Smash: A smashing-good show emerges

mike — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 12:11:39 -0800

It may soon be clear that I think "Smash" is one of the best shows in TV history. It has it all -- passion, pain, characters worth caring about, splendid visuals and great music. Here's the story I sent to papers:

By MIKE HUGHES

For NBC – often ignored, sometimes
mocked – this is new: Suddenly, it has our attention.

For Martin Sheen, the roots get tangled

mike — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 18:57:52 -0800

This is the plus side of NBC's recent troubles: It's allowed room for a show like "Who Do You Think You Are?"

A well-made show that tracks people's roots, "Who" has little ratings potential. Still, on Friday its starts its third (and longest) mini-season, this time with a dozen episodes.

That starts with Martin Sheen. Here's a short story I sent to papers:

By MIKE HUGHES

For many of his 71 years, Martin Sheen
has juggled distant backgrounds.

Black History Month remains big

mike — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 07:44:45 -0800

Black History Month starts today, bringing a fresh cascade of shows. Here's the story and list I sent to papers:

By MIKE HUGHES

Each February, two strong forces –
PBS and cable – propel Black History Month.

This year's shows range from the upbeat
and uptempo – a Cab Calloway profile (Feb. 27), a vibrant
production of the Tony-winning musical “Memphis” (Feb. 24) – to
the dead-serious.

This comedy duo is REALLY good

mike — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 08:38:13 -0800

Every now and then, a really good comedy show arrives. One of the best -- "Key & Peele" -- debuts Tuesday (Jan. 31) and reruns often. Here's the story I sent to papers:

By MIKE HUGHES

When listing Barack Obama's
accomplishments, this may not be near the top.

“Obama was the best thing for black
nerds everywhere,” Jordan Peele said.

Concussions bring a chilling counterpoint to football fun

mike — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 13:35:15 -0800

This is a huge weekend for TV. If you scan the recent blogs here, you'll see stories on Tony Bennett (Friday), a "Hallmark Hall of Fame" movie (Sunday) and Jennifer Granholm's new talk show (Monday).

There's one more story, however: Dr. Sanjay Gupta has a terrific report (Sunday, then rerunning the following Saturday) on football concussions. I'll put the story here in a moment, but first two recollections from my childhood in Clintonville, Wis.: