News and Quick Comments

News and Quick Comments

One more big-deal option: It’s “FX on Hulu”

(Right now, you’ll spot an odd convergence of stories about FX. That’s because the network has been holding back, waiting to start its “FX on Hulu” hub. Now is the time;  highlighted here are stories on FX’s “Breeders” and “Devs”; one on “Dave” is coming. But the story here pauses to take an overview of the hub, including future shows — “Mrs. America” is shown here, with Cate Blanchett as Phyllis Schlafly — and ones this week. Here we go:)
There’s a new streaming service – yes, another one – out there.
Or you might call it a semi-service – a hub to something that was already there. Either way, “FX on Hulu” is a major player. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / March 2, 2020
News and Quick Comments

“Five-0” ends, Smothers Brothers (via reruns) return

It’s the circle of life (TV version). Some shows die … some return … some live forever:
1) “Hawaii Five-0” is ending (again). The original version ran for 12 seasons; the reboot is wrapping up after 10. Its two-hour finale will be April 3. There’s no explanation for why it’s leaving now, but CBS has an overload of successful dramas – including “Magnum,” with the same producer and same setting – and “Five-0” is an expensive show. All shows have to end sometime.2)
Or do they? “Murdoch Mysteries” has finished 13 seasons now, with no sign of slowing down. At 7 p.m. ET (4 p.m. PT) Saturday, March 7, it will air its 200th episode. Set in early-20th-century Toronto, the show finds a way to pack that era’s top people – from Einstein and Edsion to Tesla and Curie –into one busy hour.
3) And the best news is that even canceled shows return via reruns. Now one of the all-time best – “The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour” (shown here) – will be on GetTV. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / February 28, 2020
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Yes, we like it; no, we don’t understand it

There’s a genre that we’ll call “whaaa(!?!) television.” Or, simply, “WTF TV.”
These are shows in which the characters have no idea what’s going on. Nor do the viewers. We kind of hope the writers do, but we’re never sure.
Reality is juggled, time is shifted, minds are bent. The result is both compelling and confusing; and now two such shows are arrived, almost simultaneously.
Hulu’s “Devs” will be March 5, so we’ll discuss it another time. It’s set among tech geniuses, so we expect them to be bending and shifting and such. But AMC’s “Dispatches From Elsewhere” (shown here) is another matter, it arrives Sunday (March 1), descending on four ordinary people. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / February 26, 2020
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Tip for Trump: First, see the movie

There really are some things that Donald Trump and I agree on. For instance:
1) We both feel Nancy O’Dell is attractive. (Only one of us, I should add hastily, has tried to lure her into breaking her marriage vows);
2) We both feel the Vietnam War was a mistake; and;
3) We were both surprised when “Parasite” (shown here) won the Academy Award for best picture. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / February 22, 2020
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At last: We can love Carrey’s ‘Kidding’

Some shows – like some people – make themselves difficult to love.
.Jim Carrey’s “Kidding” has been like that. It’s fresh and original, with a warm heart, weird humor and talented cast. But it keeps pushing viewers away, deflating any sense of hope.
Now, however, it has redeemed itself. The next episode (shown here, with Ariana Grande), at 10 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 23, is exceptionally good … and different. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / February 21, 2020
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Cable celebrates a long and lustful life

The long life and wondrous career of Kirk Douglas will be celebrated on Turner Classic Movies
.That will be March 5, with some of the best-known films at nighttime. It will be “Lust for Life” (shown here, 1956) at 5:45 p.m., “Paths of Glory” (1958) at 8 and “Spartacus” at 9:45.
Douglas died Feb. 5, after a life that was extraordinary in its length (103 years), its impact and how far he had leaped. His first memoir illusttrated that leap with its title: “The Ragman’s Son.” Read more…

By Mike Hughes / February 11, 2020
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The Oscars: No host, no fun (at times) … but great music

My Oscar Day adventures began in the morning, long before “Parasite” (shown here) was named best picture.
I was in a movie theater, watching the pre-previews. (Yes, it’s my fault for getting there early.) Some onscreen idiot said the Academy Award ratings were up last year,  “and most people think it was because” the show had no host.
One small correction: Approximately NO ONE — or no reasonable human being — thinks that. In truth: Read more…

By Mike Hughes / February 10, 2020
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Red-carpet: Is EVERYONE an A?

Imagine a grading scale that goes all the way from A to … well, A-plus.
Imagine a 1-to-10 scale being replaced by … maybe a 9.9-to-10 scale.
That’s roughly what watching E’s red-carpet Osvasr coverage was like. Somehow, even Billie Eilish (shown here) — who seemed to be wearing her grandfather’s sweatsuit pajamas — was praised for bringing “a new era of fashion.” Read more…

By Mike Hughes / February 10, 2020