Year: 2025

News and Quick Comments

Good times (mostly) with “SNL 50” and “SNL #1

For a moment there, the 50-year celebration of “Saturday Night Live” seemed to be veering off-course. Then it kept getting better, funnier, more entertaining.
The night (Feb. 16) started with a great monolog by Steve Martin (shown here), but followed with several sketches that were long on commotion and short on wit. Such sketches are a part of the “SNL” tradition, but why front-load them?
Just in time, however, the special rebounded with a bit involving questions from the audience. Interestingly, a football guy (Peyton Manning) had some of the best lines. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / February 16, 2025
Stories

After just 26 years, a new soap arrives

As she molded the glittery world of “Beyond the Gates” (shown here) Michele Val Jean suspected it might be an empty exercise.
After all, there hadn’t been a new daytime soap opera since 1999. Soaps were being canceled, not created.
“There were 13 on the air,” she said. “Now there are four – and one is streaming.”
But now it’s happening: At 2 p.m. Feb. 24, “Beyond the Gates” debuts on CBS. We’ll meet the Duprees, who are rich, Black, ambitious and – this is a soap, after all – troubled. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / February 16, 2025
Daily Best Bets

Best-bets for Feb. 18: from docs to a president

1) “Doc,” 9 p.m., Fox. Struggling to remain a doctor, despite losing eight years of memories, Amy has been opposed by Richard (now her boss) and Sonja (shown here). Now we see the human side of both. Richard (Scott Wolf) faces a rough problem at home; Sonja encounters a man from her past. This hour (the seventh of 10) packs potent emotion. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / February 16, 2025
Daily Best Bets

Best-bets for Feb. 17: It’s Jefferson’s tangled life

1) “Thomas Jefferson” opener, 8-10 p.m., History. Jefferson (shown here, in a painting) was filled with contrasts: He was shy (his inaugural address was barely audible), but his writing roared … He sold all his books (creating the Library of Congress) to avoid bankruptcy – then bought more … And he wrote of freedom, but failed to free his slaves. It’s an intriguing story, told over three nights. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / February 15, 2025
Stories

Way back: when TV was black-and-white and golden

Imagine scriptwriters losing all of their favorite moves.
No car chases, no foot races. No bursts, blasts, infernos or explosions; hardly any zombies, vampires or space ships.
With such deprivation, writers would have to resort to wit and character and nuance and such. That’s how the first golden age of TV drama began.
Shows were done in small spaces with large cameras. They were done live; there was no room for error … or for second-guessing.
“We had technical freedom, creative freedom, financial freedom,” director Fielder Cook told journalist Gordon Sander, adding: “Nobody could come and take it away from us, because nobody knew how to do it but us.” Read more…

By Mike Hughes / February 14, 2025
Weekly Previews

Week’s top-10 for Feb. 17: NBC retools its Sundays

1) “The Americas” and “Suits LA,” 7 and 9 p.m. Sunday, NBC. After lots of football and specials, NBC remakes Sundays. First, a gorgeous wildlife documentary series, starting with the Atlantic Coast (shown here) the first hour and Mexico the second. Then comes a new show from the creator of “Suits.” This one focuses on entertainment lawyers and stars Stephen Amell (“Arrow”). Read more…

By Mike Hughes / February 13, 2025
Daily Best Bets

Best-bets for Feb. 15: fun and music from ‘SNL’ and beyond

1) “Saturday Night Live,” 11:30 p.m., NBC. On the eve of its 50-year celebration, “SNL” reruns it first episode. It’s not like the current version, with a huge cast doing sketches; instead, it’s a ragtag variety show, blending sketches from a small with music from Billy Preston and Janice Ian, comedy from Andy Kaufman and Jim Henson and mini-monologs from George Carlin. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / February 13, 2025
Stories

Sorry, Mike: Obscurity ended with “White Lotus”

There is something to be said for benign obscurity.
Just ask Mike White, whose “The White Lotus” (shown here) starts its third season at 9 p.m. ET Sunday (Feb. 16) on HBO and Max. “I’ve never worked with this kind of scrutiny,” he said.
In the old days, life was simple. He wrote and acted in indie films that were often loved by movie buffs and ignored by others.
Then came “White Lotus,” about strangers in a resort. It won 10 Emmys, including three for White – best writer, director and limited series.
HBO promptly decided it wasn’t limited, after all. It could keep coming back – each time with new people in a new resort in a new country. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / February 12, 2025