Mike Hughes

Daily Best Bets

Best-bets for Aug. 29: crocs, warriors & romance

1) “America’s National Parks,” 8 and 9 p.m., National Geographic Channel; rerunning at midnight and 1 a.m. We start in the Everglades, the only place in the world to have both alligators and crocodiles. (Yes, we’re told, that’s a good thing.) Then it’s on to the Grand Canyon (shown here) – 277 miles long, with life ranging from elk to soaring condor. This is the start of a five-night, nine-hour series, narrated by Garth Brooks, with gorgeous visions of semi-wild worlds. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / August 27, 2022

Stories

It’s a new way to turn therapy into intense drama

For anyone pondering the human condition, this can be the mother lode – the point where a therapist and a patient link.
“Therapy frees you to actually explore feelings in an overt way,” said writer-producer Joe Weisberg.
Now he and Joel Fields have found a fresh way to blend quiet therapy and intense crime.: “The Patient” (shown here with Steve Carell) debuts with two episodes Tuesday (Aug. 30) on Hulu, then continues for eight more weeks. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / August 26, 2022

Daily Best Bets

Best-bets for Aug. 28: lotsa drama (some of it true) and music

1) MTV Video Music Awards, 8-10:30 p.m., MTV, other cable channels and CW; also, MTV has a preview at 6:30 p.m. and reruns the awards at 10:30 p.m. and 1 a.m. In a music-stuffed night, Nicki Minaj (shown here) and the Red Hot Chili Peppers get special awards and perform. Also performing — Jack Harlow, Lizzo, Maneskin, J Balvin, Anitta, Panic at the Disco, Blackpink and Kane Brown – the first country singer to work solo at the VMA’s. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / August 26, 2022

Weekly Previews

Week’s top-10 for Aug. 29: parks, performers & “Patient,” plus pause in romance

1) “America’s National Parks,” 8 and 9 p.m. today through Thursday, then 9 p.m. Friday, National Georaphic. This starts today with opposite worlds — the Everglades and the 277-mile-long Grand Canyon. It ends Friday with the fury and beauty of trhe Hawaii Volcanoes National Park (shown here), where one volcano erupted for 35 years, burying a road under 100 feet of lava,. It’s beautifully filmed, with Garth Brooks as narrator.

Best-bets for Aug. 27: Football opener in … Ireland?

1) Football, 12:30 p.m. ET, Fox. The college football season, an American tradition, is starting in Dublin, Ireland. That’s where Nebraska(shown here) and Northwestern – each back from a 1-8 Big Ten season – collide. There’s also a game on Fox Sports 1 (Connecticut/Utah State, 4 p.m. ET) and four on the CBS Sports Network – Austin Peay/Western Kentucky (noon) … Idaho State/Nevada-Las Vegas (3:30 p.m.) … Charlotte/Florida Atlantic (7) … Vanderbilt/Hawaii (10:30). Read more…

By Mike Hughes / August 25, 2022

Daily Best Bets

Best-bets for Aug. 26: classical music, classic movie

1) “Vienna Philharmonic Summer Night Concert” (shown here), 9-10:30 p.m., PBS. With Europe staggering from Covid, warfare, inflation and more, this night – beautifully filmed – has a unity feel. Latvian conductor Andris Nelsons opens with German music (Beethoven) and closes – as always – with a Viennese waltz. He features a French composer (Saint-Sains) and cellist (Capucon), but also has a Romanian piece, two Czech ones and two from Ukraine. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / August 24, 2022

News and Quick Comments

Hallmark gets an unthinkably good makeover

As soon as “Unthinkably Good Things” begins, you might wonder: “Hey, Is this REALLY a Hallmark Channel movie?”
After all, many viewers have memorized the Hallmark formula:
A woman (young, pert, capable and, of course, white) is changing her life – maybe moving home, visiting home or such. She meets a guy (young-ish, generically handsome, white). They squabble, then decide they like each other. It’s all filmed in a pristine Canadian town, disguised as mid-America.
But most of that has been jettisoned for “Unthinkably” (shown here). The movie — 9-11 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 28, on the Hallmark and Hallmark Movies & Mysteries channels – reflects a new interest in diversity; it’s also the the first project under Hallmark’s “Mahogany” label, changing all the traditions. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / August 24, 2022

News and Quick Comments

“Only Murders” turns killer-reveal into a fun romp

Modern folks like gender-reveal parties, but it’s time for an older notion – the killer-reveal party.
That’s what “Only Murders in the Building” (shown here with Selena Gomez) does so cleverly in its finale, which arrived today (Tuesday, Aug. 23) on Hulu.
If you haven’t seen the previous nine episodes, please do. (Don’t worry, there aren’t any spoilers here.)
For that matter, catch Hulu in general. It’s on a hot streak, with three types of strong shows: Read more…

By Mike Hughes / August 23, 2022

Daily Best Bets

Best-bets for Aug. 25: sharks, Satan and Bear’s mom

1) “The End is Nye” debut; any time, Peacock, 10 p.m., Syfy. A dead-serious subject gets a whimsical launch. In each of the six episodes, special effects help Bill Nye (the science guy) step into a disaster, then tell us how to survive it and how to prevent it. All six are available on Peacock; they also show up (one per night) on Syfy, with disaster lead-ins. That begins today, with five goofy (and fun) “Sharknado” films (one is shown here), starting at 11:40 a.m. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / August 23, 2022

Stories

Teen turns demonic? It’s almost a real-life tale

Like many people, Chrissy turned into a little demon when she became a teen-ager. Now she rages at her mother and despises her dad.
And like some, she has good reasons for this. After all, her mom withheld a key secret and her dad … well, he’s Satan. The real one.
That’s the set-up for “Little Demon” (shown here), an animated show that debuts at 10 p.m. Thursday (Aug. 25) on FXX. Lucy DeVito, who stars, finds the raging-teen idea realistic. “At times, I was a total (jerk),” she said. “But I think most kids are.”
There were other quirks in her life, she told the Television Critics Association. “Growing up in a household where your father is touted the ‘prince of darkness’ – that’s another problem.” Read more…

By Mike Hughes / August 22, 2022