Dinosaurs take over small screens
Our appetite for digital dinosaurs is never sated. Chris Pratt stars in the 2015 adventure sequel “Jurassic World” (8 p.m., NBC, TV-14). This is clearly a promotion for the new franchise installment “Jurassic World Dominion” hitting theaters on June 10. That film will star Pratt and return three stars from the original 1993 effort, Sam Neill, Jeff Goldblum and Laura Dern.
On a related note, Apple TV+ launches the five-part series “Prehistoric Planet,” produced by the BBC. Fans of the “Planet Earth” series and its many permutations (including “Dynasties,” which returned this past weekend) will find this series very familiar.
The documentaries offer a generalized look at the entire globe, in this case a world hundreds of millions of years in our past. In addition to glorious footage of contemporary reptiles, it includes digitized creations of their ancient ancestors, based on the latest scientific theories and fossil evidence.
Like many “Planet” installments, “Prehistoric” is narrated by David Attenborough and scored by composer Hans Zimmer.
Attenborough’s older brother, Richard, was in the 1993 “Jurassic Park” film as the scientist/park keeper whose genetic noodling got the lizards leaping.
“Prehistoric Planet” is executive produced by Jon Favreau, the force behind the Disney+ “Star Wars” hit “The Mandalorian.”
› HBO Max streams the second season of “That Damn Michael Che,” a sketch series starring the “SNL” personality and “Weekend Update” anchor. Released with the Lorne Michaels imprint, “Damn” will feature appearances by other “SNL” vets, including Colin Jost, Cecily Strong and Colin Quinn.
Streaming television has expanded the appetite for “SNL”-related content. But it has also provided more territory for new projects to get lost.
By any measure, Mike Myers must be considered among the most successful “SNL” graduates. In their time, his “Wayne’s World,” “Austin Powers” and “Shrek” movies were box-office gold.
So, it’s a little surprising that his latest effort, the Netflix comedy series “The Pentaverate,” should arrive with little promotional fanfare to generally dreadful reviews.
Myers plays a Canadian journalist investigating a secret society dating back to the 14th century. He plays seven other characters as well.
› “Independent Lens” (10 p.m., PBS, TV-MA, check local listings) repeats the 2019 documentary “One Child Nation,” recalling the Chinese government’s radical social experiment in population control.
Between 1980 and 2015, it was forbidden for Chinese women to have more than one baby. At its most draconian, the policy forced millions into abortions and sterilization.
Like any massive undertaking lasting some 35 years, the one-child policy had unforeseen consequences, including labor shortages and a society utterly changed from one of crowded intergenerational villages to prevailing “only child” households raising an entire generation of young people with radically different societal expectations and consumer attitudes.