News and Quick Comments

News and Quick Comments

Now, the tense world of … pipe organs?

There’s a formula that keeps working beautifully in documentaries.
Find a competition – preferably a big one, national or international. Profile some contestants in advance. Then follow them and hope you get lucky.
That plan has worked for a spelling bee (“Spellbound,” 1999) … crossword puzzles (“Wordplay,” 2006) … teen scientists (“Science Fair,” 2018) … and even for duck-stamp artists (“Million Dollar Duck,” 2016). And now it works for pipe organs.
“Pipe Dreams” (shown here with Alcee Chriss) airs at 10 p.m. Monday (June 22) on most PBS stations. It visits the Canadian International Organ Competition, with young organists working instruments so massive that the judges see them only via TV screens. We meet: Read more…

By Mike Hughes / June 20, 2020
News and Quick Comments

News flash: Trump saves Juneteenth

Donald Trump told the truth the other day.
(No, really, he did. I wouldn’t make that up.)
In a Wall Street Journal interview, Trump said: “I did something good. I made Juneteenth famous.”
And he did, really. Evidence of that comes as networks – big broadcast ones and little cable ones – suddenly altered their plans for today (June 19), when celebraions (a past one is shown here) are planned. That started with the morning newscasts and will continue on into latenight. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / June 19, 2020
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“Showman” bumped again, this time by Juneteenth

The movie “The Greatest Showman” keeps getting dumped by timely fare.
For the second time in 12 days, FX is pulling it from its schedule. This time, it’s being replaced Friday (June 19), as part of a full day of shows (including “Selma,” shown here) that help celebrate Juneteenth – a holiday recalling the day (June 19, 1865) when Texas slaves finally learned they were free. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / June 18, 2020
News and Quick Comments

ABC sets Juneteenth special

Juneteenth – a holiday that some Americans were unaware of – will be noted in a news special.
At 8 p.m. Friday, ABC will have “Juneteenth: A celebration of Overcoming.” It will include reports from Galeveston (where the celebration began) and Tulsa (where interest was stirred this year).
The Emancipation Proclamation was issued on Jan. 1, 1863 and the Civil War ended in April of 1865, but slavery persisted in Texas. It was on June 19, 1865, that Union troops reached Galveston with word that the slaves were free. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / June 16, 2020
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Strong drama simmers in isolation

As Americans poked at the notion of social-distance drama, some Englishmen went full-throttle.
They created four separate tales. Now “Isolation Stories” (shown here with Darren Boyd) reaches the U.S. on June 23, via the Britbox streaming service.
Each story is only 15 minutes long, but stuffed with strong drama. Individually, most are terrific; combined … well, they need a bit more variety. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / June 15, 2020
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Back-to-back news specials: Oprah and Gayle

Two longtime best friends, Oprah Winfrey and Gayle King (shown here), will be back-to-back on Tuesday.
By switching channels, viewers can catch their takes on the current racial crisis. That includes:
– 9 p.m.: Winfrey hosts “Where Do We Go From Here?” That’s on her own Oprah Winfrey Network and on others – Discovery, HGTV, TLC, Food, etc. – in the Discovery cable group.
– 10 p.m.: King hosts “Justice For All,” on CBS. It will also be on BET and CBSN, the news streaming service. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / June 9, 2020
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PBS adds Black Panthers and James Baldwin films

PBS will rerun two acclaimed documentaries Wednesday, as part of a crowded line-up of race-related films.
“Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution” (shown here, 2015) and “I Am Not Your Negro” (2016) will run back-to-back, at 8 and 9:44 p.m. (Check local listings.)
They join a line-up of films PBS is airing, amid national discussions triggered by the George Floyd death. They range from a rerun of “Twilight: Los Angeles” tonight (Monday, June 8) to “She Could Be Next” on June 29-30. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / June 8, 2020
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We’re back up; sorry about that

OK, we’re back up.
Technical problems shut down the system Sunday, just as TV was changing.
In a late move, the FX network made a change for Sunday night. It said it would show “Selma” (shown here) — the terrific film about Martin Luther King — at 8 p.m. that night, delaying “The Greatest Showman” until 11 p.m. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / June 8, 2020