Stories

An operatic hologram? That fits the “Trek” universe

We expect a lot from our robots, holograms and AI entities.
We want them to drive our cars, edit our prose, mow our lawns. And one (albeit a fictional one) sings opera.
That’s happened in the “Star Trek” shows — first in “Voyager” and now in “Starfleet Academy,” which starts Thursday (Jan. 15) on Paramount+.
“The notion that an artificial intelligence has hobbies is idiotic to begin with,” Robert Picardo granted in a Television Critics Association session. “The notion that he loves opera is really taking … it out there.”
But his character (simply called The Doctor) sang in “Voyager” (shown here); 30 years later, he’s doing it again, in the second episode (also Jan. 15) of “Starfleet.” Read more…

By Mike Hughes / January 11, 2026

Stories

“Trek” sequel: school daze in a high-tech universe

Fantasy fans seem to love schools that are stuffed with weird teachers and weirdly gifted students.
There’s “Harry Potter” and “X-Men” and “The Magicians” and more. Now “Star Trek: Starfleet Academy”(shown here) debuts Thursday (Jan. 15) on Paramount+.
This isn’t a copycat, producer Noga Landau insists. “Starfleet Academy existed before all of them,” she said. “It’s 60 years old …. It was always something that was discussed.”
In the original, 1966 “Star Trek,” Kirk and Spock were Academy grads. Seven years ago, when Alex Kurtzman was put in charge of the “Trek” universe, there was talk of a series centering on academy cadets. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / January 11, 2026

Stories

“Pitt” stars have parallel lives, 30 years apart

As “The Pitt” returns, let’s view parallel lives, three decades apart:
— 1994: “ER” began, with Noah Wyle ill-prepared for what’s ahead. He’s 23.
— 2025: Wyle’s “The Pitt” began, with Patrick Ball (shown here) ill-prepared for what’s ahead. With the exception of one TV episode, he had never acted on camera.
Now he was playing Dr. Frank Langdon in an intense hospital drama. “I was flying by the seat of my pants and trying not to get fired,” he told the Television Critics Association via Zoom.
Both shows soared instantly. In its first year, “ER” won eight Emmys and was nominated for best drama; “Pitt” — which startts its second season Thursday (Jan. 8) on HBO Max– won five Emmys, including best-drama. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / January 5, 2026

Stories

In the shadow of “ER,” “The Pitt” finds its path

When “The Pitt” began, it faced a basic question:
Would this just be re-doing “ER”? After all, it had the same producer (John Wells), one of the same stars (Noah Wyle, shown here) and the same idea — a fast-moving show, with handheld cameras zipping around an emergency department.
Yes, the show (which starts its second season Jan. 8 on HBO) amps that up by having the entire season trace one, 15-hour day. But beyond that, what could be different?
“We took a huge dry-erase board and just wrote all the things that we never did on ‘ER’ thar could be talked about today,” Wyle told the Television Critics Association. “We were amazed at how fast we filled up that board.” Read more…

By Mike Hughes / January 5, 2026

Stories

It’s no “Doc Martin,” maybe, but it’s a fun show

The news was greeted with understandable skepticism.
Fox was planning a reboot of “Doc Martin.” A British gem — droll and dry, quiet and clever — was being remade by the network of Gronk, Ken Jeong, screaming chefs, bulky lifeguards and “Krapopolis.”
The result? This new version (shown here) called “Best Medicine,” doesn’t match the original, but it’s surprisingly good.
You can catch the opener twice — after football (about 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT) on Sunday, Jan. 4, then at 8 p.m. Tuesday, which becomes its regular spot. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / January 1, 2026

Stories

New Year’s Eve on TV: There’s less … and more

For TV viewers, this will be a New Year’s Eve of fewer and more.
Fewer networks are trying full-scale, music parties. NBC announced one, then dropped it. Fox and the cable networks never got that far. Only ABC and CBS are going ahead.
But ABC’s will be bigger than ever. It will sprawl across four cities (including New York City, shown here) and run for eight hours (minus a newscast), with at least 40 performers and 85 songs.
Once you add some more things — a couple mostly-talk shows and some musical reruns — you have lots of choices. Details include: Read more…

By Mike Hughes / December 26, 2025

Stories

Mid-season brings flurry of new shows, season-openers

Slogging through the post-Christmas lull, TV viewers can find quick comfort. Or maybe semi-quick.
Current shows will have new episodes in early January on most networks … or late February on CBS. And they’ll be joined by:
— Nine new scripted series, led by Fox’s amiable “Doc Martin” reboot, starring Josh Charles (shown here on one of the doctor’s many bad days).
— The season-openers of 11 scripted shows, including ABC’s “Will Trent” and “The Rookie.”
— Three new unscripted shows, starting with a Harlan Coban true-crime series, Jan. 8. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / December 21, 2025

Stories

Reiner: amid gloom, triumph and joy in TV and movies

Norman Lear once summarized his friend beautifully:
“To be alone with Rob Reiner is to be in a crowd,” he wrote. “His brain and his mouth, like a chain of Chinese firecrackers, are firing constantly.”
And that brain kept triumphing — as a comedy writer, as one of the stars of Lear’s “All In the Family” and then as the director of classic movies, from “This Is Spinal Tap” to “A Few Good Men” and “When Harry Met Sally.”
Reiner (shown here in “This Is Spinal Tap,” 78, and his wife Michelle, 68, were reportedly found dead Sunday (Dec. 14), apparently stabbed to death. He left an awesome track record. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / December 15, 2025

Stories

It’s happy 100th (or 36th) birthday, Van Swift

This is one of those double birthdays that can keep your head swiveling.
On Saturday (Dec. 13), Dick Van Dyke turns 100 … and Taylor Swift turns 36.
It’s kind of like “Barbieheimer,” when the “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer” movies opened the same day, right? Now you don’t know what to put on the birthday cake. “Van Swift?” “Swift Dick?” Maybe not.
To complicate things further, both will be featured Friday through Sunday on TV, cable and streaming. (See box at the end.) Read more…

By Mike Hughes / December 9, 2025

Stories

At last: Percy’s back in the gods’ domain

It’s not easy to fight gods and monsters, you know. It takes time and trouble.
And it takes time to be a fan of the demigods: “Percy Jackson and the Olympians” (shown here) finally starts its second season Wednesday (Dec. 10) on Disney+ … a full two years after the first season arrived.
Consider one of the show’s young heroes. “Annabeth was very patient with trying to go on a quest,” said Leah Sava Jeffries (left), who plays her. She’d been training for five years, before getting her chance.
That same patience has been required of the fans and the people involved. Walker Scobell (center) had just turned 13 when he was cast as Percy; his 17th birthday (Jan. 5) will arrive while this second season is airing. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / December 6, 2025