Mike Hughes

Stories

It’s happy 100th (or 36th) birthday, Van Swift

This is one of those double birthdays that can keep your head swiveling.
On Saturday (Dec. 13), Dick Van Dyke turns 100 … and Taylor Swift turns 36.
It’s kind of like “Barbieheimer,” when the “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer” movies opened the same day, right? Now you don’t know what to put on the birthday cake. “Van Swift?” “Swift Dick?” Maybe not.
To complicate things further, both will be featured Friday through Sunday on TV, cable and streaming. (See box at the end.) Read more…

By Mike Hughes / December 9, 2025
Daily Best Bets

Best-bets for Dec. 11: frozen treats for the holidays

1) “Frozen” (2013) and “Frozen II (2019),” 6 and 8:25 p.m., Freeform. These animated gems (SHOWN HERE) lead an extraordinary night of movies. It ranges from the 1946 Christmas classic “It’s a Wonderful Life” (8 p.m., USA) to the 2025 terror of “Sinners” (6:40 p.m., HBO). Also at 8, MGM+ has “Big” (1989) and Showtime has “The Godfather” (1972). Read more…

By Mike Hughes / December 9, 2025
News and Quick Comments

A wickedly wild set of movie choices

Wandering into the lobby during “Wicked: For Good,” I saw reassuring signs of life.
There were kids scurrying about, eager to see “Zootopia 2.” And there were the boom-boon sounds of “Five Nights at Freddy’s 2.”
Together, those three films remind us that people are — at least for now — returning to movie theaters. They also remind us that: Read more…

By Mike Hughes / December 8, 2025
Daily Best Bets

Best-bets for Dec. 10: two finales (one amazing)

1) “The Amazing Race” finale, 9:30-11 p.m., CBS. This started with 13 duos, each with a “Big Brother” alumnus. Now two are definitely still in — Jag Bains with his brother Jas and Kyland Young and his girlfriend (also from “Big Brother”) Taylor Hale. As this starts, the final spot will go to Joseph Abdin and his brother Adam or Izzy Gleicher and his fiance, Paige Seber (they’re shown here in an early episode). Read more…

By Mike Hughes / December 8, 2025
Daily Best Bets

Best-bets for Dec. 9: Christmas — serious or silly

1) “The First Christmas,” 8-10 p.m., ABC. In the midst of all the candy-cane fluff, there’s actually a serious, documentary-style movie about the nativity. The actors playing Mary and Joseph and others are unknown, but the host is very known. That’s Kevin Costner, who also stars in the brilliant “Field of Dreams” (1989), from 6-8:30 p.m. on BBC America. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / December 7, 2025
Stories

At last: Percy’s back in the gods’ domain

It’s not easy to fight gods and monsters, you know. It takes time and trouble.
And it takes time to be a fan of the demigods: “Percy Jackson and the Olympians” (shown here) finally starts its second season Wednesday (Dec. 10) on Disney+ … a full two years after the first season arrived.
Consider one of the show’s young heroes. “Annabeth was very patient with trying to go on a quest,” said Leah Sava Jeffries (left), who plays her. She’d been training for five years, before getting her chance.
That same patience has been required of the fans and the people involved. Walker Scobell (center) had just turned 13 when he was cast as Percy; his 17th birthday (Jan. 5) will arrive while this second season is airing. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / December 6, 2025
Stories

Tabernacle concert: hope, joy and mega-music

The word “hope” gets tossed around easily during the holidays.
It’s in the title (“Hope of The Season”) of this year’s Tabernacle Choir concert, which airs at 8 p.m. Dec. 15 and 24 on PBS and often on cable. When the concert reaches its peak — 360 voices doing Handel’s “Hallelujah Chorus” — it resonates with hope and joy.
But there are deeper levels here. By coincidence, this year’s soloist (Broadway star Ruthie Ann Miles) has a daughter named Hope. “Our daughter was named after a terrible family tragedy,” she said. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / December 5, 2025
Daily Best Bets

Best-bets for Dec. 7: near the end of “The Road”

1) “The Road” semi-finals, 9 p.m., CBS. After some emotional songs last week, no one was ousted. Now the show dumps two, before the finale. The surviving six — most of them very experienced, all deeply talented — are: Cassidy Daniels (shown here), 25; Cody Hibbard, 32; Billie Jo Jones, 34; Adam Sanders, 36; Britnee Kellogg, 40 and Channing Wilson, 49. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / December 5, 2025
Weekly Previews

Week’s top-10 for Dec. 8: It’s a double birthday bash

1) “American Masters,” 9 p.m. Friday, PBS. On the eve of his 100th birthday, here’s a joyous tour of Dick Van Dyke’s life (so far). His elastic face and body were the core of a nightclub act. CBS signed him and couldn’t find a spot — until he linked with writer-producer Carl Reiner. From the brilliant “Dick Van Dyke Show” to “Mary Poppins” (shown here) and beyond, he’s been a delight. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / December 4, 2025