Year: 2024

Best-bets for Jan. 19: modern crises and Ben Franklin

1) “Benjamin Franklin,” 9-11 p.m., PBS. Franklin (depicted here) rippled with contrasts. He was a left-brain guy who invented the lightning rod, bifocals and Franklin stove, a right-brainer whose wrote cleverly. He was warm and lovable, but fought with his family, owned slaves and ran slavery ads in his newspaper. Ken Burn created this rich profile, which reruns over two Fridays. Read more…

Forget the Globes: Emmys prove awards can be fun

So it turns out that an awards show can be fun. We don’t know what the Golden Globes’ excuse is.
The Emmy telecast Monday (Jan. 15),shown here with winner Quinta Brunson and Carol Burnett, was mostly enjoyable, despite the obstacles.
Those were the 27 awards that had to be handed out and 24 acceptance speeches that had to be endured. (We’re eternally grateful to the winners who were absent.) Read more…

Strikes pushed networks into wise and foolish moves

Necessity, we’re told, is the mother of invention … and of desperation and foolishness.
That was evident when networks pieced together makeshift schedules, because of the writers’ and actors’ strikes. Some steps were wise, others (including the British “Ghosts,” shown here) were not.
That phase is finally concluding now, as shows gradually start their post-strike seasons. But first, we should pause and look at that time and its interesting quirks.
We’ll stick to the five commercial broadcast networks, because the others were less affected by the strikes. Among other things we learned: Read more…

Best-bets for Jan. 17: a fiery drama night

1) “Chicago Fire” season-opener, 8-11 p.m., NBC. Producer Dick Wolf gets the prize for quickly getting dramas back, post-strike. He has three “Law & Order” ones Thursday, three FBI ones next month and three Chicago ones now. This is a fairly ordinary hour, with an arson probe, a fire (shown heere) and staff changes. One person is gone, one is back, one is leaviing … and life goes on. Read more…

Best-bets for Jan. 16: “Fargo” ends, “Death” begins

1) “Fargo” finale, 10 p.m., FX; repeats at 11:07, 12:13, 1:19. A great show hits all of its odd extremes. The opening minutes are slow and brutal; the cruel Sheriff Tillman (Jon Hamm) prepares for battle as his blinded son wanders and his nasty dad taunts. And the final minutes are pure “Fargo,” with an ending that matches the original movie. In between, Dot (Juno Temple, shown here in the opening episode) tries to flee from Tillman. Read more…

Netflix gives us a lift (sort of)

There is a place in life for films like “Lift.”
That place, of course, is a movie theater – big screen, comfy seat, tasty popcorn, forces conspiring to create a suspension of disbelief.
But “Lift” (shown here) alas, has just debuted on Netflix. In our living room, it’s kind of fun if we remember not to think about it too much. Read more…

Best-bets for Jan. 15: Emmy night on MLK Day

1) Emmy night. After the drab Golden Globes, we’ll see if there can be fun at award time. The E channel starts its preview at 5 p.m. ET and goes to the red carpet with Laverne Cox at 6; Fox has the awards at 8, with Anthony Anderson hosting. One quirk: This is for an eligibility period that ended seven months ago. “The Bear” (shown here) had two seasons of Globe wins, before now getting its first Emmy night. Read more…

TV tackles King’s turbo-paced life

Some subjects should be revisited often. That, of course, is why we have television.
One of those is Martin Luther King Jr., the focus of two shows:
— “I Am MLK Jr.,” which the CW network airs from 8-10 p.m. Monday (Jan. 15). That’s the federal holiday, which this year falls on his actual birthday; he would have been 95.
— “Genius: MLK/X,” which the National Geographic Channel airs in four two-hour chunks on Thursdays, Feb. 1-22, and will be on Disney+. It entwines the lives of men many considered opposites, King and Malcolm X. Read more…

Best-bets for Jan. 14: lots of detectives and cowboys

1) “Monsieur Spade” opener, 9 p.m., AMC. In “Maltese Falcon,” Sam Spade became the classic private eye, tough, terse and unblinking. Now he’s played by Clive Owen and (shown here) and written by Tom Fontana, the brilliant “Homicide” and “Oz” writer. Surprisingly, he’s living quietly in France; unsurprisingly, trouble finds him. The six-week story is oddly convoluted, but it ripples with quick, sharp dialog. Read more…