Month: December 2021

Best-bets for Jan. 2: food, Fogg and fun

1) “Around the World in 80 Days” debut, 8 p.m., PBS. This is a “Masterpiece” show, but feels more like an epic adventure – a good one – for the big screen. It’s an international co-production, with David Tennant (who’s English) as the frantic Phileas Fogg, Ibrahim Koma (French) as his valet and Leonie Benesch (German) as a reporter. (They’re shown here.) After betting he can circumnavigate the globe, unheard of in the 19th century, Fogg faces thieves and revolutionaries. But by the end of the first hour, he’s soaring – literally. Read more…

“All Creatures”: a small, sweet pleasure

Nicholas Ralph, it seems, is a lot like the rest of us.
Yes, he’s a TV star. In “All Creatures Great and Small” – the gentle pleasure that starts its second season at 9 p.m. Sunday (Jan. 9) on PBS – he has the lead role of James. But as a viewer, he keeps wishing James would express his feelings to Helen. (They’re shown here.)
“I was screaming at the telly, ‘Say something’ …. I hope that’s how an audience feels when they watch it,” Ralph said, in a virtual press conference with the Television Critics Association. Read more…

Best-bets for Jan. 1: Year begins with parade, bowls, more

1) Rose Parade, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. ET, NBC and ABC. Every year should start with the giddy flash of a parade. The Rose Parade (shown here in a previous year) was canceled last year, but now it expects 20 bands, 40 floats and lots of horses. LeAnn Rimes does an opening song; LeVar Burton – who was a University of Southern California student when he got the “Roots” lead, 45 years ago – is grand marshal. It’s the 95th year NBC covers it on radio or TV; Chrissy Metz and Susan Kelechi Watson (“This Is Us”) do commentary. Read more…

Three agree: “West Side Story” triumphs

Chances are, few things in this universe will draw unanimous agreement from People magazine, arts critic Ken Glickman and me.
Here’s one that does: Steven Spielberg’s “West Side Story” (shown hee) is a triumph, well worth seeing.
Those sources are quite different. The magazine worries about whom Jennifer Aniston is dating; Ken doesn’t. He’s a classical conductor/critic; I’m just a writer who sometimes succumbs to alliteration.
Ken and I did once agree that the Stratford theater summer had one great musical and one bad one. We just didn’t agree on which was which. But now comes a movie most people can savor: Read more…

Best bets for Dec.31: Eve rocks; so do bowls

1) “New Year’s Rockin’ Eve,” 8-11 p.m.and 11:30 p.m. to 2:13 a.m., ABC. The Times Square viewing area will be smaller – 15,000 people, masked and fully vaccinated – but the music continues. Live at the Square, Ryan Seacrest (shown here) will have LL Cool J, Journey, Chloe and Karol G. There’s Billy Porter in New Orleans, Daddy Yankee in Puerto Rico and a taped Los Angeles party with Ciara, Macklemore, Avril Lavine, Walker Hayes, OneRepublic, French Montana, Big Boi and more. Read more…

At last, she’s a doctor (sort of)

Sophia Bush’s parents can relax now. Their daughter is finally a doctor, as they’d hoped.
Well, at least she’s convincing as a fake doctor. She stars in “Good Sam” – debuting at 10 p.m. Wednesday (Jan. 5) on CBS – and rattles off the proper tongue-twisters.
There she is, saying “pericardiocentesis” and “superficial venous thrombosis” and such. “I love it … I’m actually living a dream,” Bush (shown here) said, in a virtual conference with the Television Critics Association.
Or her parents’ dream. As “the daughter of an immigrant, … your options are really: You’re a doctor or a lawyer, a lawyer or a doctor,” she said. Read more…

Carole King: the eternal pop star

Carole King is perfecting a new concept – the eternal pop star. Consider:
– She was still a teen-ager when some of the songs she co-wrote – “Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?” and “Take Good Care of My Baby” – became hits in 1971.
– And now? She’ll turn 80 on Feb. 9 and remains relevant. Proof of that is in “Carole King & James Taylor: Just Call Out My Name,” which debuts at 9 p.m. and midnight ET Sunday (Jan. 2) on CNN, repeats at the same times Jan. 8 and then goes to HBO Max.
The film uses footage from the 2010 tour by King and Taylor (shown here), adding fresh interviews with both, plus their colleagues. Clearly, King – like Paul McCartney, who will turn 80 on June 18 – is remaining a force forever. Read more…

Week’s top-10 for Jan. 3: Two of TV’s best shows start final seasons

1) “This Is Us” season-opener, 9 p.m. Tuesday, NBC. One of TV’s best shows starts its sixth and final season. It has already drawn 38 Emmy nominations, including four for best drama series. It has won four Emmys, for Sterling K. Brown (shown here) as Randall, the businessman-turned-councilman, and for guest stars. Now Randall, Kevin and Kate – their lives in flux – celebrate their 41st birthday. That’s followed by an exceptionally good “New Amsterdam,” partly set in London, where Helen and Max have their clinic. Read more…

Best-bets for Dec.30: “Frozen,” football & festival

1) “Frozen” (2013), 8-10 p.m., ABC. Heading into the holiday weekend, it’s a strong movie night. That’s led by this gorgeous film (shown here), which won Oscars for best animated feature and for the song, “Let It Go.” Also at 8 are two strong choices for grown-ups: TNT has “Black Panther” (2018); it’s a superb action epic, despite a final battle scene that seems to be eternal. And USA has “Knives Out” (2019); Rian Johnson directed his own witty, Oscar-nominated script, mixing mystery and humor. Read more…

Best-bets for Dec. 29: Re-visit “Price” and “Wonder”

1) “‘The Price is Right’ 50th Anniversary Special,” 8-10 p.m., CBS. “Price” really began 65 years ago, but CBS ignores the NBC and ABC years. This rerun, from September, marked the start of the 50th CBS season. Up to then, two million people had been in the studio audience and 68,000 had been called as contestants. They’d won $300 million in prizes, including 8,400 cars; they’d tried 108 games. This season, with Drew Carey (shown here) hosting, added two more games, including one guessing 1972 prices. Read more…