Year: 2024

Stories

Glamor is back; so is sleazy Cecil

It’s not easy being the sleaziest guy on PBS.
Some people silently scowl at you; some aren’t silent. Just ask Mark Umbers, -whose third season of “Hotel Portofino” starts at 8 p.m., Sunday, July 28.(He’s shown here as Cecil Ainsworth, feigning contentment with his wife Bella.)
One friend-of-a-friend bumped into him in London, he recalled. “She couldn’t talk tp me,. She said, ‘I’ve seen your show. You’re very triggering’ And she just walked away.”
It’s logical to walk away from Cecil, but not from Umbers. In real life, he seems to be a charming chap. He’s not an elitist jerk, but he plays one on TV; he also has a jerk-adjacent resume — prep school and Oxford, majoring in Latin and in Greek literature and history. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / July 22, 2024
Daily Best Bets

Best-bets for July 23: Games seize the night

1) “America’s Got Talent” (shown here), 8-10 p.m., NBC. It’s a turning point for the season, wrapping up eight weeks of auditions. After tonight, the show takes a two-week Olympic break before switching to its live episodes, with viewers voting. There will be five semi-finals (Tuesdays and Wednesdays), setting up the Sept. 18 finale. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / July 21, 2024
Stories

Newhart: Yes, a really funny accountant

(This updates the obit/appreciation that I posted earlier)
There’s a logical question people ask: “What’s (so-and-so) really like?”
Often, there’s no good answer, but for Bob Newhart – who died Thursday (July 19), at 94 – it’s simple: He’s exactly like … well, Bob Newhart.
Few people have had so much success wrapping a stage personality around a real one. He kept playing a quiet Midwestern accountant, surrounded by a noisier world. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / July 19, 2024
News and Quick Comments

Newhart tributes fill the weekend and Monday

The Bob Newhart tributes are expanding now, sprawling through the weekend and into Monday evening.
Newhart died Thursday at 94 Newly added are:
— A three-hour burst at 8 p.m. Sunday on TBS, with six “Big Bang Theory” episodes that have Newhart as Professor Proton, Sheldon’s TV hero.
— A documentary hour at 8 p.m. Monday on CBS. “Bob Newhart: A Legacy of Laughter” includes clips, plus comments from Jim Parsons, Will Ferrell, Reese Witherspoon, Jason Bateman and Michael Weatherly. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / July 19, 2024
Daily Best Bets

Best-bets for July 20: pleasant (mostly) nature and fun films

1) “Mammals,” 8-9:23 p.m., BBC America. In Chile, sea lions stroll a marina, snacking from fish merchants. In Singapore, otters cavort in pools; in Zimbabwe, elephants walk the streets at night. These are pleasant portraits of the “new wild,” adding humans. But there are also nasty moments – dogs confront the seals (shown here), farmers drain hippos’ water holes. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / July 18, 2024
News and Quick Comments

Emmy nominations: belated nods to quirky “Dogs”

Gone too soon and noticed too rarely, “Reservatioon Dogs” is finally getting a tad of attention.
“Dogs” (shown here) voluntarily ended this year, after only three wonderfully eccentric seasons. It finally got some Emmy attention this morning – nominations for best-comedy and for young actor D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai (second from left).
Yes, that’s just a mini-ripple in an Emmy ocean. (“Shogun,” leads with 25 nominations, including best drama.) But it’s a sign that an oddly brilliant show can get some attention. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / July 17, 2024
Daily Best Bets

Best-bets for July 19: Streamers fill the Friday void

1) “Lady in the Lake” opener, Apple TV+. In a 30-year career, Natalie Portman (shown hwew) has ranged from epic (three “Star Wars” films, three “Thor: ones) to artful (an Oscar for “Black Swan” and two more nominations). But except for brief visits, she’s skipped TV. Now, at 43, she stars in this seven-parter, as a housewife-turned-journalist, probing a murder. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / July 17, 2024