Stories

Dr. Ruth: A genial pixie emerged from cascades of tragedy

There’s a special quality to Ruth Westheimer.
You could call it puckish or pixie-like or impish. She prefers “joie de vivre” and “zest for life.”
By any name, it’s impressive. Here is a tiny (4-foot-7) woman with a genial face and a quick wit. As milestones approach – a documentary Saturday on Hulu, three days before she tuns 91 – she seems downright joyous, whether giving sex advice or just having fun.
“I tell everybody not to retire, but to rewire,” Westheimer said. “And I’ve been very fortunate that I’m very healthy. I skied until a few years ago.” Read more…

By Mike Hughes / May 29, 2019

Stories

Her brain handles medical miracles (temporarily)

By now, Julianna Margulies should be an expert on medicine and on the law.
She spent six years as a nurse on “ER,” seven as a lawyer on “The Good Wife.” Now the “Hot Zone” mini-series (shown here) has her as the real-life doctor who fought to stop Ebola from spreading into the U.S.
Surely, those “ER” years helped her master the vocabulary. Or not. “It didn’t, sadly, help at all,” Margulies said, “because I don’t have a medical brain.” Read more…

By Mike Hughes / May 28, 2019

Stories

As the seasons overlap, TV gets busy

There’s a time (a brief one) when seasons merge.
Baseball meets basketball and hockey; leftovers from the departed TV season overlap with the summer.
All of that is right now. Cable usually rules the summer, but even the five old-line networks are busy. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / May 27, 2019

Stories

New York Times reports: From taxi tragedies to transcript cheats

In the newspaper world, there are opposite extremes.
There’s the quick whirl of breaking news. Deadlines loom, editors wait, expectations build. And there’s the way the New York Times and some others approach a detailed piece.
Viewers will see that when “The Weekly” debuts June 2 on FX.
“To spend six, nine, 12 months on (a story) is something that The Times has always done,” said Caitlin Dickerson, whose immigration report is scheduled for June 16. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / May 24, 2019

Stories

Hilty: Second-hand fame, first-class talent

Megan Hilty has built an impressive life from second-hand parts.
“Most of my career (is) basically stuff that other people have already made ridiculously famous,” said Hilty, who has a special Friday (May 24) on PBS.
That started as Kristen Chenoweth’s stand-by in “Wicked,” on Broadway. “It was terrifying …. My Broadway debut, I had two-hours’ notice. It was opposite Idina Menzel, shortly after she won her Tony. And I’d never done the show with people before.” Read more…

By Mike Hughes / May 21, 2019

Stories

Memorial Day eve: A small-town guy meets the masses

Like many small-town kids, Justin Moore’s friends talked about moving to somewhere bigger.
That could be … well, almost anywhere. Back then, Poyen, Ark., had 272 people; it later soared to 290.
“I was the one, out of all my buddies, who didn’t want to leave,” Moore recalled. “I’m the one who did it – and the only one who didn’t want to.”
Not to worry: Moore, 35, is now back in Poyen, with his wife and four kids, running the ranch he worked as a kid. But he often travels to much bigger places to do country music – including PBS’ Memorial Day eve concert, Sunday in Washington, D.C. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / May 20, 2019

Stories

Mega-corp has an anti-establishment classic

This isn’t what you’d expect – George Clooney and “Catch-22” as key pieces for a mega-corporation.
But that’s how things unfolded. Consider:
— On Tuesday (May 14), the deal was announced: Disney, which owns ABC, gets full control of the Hulu streaming service; in 2024, it could buy the portion owned by Comcast (NBC’s owner) for $27.5 billion. That follows a trend, with Disney buying its way (Pixar, Marvel, “Star Wars”) to the top.
— And just three days later (today, May 17), Hulu launched one of its biggest shows, Clooney’s “Catch-22” mini-series. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / May 17, 2019

Stories

ABC’s fall plan: Fewer new shows, but more “Conners”

ABC will jump into the fall with a less-is-more plan. Except for “The Conners,” for which more is more.
Last year at this time, the network was announcing seven new fall shows, plus four more for mid-season. It was too much, new programming chief Karey Burke said this morning; she has just four new fall shows (one a familiar reboot), with three for mid-season.
She will, however, have more “Conners” (shown here), the show that powers Tuesdays. It had only 11 episodes this season and nine (as “Roseanne”) the previous one. Now Burke expects to be “very close to a full season,” which would be about 22. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / May 14, 2019

Stories

Fox in the fall: Scripted shows are scarce

When the new TV season starts next fall, something will be missing (almost) from Fox: Scripted, live-action (not animated) shows
.Indeed, the network will only have five of them, all wedged into a Monday-through-Wednesday stretch. The rest of the week has football, wrestling, “The Masked Singer” and Sunday’s animation.
Gone are “Star,” “Lethal Weapon,” “The Cool Kids,” “Rel,” “The Gifted” and more. In addition, this will be the final season of “Empire” (shown here), which Fox is painting as a positive. “We are turning the last season of ‘Empire’ into a large event,” said programmer Michael Thorn. “We really want to go out with a bang.” Read more…

By Mike Hughes / May 13, 2019

Stories

“Big Bang”: The end of a long and funny journey

For a dozen years, “The Big Bang Theory” has given us great comedy – sharply written, perfectly played, with likable characters colliding in fun ways. It has its last new episodes Thursday (May 16), so here are a few things:
First, an overall story, partly looking back to the show’s start. Then a few time-and-channel details, followed by some trivia. Also, please catch the recent story about Kevin Sussman, who plays Stuart. Here we go: Read more…

By Mike Hughes / May 12, 2019