Month: August 2019

Best-bets for Sept. 2: “Big Bang” nears its end (again)

1) “The Big Bang Theory,” 8:30 p.m., CBS. Next week, “Big Bang” starts rerunning its terrific, one-hour finale over two Mondays. To set that up, here’s an excellent rerun that highlights supporting characters: Leonard ‘s mom (Christine Baranski) visits, seeming suspiciously warm and nice. Also, Stuart (shown here with Denise) has finally overstayed his welcome at the home of Howard and Bernadette. Read more…

Country concert: A great night on PBS

Before the new season starts, there’s already encouraging news
.Yes, TV – the regular kind that you don’t pay extra for – is occasionally capable of greatness. Fresh proof arrives Sunday (Sept. 8), wih a country concert on PBS
.I’ve already babbled that “Country Music,” the eight-night documentary that starts Sept. 15, is one of the best shows ever. But that shouldn’t surprise us: It’s directed by Ken Burns, written by Dayton Duncan, with compelling stories to tell; that’s a quick route to greatness.
But the concert is a bonus, packing some of country’s best moments into two hours. Read more…

Best-bets for Sept. 1: Poor Mrs. Wilson is back

1) “Mrs. Wilson,” 8-11 p.m., PBS (check local listings). Ruth Wilson (shown here) has been terrific in lots of fictional tales, including “Luther” and “The Affair.” But she also found this true story in her own family: Alexander Wilson, her grandfather, wrote 24 spy novels and more. He was a professor, a porter and an officer in the MI6 spy service. But when he died, his widow found multiple wives, children, identities and lies. It’s a fascinating story, rerunning here, with Wilson subtly perfect as her stunned grandmother. Read more…

Week’s best-bets for Sept. 2: A country triumph

1) “Country Music: Live at the Ryman,” 8-10 p.m. Sunday, PBS. Some of country’s best songs are done superbly. Many are high-octane, with great instrumentalists – Ricky Skaggs, Marty Stuart, an awesome band that includes Vince Gill. But there are also ballads, sung with heartbreaking passion – a Johnny Cash one by his daughter Roseanne, a Hank Williams one by his granddaughter Holly (shown here at left, with Ketch Secor, Larry Gatlin, Kathy Mattea and Riders in the Sky). The night’s (and year’s) highlight has Willie Nelson’s “Crazy,” sung by Rhiannon Giddens in the style of Patsy Cline. Read more…

“Mayans” lures all outsiders … even non-violent ones

Few of us have ever been in a Latino motorcycle club, it seems.
Fewer have shot a person, much less dismembered one. Even fewer have killed with our bare hands.
Then why is it that we easily relate to “Mayans M.C.,” which starts its second season Tuesday?
It’s all about “the things we didn’t get,” said Kurt Sutter, the show’s co-creator, “whether it’s love, camaraderie or brotherhood or justice.” Read more…

Best-bets for Aug. 31: College football takes over

1) Football, ABC and beyond. It’s the first full day of the college season, so let’s get used to it. From now on, Saturdays will be stuffed with football. ABC has a tripleheader — Mississippi at Memphis at noon ET, second-ranked Alabama hosting Duke at 3:30 p.m. and then perhaps the day’s best match-up, with Oregon (ranked No. 11, shown here with quarterback Justin Herbert) at Auburn (No. 16) at 7:30. Fox has Ohio State (No. 5) hosting Florida Atlantic at noon ET and Stanford (No. 25) hosting Northwestern at 4; cable has much more. Read more…

Bluegrass: A regional sound goes global

This was supposed to be regional music, rural music. Then bluegrass spread way beyond that.
“Big Family” — the new PBS film on Friday, Aug. 30 — starts by quoting Bill Monroe, a pioneer of the sound: “Bluegrass has brought more people together and made more friends than any other music in the world.”
Then it shows that impact. We hear Monroe’s “Blue Moon of Kentucky” on his own 1947 record .. and on the flip side of Elvis Presley’s first record in 1954 … and from a modern Japanese group.
Yes, Japan likes bluegrass. “They treated us like the Beatles,” says Jeff Hanna of the Nitty Gritty Dirty Band. Read more…

Wrestling’s ready for its third TV era

As TV began, people imagined a grand concert hall – orchestras and opera stars and such.
Or not. Viewers often prefer o see angry people crashing into each other.
Now we’re sort of re-entering that era. That starts Sept. 7, with Tessa Blanchard (shown here) defending her WOW title; wrestling will be expanding on cable and even returning to the broadcast networks.And yes, we’ve been here before. Flash back 70 years, to the fall of 1949. In primetime, viewers had: Read more…

Best-bets for Aug. 30: bluegrass and binging

1) “Big Family: The Story of Bluegrass Music,” 9-11 p.m., PBS. In two weeks, PBS will launch “Country Music,” a brilliant Ken Burns film sprawling over eight nights and 16 hours. Consider this a prequel. It’s not as tightly crafted as a Burns film, but it offers a deep and detailed look at a homemade sound that keeps adding layers. “It’s a huge, powerful sound,” says Darroll Anger, a music professor. It brings “explosive creativity,” says Chris Thile (shown here), a musician. And it’s done by genial, downhome folks. Read more…

Best-bets for Aug. 29: Bright skies, dark trouble

1) “Reef Break,” 9 and 10 p.m., ABC. As summer slogs to its end, we need something like this – a double shot of scripted hours in a blue-sky setting. Poppy Montgomery (shown here) is Cat, a former thief who solves crimes on the island where she grew up. In the first hour, Petra — the surfer who has long hated her — has been kidnapped; Cat tries to free her. In the second, the island is celebrating her birthday. Soon, things go wrong: Cat is ill and, ABC says, is facing her most dangerous situation yet. Read more…