1) “The Ten Commandments” (1956), 7-11:44 p.m., ABC. Back in 1956, this was considered a movie marvel – an epic that traced the life of Moses (Charlton Heston, shown here), even managing to part the Red Sea. It won an Oscar for special effects and was nominated for six more, including best picture. By modern standards, it’s a bit stiff; still, it’s become an Eastertime tradition, this year airing on the eve of Palm Sunday. Read more…
The Fox network is planning a low-key summer of music, dance and Legos.
It will also have some cooking and wrestling; there’s always wrestling. And alongside lots of reality shows, it will have two scripted ones – “Fantasy Island” (shown here) and “Duncanville.”
All of that starts early, with everything in place by the end of May. It includes: Read more…
1) “Now Hear This” season-opener, 9 p.m., PBS. In the first two seasons, Scott Yoo (shown here) traveled Europe, visiting places where classical masterpieces began. But this year he stays in the U.S. … and finds ample greatness. This hour traces Amy Beach, who (in 1896, at 29) was the first American woman to have a symphony published and performed. Yoo (a violinist) and his wife Alice Dade (a flutist) sample gorgeous music from Beach and other women. Read more…
1) “Welcome to Flatch,” 9:30 p.m., Fox. In its slow, droll way, “Flatch” can be both funny and poignant. Pretending to be a documentary about small-town life, it often views two cousins (shown here in a previous episode), drifting through their post-school life. Tonight, Kelly gets a rare chance to be with her dad; Shrub has two milestones – asking a girl for a date and (unrelated) seeing a naked female. There are also key moments for the pastor and his ex-wife, who edits the newspaper. Read more…
The good news is that “So You Think You Can Dance” – one of the best of the summer shows – will finally be back.
In fact, it won’t even wait until summer. It starts its 17th season at 9 p.m. May 18 on Fox, right after the season-finale of “The Masked Singer.”
And the bad? Nigel Lythgoe won’t be back as one of the judges. Read more…
1)“Snowfall,” 10 p.m., FX, rerunning to 11:05 p.m. and 12:15 and 1:20 a.m. At a perilous point in its story, “Snowfall” pauses for an odd interlude. Last week, Jerome finally proposed to Louise … who secretly ordered a hit that could set off gang warfare. Trouble looms … but first, there’s an odd twist at the wedding. Some viewers will love it, some won’t, but it has great performances – especially by Damson Idris (shown here in a previous episode), whose character (Franklin) is usually stoic. Read more…
1) “Benjamin Franklin” conclusion, 8 p.m., PBS, rerunning at 10. The Declaration of Independence rippled with youthful zeal. Thomas Jefferson, 33, wrote the first draft; tweaking was done by John Adams, 40 … and Franklin, 70 (shown here in artist’s rendering). Franklin’s convivial manner then was key in getting French help for the revolution and in soothing anger during the Constitutional Convention. Ken Burns’ superb film shows a man who lived to 84 and belatedly opposed slavery. Read more…
1) Basketball championship, 9 p.m. ET, TBS, TNT and TruTV. After much fuss and occasional upsets, the college tournament concludes. On Saturday, Villanova faced Kansas and Duke (shown here in a previous game) faced North Carolina; now the winners go for the title. TBS has a pre-game show at 7 p.m. and a post-game one at about 11:30. Read more…
Like many of us, NBC is eager for the endless winter to conclude.
For summer, it has a safe collection of reality shows. That includes two returning ones (“America’s Got Talent” and “American Ninja Warrior”), one new one (“Dancing With Myself”) that has people trying to match the moves of Shakira (shown here) and others … and one that’s returning to the network after a decade elsewhere, “Who Do You Think You Are?”
The schedule: Read more…
Many of us might feel mired in one side of our brain. We’re left-brained scientists and engineers, right-brained artists and authors.
But there are rare exceptions, the both-brained sort. They’re as exotic as Leonardo da Vinci … or as down-to-earth as Benjamin Franklin, the subject of Ken Burns’ latest PBS documentary (8 p.m. Monday and Tuesday, April 4-5, repeating at 10).
“He was able to connect art and science, able to connect the humanities and the technology,” biographer Walter Isaacson said of Franklin (shown here in an artist’s rendition). “He cared about everything you could possibly learn about, from art to anatomy, math to music.” Read more…
