1) “Grantchester” series finale, 9 p.m. Sunday, PBS. For 11 seasons and three vicars, this has given us warm people and smart crime stories. The finale fumbles the latter; the search for the man who shot Geordie is so-so, at best. It also overdoses the drama at times, amid a crisis in faith for Alphy (right, with Geordie). But its final, moving minutes remind us that this has been a terrific series. Read more…
1) “Saturday Night Live,” 11:29 p.m., NBC. This reruns the season-finale, with two of the show’s favorites. Hosting is Will Ferrell, who was a regular (shown here) for seven years, left to become a movie star, and has returned five times as host. Paul McCartney is the music guest. Read more…
The TV world is again obsessing on outer space.
On the non-fiction side, PBS has two series viewing the space race, from the early competition to the International Space Station (shown here) co-operation. There’s a new one at 9 p.m. Tuesdays and a splendid rerun at 9 p.m. Fridays.
And the fiction side? New seasons are starting for Paramount+’s “Star Trek: Strange New Worlds” (Thursdays, starting July 23) and Syfy’s “The Ark” (Wednesdays, starting July 29).
Then there are all the past shows — roughly 3.2 zillion of them — stockpiled on the streamers. Read more…
It’s not easy to inhabit the strange old world of “Star Trek.”
Consider Rebecca Romijn, who plays First Officer Una Chin-Riley in “Star Trek: Strange New Worlds” (Thursdays on Paramount+). For this fourth season (shown here, with Uhura at the controls), she was busy learning to speak Klingon.
It was “a challenge I never knew I wanted,” she told the Television Critics Association. “But I really embraced it, because there are at least 20 people in the world who speak Klingon perfectly.” Read more…
1) “Chasing the Moon” opener, 9-11 p.m., PBS. On Tuesdays, PBS has a terrific new documentary tracing the later years of the U.S.-Soviet space race. But now we go back to the beginning: This terrific, three-week film (from 2019) includes astronauts (Buzz Aldrin, Mike Collins, Frank Borman) and others, includinng Poppy Northcutt (shown here), a pioneering computer expert whom photographers kept focusing on. Read more…
1) “Star Trek: Strange New Worlds” season-opener, Paramount+. Sure, some shows might have episodes where nothing much happens. Not here: After a slow start, this story (shown here) leaps across time and space, leaving … well, everyone everywhere in limbo. It’s definitely a big way to start the season. Read more…
Staring at movies and TV shows, we’re used to this:
A disaster has started; people promptly shift into another gear. They panic, push, shout, scream and generally misbehave.
Is this realistic? “We do see panic in some emergencies,” Sarita Robinson said. “But not as often as portrayed.”
She’s studied such things for 30 years and has the academic credentials to prove it. She’s ponders disasters, new and old — in one case, very old: She’s in Tom Hiddleston’s “Pompeii: Out of Time,” a fascinating documentary (shown here), from 8-11 p.m. Wednesday (July 22) on the National Geographic Channel. Read more…
1) “Celebrity Who Wants to Be a Millionaire” season-opener, 8 p.m., ABC. The season starts with two interesting duos. First, Larry David is paired with his daughter Cazzie, a writer and actress. (They’re shown here.) Then Ben Affleck teams with Jamie Ding, who won 31 straight nights of “Jeopardy.” Read more…
1) “Kitchen Nightmares” season-opener, 8 and 9 p.m., Fox. Who knew there was this much angst and anger in the back of basic, down-home restaurants? In the first hour, a chef faces an immensely disinterested front-of-the-house manager; in the second, an all-American diner wades in ill-will. Somehow, Gordon Ramsay (shown here) seems like the calmest guy in the room. Read more…
1) Celebrity Family Feud,” 9-11 p.m., ABC. Last Thursday, “Feud” — one of TV’s best game shows– had its season-opener.s Now those episodes rerun today, emphasizing football — AFC and NFC champs — and music — En Vogue (shown here at its peak) vs. Sheila E, Lisa Lisa vs. Taylor Dayne. OnThursday, a new episode will pit the U.S. men’s and women’s Olympic hockey teams. Read more…
Best-bets for Aug. 6: Fun, games and deep emotion 
Best-bets for Aug. 5: Ted’s back; “Shards” begins 
Best-bets for Aug. 4: a fresh twist for “Talent” 
