Month: January 2022

1) “9-1-1: Lone Star” and “Ordinary Joe,” 8 p.m., Fox and 10 p.m., NBC. Suddenly, our TV sets are filled with snow.; both episodes have blizzards. For “Lone Star,” that’s a surprise; Texas doesn’t get much snow. It’s also a rerun of the season-opener, starting an excellent, multi-week story: Owen (Rob Lowe,shown here), bearded and brooding, is in a cabin when the world transforms. And for “Ordinary Joe,” all three of these extraordinary Joes – the cop, nurse and rock star – see their lives battered. Read more…

1) “Reframed: Marilyn Monroe” opener, 9-11 p.m. ET, CNN, rerunning at midnight. Early stories had Monroe (shown here) as the product of accidents (discovered while babysitting) and manipulative men. Well, she was discovered by accident – but as a factory worker, not a babysitter. She refused to sleep with mogul Harry Cohn and co-wrote a piece about male predators. In an excellent (if overstated) start to a two-week, four-hour portrait, we meet a savvy and ambitious woman who mastered projecting her beauty. Read more…

1) “Peacemaker” opener, 10:15 p.m., HBO. Chris (John Cena, shown here) is a superhero, but not the modest sort. He has a pet eagle, a red-white-and-blue car and a weird helmet he even wears in a restaurant. He’s also a survivor; in the second “Suicide Squad” movie (8 p.m. on HBO), he was shot and a building fell on him. Now he’s out of the hospital; the result – launching an HBO Max series – leaps between fierce action and sharp wit, beautifully written by director James Gunn and perfectly played by Cena. Read more…

1) “Ray Donovan: The Movie,” 9 and 10:40 p.m, Showtime. The “Ray Donovan” series ended a year ago, with lives shattered. Ray’s daughter was widowed, his half-brother was wanted by police and his dad was running loose with $20 million in stolen stock. Now Ray (Liev Schreiber, shown here) phones his therapist to say he’s killed his father. Then the story backs up a little – and a lot; flashbacks show the rift that sent the dad to prison for decades. This is beautifully acted and sharply crafted, but it’s also a tough, bleak ride. Read more…

1) “Call Me Kat,” 9 p.m., Fox. Low-key and kind of goofy, this is also oddly enjoyable. In the season-opener (after football on Sunday), Kat (Mayim Bialik, shown here in a previous episode) was in the unfamiliar position of choosing between two guys. She chose Oscar; now the show settles into its regular slot as they try to celebrate and their friends, Randi and Carter, build their own romance. The result, as usual, is light and likable. Read more…

1) “Nature,” 8 p.m., PBS. Many teens might be expected to walk the dog or feed the cat; Laurel Scheel may have been the only one to feed and play with the octopus. Her dad, David, is a professor at Alaska Pacific University. After years of standard research, he went a step further – keeping an octopus named Heidi (shown here) in a tank in his house. Heidi surprised him by solving some obstacles, bonding (especially with Laurel) and watching TV. This rerun is light and entertaining, but also has nuggets of information. Read more…