News and Quick Comments

News and Quick Comments

“Snowfall”: drug-dealers, danger and, especially, family

We expect characters to change a bit, to get older and slower and maybe wiser.
Still, few have done it with the dizzying speed of Franklin Saint, the centerpiece of “Snowfall” (shown here). When the series started, he was a brainy teen with a strong college future; in this fifth season, he’s been flying a private plane and ruling a business, turning drug deals into real-estate schemes.
Is anything unchanged? “He still loves his family,” Damson Idris, who plays him, told the Television Critics Association. “Despite the animosity …. family has been the thing that’s kept him afloat.”
That’s clear in the season’s fourth episode, which airs at 10 p.m. Wednesday (March 9) on FX, reruns hourly until 2 a.m., then goes to Hulu. Franklin insists everyone catch the welcome-home dinner for his mother; we find big changes in his: Read more…

By Mike Hughes / March 7, 2022
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Solitary, solemn Brits keep solving mysteries

As our TV sets fill up with British crime-solvers, some traditions persist.
At home, these people are solemn and solitary. That has continued – with occasional exceptions – from Sherlock Holmes to Hercule Poirot, Inspector Morse and more.
And it’s true of Max Arnold in “The Chelsea Detective” series (shown here), on the Acorn streaming service. “I think he’s a born-again melancholic,” Adrian Scarborough, who plays him, told the Television Critics Association. “Putting him … in the middle of the Thames, on his little houseboat, was very deliberate.”
That’s part of an overload of crime tales from England and its former colonies: Read more…

By Mike Hughes / March 4, 2022
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PBS plans a Broadway-style surge

PBS continues its solo mission of putting Broadway-type shows on TV.
There’s a small sign of that now, when stations air “An Evening with Lerner and Lehrer” during their pledge drive. (See a separate piece here, under “stories.” A bigger package comes in May, with specials on three Fridays.
Two of those shows were done last year, during a slowdown in the pandemic – a Sutton Foster musical in London (shown here) and an outdoor comedy in New York. The other is a documentary. The shows, under the “Great Performances” banner, are: Read more…

By Mike Hughes / March 2, 2022
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“Joe vs. Carole” has half of a great feud tale

For a great feud story, you need two sides that are deep, detailed and interesting.
You need Yankees and Red Sox, Hatfields and McCoys, Lincoln and Douglas, maybe Edison and Tesla. By that standard, “Joe vs. Carole,” which starts Thursday (March 3) on Peacock, falls one short.
For a pretty good story, however, you need only one rich character, in the hands of a gifted actor. That’s what this delivers instantly.
Kate McKinnon (shown here with Kyle MacLachlan) is a delight as Carole Baskin, the animal activist; John Cameron Mitchell survives some overwrought material as Joe Exotic, owner of a touring animal show. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / March 2, 2022
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A sci-fi (or Syfy) gem is overlooked

One of TV’s best shows is nearing its “mid-season finale,” getting a fraction of the attention it deserves.
“Resident Alien” (9 p.m. Wednesdays on Syfy) has it all – droll humor, zestful science-fiction, intriguing characters and a talking octopus. Its March 2 episode is another good one, with two more before the show rests after March 16.
Our hero (well, our protagonist) had a simple assignment: Secretly land on Earth, trigger a device to destroy all humans, then return home.
That started smoothly, when he killed a cabin-dwelling loner and assumed his body (shown here). Then the problems began: Part of his kill-everyone device was lost in the crash; he must find or replace it.  Also, Harry (the guy whose body he has) was a doctor who suddenly is needed in town. The new “Harry,” a fast learner, had to take over the clinic. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / February 27, 2022
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One PBS night: from frontier horse to bionic limbs

As the Olympics finally fade away, we can rediscover the rest of the TV universe.
That includes PBS, which has a remarkable night of non-fiction Wednesday (Feb. 23). In one night, it takes us from horses – the heroes of the American frontier – to a new generation of bionic limbs.
That starts at 8 p.m. with a beautifully filmed edition of “Nature.” Horses were here 40 million years ago, filmmaker Eric Bendick told the Television Critics Association, then disappeared from North America. “They actually came back with the Spanish conquistadores, (leading to) the arrival of the mustang” (shown here). Read more…

By Mike Hughes / February 21, 2022
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Big screen or small, Christie mysteries are eternal

 Yes, show-business loves things that are fresh, flashy and new.
But some old tales still work well. Near the top of the list are Agatha Christie stories; two new examples:
–“Death on the Nile” (shown here), It opened this weekend in movie theaters, with Kenneth Branagh directing and starring as Hercule Poirot.
–“Why Didn’t They Ask Evans?” It’s a three-parter that starts streaming April 12 on Britbox, with Hugh Laurie writing, directing and taking a small role. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / February 14, 2022
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AMC networks: a round-up of what’s ahead

From cops to vampires, from “Killing Eve” (shown here) to “Walking Dead,” the AMC networks seem to have some busy months ahead.
An overview of the networks is also here. Now let’s round up what’s coming on the cable and streaming networks. Most of the shows debut on AMC+ (that’s the date included here) and reach other spots a week later:
— AMC is ready for the mid-section of its final “Walking Dead” season. That starts on Super Bowl Sunday on AMC+, then moves to cable a week later.
Its spin-off, “Fear the Walking Dead,” returns April 10. The next night, “Better Call Saul” starts its sixth and final season; that’s two years after the fifth season ended, a delay caused by both Covid and star Bob Odenkirk’s heart attack, Read more…

By Mike Hughes / February 13, 2022
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“Union” brews witty, 10-minute bits

The trouble with life is that it keeps changing.
In becomes out, up becomes down, yes become maybe. And ordering coffee becomes a chore.
We learn that at the start of “State of the Union” (shown here), the witty show that debuts on Valentine’s Day and continues in brief bursts. It has 10-minute episodes at 10 p.m. weekdays on Sundance for two weeks. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / February 11, 2022