdoes the holidays.
Two channels had new Christmas movies in October. Others jumped in as soon as the Thanksgiving Day parade ended. A week later, another proclaimed the “25 days of Christmas.”
But in some parts of the world, that would be restraint. In the Philippines, Lea Salonga said in a virtual press conference, “the Christmas season actually starts in September.”
Now she stars in “Christmas With the Tabernacle Choir,” at 8 p.m. Dec. 12 on PBS and at 8 p.m. ET Dec. 17 on BYU-TV. “I told my brother about it,” she said, “and he was like, ‘Oh my, that’s huge!’” Read more…

Best-bets for Dec. 5: “Dancing” finale and Halloween mayhem

1) “Dancing With the Stars” finale, 8-11 p.m., ABC and Disney+. This show kept saying last week was important, because dancers were straining for a spot in the finals … then, oddly, it advanced all five of them. Now we have Xochiti Gomez (shown here), who is 17 and trying to be the second-youngest champion (after gymnast Laurie Hernandez), plus Charity Lawson, Jason Mraz, Alyson Hannigan, and Ariana Madix. Mraz will also sing; there will be performances by 2022 champ Charli D’Amelio (also a teen) and co-hosts Alfonso Ribeiro and Julianne Hough. Read more…

Best-bets for Dec. 4: Blake’s shows, past and present

1) “The Voice,” 8-10 p.m., NBC. It’s time (a bit later than usual) for live shows to begin, with viewers voting. That leads into a special with the former “Voice” star, Blae Shelton (shown here). “Voice” now has its top 12 performers – two teens (Ruby Leigh, 16, and Tanner Massey, 19), five in their 20s and five in their 30s. On Tuesday, we’ll learn which nine advance to the semi-finals Read more…

“Napoleon” and others hit likability limits

For American audiences, there’s one clear deal-breaker.
We’ll accept antiheroes. We’ll let them rob banks, sell drugs, run gangs, spout biases, cheat on spouses. BUT they must be likable.
That comes to mind now, while pondering two current movies – “Napoleon” (shown here) and “Killers of the Flower Moon.” Here are epics, now in theaters (where they belong) before reaching Apple TV+. Each is by a master filmmaker, Ridley Scott and Martin Scorsese; each is oddly hard to like.
It also pops up while watching the original, British version of “Ghosts,” at 9 and 9:30 p.m. Thursdays on CBS. This is just like the American adaptation … except the characters are much less likable. That factor has been crucial, especially on TV: Read more…

“Golden Bachelor” plans a quick wedding

Here’s one reason to feature older folks in dating shows: They actually get married.
When “The Golden Bachelor” concluded Thursday (Nov. 30), ABC promptly made an announcement: The couple’s wedding will air live Jan. 4 on ABC.
Gerry Turner, 72, a widower, is a retired restaurant owner with a lakeside home in Indiana. On the show, he met 22 women, ages 60-75, then chose Theresa Nist, 70, who does financial services work in New Jersey. (They’re shown here.)
The “Bachelor” show has produced few marriages, “Bachelorette” has done better … and this wedding will make “Golden Bachelor” one-for-one. In other TV news: Read more…

Best-bets for Dec. 3: Frosty, Olaf and Agatha

1) “Agatha Christie” opener, 8-9:30 p.m., PBS. England’s top novelists often saw wealth from inside and out. As preachers’ kids, Jane Austen and the Brontes were welcome in mansions, but didn’t have the riches. Christie grew up comfortably, but (as a wartime nurse) saw doctors’ arrogance; some of her tales had outsiders (Poirot, shown here, Marple, etc.) solve mysteries, while rich folks floundered. This three-week profile has too much focus on host Lucy Worsley, but remains interesting. Read more…

Good news: ABC gets “Only Murders” reruns

In this fractured season, there’s good news for people who still watch broadcast networks:
“Only Murders in the Building” (shown here) – Hulu’s much-praised, Emmy-nominated comedy-mystery series – is coming to ABC. Its first season will run from 9-11 p.m. Tuesdays, starting in January.
That’s part of the patch-up phase, as ABC waits for its post-strike shows to be ready. Read more…