Day: September 18, 2023

News and Quick Comments

When does Christmas start? Maybe on Oct. 21

Let’s quit worrying about when the TV season will really begin.
Instead, we’ll jump to a bigger question: When does Christmas begin?
Now we have an answer: It starts Oct. 21, when the Great American Family channel has the first of its new Christmas movies. It has 20 of them, including one (shown here) with Candace Cameron Bure and Gabriel Hogan.
Yes, October –the month before the month before Christmas. It’s 10 days before Halloween and 33 days before Thanksgiving; it’s 65 days before Christmas Day, giving us time for last-minute shopping. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / September 18, 2023
Daily Best Bets

Best-bets for Sept. 20: chefs conclude, horrors begin

1) “MasterChef” finale, 8-10 p.m., Fox. The South team has dominated all season. Last week, it had three people in the final six … but then two were ousted. That leaves Jennifer Maune (shown here), 42, a mother of six and lifestyle blogger who’s been a cheerleader, Junior Leaguer. real-estate salesperson and more. She faces people from the Midwest (Grant Gillan, 32, a brewery sales director) and West (Kennedy U., 26, a festival vendor). Each prepares a three-course dinner. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / September 18, 2023
Stories

A tattered season coming? Not on PBS

The face on the screen was familiar and re-assuring.
Yes, this may be the TV season people dread, with two strikes and an overload of reality shows. But there was Ken Burns, via Zoom, reminding us that PBS is as strong as ever.
Burns has been making prize-winning documentaries for four decades.. All of them, he said, came with “no marketing decisions, no focus panels, … just whatever lands in our hearts or our guts.”
Coming next (Oct. 16-17) is a portrait of the Amrican buffalo (shown here). The first half, he admits, is “incredibly difficult to watch.” Still, both halves are richly crafted and deeply moving.
That provides a neat consolation: As awful as this TV season may be, PBS seems to be in fine shape. Here’s an updated look at what’s coming, with details through October and a few glimpses ahead: Read more…

By Mike Hughes / September 18, 2023