Mike Hughes

News and Quick Comments

Here’s the schedule for Earth Day TV

As Earth Day arrives (Friday, April 22), the streaming networks and PBS are piling up specials. Here’s a round-up.
COMING UP
–Wednesday (April 20), then at pbs.org and the PBS Video app: PBS has “Changing Planet” at 8 p.m., launching a seven-year effort to study key areas. “Earth Emergency” follows at 10.
— Friday: Three films debut on Disney+ (see separate story). “Polar Bear” (shown here) is from the DisneyNature people, whose lush films are usually in theaters the week of Earth Day. The others are from National Geographic: “Explorer: The Last Tepui” follows Alex Honnold (the climber of “Free Solo” fame), as he leads a climb up a 1,000-foot cliff, so a botanist can study an “island in the sky.” Also, “The Biggest Little Farm: The Return” revisits John and Molly Chester, city people creating an eco-friendly farm in California. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / April 18, 2022
Stories

Earth Day? It will be big on our TV screens

The first Earth Day of the Covid years brought a bright-eyed, bright-skies novelty. In Northern India, for instance, people were delighted; for the first time, they could see the Himalayas.
The second pandemic Earth Day even brought a film about slowed-down world: “The Year the Earth Changed” saw nature rebounding vibrantly.
Now comes the third one (shown here with climber Alex Honnold on Disney+). Filmmaking has been difficult, but there’s still a big, ambitious line-up — see separate list under “news and quick comments” — on PBS and the streaming channels. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / April 18, 2022
Daily Best Bets

Best-bets for April 18: “Better” goes British

1) “Better Things,” 10 p.m., FX, rerunning at 11 and midnight. For this final season, Celia Imrie (left) — who plays the mother of Sam (Pamela Adlon, right) — couldn’t leave England during the pandemic. Adlon had a solution: She flew there to tape several two-person scenes for early episodes, pretending they were in California; then the entire cast arrived for this engaging hour. Amid pleasant moments in Liverpool and London, we get some humor and some life-changing decisions … setting up next week’s series finale. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / April 16, 2022
Daily Best Bets

Best-bets for April 17: “First Lady” drama, Easter passion

1)“The First Lady” debut, 9 p.m., Showtime, rerunning at 10. Over the next eight weeks, we’ll see three fascinating stories entwine. Michelle Obama (shown here) is played by Viola Davis, with Gillian Anderson as Eleanor Roosevelt and Michelle Pfeiffer as the surprising Betty Ford. Later, we’ll glimpse their early yearsb (with different actresses) and later years. Tonight focuses on their arrivals at the White House. Ford didn’t want to be there … but promptly emerged as a strong and outspoken force. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / April 15, 2022
Stories

“Mayans” booms with Ukraine-style warfare

As the new “Mayans M.C.” season booms onto the screen, it seems a bit like a newsreel from the Ukraine.
Here are the bikers, outgunned and outmanned, clinging to their home. They have Molotov cocktails, makeshift shields and desperation.
These scenes (10 p.m. Tuesday, April 19, on FX) were filmed before the Ukraine war, but they remind us that fact inspires fiction. Consider: Read more…

By Mike Hughes / April 14, 2022
Stories

English journey made “Better Things” a better show

For most shows, this would have been simple:
One of the actors couldn’t get there, due to Covic concerns. It was time to write her out and move on.
But that’s not how “Better Things” (shown here) works. For its final season, it took elaborate steps — peaking with an episode that airs at 10 p.m. Monday (April 18), then moves to Hulu. “This would have been woefully incomplete without it,” Adlon said in a Television Critics Association virtual press conference. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / April 14, 2022
Weekly Previews

Week’s top-10 for April 18: Farewell to “Black-ish,” “Sanditon,” more

1)”Black-ish” finale, 9 p.m. Tuesday, ABC. One of TV’s most important comedies wraps its eight-year run. “Black-ish” has offered fresh insights about a Black family in upper-income suburbia. It’s had 25 Emmy nominations (including four for best comedy series), a Peabody, a Television Critics Association win for best comedy and a Golden Globe for Tracee Ellis Ross. Now, with his parents leaving and his kids eyeing colleges, Dre (Anthony Anderson, shown here with Ross) considers a big change – and gets advice from gymnast Simone Biles. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / April 13, 2022
Daily Best Bets

Best-bets for April 15: Feel-good dancers, feel-bad cops

1) “Come Dance With Me” debut, 8-10 p.m., CBS. An OK dance competition gets buried in a sea of feel-good excess. Kids who are serious dancers – prizewinners, maybe professionals – team with parents who aren’t (shown here). The performances are quite good; after all, half the dancers are talented and they’re give excellent costumes, choreography, music and lighting. But “Come Dance” pushes too hard; it feels forced, surrounding acts with emotion and praise. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / April 13, 2022
News and Quick Comments

“Password” joins summer spree of game shows

There will be another new game show this summer – except this one is also very old. It’s “Password,” which began 61 years ago.
NBC’s summer version – hosted by Keke Palmer — will continue the basic plan of pairing celebrities with regular folks. But Jimmy Fallon (shown here playing with Jim Parsons), who is also the producer, will be one of the celebrities in each hour; the last of the eight episodes will be all-celebrity. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / April 13, 2022