Stories

Yes, it’s fun to be a village vicar’s crime-solving wife

Scattered through the English countryside, it seems, are villages suitable for rest, relaxation and murder mysteries.
Cara Horgan (shown here) can verify that. She grew up in one and now works in another, she’s one of the stars of “The Marlow Murder Club,” which starts its second season at 9 p.m. Sunday (Aug. 24) on PBS.
“These small towns exist all over the UK,” Horgan said by Zoom. “And Marlow is quintessentially British.”
It’s a real town of 14,000 that’s been around for about 10 centuries. T.S. Eliot and Percy Shelley wrote poems there; Mary Shelley wrote “Frankenstein” there and (appropriately) Robert Thorogood is writing his “Marlow Murder Club” novels there. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / August 18, 2025

Stories

This solemn cop is a funny guy (really)

Americans are used to seeing Sanjeev Bhaskar draped in angst and agony.
He plays an earnest cop in “Unforgotten” (shown here) which starts its sixth season at 10 p.m. Sunday (Aug. 24) on PBS. Dealing with years-ago murders, it’s a smart show that feels the pain of friends, family, suspects and cops.
So this is a surprise: Bhaskar is a fun and funny guy. He’s done lots of comedies, met lots of Beatles. He once had the No. 1 song in England … a fact that he apologized for. Also, he married his fictional grandmother.
And he’s definitely surprised to be in a dead-serious show. “I thought, ‘Who’s going to cast me as a detective?'” Bhaskar said by Zoom. “I wouldn’t cast me as a detective.” Read more…

By Mike Hughes / August 16, 2025

Stories

Yes, America (and beyond) has some odd talent

As it prepares to go live, “America’s Got Talent” (shown here) has a wild variety of acts.
There are robots and roller skaters, acrobats and aerialists, magicians and musicians — lots of musicians. There’s also a lady with a crossbow, dubbing herself Anna Danger.
And yes, there are some Americans. We’re told that America’s got talent. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / August 8, 2025

Stories

A young “synth” fights for an alienated Earth

As “Alien Earth” (shown here) arrives, we face two vital questions:
1) What is the future of mankind, in an artificially enhanced world? and
2) Is it wise for an actor to work barefoot?
OK, one question might be more vital than the other, but we’ll ponder both.
“Alien Earth” opens with two episodes at 8 p.m. Tuesday (Aug. 12) on FX, continuing a story that has spanned (directly and indirectly) nine movies. FX will have four of them Tuesday — “Prometheus” (2012) at 10 a.m.; “Alien: Covenant” (2017) at 12:30 p.m., the original “Alien” (1979) at 3 and “Alien: Romulus” (2024) at 5:30. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / August 5, 2025

Stories

August lull? TCM offers star marathons

Just as TV hits its low point, Turner Classic Movies fills the void.
It does that each August, with “Summer Under the Stars.” Each day brings a marathon of films from one star.
Some of those people have been featured often. On Saturday and Sunday (Aug. 9-10), Elizabeth Taylor (shown here with Paul Newman) and Clark Gable will be back-to-back.
But others get their first time in the August spotlight. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / August 3, 2025

Stories

It was a double-wedding flurry

Actors’ lives are full of extremes — long lulls and busy bursts.
Still, few can match Melissa Johns’ packed stretch. In two weeks, she had two weddings (one real, one not), two grooms, two churches and strong emotions … up to a point; “It stops feeling special when you’re on the 11th take,” she said.
That was for the fictional wedding, for “Grantchester.” The real one didn’t require any do-overs.
As “Grantchester” nears its season-finale (9 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 3), let’s look back: Read more…

By Mike Hughes / August 1, 2025

Stories

Coppola: mini-budgets, maxi-budgets, triumphs

As cable prepares its Coppolathon, it’s time to reflect on a dazzling career,
On Thursday (July 31), Turner Classic Movies will show Francis Ford Coppola, 86, receiving the American Film Institute’s lifetime achievement award. That’s at 8 p.m. and midnight ET, alongside two Coppola films — one epic (“Apocalypse Now,” shown here) and one not (“The Rain People”).
This is a career that has weaved through the extremes — some soft porn, a couple cheapies, a tad of comedy, two musicals and some great dramas. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / July 30, 2025

Stories

Sussman (“Big Bang”) tries to save the world

Another “Big Bang” spin-off is coming, but not one you’d guess.
Forget about Sheldon or Leonard or Georgie or the rest. This is about Stuart, the comic-store guy.
And it propels Kevin Sussman (shown here) into stardom, after three decades in support.
“Stuart Fails to Save the Universe” — coming sometime to HBO Max — is described by one of its creators (Zak Penn) as “a show that the ‘Big Bang Theory’ characters would watch.” Read more…

By Mike Hughes / July 11, 2025

Stories

Patience rewarded: Her big scenes are here

For years, Melissa Johns was in the “Grantchester” background, unnoticed and underused. We all know the feeling.
Still, she says, she felt OK. After all, she got the job during the pandemic.
“I actually assumed that it (show business) was over and most of us would never work again and there wouldn’t be an industry,” Johns said by Zoom.
Now her patience is rewarded. Over the next two Sundays (9 p.m. July 13 and 20, on PBS), there are great moments for Johns and for Brad Hall (both shown here). Read more…

By Mike Hughes / July 6, 2025

Stories

Hands-off decisions saved “Jaws” and “Titanic”

In Hollywood history, some big moments came when wise souls chose to do nothing.
Consider two blockbusters that almost weren’t:
–In 1974, “Jaws” (shown here) veered wildly over its budget and beyond its schedule. “I was terrified I was going to be fired,” Steven Spielberg recalled. Sid Sheinberg, the head of Universal Pictures, flew to Martha’s Vineyard, had a gentle chat with his young director … and decided to leave him be.
— Two decades later, “Titanic” was in the same sort of trouble. Bill Mechanic, head of Fox, drove to the film site to talk to James Cameron. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / July 4, 2025