1) “Saturday Night Live,” 11:29 p.m., NBC. On Oct. 11, 1975, “SNL” debuted with a busy night — three comedians, two music acts, a film, Muppets … and lots of future stars. Now, exactly 50 years later, this season’s second episode (and, by one count, the 995th overall) is hosted by Amy Poehler (shown here earlier this week), with Role Model as music guest. Read more…
1) “Blue Bloods” finale rerun, 10 p.m., CBS. The final season ended with potential chaos for the police commissioner (Tom Selleck, shown here_ and his kin: New York’s gangs linking to demand amnesty for prisoners. That reruns today, a week before the debut of a well-crafted spin-off, “Boston Blue.” This finale also has key moments in the marriages of Erin and of her brother Jamie; also, Joe finally meets his cousin. Read more…
TV viewers can be forgiven for having a few basic questions:
When will the TV season start? Will it ever start? Wait, did it start already?
The answers finally become clear when CBS has its “premiere week,” Oct. 12-19, three weeks later than usual. It includes:
— One situation comedy, a fun one. “DMV” has its sprightly start at 8:30 p.m. Monday (Oct. 13).
— Two cop shows, both spin-offs that are high-octane, slickly produced and a bit overstuffed. “Sheriff Country” and “Boston Blue”(shown here) start at 9 and 10 p.m. Friday, Oct. 17.
— A promising reality competition, “The Road,” at 9 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 19. Read more…
1) “Grey’s Anatomy” (shown here) season-opener, 10 p.m., ABC. The 22nd season begins for what is the third-longest-running primetime drama (behind two “Law & Order” shows) in U.S. TV history. And it begins in mid-crisis: Last season ended with an explosion in the hospital. After waiting five months, viewers now see a scramble to save patients and doctors. Read more…
In our minds, we might cast our spouses as heroes, angels, knights in shining armor.
And in TV, Dana Klein cast her husband as a complete and total jerk. “He’s such a nice guy,” she insists.
She’s creator and producer of “DMV,” at 8:30 p.m. Mondays on CBS. In the opener (Oct. 13), a rich businessman keeps badgering for special treatment from the Department of Motor Vehicles.
Ah yes, Klein figured — a perfect role for her husband, Mark Feuerstein (shown here). “We’re from New York, so we know some people who are a little, you know, entitled when they go into a room.” Read more…
1) “Secrets of the Dead” season-opener, 10 p.m., PBS. At its peak, Rome’s Colosseum (shown here) held more than 60,000 people. At its moral depth, it had gladiators fighting, prisoners being executed, African animals being slain. Here’s a fascinating look at the structure itself Read more…
1) “The Lowdown,” 9 p.m., FX, rerunning at 10:11. Last week, Lee’s daughter (shown here with him) found the essays of the late Dale Washberg. Now we hear some of them, recited by Dale (Tim Blake Nelson) and read Lee (Ethan Hawke). We’re propelled into action, emotion and great characters — especially Jeanne Tripplehorn as Dale’s widow; the final minutes are potent. Read more…
1) “Independent Lens,” 10 p.m., PBS. Phil Sharp (shown here) grew up in rural Kentucky, where only 10 percent of classmates went to college. He stuttered and was dyslexic; he was, an educator says, “off-kilter, undaunted, unapologetic.” With homespun optimism, this compelling film says, he led science breakthroughs that have saved 20 million lives on Covid alone. Read more…
At 10, Jane Goodall loved the “Tarzan of the Apes” book, with one exception:
“He married the wrong Jane,” she said recently. “His Jane was a wimp.”
Most fictional women were, when Goodall read the book (1944) and when Edgar Rice Burroughs wrote it (1912). But this Jane (Goodall) didn’t fit any such stereotypes.
Mostly, Goodall (shown here) was known for her perpetual calmness. “I think it’s because of all the months and months I spent in the Rain Forest,” she said.
Now — after her death Wednesday (Oct. 1) at 91 — we can look back at an amazing life of working face-to-face with jungle primates. We can catch her new “Famous Last Words” on Netflix … And National Geographic documentaries, led by the 2017 “Jane” and the 2020 “Jane Goodall: The Hope,” both on Disney+ … And PBS documentaries … And her books. Read more…
1) “Elsbeth” season-opener, 9 p.m. Sunday, CBS. Here’s some logical casting: Stephen Colbert plays a talk-show host, which he is …. Andy Richter plays a sidekick, which he was …. Amy Sedaris plays his wife (isn’t), a comedy writer (is). We quickly see a murder, then watch Elsbeth (shown here with Sedaris and Richter) at work. It’s s fairly good episode; the next one (on Oct. 16) is brilliant. Read more…
