Stories

The blahs fade; Versailles elegance arrives

As the pandemic persisted, some actors and musicians felt the world closing in on them.
“Most of us went through a period of depression,” soprano Isabel Leonard (shown here, left) told the Television Critics Association. “I think we … felt sort of at odds with our existence.”
Working from home may be fine for people pounding on laptops; it’s less satisfying if you sing arias in packed concert halls. Leonard did some teaching, some video work and some fidgeting.
But she also helped plan a semi-solution: “Three Divas at Versailles” (10 p.m. Friday, Oct. 8) puts sopranos on a sparse stage in a grand setting – the concert hall of the Palace of Versailles. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / October 6, 2021

Stories

“CSI” — a hit that almost wasn’t — returns

CBS’ notion seems logical: Want a new hit? Just freshen up an old one.
“CSI: Crime Scene Investigation” debuted back in 2000. A sometimes-chaotic world met some calm, science-based crimefighters.
And now? “The world, weirdly enough, is even more topsy-turvy than it was in 2000,” said Jorja Fox, who starred in the original and returns in “CSI: Vegas,” debuting at 10 p.m. Wednesday (Oct. 6).
The new show brings back William Petersen and Fox (they’re shown here), as Gil Grissom and Sara Sidle, who married and retired from the “CSI” world … until an emergency brings them back. Other originals (Paul Guilfoyle and Wallace Langham as Brass and Hodges) also show up. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / October 4, 2021

Stories

Rita Moreno: A chaotic career goes forever

Rita Moreno’s movie career has lasted approximately forever.
She was 18 when her first film, the soon-forgotten “So Young, So Bad,” opened. And her newest one?
That’s Steven Spielberg’s “West Side Story,” on Dec. 10. “On Dec. 11, I’ll be 90 …. The planets are aligned,” she told the Television Critics Association.
That’s a 72-year span, highlighted in a documentary at 9 p.m. Tuesday (Oct. 5) on PBS. It’s a story in which her role in the original, 1961 “West Side Story” movie (shown here) takes a key spot. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / October 1, 2021

Stories

“Midwife”: basic birthing, in a chaotic world

“Call the Midwife” is back, with a gentle journey through history – human history, medical history, even fashion history.
Yes, fashions. This series (8 p.m. Sundays, PBS) was set in 1957, then advanced one year each season. The new season (starting Oct. 3) is in 1966 – the Beatles era, when London’s “Carnaby Street” look was starting to catch on.
That’s especially clear in the fourth episode (Oct. 24), when young actress Megan Cusack arrives, playing a nursing student. She’s shown here in her uniform, but at dinner, she surprises others – including the nuns — with her flashy dress.
“It truly does feel like a costume,” Cusack told the Television Critics Association. “When you put it on, you are getting into that era and that vibe and the fact that she likes to stand out.” Read more…

By Mike Hughes / September 29, 2021

Stories

All Rhodes lead to wrestling world

Chances are, few Black girls in Canton, Michigan, envision figure-skating careers.
Even fewer, perhaps, dream of moving South and being an executive for an upstart wrestling group.
Brandi Rhodes has done both. She’s also a wrestler, a new mom and a star (with her husband Cody, sown here) in “Rhodes to the Top,” a reality show that airs after wrestling, at 10 p.m. Wednesdays on TNT.
“The biggest surprise to me about wrestling is how engrossed you become in it …. I’m consumed by it,” she told the Television Critics Association. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / September 28, 2021

Stories

The British master old-cop/young-cop tales

American TV may savor the good-cop/bad-cop concept.
But in England – where crime shows flourish – there’s old-cop/young cop. Just ask Neil Dudgeon (shown here), whose “Midsomer Murders” is starting a four-movie stretch on the Acorn streaming service.
“I spent a lot of times as a younger actor, (paired with) a senior actor,” Dudgeon told the Television Critics Association. “And the senior actor would do all the thinking and be rather brilliant at solving a crime. And then he would say to me: ‘Oh, look, he’s run off into the river. Chase him!’” Read more…

By Mike Hughes / September 24, 2021

Stories

He’s an accidental rock star

James Wolk is a rock star now – albeit a pretend one – and that’s ironic.
Wolk stars in “Ordinary Joe,” which reruns its pilot film at 8 p.m. Friday (Sept. 24) on NBC, then continues at 10 p.m. Mondays. In TV’s splashiest role, he plays the same guy in three lives – as a cop, a nurse and a musician.
“When Jimmy got on stage, he just completely transformed into this rock star,” said writer-producer Russel Friend. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / September 22, 2021

Stories

The Lacheys: great jobs, extreme commute

It’s a problem that many couples face in this modern world – two jobs, two cities, lots of commuting.
Ten miles is workable … 50 miles is tougher … but how about 2,558 miles each way? “I’m racking up some frequent-flyer miles,” Nick Lachey said with a laugh.
The Lacheys (shown here at their 2011 wedding) are the new season’s power couple: Vanessa stars in CBS’ “NCIS: Hawaii” (10 p.m. Mondays); Nick is a judge on Fox’s “Alter Ego,” debuting at 9 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday (Sept. 22-23.) Read more…

By Mike Hughes / September 17, 2021

Stories

Ali: sweet and brutal, vilified and beloved

Ken Burns keeps immersing himself in large lives, filled with contrasts.
There was Thomas Jefferson, the champion of freedom, who owned slaves. And Ernest Hemingway, the macho man with a fragile ego. And now Muhammad Ali is profiled in a four-night film, Sunday through Wednesday (Sept. 19-22) on PBS.
With the hyper speed of his boxing and his tongue, Ali could be brutal. At other times?
“He was so sweet and cuddly,” Rasheda Ali, one of his nine children, told the Television Critics Association. “Daddy was very affectionate. I think all of us are now, because of him.” Read more…

By Mike Hughes / September 16, 2021

Stories

Here’s a look at the new — well, new-ish — TV season

Summer is sagging, the pandemic is persisting and we need a fresh diversion.
We need the new TV season – new shows, new …. Well, maybe we can settle for “new-ish.”
The season officially starts Monday (Sept. 20), when all of the reruns and most of the summer reality shows vanish. But with some splendid exceptions — including “Ghosts,” shown here — this won’t seem terribly new. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / September 14, 2021