Mike Hughes

Fox plans an early (sorta) start for fall season

The Fox network will get off to an early start this fall — or, at least, early compared to the other guys.
ABC has aid that five of its six scripted shows will wait until October. (The lone exception is “”High Potential,” Sept. 16.) CBS is waiting even longer: All 14 of its scripted shows will start in the stretch from Oct. 12-19.
That gives Fox some time to seek new viewers. Its only two dramas — “Murder in a Small Town” (shown here) and “Doc” — will start Sept. 23; its four animated comedies arrive Sept. 28. Read more…

Best-bets for July 30: extinction; “Sunny” silliness

1) “Human Footprint” season-finale, 9 p.m., PBS. The natural world creates extinctions, we’re told here. Of all species since Earth began, 99% are extinct. But humans accelerate this … or slow it. We see efforts by scientists (a “frozen zoo” in San Diego, a “de-extinction” project in Texas) and laymen, helping elephants in Kenya, trees in Appalachia, rhinos (shown here) and more, Read more…

Best-bets for July 28: surviving double disasters

1) “Hurricane Katrina: Race Against Time” conclusion, 8 and 9 p.m., National Geographic, rerunning at 11 and midnight. Sunday’s hours (rerunning from 5-8 p.m. today) showed the storm crush New Orleans and others. In the aftermath (shown here), we see rescue efforts continue. In the final hour, some people rebuild the city; others find new lives elsewhere. Read more…

Best-bets for July 27: water terror in fiction and fact

1) “Nautilus,” 9 p.m., AMC, rerunning at 10:10. After saving the ship last week, Lucas (shown here) found herself drifting to the bottom of the sea. Now, after a clever flashback, that’s where we start. Based on Jules Verne’s 19th-century tale, this blends quiet awe and deep tragedy. Parts of it stretch way too long, but the grand-scale adventure keeps us watching. Read more…

Best-bets for July 26: sharks, Elsbeth and McQueen

(Here are the five TV best-bets for Saturday, July 26, sent a bit early; feel free to use in any form — all or some, print and/or web)

1) “Shark Week” finale, Discovery. We’ve survived another summertime blitz of shark shows. This final day has lots of reruns, plus new hours with ominous titles: At 8 p.m. is “Attack of the Devil Shark”; at 9, “Battle for Shark Mountain” views in-fighting in a shark stronghold. Read more…

Week’s top-10 for July 28: Legos, disasters & Kaitlin

1) “Lego Masters” finale, 8 p.m. today, Fox. There have been some amazing builds, peaking last week (shown here) with ones that sent ping-pong balls on wild rides. Now three duos remain — brothers, siblings and school colleagues (a coach and a band director). It’s the final night for host Will Arnett. Kelly Osbourne hosts four junior episodes; Nick Cannon takes over next year. Read more…

Best-bets for July 25: scary alien, quirky housemates

1) “Resident Alien,” 10 p.m., USA and Syfy. Things are unfolding quickly. Last week, Harry finally got his alien persona (shown here in a previous episode) back … just as the mayor and his wife arrived; they hadn’t known that the town doctor is also is a 12-foot-tall alien. We also learned that the Mantid has assumed the body of an FBI agent. Now Harry enlists an unlikely ally, trying to save the town. Read more…

Best-bets for July 24: funny ghosts, solemn undead

1) “Revival,” 10 p.m., Syfy. At first, this juggled humor and horror; now it gets deeper and darker. One night in Wausau, Wis.; some of the dead revived. Most are benign, but people are freaked out. Now we see the sheriff’s daughters — one dead/revived, the other (a deputy, shown here) at the brink. There are surprises, plus strong moments for the sheriff (David James Elliott). Read more…