Disney+ channels the force for the 4th
Give the people what they want and they’ll show up in droves. That showbiz adage certainly applies to the Disney+ streaming service. Almost alone of the new streaming platforms, it was popular from the very beginning.
Some of its appeal was the ability of subscribers to enjoy popular Disney, Marvel and Pixar movies. But almost all of the buzz generated for Disney+ came from “The Mandalorian,” director Jon Favreau’s new entry into the “Star Wars” canon, a series of half-hour adventures as violent as a Sergio Leone Western, as manic as a Road Runner cartoon and as vivid as any space opera. And there was Baby Yoda, too, a new entry into the pantheon of “Star Wars” characters, complete with plenty of mysteries about its real name, backstory and origin. Much like the characters from the 1977 “Star Wars” movie, the cute little critter arrived too late in 2019 to be properly merchandised for Christmas.
Disney+ hopes to retain and entertain those Baby Yoda fans with “Disney Gallery: The Mandolorian,” an eight-part documentary series taking viewers behind the scenes and explaining the making of the new epic. Look for interviews with creator Favreau, as well as its many directors, producers, artists and composers. It’s interesting to note that this “Making Of ” series has as many episodes as the original.
To honor The Force of “Star Wars” mythology, Disney+ will also stream the 2019 space adventure “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker,” also known as “Star Wars: Episode IX — The Rise of Skywalker.” Subscribers can binge on films I through VIII as well.
› AMC has imported the first season of the horror anthology “Creepshow” from the Shudder streaming network. In the first episode, “Gray Matter: The House of the Head” (10 p.m., AMC, TV-14), an alcoholic’s problems are compounded by a homicidal doll.
› A family unravels when a 60-year-old woman (Julia Ormond, “Mad Men”) takes a 35-year-old lover (Ben Barnes, “Westworld”) in the U.K. thriller series “Gold Digger,” now streaming on Acorn.
› At a time when the president’s temperament, preparation and behavior have never been under more scrutiny, “American Experience” (9 p.m., PBS, TV-MA, check local listings) presents a twonight, four-hour profile of George W. Bush, the 43rd president of the United States.
Part one explores Bush’s early years and examines how his presidency was tested and defined by the reaction to the 2001 terror attacks. Part two concentrates on a second term besieged by bad news from Iraq, the catastrophe of Katrina and the financial meltdown of 2008.
It’s probably too soon to judge the 43rd president from the vantage point of
history. But few stories have a more dramatic arc, including a wandering youth, defined by a classic rebellion against his accomplished father, the 41st president.
› Bravo introduces a series that is both overdue and seemingly overdone. “Camp Getaway” (10 p.m., Bravo, TV-14) invites a gaggle of adult extroverts to a rustic getaway where they relive the joys of summer camp memories and indulge in the sexual shenanigans and heavy drinking that are the hallmarks of so many other hedonistic reality shows. It’s hard not to watch this without wondering if “Friday the 13th” is going to break out at any time. Or at least a tick infestation.