Year: 2024

Stories

Here’s the line-up for a big, busy TV Christmas

Here’s a list of Christmas TV, from the classics (“Rudolph” is shown here) to a few new music specials and a LOT of new movies. All of this is subject to change and (especially) additions, See separate story here, for an introduction and explanation.

PARADES
— Nov. 28: Thanksgiving Day Parade, 8:30 to noon, NBC and Peacock, repeating at 2 p.m. The 98th edition has 22 floats, 11 bands,17 balloons and 10 performance groups. NBC also adds the Rockettes and the Broadway casts of “The Outsiders,” “Hell’s Kitchen” and “Death Becomes Her.”
— Dec. 14: “Hollywood Christmas Parade,” 8-10 p.m., CW.
— Dec. 25: “Disney Parks Magical Christmas Parade,” 10 a.m. to noon ET (but 5-7 a.m. PT and MT), ABC. Music performances and parade at Disney World and Disneyland. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / November 28, 2024
Stories

TV’s Christmas avalanche begins

Ready or not, TV is starting its Christmastime avalanche.
That starts with the Thanksgiving Day parade and ends with Christmas Day movie marathons . Over a four-week stretch (see the separate story for a full list), it will range from the classics – Rudolph and Frosty, Scrooge and the Grinch (shown here) and more – to the new.
Well, a few new things, anyway. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / November 28, 2024
Daily Best Bets

Best-bets for Nov. 29: Mancini music, cartoon fun

1) “Henry Mancini: 100,” 9 p.m., PBS. Linking a concert, recording sessions and more, we hear the range of Mancini music, from frisky (“Pink Panther,” “Peter Gunn”) to warm, with “Moon River” and “Days of Wine and Roses” done twice. There’s too much bland talk, alongside great vocals — Michael Buble (shown here), Cynthia Erivo, Monica Mancini — and instrumentals. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / November 27, 2024
News and Quick Comments

A pensive poet and crimesolver is back

There are crimesolvers whose stories keep being retold.
They include Sherlock Holmes, Hercule Poirot, Miss Marple and – of current interest –Adam Dalgliesh. And yes, there’s a trend there.
All are from British authors; all (except Holmes) are from women, combining clever mysteries with a rich sense of character detail.
Now it’s time for Dalgliesh (shown here in a previous season). On three Mondays, the Acorn streamer (www.acorn.tv) has one of his stories. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / November 27, 2024
Weekly Previews

Week’s top-10 for Dec. 2: Christmas, country, college football

1) “Christmas in Rockefeller Center,” 8-10 p.m. Wednesday (Dec. 4), NBC. Here’s a familiar Christmas combination — spectacle (including the Rockettes and the lighting of a mega-tree) plus music. That includes Kelly Clarkson (shown here at last year’s show), the host, plus Jennifer Hudson, Dan + Shay, Megan Hilty, Raye, Coco Jones, Thalia, The Backstreet Boys, and Little Big Town. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / November 26, 2024
Daily Best Bets

Best-bets for Nov. 28: parade, dogs, movies, more

1) Thanksgiving Day parade (shown here in a previous year), 8:30 a.m. to noon, NBC and Peacock. It will be a mega-parade — 22 floats, 11 bands,17 balloons, 10 performance groups, one Santa. And NBC adds Rockettes, more dancers, soloists (Jennifer Hudson, Billy Porter, Kylie Minogue) and the Broadway casts of “Hell’s Kitchen,” “The Outsiders” and “Death Becomes Her.” Read more…

By Mike Hughes / November 26, 2024
Daily Best Bets

Best-bets for Nov. 27: leaning toward the holiday

1) “The Untold Story of Mary Poppins,” 9-11 p.m., ABC. The movie and its stars seems eternal. Julie Andrews (shown here), now 89, and Dick Van Dyke, turning 99 on Dec. 13, still perform; co-composer Richard Sherman died in May, at 95. Here’s a view of the film, which ABC airs Thursday. It won five Oscars, including one for Andrews and two for the Sherman brothers. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / November 25, 2024
News and Quick Comments

Unnoticed on Tuesdays, Fox has interesting shows

Interesting things can be found in odd, unvisited corners of the TV world,
One of those corners is any Tuesday on Fox. That’s where you’ll find:
— On Nov. 26, the season-finale of “Murder in a Small Town.” Flaws and all, it’s an excellent hour; if need be, it could be considered a good series-finale.
— On Dec. 3, back-to-back episodes of “Accused” (shown here). The two hours are wildly different in tone; they remind us why people hate and/or love anthologies. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / November 24, 2024
Stories

A background player grabs the spotlight

At the core of “Interior Chinatown” (shown here), which arrived recently on Hulu, is a waiter named Willis.
He’s someone we know, maybe someone we are. He goes through life being semi-noticed. A fan of cop shows, he feels he’s like a background player, the guy whose only function is to find a body or witness a crime.
Soon, that changes; this series – all 10 parts arrived at once — is filled with wondrous flights of fantasy. But before that, Willis symbolizes many people:
— Maybe undernoticed Asian-Americans. “I grew up watching TV in the ‘80s and ‘90s, and I just never saw Asians,” Charles Yu, who wrote the series (and the book it’s based on), told the Television Critics Association. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / November 24, 2024
Daily Best Bets

Best-bets for Nov. 26: finales for dancing and murder

1) Dancing With the Stars” finale, 8-10 p.m., ABC. No one was ousted last week, pushing all five “stars” to the finals. Olympians Ilona Maher (rugby) and Stephen Nedoroscik (gymnastics; he’s shown here with Rylee Arnold) face football’s Danny Amendola, actress Chandler Kinney and Joey Graziadei of “The Bachelor.” Last week’s scores carry over, with a new free-style dance to add in. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / November 24, 2024