Day: March 30, 2020

News and Quick Comments

Home-music specials: a strong start

The first crack at doing a music-from-home TV special was mostly terrific.
Sure, there were flaws. Every variety special – well, every one except “Color Me Barbra” and “Liza With a Z” – has had some.
But mostly, Fox’s “iHeart Living Room Concert For America” on Sunday proved that sheer talent can thrive, even under stark conditions. That’s good news, because there are three similar specials this week (10 p.m. Monday, 9 p.m. Wednesday, 8-10 p.m. Sunday) on CBS.
The “iHeart” show was stuffed with gifted singers, including Mariah Carey, Alicia Keys, Tim McGraw and Camila Cabello and Shawn Mendes (they’re shown here in the crowded old days). Remarkably, however, the greatest moment came from a singing doctor. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / March 30, 2020

Daily Best Bets

Best-bets for April 1: Masked stars, mask-less superstar

1) “The Masked Singer” (shown here), 8-10 p.m., Fox. The semi-finals begin and things get serious. The early rounds dumped a skateboarder (Tony Hawk), a rapper (Lil Wayne), two TV hosts (Tom Bergeron, Drew Carey) and an almost-vice president (Sarah Palin). They also dumped two semi-singers (JoJo Siwa and Bella Thorne) and, oddly, music greats Dionne Warwick and Chaka Khan. That leaves the top nine, some quite talented, dressed as a kangaroo, banana, rhino and such. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / March 30, 2020

Stories

Film has Cuba’s against-the-odds medical success

At 63, George Keays seemed to have an enviable life – good health, great setting, solid finances.
He had retired as a telecom executive and returned to his previous field of real estate. He lived in Boulder, Colo., a place that emphasizes outdoor living.
“I was a healthy person” who never smoked, he told the Television Critics Association in January. “I have run a marathon. I have always been exercising regularly, eating right.”
Then doctors said he had stage-4 lung cancer, with little time left. “They were ‘six to nine months.’”
That was four years ago. Now Keays is featured in “Cuba’s Cancer Hope” (shown here) a “Nova” documentary (9 p.m. Wednesday, April 1, on PBS) that includes some American doctors who were startled by the island’s medical progress Read more…

By Mike Hughes / March 30, 2020