1) “Wild Cards,” 8 p.m., CW. We’re far from the glittery settings where Max (shown here) works her best scams. This is a ranch, engulfed family feuds. It’s a so-so story, but does allow for some horseback scenes. Read more…
So if you saw the game, you might have sensed that the Kansas City Chiefs had a shot at being the first team to win three straight Super Bowls.
You would have realized it because various Fox people said it approximately 2.9 million times. Or maybe 3 million.
That was a fine storyline; I may have said it myself, once or twice. But some perspective would have helped. Like the fact that the previous wins were by 3 points … and the win to get here this year was by 3 points … and that the Philadelphia Eagles (shown here) had won their previous game by 32.
Anyway, I’ll quit grumbling about that; all the three-peat talk soon vanished. And overall, I liked the telecast (and the commercials) a lot. A few random thoughts:
Read more…
1) “Great Migrations” finale, 9 p.m., PBS. The first two hours saw millions of Blacks moving north (shown here) for jobs and freedom. Now that flips: Amid disputes about police, real estate bias and more, there were 150 urban uprisings in 1967. As the South mellowed; Ebony Magazine proclaimed: “You Can Go Home Again.” A strong hour shows a reverse migration. Read more…
1) “Rescue HI-Surf,” 9 p.m. today, Fox. A post-Super-Bowl makeover begins for Fox. At 8 p.m. is the debut of “Extracted,” a survival reality show. Then “HI-Surf” has what it calls its most dangerous rescue yet. There are, indeed, some high-stakes moments, after torpedoes are found. There are also blue-sky moments (shown here) and others — especially with the one-note mayor — that are merely so-so. Read more…
(This is the fourth chapter of a book-in-progress, “Television, and How It Got That Way.” For the previous chapters, scroll down in “stories.”)
Variety shows seemed to fit cozily into the new TV world.
They were simple and straight-forward. People looked at a camera and sang or told jokes; occasionally, they danced. Little could go wrong.
And still …
Some of the biggest stars had variety shows that sputtered. Frank Sinatra went two seasons and 62 episodes; Eddie Fisher went two and 27. There was only one season for Judy Garland (26 episodes), Sammy Davis Jr. (14), Jerry Lewis (11) and Mary Tyler Moore (also 11). All of those topped “The Paula Poundstone Show,” which lasted two episodes. As it turns out, variety shows are easy to do, but hard to do right.
Ironically, TV was finally getting the hang of it — peaking with “The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour” (shown here) when it quit making them. More on that in a bit. Read more…
1) Super Bowl, 6:30 p.m. ET, Fox. The Kansas City Chiefs (shown here) try to be the first team to win three straight Super Bowls. Still, this is no domineering dynasty: The previous wins were by 3 points apiece. The conference championship win was also by 3; now they face the Philadelphia Eagles, who won their conference-title game by 32. This could be fun. Read more…
1) “SNL 50,” 8-11 p.m. ET Sunday, NBC. “Saturday Night Live” arrived on Oct. 11, 1975, promptly changing TV. Now comes the 50th-season reunion. It includes past hosts and music guests — Steve Martin, Tom Hanks, Scarlett Johansson (shown here), Quinta Brunson, Kim Kardashian, Dave Chappelle, Paul Simon, Paul McCartney, John Mulaney, Robert De Niro and more. Read more…
From time to time, the world falls in love and/or hate with boy bands.
Record sales soar; the Backstreet Boys alone have sold 130 million. Some girls scream their approval, some guys disagree. Noel Gallagher, of the British group Oasis, called boy bands “the spawn of Satan.”
And then, after a slight pause, it starts all over again.
Now a documentary views a key phase: “The Boy Band Boom of the ‘90s” airs from 8-10 p.m. Saturday (Feb. 8) on CW. Read more…
1) “The ‘90s Boy Band Boom,” 8-10 p.m., CW. Here’s a mostly joyful tour of an era, told mostly by the guys themselves. It starts with a Backstreet Boys single peaking at No. 69. The group (shown here in the early days) then soared in Europe; so did ‘N Sync. Then came 98 Degrees and more. Girls screamed, guys fumed. One rocker called them “spawns of the devil,” but they’ve persisted. Read more…
1) “NCIS: Sydney,” 8 p.m., CBS. A week later than first scheduled, here’s the season-opener. It’s intense, starting moments after the first season ended: The people who kidnapped JD’s son had a phone link to Col. Rankin. With one flaw (a stiff and stereotyped higher-up from NCIS), it’s a strong hour, with action (shown here) and intensity. Read more…
Best-bets for March 15: basketball blitz, plus Dolly 
Best-bets for March 14: some cops, lots of fantasy 
Best-bets for March13: lots of laughs (plus sharks) 
