Mike Hughes on TV

“Doctor Who” streams into the future

For people who want ther shows to be offbeat, off-kilter and other-worldly, here are two pieces of good (sort of) news:
— “Doctor Who” will be around for a long time … albeit a bit harder to find. When it finally returns (in November of 2023), it will be on the Disney+ streaming service.
— And “Miracle Workers” has another season set. That starts at10 p.m. Jan. 23 on TBS, with Daniel Radcliffe and Geraldine Viswanathan in, the network says, “a dystopian future full of radioactive mutants, killer robots and a tyrannical homeowner’s association.”
“Who” has been around since 1963 (with long pauses) and has had 13 people starring as The Doctor. The current one, Jodie Whittaker, was the first female Doctor; David Tennant, who was the 10th Doctor, will do some specials, before Ncuti Gatwa becomes the show’s first Black star. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / October 27, 2022

Weekly Previews

Week’s top-10 for Oct. 31: A post-Halloween world awaits

1) Halloween’s final burst, today. The long scare-a-thon concludes. Even “Dancing With the Stars” (8 p.m., Disney+) and “Quantum Leap” (10 p.m., NBC) have Halloween themes. There are plenty of nasty films, but you can also go light. Freeform starts at 10:30 a.m., peaking with “Hotel Transylvania” (shown here, 2012) and “Hocus Pocus” (1993), at 7 and 9 p.m. The Paramount Network has “Addams Family” films (1982, 1984) at 8 and 10, then midnight and 2 a.m. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / October 27, 2022

Daily Best Bets

Best-bets for Oct. 29: after a mini-rest, “SNL” is back

1) “Saturday Night Live,” 11:29 p.m., NBC. After pausing for a rerun, “SNL” has its fourth new episode in five weeks. The opener was disappointing, but the next two have been fairly good. Here’s the second straight new one to have the host double as music guest. On Oct. 15, it was Megan Thee Stallion; now Jack Harlow (shown here), 24, has his first turn as host and second as music guest. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / October 27, 2022

Daily Best Bets

Best-bets for Oct. 28: joyous ‘Dead’ or baseball’s best

1) “Dia de los Muertos,” 9 p.m., PBS. Here’s a fine way to celebrate Day of the Dead (four days early) – or any day. Three great bands – Los Lobos, Ozomatli and the female mariachi quartet Flor de Tolache (shown here) – perform in an underground Tennessee club, before a costumed crowd. You’ll hear spectacular vocals (mostly in Spanish), soaring brass, driving percussion and gifted guitarists, The two-group finale will wake the dead and delight the living. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / October 26, 2022

News and Quick Comments

100th “Resident” (Oct. 25) is a winner

It took 100 episodes to get there, but “The Resident” is where it should be. So, at last, is Dr. Bell.
In short, the episode (shown here) that airs tonight (8 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 27, on Fox) is surprisingly good. It’s:
— The third-best “Resident” episode yet. The only ones better were a clever Halloween-out-of-town hour, a few years back, and a post-pandemic season-opener.
— And the second-best broadcast-TV hour I’ve seen this fall, topped only by the second episode of ABC’s “Alaska Daily. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / October 25, 2022

Daily Best Bets

Best-bets for Oct. 27: Halloween is here, a bit early

1) “Welcome to Flatch,” 9:02 p.m., Fox. For the second straight night, Halloween episodes fill the line-up. In this one, a trip to the psychic brings opposite reactions: Cheryl feels cursed; Barb (Jamie Pressly, shown here) suddenly has fresh lust – in a surprising direction. It’s a so-so episode, but has a big finish … leading into “Call Me Kat,” complete with a costume party. This will be one of the final five episodes to include Leslie Jordan, who died Monday (see separate story) at 67 Read more…

By Mike Hughes / October 25, 2022

Stories

Jordan brought a new version of TV stardom

When Leslie Jordan first got there, Hollywood knew what a star should look like.
That was 40 years ago, when TV was dominated by Tom Selleck and Selleck types. A star would be 6-foot-4, handsome, a lades man, with a Midwestern-type voice.
And Jordan (shown here), who died Monday (Oct. 24), was the exact opposite. He was 4-foot-11, gay, with an impish charm and a pronounced Tennessee accent.
“I realized that my job was the funny guy that comes in with the zingers,” he told the Television Critics Association in 2018. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / October 25, 2022

Daily Best Bets

Best-bets for Oct. 26: funny Halloween, serious history

1) “The Conners” and more, 8-10 p.m., ABC. Ever since its began (as “Roseanne”) 34 years ago, this has had great Halloween episodes. (shown here). This time, Dan wants the house decorated, but everyone is busy; Becky tries to take over. That’s followed at 8:30 by horror-film spoofs on “The Goldbergs.” At 9, someone steals the Halloween candy from “Abbott Elementarty”; at 9:30, Tom may have a Halloween-time stalker on “Home Economics.” Read more…

By Mike Hughes / October 24, 2022

Daily Best Bets

Best bets for Oct. 25: a wedding, a killing and more

1) “The Resident,” 8 p.m., Fox. Dr. Bell (Bruce Greenwood) has covered all the extremes. He was the show’s villain, botching surgeries and hiding the evidence … then its hero, an unflinching force for good … and then an afterthought, getting out-of-state medical treatments. Now he’s back and marrying Kit (Jane Leeves, shown here), who has his old job as the hospital’s CEO. It’s the 100th episode of this above-average show and yes, there’s a wedding crisis. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / October 23, 2022

Stories

After a long break, TV’s busiest actress returns

After decades of TV movies, Kellie Martin (shown here) had a good reason to step back.
That was during the start of the pandemic, when her daughters were 13 and 4. “They had never needed me more,” she recalled. “There was so much to figure out, with online schools and everything else.”
Now, two and a half years later, she’s finally returned to acting. She has a small and dead-serious role in “An Amish Sin,” at 8 p.m. ET Saturday (Oct. 29) on Lifetime.
Her return, she said, was partly because of the story – from real-life accounts of Amish girls whose sexual abuse reports were discounted. And also because a friend asked her to. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / October 22, 2022

Mike Hughes on TV

In a comedy, it was her cross to bear

Celebrating Cline, 61 years after her death

Tortured genius? No, Leo was the life of the party

Fox mid-season: “Doc,” comedies, Super Bowl push

Patience, please: There’s a good comedy-drama here

“Doctor Who” streams into the future

Week’s top-10 for Oct. 31: A post-Halloween world awaits

Best-bets for Oct. 29: after a mini-rest, “SNL” is back

Best-bets for Oct. 28: joyous ‘Dead’ or baseball’s best

100th “Resident” (Oct. 25) is a winner

Best-bets for Oct. 27: Halloween is here, a bit early

Jordan brought a new version of TV stardom

Best-bets for Oct. 26: funny Halloween, serious history

Best bets for Oct. 25: a wedding, a killing and more

After a long break, TV’s busiest actress returns

Best-bets for Nov. 22: pure Patsy; streaming surplus

Fox mid-season: “Doc,” comedies, Super Bowl push

Best-bets for Nov. 21: doctor dramas & dead(?) dog

Patience, please: There’s a good comedy-drama here

Best-bets for Nov. 20: country stars, nature’s star

Mike Hughes on TV