1) “NCIS: Sydney” and “Fire Country,” 8 and 9 p.m., CBS. Both shows are a week from their season-finales. (Yes, they’ll be back.) The Sydney team (shown here) faces searing heat, while probing a Marine’s death during a joint training exercise. Then a routine house fire escalates, putting a firefighter in danger. Read more…
After 55 years, Earth Day is still going strong.
And after 4.5 billion years (give or take a couple), the Earth itself is going semi-strong.
As the day arrives (April 22), people still plant trees, clean rivers, visit parks … and watch TV. There are plenty of choices there.
The streaming services store Earth-ly films from the past, especially on Disney+, Apple TV+ (shown here is “Jane”) and Netflix. In addition, new ones keep arriving. Read more…
1) “Matlock” season-finale, 9-11 p.m., CBS. Matty (shown here) finally told Olympia the truth: She’s been lying, to learn which man – Olympia’s ex-husband or his dad – buried a drug report that could have saved lives. Amid a fractured friendship, they now push ahead. It’s a fairly strong ending to a great season. Still, it leaves way too much hanging until next year. Read more…
Not all animals are telegenic, you know.
We rarely see a good film about anteaters, moles or wild boars. But penguins (shown here) are always ready for their close-ups.
“They’re so much like people … very relatable,” said filmmaker Bertie Gregory, whose charming “Secrets of the Penguins” debuts from 8-11 p.m. Sunday (April 20) on the National Geographic Channel, then repeats on Earth Day (April 22).
In a way, penguins have the qualities of an ideal date: They’re cute and available.
“Most filmmakers are hidden behind bushes, shooting with a Zoom lens,” Gregory, 31, said. But penguins don’t mind company; at times, they’ll visit the human and stare with curiosity. Read more…
1) “Sherlock & Daughter” debut, 9 p.m., CW. A quick-witted American feels she’s Sherlock Holmes’ daughter. He disagrees, but needs her on a case. It’s a smart story that starts (shown here) when she has a quick friendship with a rich girl. Some things are settled next week; others continue for six more weeks. Blu Hunt (“The Originals,” “The New Mutants”), who has Lakota and Apache roots, is impressive alongside David Thewlis. Read more…
1) “The Cleaning Lady,” 8 p.m., Fox. This show has killed two interesting FBI agents; now it has its best character yet. An assistant district attorney, he brims with false folksiness, Columbo-style. Perfectly played by Robert Cicchini (shown here), he squeezes Thony … who has much to hide, including a mercy killing. It’s a terrific episode, with a big twist near the end. Read more…
(This is the latest chapter in a book-in-progress, “Television, and How It Got That Way.” To catch the full book, from the start, simply hit the category “The Book.”)
As a star student, Kay Smith could have picked almost anything for her Master’s Degree thesis. She chose satellite communication.
It was an odd choice, because … well, there was no satellite communication.
This was 1967, just a decade after Sputnik and just two years after the Early Bird became the first commercial satellite. But Smith felt bigger things were coming.
Ten years after that thesis, she created the Madison Square Garden Network. By then, she was Kay Koplovitz; soon, it would be the USA Network; she and Ted Turner (shown here) would pioneer a cable-TV era. Read more…
1) “Paradise,” 10 p.m., ABC. Last week’s opener had some shell-shocks: The president was killed, his mistress leads the probe, his top secret-service agent is a suspect … and (viewers learned late) this is in a post-apocalyptic bunker city. “Paradise” is from the “This Is Us” duo of writer-producer Dan Fogelman and Sterling K. Brown (shown here) as the agent. Read more…
1) “The Last of Us” season-opener, 9 p.m., HBO. In its first season, this epic drew raves and 24 Emmy nominations, including best drama. It won eight Emmys … but waited two years for this second season, which only has seven episodes. The story jumps ahead five years, finding Ellie and Joel (shown here) in his brother’s fortified compound, surrounded by danger. Read more…
1) “Secrets of the Penguins,” 8-11 p.m. Sunday, National Geographic. Each year, near Earth Day (April 22), we get a superb James Cameron production. Previous ones eyed elephants, whales and octopuses. Now (shown here) comes the best yet. It ranges from the Arctic to a desert, from 4-foot-tall to two-foot. Young filmmaker Bertie Gregory captures rich, intimate detail. Read more…
Best-bets for June 29: The July 4th build-up begins 
Best-bets for June 28: music, young comic, old Mel 
Best-bets for June 27: Swayze, spies, soccer 
