A lot of TV shows flash past me, some quite good and some rather awful
.Occasionally, however, one is so good that I have to stop and marvel. I’ve just seen the two-hour opener of Ken Burns’ eight-night “Country Music”; it is truly great television.
This won’t reach TV until Sept. 15 (opening PBS’ season), but let’s talk about why it’s so good. Read more…
1) “Elementary,” 10 p.m., CBS. Jonny Lee Miller (shown here) has become the perpetual Sherlock Holmes. Others try. Approximately, Jeremy Britt was Sherlock 43 times; Benedict Cumberbatch, 15; Basil Rathbone, 14; Christopher Lee, 3; Robert Downey Jr., 2. Add them up, throw in lots of others, and you still don’t match this: It’s the 150h episode with Miller as a modern Sherlock, mostly in New York. Tonight, s sculptor has been killed, sparking fears that a serial killer is back. Read more…
1) “Jane the Virgin,” 9 p.m., CW. With only three episodes after tonight, this terrific show has one of its best hours. Jane’s grandmother (shown here, dancing with Jane’s mom) is alternately foul and triumphant … there’s a spectacular action scene … and there’s a truly bizarre plan assembled by Jane’s dad. That last one is part of a sub-plot that will satisfy all of us who feel it should be a felony to thank an agent during an awards ceremony. Read more…
OK, this time Donald Trump may have a point.
Earlier today (July 14), he targeted four Democratic congresswomen. Those four, he tweeted, “came from countries whose governments are a complete and total catastrophe – the worst, most corrupt and inept anywhere in the world …. Why don’t they go back and help fix” them?
Without giving their names, he was referring to Ilhan Omar, Rashida Tlaib (shown here being sworn in), Ayanna Pressley and Alexandria Ocasia-Cortez. And he may have a point. Read more…
At times, the calendar can be our friend.T
hat’s the case with the 50th anniversary of the moon landing. It falls on a Saturday (July 20), meaning:
— More people will be available. Families can snuggle together … as families did a half-century ago.
— And this is a low point – a mid-summer Saturday – for viewers. There are fewer distractions. With that in mind, here’s a round-up of Saturday choices. Read more…
1) CBS in space. A half-century ago, Walter Cronkite (shown here) and CBS grabbed a large chunk of viewers who obsessed on the moon mission. Now the network tries to recapture some of that. At 9:32 a.m. — exactly 50 years after the fact – its streaming site (www.cbsnews.com/live) reruns the original coverage of the lift-off. At 6:30 p.m., Norah O’Donnell anchors “CBS Evening News” from the Kennedy Space Center. And at 10, she anchors “Man on the Moon,” incorporating Cronkite’s coverage. Read more…
1) “CBS Evening News,” 6:30 p.m., CBS. This is the day Norah O’Donnell (shown here) takes over multi-duties; she’s anchor and managing editor of the newscast … anchor of political events … and occasional “60 Minutes” correspondent. That puts her on Murrow/Cronkite/Rather/Couric turf and she starts with a subject Walter Cronkite savored, the moon launch. Tonight, she discusses the future with space entrepreneur Jeff Bezos and with Caroline Kennedy, whose father propelled the moon program. Read more…
As the new “Suits” season arrives, viewers can brace for a fresh blitz of lawyer words.
The concepts bounce around; actors have to seem like they’re cozy with them.
“When you’re doing ‘techno-babble’ – which is what we used to call it – you have to make sure you understand it,” said Denise Crosby (shown here), the new “Suits” antagonist.
And yes, she’s worked with some of the best babblers of tangled techno. She was Tasha Yar, the security officer in the first year of “Star Trek: The Next Generation.” After the character died, she’s been Yar’s daughter … and her grandmother (in a fan-fiction film) … and, due to time travel, Yar herself. Read more…
1) “Masterpiece: Grantchester” season-opener, 9 and 10 p.m., PBS. For three summers, James Norton has played a village vicar – decent and fragile – who helps a cop (Robson Green, shown here with Norton) solve crimes. Now he has his final two cases; we also glimpse the man who will replace him next week. Set in the 1950s, tonight’s first hour has a strong civil-rights theme; the second eyes a corrupt businessman. The mysteries are so-so. but this is a deep portrait of a good man, torn by his flaws. Read more…
1) “CBS Evening News,” 6:30 p.m. today, CBS. Norah O’Donnell (shown here) takes over as anchor and managing editor, stepping into a tradition of news giants – Murrow, Cronkite, Rather, Couric, more. And she does it during a busy week. Tonight, she interviews Jeff Bezos and Caroline Kennedy about the future in space. On Tuesday, she moves the broadcast to the Kennedy Space Center, for coverage of Saturday’s 50th anniversary of the moon landing – then anchors a “Man on the Moon” special, at 10 p.m. Tuesday. Read more…
Best-bets for July 22: At last, a Lukeless Hannah 
Best-bets for July 21: The end of “Truth” and “Lies” 
Week’s top-10 for July 22: End is near for Jane and Hannah 
