Month: January 2024

Stories

She was the leader of the teen-trauma pack

One of my favorite bits of music commentary came from a 5-year-old.
Out of the blue one day, he said: “Isn’t it amazing that Justin Bieber is a real person?”
That comes to mind now, with word that Mary Weiss, lead singer of the Shangri-Las (shown here, with Weiss at right), died Friday (Jan. 19), at 75.
There was a neatly other-world feeling to her “Leader of the Pack.” In three minutes, it told a complete teen soap opera, from first meeting (in a candy store, no less) to a jolting motorcycle death, with the word “gone” repeated 26 times.
So it’s good to know that behind all that heightened drama was a real person – a 15-year-old who grew up poor, became briefly famous, then retreated into a life that included being an accountant, businesswoman, decorator and comeback singer. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / January 20, 2024
Daily Best Bets

Best-bets for Jan. 22: “Bachelor” starts, John Walsh returns

1) “The Bachelor” opener, 8-10 p.m., ABC. After being runner-up on “Bachelorette.” Joey Graziadei is now in charge. He’s 28 and teaches tennis; he’ll meet four women in their early 30s and 28 in their twenties. There are three nurses, a mental-health therapist and a mental-health counselor. There’s also an actress, an artist, an “esthetician,” a nanny (Evalin, shown here) and a pro-football cheerleader. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / January 20, 2024
Daily Best Bets

Best-bets for Jan. 21: cartoons, football and lots of detectives

1) “Encanto” (2021), 8 p.m., Disney Channel, or “Soul” (2020), 9 p.m., ABC. These films have much in common. Each streamed at Christmas, rippling with music and ethnic flavor; each won the Oscar for best animated picture. But “Soul” (with a jazzy sound) hit the pandemic and skipped theaters in the U.S.; “Encanto” (shown here), with Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Latino sound, had better luck a year later. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / January 19, 2024
Stories

Racist trees? That stirs an intriguing film

If you happen to love trees (many people do) and hate bigotry (most do), this was a tough one:
In Palm Springs, Cal. (shown here), there was a spirited debate about removing trees that formed a racial border. That’s the focus of “Racist Trees,” a compelling documentary that reaches most PBS stations at 10 p.m. Monday, under the “Independent Lens” banner.
Even that title has split people. Fox News mocked the notion: Can trees really be racist?
No, but they can be a racial barrier. Many things can. In Michigan, a river separates Benton Harbor (89 percent Black) from St. Joseph (88 percent White). In Florida, a highway separates the impoverished Liberty City area from the wealthier sections in other parts of Miami. Throughout the nation, studies have shown, highways shattered Black communities. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / January 18, 2024
Weekly Previews

Week’s top-10 for Jan. 22: lots of finales and debuts

1) “The Bachelor” opener, 8-10 p.m., today, ABC. Joey Graziadei (shown here), the “Bachelorette” runner-up, gets his chance to do the choosing. He’s 28 and teaches tennis; he’ll meet four women in their early 30s and 28 in their twenties. There are three nurses, a mental-health therapist and a mental-health counselor. There’s also an actress, an artist, an “esthetician,” a nanny and a pro-football cheerleader. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / January 18, 2024
Daily Best Bets

Best-bets for Jan. 20: new “SNL,” old “Will”

1) “Saturday Night Live,” 11:29, NBC. One quick route to being an “SNL” host seems to be portraying Elvis Last season had Austin Butler, the “Elvis” star; tonight is Jacob Elordi, the “Priscilla” (shown heee) co-star. (He also did “Euphoria” and the “Kissing Booth” movies.) “SNL” had eight new episodes in 10 weeks, before airing four straight reruns. Now it’s back; Renee Rapp is the music guest. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / January 18, 2024
Daily Best Bets

Best-bets for Jan. 19: modern crises and Ben Franklin

1) “Benjamin Franklin,” 9-11 p.m., PBS. Franklin (depicted here) rippled with contrasts. He was a left-brain guy who invented the lightning rod, bifocals and Franklin stove, a right-brainer whose wrote cleverly. He was warm and lovable, but fought with his family, owned slaves and ran slavery ads in his newspaper. Ken Burn created this rich profile, which reruns over two Fridays. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / January 17, 2024
News and Quick Comments

Forget the Globes: Emmys prove awards can be fun

So it turns out that an awards show can be fun. We don’t know what the Golden Globes’ excuse is.
The Emmy telecast Monday (Jan. 15),shown here with winner Quinta Brunson and Carol Burnett, was mostly enjoyable, despite the obstacles.
Those were the 27 awards that had to be handed out and 24 acceptance speeches that had to be endured. (We’re eternally grateful to the winners who were absent.) Read more…

By Mike Hughes / January 16, 2024
Stories

Strikes pushed networks into wise and foolish moves

Necessity, we’re told, is the mother of invention … and of desperation and foolishness.
That was evident when networks pieced together makeshift schedules, because of the writers’ and actors’ strikes. Some steps were wise, others (including the British “Ghosts,” shown here) were not.
That phase is finally concluding now, as shows gradually start their post-strike seasons. But first, we should pause and look at that time and its interesting quirks.
We’ll stick to the five commercial broadcast networks, because the others were less affected by the strikes. Among other things we learned: Read more…

By Mike Hughes / January 15, 2024