News and Quick Comments

News and Quick Comments

PBS adds Black Panthers and James Baldwin films

PBS will rerun two acclaimed documentaries Wednesday, as part of a crowded line-up of race-related films.
“Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution” (shown here, 2015) and “I Am Not Your Negro” (2016) will run back-to-back, at 8 and 9:44 p.m. (Check local listings.)
They join a line-up of films PBS is airing, amid national discussions triggered by the George Floyd death. They range from a rerun of “Twilight: Los Angeles” tonight (Monday, June 8) to “She Could Be Next” on June 29-30. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / June 8, 2020
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We’re back up; sorry about that

OK, we’re back up.
Technical problems shut down the system Sunday, just as TV was changing.
In a late move, the FX network made a change for Sunday night. It said it would show “Selma” (shown here) — the terrific film about Martin Luther King — at 8 p.m. that night, delaying “The Greatest Showman” until 11 p.m. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / June 8, 2020
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Oprah sets two-night special on racial crisis

Oprah Winfrey (shown here) is entering the national discussion of racial issues, just when she’s needed the most.
Winfrey’s special – “Where Do We Go From Here?” – will sprawl over two nights and 19 cable networks. It will be 9 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday (June 9-10) on her own Oprah Winfrey Network and others (including Discovery, HGTV, TLC, ID and Food) in the Discovery system. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / June 5, 2020
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PBS sets flurry of race-themed shows

PBS – already known for its coverage of racial issues – has set a fresh emphasis for this month.
On Wednesday (June 3), it announced a flurry of new shows and reruns, including a play (“Twilight Los Angeles: 1992, shown here) and many documentaries. That requires cooperation, because some will be on days (Thursdays through Saturdays) when stations have their own line-ups. The plan includes:
– Thursday (June 4): “The Talk – Race in America,” 9 p.m. It’s a 2017 documentary about black families telling their children how to react if stopped by police. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / June 3, 2020
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ABC sets June 2 news special

ABC has set a primetime news special for today (Tuesday, June 2).
At 9 p.m., it will air “America in Pain: What Comes Next?” Combining to anchor it will be three of its anchors – Robin Roberts (shown here, “Good Morning America”), David Muir (evening news) and Byron Pitts (“Nightline”). Read more…

By Mike Hughes / June 2, 2020
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Americans agonize over bad cops and bad hair

It was a glimpse of American life, TV-style.
People raged over the death of an unarmed black man in police custody. They chanted, marched, threw rocks and bottles.
Also, Kelly Osborne worried about her hair color. And Rebecca Romijn fretted about her roots. And Lindsay Lohan (shown here), happy with her reddish hair-coloring, wanted to get just the right wave.
Both things were happening simultaneously Friday on our TV sets. Switch back and forth and you might decide that television is pretty strange. Or life is pretty strange. Or, at least, that social critics are correct when they say there are two Americas Read more…

By Mike Hughes / May 31, 2020
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CNN’s racial-divide special is delayed

Note: When passions erupt, thoughtful discussions can vanish. The story below was about a contemplative special that CNN scheduled for tonight, May 31. The problem: Protests continued loudly; CNN kept its cameras there, putting the special on hold. Here’s the original story, now in limbo.)
CNN is reacting quickly to racial issues that have now hit close to home.
“I Can’t Breathe: Black Men Living and Dying in America” will be 8-10 p.m. ET Sunday, with Don Lemon hosting. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / May 29, 2020
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It’s a Connicks/COVID road trip

CBS is preparing another special stuffed with social-distance music.
This one is led by Harry Connick Jr. and his daughter, Georgia (shown here), a filmmaker. “United We Sing: A Grammy Salute to the Unsung Heroes” (8-10 p.m. June 21), a road trip to New Orleans, will include the greats of jazz (Herbie Hancock, Wynton and Branford Marsalis, Jon Baptiste, Irma Thomas, Trombone Shorty) and pop.
Connick grew up in New Orleans, where Ellis Marsalis (the father of Wynton and Branford) was one of his music teachers. Marsalis died April 1 at 85, of pneumonia brought on by COVID-19. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / May 28, 2020
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Here’s a big jump in social-distance TV

The art of social-distance television has advanced quickly.
It’s been like watching evolution at hyper-speed. In just two months, the lowly water slug has transformed into a mighty cheetah.
OK, maybe just into a less-lowly land slug. But it’s been impressive, anyway.
The latest example – and the best so far – is an episode of “Mythic Quest: Raven’s Banquet,” arriving today (May 22) on Apple TV+.With some great moments for Charlotte Nicdao (shown here in an earlier episode) and Rob McElhenny (who wrote it), it’s witty, warm (briefly) and ends with a dandy visual stunt. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / May 22, 2020