Sometimes, you pass by a sign that jolts you.
That happbned to me today. It was an election sign that simply said: “Curtis For Bath Supervisor.”
What? We elect people to supervise our bathing? The mind jumps to — well, Ernie (shown here) singing “Rubber Ducky.” Or Marilyn Monroe in a bubble-bath secne or some such.
It sort of needs context, I guess. Like the time I saw a sign that said “Rich Girls Track Team.” Read more…
Now we have two large-scale choices for the 4th of July. And neither involves wedging into a noisy crowd of COVID-deniers.
NBC has just announced its plan for the night. It includes some country, some rock, a tad of poetry and a lot of fireworks. That’s at the same time that PBS (see separate story) has country, pop, Broadway …. and a lot of fireworks.
The annual NBC event has been linked to Macy’s fireworks (shown here in a previous year), which were on hold for a while, while New York worked out a way to avoid people congregating: Read more…
This is short-notice, but let me get it out there :
At 10 p.m. today (Friday, June 26), three networks – FX. Freeform and Hulu – combine for an event called “Pose-a-thon.” Billy Porter, shown here, will co-host.
That gives you a night of virtual shows. First, catch the Daytime Emmys at 8 p.m. on CBS; then switch to “Pose-a-thon” at 10. Read more…
The Showtime cable network has set a fresh burst of shows for August and behyond.
That includes three scripted series – one looking at the collision of James Comey and Donald Trump, another (shown here) with Ethan Hawke as John Brown – and three documentary series, ranging from Reagans to comedians. Read more…
(I posted this a week or so ago, but that was before “Isolation Stories” reached the U.S. Now it’s here, via Britbox, and worth catching. So here’s the commentary again.)
As Americans poked at the notion of social-distance drama, some Englishmen went full-throttle.
They created four separate tales. Now “Isolation Stories” (shown here) has reached the U.S.; it debuted Tuesday (June 23), via the Britbox streaming service.
Each story is only 15 minutes long, but stuffed with strong drama. Individually, most are terrific; combined … well, they need a bit more variety. Read more…
There’s a formula that keeps working beautifully in documentaries.
Find a competition – preferably a big one, national or international. Profile some contestants in advance. Then follow them and hope you get lucky.
That plan has worked for a spelling bee (“Spellbound,” 1999) … crossword puzzles (“Wordplay,” 2006) … teen scientists (“Science Fair,” 2018) … and even for duck-stamp artists (“Million Dollar Duck,” 2016). And now it works for pipe organs.
“Pipe Dreams” (shown here with Alcee Chriss) airs at 10 p.m. Monday (June 22) on most PBS stations. It visits the Canadian International Organ Competition, with young organists working instruments so massive that the judges see them only via TV screens. We meet: Read more…
Donald Trump told the truth the other day.
(No, really, he did. I wouldn’t make that up.)
In a Wall Street Journal interview, Trump said: “I did something good. I made Juneteenth famous.”
And he did, really. Evidence of that comes as networks – big broadcast ones and little cable ones – suddenly altered their plans for today (June 19), when celebraions (a past one is shown here) are planned. That started with the morning newscasts and will continue on into latenight. Read more…
The movie “The Greatest Showman” keeps getting dumped by timely fare.
For the second time in 12 days, FX is pulling it from its schedule. This time, it’s being replaced Friday (June 19), as part of a full day of shows (including “Selma,” shown here) that help celebrate Juneteenth – a holiday recalling the day (June 19, 1865) when Texas slaves finally learned they were free. Read more…
Juneteenth – a holiday that some Americans were unaware of – will be noted in a news special.
At 8 p.m. Friday, ABC will have “Juneteenth: A celebration of Overcoming.” It will include reports from Galeveston (where the celebration began) and Tulsa (where interest was stirred this year).
The Emancipation Proclamation was issued on Jan. 1, 1863 and the Civil War ended in April of 1865, but slavery persisted in Texas. It was on June 19, 1865, that Union troops reached Galveston with word that the slaves were free. Read more…
As Americans poked at the notion of social-distance drama, some Englishmen went full-throttle.
They created four separate tales. Now “Isolation Stories” (shown here with Darren Boyd) reaches the U.S. on June 23, via the Britbox streaming service.
Each story is only 15 minutes long, but stuffed with strong drama. Individually, most are terrific; combined … well, they need a bit more variety. Read more…
