Month: May 2019

TV is ready to go lunar loony

For the next couple months, it seems, our TV sets will be space-crazy.
And it won’t end there. The National Geographic Channel has just announced a “The Right Stuff” series that will begin next year.
Most of this is keyed to July 20, the 50th anniversary of the moon landing. ABC already featured that in its “1969” series …. PBS has declared this its “Summer of Space” … and cable channels are piling on. Read more…

Best-bets for June 2: Lawyers and dunk shots

1) “Burden of Truth” season-opener, 8 p.m., CW. For summertime, the old “Supergirl” slot goes to … well, to the former Lana Lang. That’s the role Kristin Kreuk had in “Smallville”; she went on to “Beauty and the Beast” and then to this role as a tough lawyer. In the first season (shown here) she and Billy (Peter Mooney) won millions for teens in her old home town. Now she’s in a big city, Billy isn’t … and neither is happy. There’s potential, but Kreuk pushes her stern facade to a stony extreme. Read more…

Week’s Top 10 for June 3: Two Emmy champs return

1) “The Handmaid’s Tale” (any time Wednesday, Hulu) and “Big Little Lies” (9 p.m. Sunday, HBO). Two years ago, these dominated the Emmys. “Handmaid” won for best drama series, “Lies” for best mini-series. Their stars, Elisabeth Moss and Nicole Kidman, also won. “Handmaid” and Moss won again last year; as the third season arrives, she’d seeking ways to rebel. “Lies” took last year off, but returns with a new mystery and its old stars (Kidman, Reese Witherspoon and Shailene Woodley, shown here) … plus Meryl Streep. Read more…

Best-bets for June 1: Kellie returns to Elvisland

1) “Wedding at Graceland,” 9-11 p.m., Hallmark. Six months ago, “Christmas in Graceland” had two aspiring musicians (Kellie Pickler and Wes Brown, shown here) fall in love at Elvis Presley’s former home, with Elvis’ holiday songs on the soundtrack. It was a ratings hit, so now they’re back … and have just three weeks to plan a Graceland Chapel wedding. There’s lots of Presley here – Priscilla plays herself, Lee Brice sings an Elvis song and we’ll hear more Elvis on the soundtrack. Read more…

Dr. Ruth: A genial pixie emerged from cascades of tragedy

There’s a special quality to Ruth Westheimer.
You could call it puckish or pixie-like or impish. She prefers “joie de vivre” and “zest for life.”
By any name, it’s impressive. Here is a tiny (4-foot-7) woman with a genial face and a quick wit. As milestones approach – a documentary Saturday on Hulu, three days before she tuns 91 – she seems downright joyous, whether giving sex advice or just having fun.
“I tell everybody not to retire, but to rewire,” Westheimer said. “And I’ve been very fortunate that I’m very healthy. I skied until a few years ago.” Read more…

Best-bets for May 31: A double “Blindspot”

1) “Blindspot” season-finale, 8 and 9 p.m., NBC. Let’s be happy with leftovers. The official TV season ended nine days ago, but “Blindspot” still had three episodes left – one last Friday and two tonight. In this first hour, Dominic starts to enact Madeline’s cataclysmic scheme. In the second, the team (including Sullivan Stapleton, shown here, as Weller, tries to stop an attack from spreading. Then the fifth and final season waits until mid-season. Read more…

“Fosse/Verdon”: A moving end to a great mini-series

Earlier, I posted a quickie preview of the “Fosse/Verdon” finale. It didn’t say much, because almost everything was under embargo.
Now that the show has aired, I can start with the obvious: This was a fitting finish to a great mini-series. Sam Rockwell, Michelle Williams and director Tommy Kail did Emmy-worthy work, making us care deeply about a guy (Bob Fosse) we shouldn’t have even liked.Y
ou can catch reruns on FX on the next two Saturday nights — midnight this week, 2 a.m. next week. (Technically, that’s 12 a.m. on Sunday, June 2, 2 a.m. on Sunday, June 9.) Read more…

Her brain handles medical miracles (temporarily)

By now, Julianna Margulies should be an expert on medicine and on the law.
She spent six years as a nurse on “ER,” seven as a lawyer on “The Good Wife.” Now the “Hot Zone” mini-series (shown here) has her as the real-life doctor who fought to stop Ebola from spreading into the U.S.
Surely, those “ER” years helped her master the vocabulary. Or not. “It didn’t, sadly, help at all,” Margulies said, “because I don’t have a medical brain.” Read more…

Best bets for May 30: Lotsa basketball, few reruns

1) Basketball finals begin, 9 p.m. ET, ABC, with previews at 8 and 8:30. Sure, this might seem like a mismatch. In 23 previous years, the Toronto Raptors had never reached the finals; Steph Curry (shown here) and the Golden State Warriors – fresh from a semi-finals sweep — have been there the past four years, winning three times. But don’t be so sure: During the regular season, the Raptors had the NBA’s second-best record, trailing only the Bucks … whom they just beat, four games to two. Now they have the home-court advantage. Read more…