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They live high-adventure (and scary) lives

Angel Collinson (shown here) has spent most of her life whooshing down mountains,.
She succeeded most of the time, starring in skiing movies and on magazine covers. She also failed a few times, once taking a dangerous, 1,000-foot fall.
So what’s the scariest moment she’s had so far? “When I asked my boyfrfiend out for a date,” she said..
She’s joking, a little, but with some truth at the core. Collinson is one of the athletes featured in “Edge of the Unknown with Jimmy Chin,” a National Geographic Channel series that views top athletes and their toughest moments.
The series opens at 9:30 pm. Monday (Sept. 5), with Alex Honnold, the climber who was the subject of Chin’s Oscar-winning, 2018 movie, “Free Solo.” It follows at 10 with Collinson. The next night (Sept. 6), the show has kayaker Gerd Serrasolses at 10 p.m. and climber Conrad Anker at 10:30.After that, it continues on Tuesdays, with episodes reaching Disney+ on Wednesdays. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / September 2, 2022

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Elvis lives anew (on HBO)

“Elvis,” the movie, is back with us. Elvis, the memory, never went away.
Baz Luhrman’s film (shown here) has a few flaws, plus lots of strengths. It was praised by the majority of critics (including me) and has topped $277 million worldwide at the box office.
Now it reaches HBO, starting at 8 p.m. Saturday (Sept. 3). With that in mind, I’m rerunning my review; here it is: Read more…

By Mike Hughes / August 31, 2022

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Here’s an end-of-summer tour of parks beauty

As the summer concludes, we realize we failed (again) to see all the national parks.
Hey, that happens. There are 63 of them, from the Mexican border to the edge of Alaska, plus American Samoa and the U.S. Virgin Islands; there are also 360 other spots that the Park Service supervises.
Now cable and streaming help us catch up, with a five-day, nine-hour series that’s beautifully filmed. “America’s National Parks” runs all week on the National Geographic Channel, from the Everglades and the Grand Canyon (shown here) Monday, Aug. 29, to Hawaiian volcanoes Friday. It also reaches Disney+ on Aug. 31. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / August 28, 2022

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Hallmark gets an unthinkably good makeover

As soon as “Unthinkably Good Things” begins, you might wonder: “Hey, Is this REALLY a Hallmark Channel movie?”
After all, many viewers have memorized the Hallmark formula:
A woman (young, pert, capable and, of course, white) is changing her life – maybe moving home, visiting home or such. She meets a guy (young-ish, generically handsome, white). They squabble, then decide they like each other. It’s all filmed in a pristine Canadian town, disguised as mid-America.
But most of that has been jettisoned for “Unthinkably” (shown here). The movie — 9-11 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 28, on the Hallmark and Hallmark Movies & Mysteries channels – reflects a new interest in diversity; it’s also the the first project under Hallmark’s “Mahogany” label, changing all the traditions. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / August 24, 2022

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“Only Murders” turns killer-reveal into a fun romp

Modern folks like gender-reveal parties, but it’s time for an older notion – the killer-reveal party.
That’s what “Only Murders in the Building” (shown here with Selena Gomez) does so cleverly in its finale, which arrived today (Tuesday, Aug. 23) on Hulu.
If you haven’t seen the previous nine episodes, please do. (Don’t worry, there aren’t any spoilers here.)
For that matter, catch Hulu in general. It’s on a hot streak, with three types of strong shows: Read more…

By Mike Hughes / August 23, 2022

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ABC re-visits some vibrant musical history

(Commentary/overview on the “Cinderella” musical which ABC will focus on Tuesday, Aug. 23)
By Mike Hughes
In the grand universe of Rodgers-and-Hammerstein musicals, “Cinderella” might be a minor player.
It’s no “Sound of Music” – or “Oklahoma” or “South Pacific” or …
But in the TV world, it’s been big. Now it’s back, taking up all of ABC’s prime time on Tuesday (Aug. 23), with a 25th-anniversary retrospective hour at 8 p.m. and the 1997 production at 9.
What viewers will see is mostly a pleasure. It has splendid sets, zestful Rob Marshall choreography and a cast that’s best in supporting roles – especially Whitney Houston as fairy godmother. Other elements – the songs, the younger actors (including Brandy Norwood, shown here with Houston) in the title role) are pleasant enough.
Read more…

By Mike Hughes / August 19, 2022

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The end of the “Saul” era: a review

First, let’s pause for a substantial spoiler alert:
If you didn’t catch the series finale of “Better Call Saul” (shown here in a previous episode) Monday (Aug. 15), please don’t read this yet.
It’s a terrific episode, quirks and all, and should be seen without any advance hints. Catch it on AMC+ or elsewhere, including any time-travel devices you have on your TV.
OK, now for those who have seen it, a quick review: Read more…

By Mike Hughes / August 16, 2022

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Lifetime line-up: Heche, “Bad Seed,” true-crime, more

Anne Heche’s next film – an intense one – is ready to air on Sept. 17.
An Aug. 5 crash left Heche (shown here) in a coma and she was later pronounced dead. he’d aslready finished “Girl in Room 13,” which has been edited and is ready to go. “She did a phenomenal job,” said director Elizabeth Rohm.
Heche plays the mother of a young woman (Larissa Dias) who has disappeared. It’s a fictional story, done with Polaris, which tracks human trafficking.
That’s part of a flurry of movies Lifetime and the Lifetime Movie Network discussed today (Aug. 11) with the Television Critics Association. They include: Read more…

By Mike Hughes / August 11, 2022

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It’s the end of the “Breaking Bad” world

Vince Gilligan was getting ready to close his “Breaking Bad” world … again.,
He’d already done this once, wrapping up “Breaking Bad” in 2013. He killed the main character and saved his colleague, drawing lots of praise and some dismay.
Now he’s at it again. At 9 p.m. Monday (Aug. 15) on AMC — rerunning at 10:38 — the acclaimed “Better Call Saul” (shown here) has its series finale. Did he feel pressure to do it right?
“If we don’t win the Nobel Prize for winning this, I’ll be highly disappointed,” he joked to the Television Critics Association. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / August 10, 2022

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Mysteries sprawl across Australia

Couples seem to “meet cute” in movies and TV shows.
Not this time. Instead, they nearly collide.
Two strangers are driving opposite ways on a narrow Australian road, neither paying much attention. Soon, one vehicle is upended; so are two lives.
That’s in “Darby and Joan” (shown here), the eight-part mini-series on the Acorn streaming service, with two parts each Monday, starting Aug. 8. It has flaws, especially in the early parts, but gradually clicks. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / August 7, 2022