Mike Hughes

Daily Best Bets

Best-bets for Feb. 21: soaring rap, messy wedding

1) “Fight the Power: How Hip Hop Changed the World” finale, 9 and 10 p.m., PBS. This starts with the “gangsta rap” era and its roots: When police were acquitted for the 1991 beating of Rodney King, Los Angeles exploded. Politicians raged at anti-cop songs; they overlooked, at first, the rampant misogyny. The first hour ends with the rise of Queen Latifah (shown here in a more-recent concert) and others in response. The second sees rap soar, fighting new power, from Clinton to Trump. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / February 19, 2023
Daily Best Bets

Best-bets for Feb. 20: Who can monopolize Monopoly?

1) “American Experience: The Ruthless History of Monopoly,” 9 p.m., PBS. When Ralph Anspach created Anti-Monopoly in the 1970s, the Parker Brothers company tried to smite it. Clearly, the company said, this violated a patent it had held since Monopoly (shown here in its current form) was invented in the 1930s. Anspach didn’t budge. He traced the game to a Lizzie Maggie patent in 1904 and then to Atlantic City women in the 1920s. Here’s a fun portrait of an intense, six-year battle. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / February 18, 2023
Stories

She left a comfy career … and found TV stardom

In the wobbly world of acting, Liza Lapira had found a balance.
She had a day job she liked (as a store manager) and a boss who let her leave for auditions. She did theater and had some TV roles, all while living in her home town of New York, near family and friends.
“I had a really great life,” she recalled by phone. “It felt a little safe and comfortable.” So she left.
These days, that move seems wise – especially if you watch CBS on Sundays. In December, she starred in “Must Love Christmas,” the best of the year’s holiday movies; now “The Equalizer” (shown here) – a ratings hit – is finally back in its 8 p.m. slot. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / February 17, 2023
Daily Best Bets

Best-bets for Feb. 19: “Idol” leads a packed night

1) “American Idol” opener, 8-10 p.m., ABC. The bad news is that this gets monotonous, as judges pour out cascades of praise; we almost wish for a Simon Cowell interlude. And the good news? The praise is well-deserved; the talent is amazing. Watch one little teen (shown here) sit at the piano and give a whole new vibe to a Billy Joel tune … and another give a warm vibe to her own creation. There are even guys who look like a young Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise. It’s a strong start. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / February 17, 2023
Weekly Previews

Week’s top-10 for Feb. 20: Farewell to Meredith and “Mayfair”

1) “Grey’s Anatomy” return, 9 p.m. Thursday, ABC. Ellen Pompeo, shown here, is already a piece of TV history, playing the same character (Meredith Grey) for 19 seasons. Few people (Mariska Hargitay, Kelsey Grammer, James Arness) have topped that in prime time. Now – as the show returns from a 15-week break – it’s Meredith’s last day at the hospital. The doctors plan a surprise, Nick asks about the future and interns compete to be involved in key surgery. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / February 16, 2023
News and Quick Comments

Beautiful liars are splendid company

As a sleek drama debuts on ABC, it offers a concept that has spanned decades and continents.
“I was compelled at first by the idea of two professional liars who see one another’s truths,” said Julia Cohen, a producer of ABC’s “The Company You Keep.” These two (shown here) are smart, sexy and – they don’t realize – on opposite sides of the law.
That’s the notion that propelled the Korean series this is based on. It also was behind an American tale that writer Elmore Leonard created decades ago.
Now the “Company” opener gets a big push — 10 p.m. Sunday (Feb. 19), after the “American Idol” opener, then rerunning at 10 p.m. the following Thursday, after the return of “Grey’s Anatomy.” It also offers some starpower, with former “This Is Us” star Milo Ventimiglia. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / February 16, 2023
Daily Best Bets

Best-bets for Feb. 18: Re-savor “Heat,” “Magnum,” more

1) “In the Heat of the Night” (1967), 8 p.m. ET, Turner Classic Movies. Two of our greatest actors (shown here) collide, in a well-crafted mystery. Sidney Poitier plays a big-city homicide cop, reluctantly helping a small-town Mississippi sheriff. Rod Steiger won a well-deserved Oscar in the latter role; there were also wins for best picture and the script, score and editing. It’s a potent Black History Montgh film, followed at 10 by “To Sleep With Anger” (1990). Read more…

By Mike Hughes / February 16, 2023
News and Quick Comments

Good news: “Poker Face” is renewed

Here’s some good news for TV viewers: “Poker Face” will have a second season.
The show is still wrapping up its first season, with new episodes – terrific ones, mostly – each Thursday on Peacock, through March 9. It has received near-unanimous raves from critics.
That approval comes as no real surprise. The show pairs producer-director-writer Rian Johnson – who has Oscar nominations for both of his “Knives Out” scripts – and Natasha Lyonne (shown here), who seizes attention whenever she’s on the screen. It also revives the mystery-of-the-week format, with Charlie (Lyonne) solving crimes while she’s on the lam. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / February 15, 2023
News and Quick Comments

Picard ends a 35-year mission … maybe

By now, Patrick Stewart knows this “Star Trek” thing is more than a brief blip in his life.
It’s been, he said, “35 years since I first put on the captain’s uniform …. The world has changed and I have changed too.”
Or not. As “Star Trek: Picard” (shown here with Stewart and LeVar Burton) begins what it calls its final season (Thursdays on Paramount+, starting Feb. 16), he’s remained a potent performer of British classics. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / February 15, 2023