1) “Can You Feel the Beat: The Lisa Lisa Story,” 8-10 p.m., Lifetime. This is a Lifetime specialty – movies about real-life music stars. Next week is Gloria Gaynor; first, this views Lisa Velez (shown here), a former Hell’s Kitchen teen who soared. The real Velez, now 59, plays her own mother, a Puerto Rican native with 10 children. Bre-Z (“All American”) plays Velez’s friend and back-up singer. Read more…
(This is the second chapter of a book-in-progress, “Television, and How It Got That Way.” For the first chapter, scroll down in “stories.”)
In his busy life, Pat Weaver was involved in many fine creations. They included “Today,” “Tonight,” the Sid Caesar (shown here) comedies and Sigourney Weaver, his daughter.
(There’s a bit more on her at the end of this chapter.)
But he also fell far short of one goal. Television, he once said, could be “the shining center of the home.” Read more…
1) “Fire Country,” 9 p.m., CBS. After a six-week break, this is back to new episodes – starting with a big one: A blaze (shown here) is out of control; Bode and Audrey scramble to survive, while Eve tries to save her dad (Phil Morris) and his ranch. That’s followed by “SWAT,” with an enemy seeking revenge. Read more…
Oscar season often feels like a weird-but-worthy treasure hunt.
Often enough, it brings surprising gems. I was reminded of that now, when I saw “Emilia Perez” and “Conclave” (shown here) almost back-to-back.
Both are up for best-picture Academy Awards, but they’re wildly different.
One is in Spanish, with some English; the other in English, with some Latin and Italian. One sprawls across Mexico and beyond; the other is confined to two buildings. One is mostly female, the other mostly male. But the difference goes much deeper. Read more…
1) “Matlock,” 9 p.m., CBS. After six weeks of reruns , CBS’ splendid Thursday line-up is back to new episodes. Here, there’s a tough task – proving Elijah’s cousin was wrongfully terminated. In an excellent episode, Matty (Kathy Bates, shown here) also has disputes at home and reaches a turning point at work. Read more…
1) “Chicago Fire” (shown here), “Chicago Med,” “Chicago P.D.,” 8-11 p.m., NBC. One mega-story sprawls across all three hours. Switching the shows’ usual order, it starts with a gas-main explosion causing cave-ins; doctors and firefighters work at the site. Then “Med” treats victims (including firefighters) at the hospital. At 10, “P.D.” scrambles to find who’s responsible. Read more…
Think of this as Super Bowl season for movie buffs.
It’s when Turner Classic Movies dips into its bottomless library for “31 Days of Oscar.” That starts Feb. 1 and continues through Academy Award night (March 2), with films ranging from 1928 to 2017.
This is the 30th year for the marathon, with the set-up changing – some years are alphabetical or chronological or whatever.
This year, daytime (anything before 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT) will bunch the films by nominee categories. During the weekend that daytime category is always best-picture. Viewers can catch such gems as “In the Heat of the Night” (shown here) at 6 p.m. ET Feb. 1 and “Tom Jones” at 3 p.m. Feb. 2. Read more…
At the age of 50, “Nova” seems to be doing fine.
It passed the half-century mark on March 26 and kept going. Coming up are two terrific hours and several fairly good ones, including a fresh view of Pompeii (shown here).
This is a PBS science – 9 p.m. Wednesdays –that ranges afar. Viewers are happy whenever it returns to UFO’s (as it did Jan. 22), dinosaurs, or ancient worlds; still, it also tackles fresh issues, as it did with the Flint water crisis. Read more…
In movie theaters, the previews can be sort of an early warning system.
The goal is to choose ones that appeal to the people who came to see this feature. Classy previews? You’re probably getting an arty movie.
So there I was, ready for “One of Them Days,” a comedy. One preview had guys stranded underwater … One had a ballerina learning to be a fierce fighter. (That gives an ominous feel to “The Nutcracker” ballet) … One had a killer slaying couple’s on Valentine’s Day … And one topped that by having the same youths being killed over and over and … Read more…
1) “Great Migrations” opener, 9-10 p.m., PBS. For people facing cruelty in the South, this was alluring: The Chicago Defender and other Black newspapers urged them to move North. Millions did, finding jobs, freedom, hope … and fierce weather, crowded cities and new forms of bias. Over three Tuesdays, Henry Louis Gates (shown here) tells the massive story. Read more…
