Day: December 22, 2021

Daily Best Bets

Best-bets for Dec. 24: classic movies, cartoons, more

(Here are the five TV best-bets for Friday, Dec. 24; feel free to use in any form – all or some, print and/or web)

1) “A Christmas Story” (1983) marathon, 8 p.m., TBS and 9 p.m., TNT. This modest movie does everything right. It captures a 1940s holiday through the hopes and fears of a boy (shown here) who simply wants a BB gun. Done with droll humor, it’s become a tradition for these networks. It runs every two hours for 24 hours, so one of the two will start it at the top of each hour. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / December 22, 2021

Stories

He’s an airborne TV star

If TV had an all-time commuter award, Kenan Thompsom(shown here) might be … well, a solid second place.
The top prize goes to David Frost, who did weekly commutes from London to New York – a jet across the Atlantic, then a helicopter to his office.
But Thompson comes close: He filmed his comedy – “Kenan,” which starts its second season at 8 and 8:30 p.m. Jan. 3 on NBC – in Los Angeles, then flew to New York for each “Saturday Night Live.”
In LA, the emphasis was on COVID safety, he said. “We were to ourselves, in our own little bubble.” But it’s not really a bubble if one guy keeps flying in packed planes; Thompson needed private ones. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / December 22, 2021

News and Quick Comments

TV has big plans for Jan. 6 anniversary

As the anniversary of the Jan. 6 riot nears, TV has major plans.
ABC has announced coverage that will start Jan. 2 and sprawl across the week. It will include a documentary on two streaming services – Hulu and ABC News Live.
That’s alongside other documentaries – a new one on PBS and a rerun on HBO – plus news coverage. Congressmen are talking about a Jan. 6 memorial event; Donald Trump has said he’ll have a press conference that day. Some of the TV plans include: Read more…

By Mike Hughes / December 22, 2021