Mike Hughes

Best-bets for Oct. 6: “CSI” returns, two shows end

1) “CSI: Vegas” debut, 10 p.m., CBS. Six years after “CSI” ended – and 21 years after it began – it’s back. There’s a new name, a new lab and a new set of regulars. Still, the others are also there: We see Brass in the first scenes, Grissom in the final seconds. Sidle (shown here, second from left) is busy; Hodges will be key in the weeks ahead. The newcomers are fairly interesting, with the always-great Mel Rodriguez as the chief medical examiner. They solve a case-of-the-week way too easily, leaving more time for a tangled, ongoing case. Read more…

Best-bets for Oct. 5: Rita conquers time; “La Brea” doesn’t

1) “Rita Moreno: Just a Girl Who Decided to Go For It,” 9 p.m., PBS. At 5, Moreno moved with her mother from Puerto Rico to Long Island. She took dance lessons, was on Broadway at 13, signed a movie deal as a teen … and endured stereotype roles. The exception was “West Side Story”; she won an Oscar, vowed to wait for good roles … and didn’t do another movie for seven years. She survived that (and a toxic romance with Marlon Brando) and is still working at 89 (shown here). It’s a great story. Read more…

“Diana” flips Broadway’s trickle-down plan

When “Diana The Musical” debuted on Netflix, Broadway’s trickle-down tradition wobbled.
The system has been in place for generations: Shows are seen by a few people who have the right location (New York) and bank account (flush). The rest of us must wait for a tour … or a local production … or, occasionally, a movie.
But “Diana” (shown here) goes in reverse. It reached Netflix on Oct.1, seven weeks before its Broadway opening. Read more…

Best-bets for Oct. 4: crisis in LA, turning point on “The Voice”

1) “9-1-1,” 8 p.m. , Fox. Los Angeles life has been rough lately. The season’s first episode had a ransomware attack; the second had a citywide blackout. Now the blackout continues; the rapist who attacked Athena (Angela Bassett,shown hee in a previous episode) has escaped; Athena races to protect her family. And Maddie (Jennifer Love Hewitt), struggling with postpartum depression, makes a big decision. Read more…

Rita Moreno: A chaotic career goes forever

Rita Moreno’s movie career has lasted approximately forever.
She was 18 when her first film, the soon-forgotten “So Young, So Bad,” opened. And her newest one?
That’s Steven Spielberg’s “West Side Story,” on Dec. 10. “On Dec. 11, I’ll be 90 …. The planets are aligned,” she told the Television Critics Association.
That’s a 72-year span, highlighted in a documentary at 9 p.m. Tuesday (Oct. 5) on PBS. It’s a story in which her role in the original, 1961 “West Side Story” movie (shown here) takes a key spot. Read more…

Best-bets for Oct. 3: Two seasons end, one begins

1) “Grantchester” season-opener, 9 p.m., PBS. On one level, this is an uncommonly bright hour: The crimesolving vicar vacations at a summer resort with his housekeeper (plus her husband), his curate (plus his secret lover) and his Geordie (they’re shown here) the cop (plus wife and kids). A solid murder mystery ensues – while planting the seeds for wrenching moments in the weeks ahead. There’s a lot of that sometimes; the “Call the Midwife” season-opener, at 8 p.m., is exceptionally grim. Read more…

Week’s top-10 for Oct. 4: a ghastly good week for CBS

1) “Ghosts” debut (shown here), 9 and 9:30 p.m. Thursday, CBS. Ever since “Big Bang,” CBS has stuck to a comedy formula. It has sharp, verbal shows; most are produced by Chuck Lorre, most have a studio audience. Now it detours – no Lorre, no audience, lots of sight gags. The result works wonderfully. In “iZombie,” Rose McIver showed she’s perfect at sci-fi humor. Now she plays a young wife who has a near-death experience; after surviving, she’s the only living person who can see the ghosts in her historic house. Read more…

Best-bets for Oct. 2: “SNL” returns, with packed cast

1) “Saturday Night Live” season-opener, 11:29 p.m., NBC. As rumors swirled, fans feared the worst. Maybe Kate McKinnon was leaving … or Cecily Strong … or Kenan Thompson. But all three are back for this 47th season; only Beck Bennett and Lauen Holt are leaving. Bowen Young and Chloe Fineman move up to the main company, with three newcomers added. Owen Wilson (shown here) hosts the opener, with Kacey Musgraves as music guest. Read more…

“All Rise” rises from the dead

Another canceled TV show has been rescued, this time by a three-way coalition.
“All Rise” (shown here) was dropped by CBS after two seasons. In the new plan:
– Those seasons will rerun on both HBO Max and Hulu, beginning Dec. 1.
– They’ll also rerun on the Oprah Winfrey Network. All three – OWN, HBO Max and Hulu – will then add a new, 20-episode season. Read more…

“Midwife”: basic birthing, in a chaotic world

“Call the Midwife” is back, with a gentle journey through history – human history, medical history, even fashion history.
Yes, fashions. This series (8 p.m. Sundays, PBS) was set in 1957, then advanced one year each season. The new season (starting Oct. 3) is in 1966 – the Beatles era, when London’s “Carnaby Street” look was starting to catch on.
That’s especially clear in the fourth episode (Oct. 24), when young actress Megan Cusack arrives, playing a nursing student. She’s shown here in her uniform, but at dinner, she surprises others – including the nuns — with her flashy dress.
“It truly does feel like a costume,” Cusack told the Television Critics Association. “When you put it on, you are getting into that era and that vibe and the fact that she likes to stand out.” Read more…