Mike Hughes

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Birth of the “Grammy moment”

Ken Ehrlich has his last Grammy telecast Sunday, after 40 splendid years.
Before that, let’s flash back to a key bit. It was “the big one,” Ehrlich wrote, “the one that is generally credited with starting the phrase ‘Grammy moment.'”
That phrase isn’t just hype, you know. It reflects decades of innovative mash-ups, from Elton and Eminem to this year (8-11 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 26), with epic numbers built around one song from Lil Nas X and another — ranging from singer Camila Cabell to rapper Common and dancer Misty Copeland (shown here) — built around a song from the “Fame” movie. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / January 24, 2020
Daily Best Bets

Best-bets for Jan. 26: lots of “Grammy moments”

1) Grammys, 8-11 p.m. ET, CBS. On his final Grammycast (after 40 years), producer Ken Ehrlich continues the “Grammy moments” he’s known for. When Lil Nas X and Billy Ray Cyrus (shown here) do “Old Town Road,” they’ll add BTS, Diplo and more. A tribute to the late Nipsy Hussle links Kirk Franklin, John Legend, DJ Khaled, and YG. Run-D.M.C. links with Aerosmith … and a song from “Fame”: has Camila Cabello, Joshua Bell, Misty Copeland, Common and more. Also performing: Ariana Grande, Blake Shelton, Gwen Stefani. Jonas Brothers, Lizzo, more. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / January 24, 2020
Stories

No more limits: She became a wartime hero

PASADENA, Cal. – Growing up in Syria, Amani Ballour(shown here) knew a world of rules and limits.
“There are too many differences between boys and girls …. I couldn’t play with boys. I couldn’t climb the tree, I couldn’t ride the bike,” she recalled. “This (was) prevented for girls in my community.”
There were professions open to her – but, again, with limits. A woman could “be a doctor, but a doctor for children or for women in your clinic, but not a manager.”
Then war changed everything. As the Oscar-nominated “The Cave” shows, Dr. Ballour administered an underground hospital in the bomb-battered city of Ghouta, near Damascus. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / January 23, 2020
Stories

Super-sized vets savor mini-sized town

PASADENA, Cal. – This was an ideal match, vertically and vocationally
.“As soon as I saw Erin, I said, ‘That’s who I’m going to marry,’” Ben Schroeder said.
So, of course, he did. Two weeks later, they were engaged … six months later, they were married … and a couple decades after that, they have their own reality show. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / January 22, 2020
Daily Best Bets

Best-bets for Jan. 24: Stars on skates, stars in Stetsons

1) Figure skating, 8-11 p.m., NBC. Here are the women’s finals, choosing a 2020 champion. (Show here is Alysa Liu, who was last year’s winner at 13.) The guys, as usual don’t get prime time; they’ll have their short programs from 2:30-4:30 p.m. Saturday and their finals from 3-6 p.m. Sunday. Those are on NBC; there’s more on the NBC Sports Network and via streaming/ Read more…

By Mike Hughes / January 22, 2020
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Best-bets for Jan. 23: ABC’s dramas are back

1) “Station 19” season opener, 8 p.m., ABC. The season starts big, with a car crashing into a bar. Trapped inside are Ben Gordon (the doctor-turned-firefighter/EMT) and Pruitt Herrera, the former firehouse chief; outside, Pruitt’s daughter Andy links with Robert Sullivan to try to get them out. That crosses over into “Grey’s Anatomy” … and Ben’s wife, Dr. Bailey (shown here), is soon on the scene. It’s a sharp, emotional hour … a promising start to a year that’s planning to continue blending the two shows. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / January 21, 2020
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Best-bets for Jan. 22: Arctic, Archie and Awkwafina

1) “Awkwafina is Nora from Queens” debut, 10:30 p.m., Comedy Central. Nora Lum grew up in Queens, with a Chinese father and grandmother; she was 4 when her mother, who was Korean, died. She was an ambitious kid who studied classical music in high school and journalism in college, then became an outspoken rapper/actress named Awkwafina (shown here), now with an Oscar nomination for “The Farewell.” Here, she borrows only the funny parts of her life, for a loosely amusing series about a 30-year-old who is jobless and clueless and still living at home. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / January 20, 2020
Daily Best Bets

Best-bets for Jan. 21: The end is near for “Schitt’s” and “Arrow”

1) “Schitt’s Creek” (shown here), 9 p.m., Pop (rerunning at 12:30 a.m., after last week’s episode at midnight). In the final season, dreams extend beyond this tiny town. Johnny wants to buy a second motel; his son David wants to be a flight-attendant … a dream he stole from Stevie. It’s a funny episode that starts with a reminder: It’s difficult to have video-sex when a sharing a motel room with your brother and parents. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / January 20, 2020