News and Quick Comments

News and Quick Comments

“Maestro” captures the depth of a complicated human

When “Patton” arrived in 1970, filmgoers were fascinated.
Here was the rare movie biography that captured someone’s real depth. There were parts of Gen. George Patton we could love or hate, envy or pity. He was – like many people, especially those at the top – a complicated human being.
“Patton” was rewarded with seven Academy Awards, including best picture, screenplay (co-written by Francis Coppola) and actor. Now the same thing might happen to “Maestro,” which arrived Wednesday on Netflix, after a brief run in theaters. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / December 21, 2023
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“Crown” found deep humanity amid royal chaos

Wrapping up its six-season run, “The Crown” (shown here) showed how good long-form TV can be.
Writer-producr Peter Morgan had already mastered the short take: His Oscar-nominated “The Queen” (2006) was a brilliant visit to a brief, befuddling time after Diana’s death.
Then he took the big sweep: In seven years, six seasons and 60 episodes, he viewed the first 54 years of Elizabeth II’s reign.
The story ended with Charles’ wedding in 2005, with his mom ready for 17 more years. Getting to that point was fascinating, in the six episodes that arrived Thursday (Dec. 14). Read more…

By Mike Hughes / December 15, 2023
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Christmas TV soars; here’s updated schedule

As Christmas nears, networks have made a few additions, subtractions and schedule-flips.
ABC added “The Sound of Music” (shown here) for Dec. 17 and gave it the full Sunday-night landscape, from 7-11 p.m. CW added an extra night of “The Chosen,” nudging “Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer” to Dec. 22. And the Turner networks (TBS, TNT, Turner Classic Movies) made several swithes.
With that in mine, here’s an updated round-up for Dec. 14-24. (For general reference, the original list still exists, under “stories.”)
This skips most Christmas episodes of regular shows and (with a few exceptions) reruns of TV movies. For theatrical films, it includes the eternal ones and skips the rest. Also, it barely scratches the vast resources of streaming networks; check your streamer for details. Here we go: Read more…

By Mike Hughes / December 14, 2023
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Post-strike, CW sticks with lower-budget plan

When the big networks return to full-budget, scripted shows, the CW will stand fast.
It will have the same sort of shows it (and others) settled for during the strikes. There will be lots a non-fiction, plus Canadian shows (including “Children Ruin Everything,” shown here) and a movie night.
For years, the CW had youthful shows — often high-octane, superhero ones. But 15 months ago, it got a new owner with plans to lower the costs; then the strikes saw all the networks trying that. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / December 13, 2023
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Shows’ return dates? Here’s an alphabetical list

As the real TV season finally nears, viewers can start to ask about their favorite shows.
They might wonder when the final seasons begin for “Young Sheldon,” shown here, or “Blue Bloods” (Feb. 15 and 16). They might want the first season of Jon Hamm’s animated “Grimsburg” (Jan. 7), the 20th of “Grey’s Anatomy” (March 14) or the 25th of “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” (Jan. 18).
Most of those details are available now, so we’ve put them into two alphabetical lists. One has 14 new shows; the other has 49 returning ones.
This sticks to prime time in the five main broadcast networks, plus the Sunday dramas on PBS. It skips cable and streaming networks, which tend to have fluid schedules, even during the strikes. It also skips the few shows (“Simpsons” or “60 Minutes,” for instance) that never went away. A few shows haven’t been scheduled yet and everything is subject to change: Read more…

By Mike Hughes / December 10, 2023
News and Quick Comments Stories

When does the real season start? Soon … or not

(This is an updated version, adding several CW shows)
After waiting semi-patiently for three months, TV viewers have a logical question:
Now that the strikes have ended, when will the real season start? The answer varies; it will be:
— Quite soon. Two comedies (one is shown here) arrive Dec. 23; 11 more shows arrive in the first week of January.
— Really late. Another 12 shows – led by the eternal “Grey’s Anatomy” – wait until March.
— Or somewhere in between. You could think of the Super Bowl, on Feb. 11, as the turning point. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / December 10, 2023
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Lear specials set for CBS, PBS and mini-networks

Two broadcast networks have now set tributes to the late Norman Lear on Friday.
CBS will have a new hour at 8 p.m.; many PBS stations will rerun a 2016 “American Masters” profile at 9.
Lear wrote and produced “All in the Family” (shown here) and other shows that nudged TV into its first golden age of comedy. After his death Tuesday, at 101, several mini-networks scheduled tributes. Now two larger ones have also jumped in; the list includes: Read more…

By Mike Hughes / December 7, 2023
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Christmas mega-list? Here’s an update

Yes, the Christmas TV season has already been going on for a few weeks (or a few months or maybe a few years).
But there’s a lot more coming, so it’s time for an update. We’ve added several late-scheduled shows, plus details on some of the others, including the “CMA Christmas” special Dec. 14 with (shown here) Trisha Yearwood and Amy Grant. We’ve also deleted everything before today (Dec. 5), plus one show that was shelved.
(For general reference, the original list still exists, under “stories.”)
This skips most Christmas episodes of regular shows and (with a few exceptions) reruns of TV movies. For theatrical films, it includes the eternal ones and skips the rest. Also, it barely scratches the vast resources of streaming networks; check your streamer for details. Here we go: Read more…

By Mike Hughes / December 5, 2023