Day: November 6, 2019

“Green Eggs”: A few words hatch a series

There are plenty of great books out there, still waiting to be movies or TV series.
Dr. Seuss’ “Green Eggs and Ham” seemed to be a long shot. Jared Stern recalled his first reaction:
“I was like, ‘Uh huh – there’s like 50 words in the book. How do we make it into a movie?’” Stern told the Television Critics Association in August.
Or into something bigger. Now it’s a 13-week series (shown here) that reaches Netflix on Friday (Nov. 8). Read more…

Molly: A vibrant life and a great movie

Jim Ivins insisted that his daughter have a respectable name.
Ivins – an oil executive nicknamed “General Jim” – chose Mary Tyler Ivins. His wife disagreed; so, eventually, did their daughter (shown here).
This was no mere Mary; by 12, she was 6 feet tall and brash. She re-named herself Molly Ivins.
She would become a newspaper columnist, known for both her wit and her venom, and then a “60 Minutes” commentator. She had a great little life (dying of cancer at 62) and is the subject of a great movie. Read more…

Best-bets for Nov. 8: Musicals, young and old

1) “High School Musical: The Musical: The Series,” 8 p.m., ABC. For a while, it looked like musicals might become an old-people thing. Then came “High School Musical” and a new generation. That’s been followed by two sequels, a theater version, more Disney/ABC musicals … and now this: When the Disney+ streaming service starts on Tuesday (Nov. 12), it will include this series (shown here), which pretends to be a documentary, following teens trying out for the school show. Tonight, ABC gives us the first hour. Read more…