Mike Hughes on TV

1) “America’s National Parks” finale, 9 p.m., National Geographic, rerunning at midnight. A splendid series (also on Disney+) concludes with its most spectacular hour. The Hawaii Volcanoes National Park (shown here) includes one volcano that erupted for 35 years; when it stopped, in 2018, it had buried a road under 100 feet of lava. The park also has 500-year-old carvings, 1,000-year-old trees and unique species, from larva-seeking beetles to a curved-beak woodpecker. Read more…

1) “The Rings of Power” (shown here), any time, Amazon Prime. The mega-prequels era is now in place. “House of the Dragon,” HBO’s “Game of Thrones” prequel, arrived Aug. 21 as the most expensive TV project ever; now Amazon has one that’s even larger. It cost a reported $465 million for the first season’s eight episodes. Over five seasons (at least), we’ll see epic struggles that were filmed in New Zealand, often using elaborate sets in addition to special effects. Read more…

1) “Stargirl” season-opener, 8 p.m., CW. While others pause, CW has an above-average show to bridge the late-summer/early-fall lull. “Stargirl” skips all the reluctant-hero cliches; Courtney (shown here in the new-season poster) is a teen who’s delighted to discover her superpowers. Two skilled pros help – Joel McHale as Starman, back from the dead, and Luke Wilson as Courtney’s dad and sidekick. Now The Gambler is back, drawing suspicion. Read more…

1) “The Patient” (shown here) opener, any time, Hulu. Far removed from his eager comedy characters, Steve Carell plays a widower who’s a quiet and diligent therapist. Then a patient kidnaps him and chains him in a basement. Perfectly played by Carell and Domhnall Gleeson, this slowly builds a sharp intensity.

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1) “America’s National Parks,” 8 and 9 p.m., National Geographic Channel; rerunning at midnight and 1 a.m. We start in the Everglades, the only place in the world to have both alligators and crocodiles. (Yes, we’re told, that’s a good thing.) Then it’s on to the Grand Canyon (shown here) – 277 miles long, with life ranging from elk to soaring condor. This is the start of a five-night, nine-hour series, narrated by Garth Brooks, with gorgeous visions of semi-wild worlds. Read more…

1) MTV Video Music Awards, 8-10:30 p.m., MTV, other cable channels and CW; also, MTV has a preview at 6:30 p.m. and reruns the awards at 10:30 p.m. and 1 a.m. In a music-stuffed night, Nicki Minaj (shown here) and the Red Hot Chili Peppers get special awards and perform. Also performing — Jack Harlow, Lizzo, Maneskin, J Balvin, Anitta, Panic at the Disco, Blackpink and Kane Brown – the first country singer to work solo at the VMA’s. Read more…