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

Stories

Bottom-feeding babies stir our fears

Babies can be quirky sometimes. They make odd choices, bite strange things.
And if the baby is eight feet long, with sharp teeth, there’s a problem. We learn that on the first night (July 5) of the National Geographic Channel’s annual “SharkFest.”
“At eight or nine feet, a shark is pretty darn young,” Mike Heithaus said by Zoom. That shark is still learning. “When he sees a surfboard, he’ll think, ‘That might be something I should bite.'”
He soon learns otherwise. Surfboards offer no nourishment; surfers — too much muscle, too little fat — aren’t much better. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / June 29, 2025

Stories

Amid firecracker fun, singing of an unsung hero

For 70 years, the military life of Josh Turner’s grandfather was tucked away in a drawer, unseen.
For 10 more, it was in a songbook, unrecorded. “Everything happens for a reason,” Turner said, and there’s a right time for things.
Now is the time. At “A Capitol Fourth” (8 p.m. July 4 on PBS, rerunning at 9:30), he’ll sing “Unsung Hero,” a tribute to one guy — or to millions.
Turner (shown here) will also do “Firecracker,” which amuses him. “That song has nothing to do with fireworks,” he said, but people like to hear it on the holiday.
“A Capitol Fourth” is like that, mixing some serious moments with lots of festive ones. This year, it will have the Beach Boys and Temptations, plus gospel great Yolanda Adams, contemporary Christian singer Lauren Daigle, jazz’s Trombone Shorty, and two country acts, LoCash and Turner. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / June 27, 2025

Stories

“Gilded Age” flips the money and power

As “The Gilded Age” returns, we see two approaches to life. There’s the:
— American view: Money is really quite essential; and
— Old-world view: Even without money, there’s class and privilege and such.
“I’m always rather fascinated by people who pretend that the loss of money … doesn’t affect them at all,” said Julian Fellowes, the series creator.
As the third season begins (9 p.m. Sunday, June 22, on HBO and Max), that’s the situation for Agnes (Christine Baranski, second from left in this poster) Read more…

By Mike Hughes / June 20, 2025

Stories

Patience and Purvis: kindred spirits, and yet …

These two women seem to have everything in common. They’re young, autistic, heading into new worlds.
And yet, they’re also opposites.
Patience Evans (shown here) is fictional, the compelling central character in “Patience,” at 8 p.m. Sundays on PBS. Ella Maisy Purvis, 22, is the actress who plays her.
“I’m very different from her, but I’m also very similar,” she said, by Zoom. “There are no gray areas with us.”
They offer proof that autism really is a spectrum, and a huge one. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / June 16, 2025

Stories

“Grantchester” flings Nair into new old worlds

If your mom is a driving instructor and your dad is a driver, there’s a good chance your career will put you in a car.
It worked that way for Rishi Nair (shown here, right), but in a round-about way. As the star of “Grantchester” (9 p.m. Sundays on PBS), he gets to drive a zippy red Triumph convertible.
“I really like it,” he said. “I love the sound of it when I hit the accelerator.”
That vintage car is a part of his introduction to different worlds. Nair is a city guy from London, playing someone at the core of village life. He’s a Hindu, playing a Christian vicar. He’s someone who was born in 1991, stepping back into life in 1961. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / June 13, 2025