Stories

Stories

Conspiracy theories swirl through internet

Conspiracy theories have long been lurking out there, stirring our emotions.
We’ve seen the Kennedy-assassination ideas of Oliver Stone and others; we’ve had UFO tales, billed as fiction (“X-Files”) or fact. Earlier, Joe McCarthy insisted he held the names of 205 Communist conspirators in the U.S. government.
Often, those views are nudged aside. But now, some viewers will have seen two major documentaries in five days: On Friday (July 24), CNN’s Fareed Zakaria presented “Donald Trump’s Conspiracy Theories”; at 10 p.m. Tuesday (July 28), PBS’ “Frontline” has “United States of Conspiracy,” focusing on Alex Jones (shown here). Read more…

By Mike Hughes / July 26, 2020
Stories

John Lewis tributes fill the week

John Lewis, a towering figure in civil rights, will be memorialized often in the next week.
Some reruns were already planned. The documentary “John Lewis: Get In the Way” is at pbs.org and on stations’ websites; “Legends Who Paved the Way” – a gala with Lewis and others – reruns at 11 a.m. Sunday (July 26) on the Oprah Winfrey Network.
That’s the morning when a procession will see Lewis, for one final time, cross Selma, Alabama’s Edmund Pettus Bridge – where he was beaten fiercely by police during a 1965 march. (He’s shown here at a reunion walk across the bridge.) Read more…

By Mike Hughes / July 25, 2020
Stories

For “lost cause” rebel, the fight goes on

For Michel Warschawski, the impression was instant.
He was watching activists protest their Israeli government. Then he spotted “a short, little woman, beautiful” in mini-skirt and boots. She clanged keys and yelled curses – ”words I’d never heard before …. I was speechless.”
He promptly joined the group; a year-and-a-half later, he and Lea Tesemel started dating. Now, 50-some years later, they’re still together(shown here) — married, with two kids and seven grandkids. At 75, she’s a busy lawyer — profiled in “POV: Advocate,” at 10 p.m. Monday (July 27) on PBS (check local listings) – who keeps tackling impossible missions. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / July 24, 2020
Stories

PBS packs the fall with music, drama, politics, more

As TV networks’ fall plans sputter, there’s a counterpoint:
PBS still has big plans for the season. That includes concerts (including Lea Salonga, shown here, and Wynton Marsalis), dramas (including Hugh Laurie), politics (including general rage), nature and whimsy.
Well, not a lot of whimsy. (This is PBS, after all.) But it will air “History of Zombies” on the eve of Halloween and visit “Santa’s Wild Home” before Christmas; it will also have a jazz tribute to “Sesame Street,” visit tropical islands and board the queen’s plane. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / July 21, 2020
Stories

Broadway vanished? Not on Fridays

In a theater-less season – no Broadway, no summer-stock musicals, nothing — we need a break.
Fortunately, PBS is trying. In a five-Friday stretch, it will give us Broadway-style reruns.
That includes two musicals (“She Loves Me” (shown here) and “The King and I”), two plays (“Present Laughter” and “Much Ado About Nothing”) and a making-of film (“In the Heights”). It’s sort of a history of theater – from Shakespeare to Miranda. Here’s a rundown, with shows at 9 p.m. (check local listings): Read more…

By Mike Hughes / July 19, 2020
Stories

She’s achieved her shark-filled dreams

Other kids might pester Santa with trivial requests for ponies and unicorns and such.
Kori Garza, however, was more original. At 3, she plunked on his lap and asked for a great white shark.
She didn’t get it, which was probably for the best. It would be odd, she now grants, “to have a great white swimming in the bathtub.”
But it was a fine start for her current life: Garza (shown here) is a shark expert and the central figure in “World’s Biggest Tiger Shark?” That’s at 8 p.m. Sunday (July 19), launching National Geographic’s “Sharkfest.” (See overview under “stories” and schedule under “quick news and comments.) Read more…

By Mike Hughes / July 16, 2020
Stories

It’s sorta horror and kinda fun

In his childhood, Bobby Mair (shown here) was blessed with intervals of benign neglect.
“A lot of people talk about over-protective parents,” he said. “But mine were busy doing their own thing …. No one seemed to mind that a 5-year-old was watching a horror film.”
That may have been the perfect training ground for his career as a comedian … and as the host of the first reality/horror/sometimes-comedy show to reach the U.S.
“Killer Camp” debuts Thursday (July 16), as the CW network plugs schedule holes with shows that have aired elsewhere. Viewers will get to to see some odd concoctions. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / July 14, 2020
Stories

Peacock joins the streaming mega-clash

For TV viewers, this is now the clash of the titans.
On Wednesday (July 15), the Peacock streaming service debuts, harnessing the power of NBC, Universal and beyond. It starts with eight new series (including “Brave New World,” shown here) and a pile of old ones, plus movies and more.
That makes it the fourth mega-streamer, alongside Netflix, Disney+ and HBO Max … with plenty of near-megas – CBS All Access, Hulu, Apple TV+. Amazon, Acorn – nearby.
There are differences, including a big one: This new streamer (www.peacocktv.com) starts by being free, hoping people will upgrade to Peacock Premium, adding shows and eliminating commercials. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / July 13, 2020
Stories

“Sharkfest” attacks the TV void

As summer nears its mid-point, TV clearly needs a boost.
There are big holes in the schedules and in our days. What can fill the void? Well … sharks — ots and lots of them, in bursts:
– Sunday (July 19): “Sharkfest” starts on the National Geographic Channel, opening at 8 p.m. with Kori Garza (shown here) hoping to re-unite with a mega-shark. It continue there for three weeks, with 17 new shows and endless reruns.
– Aug. 9: NatGeo Wild takes over, with two weeks of reruns … and Discovery begins its Shark Week Read more…

By Mike Hughes / July 12, 2020