Trying the next reason to binge is getting hard
The search continues for the next program or series that will make me an avid, enthusiastic viewer.
The last two that managed to that were FX’s “Mrs. America,” which I watched mostly on Hulu, and “The Great,” which aired directly on Hulu. The popular “Bridgerton” amused me, but earned more smirks than admiration with its dime-novel approach to the world it presented.
Poor me. I’ve read so much and seen so much, I can only wallow begrudgingly in the gossipy fantasies of Julia Quinn and Shonda Rhimes while longing for the wit and elegance of Hilary Mantel (“Wolf Hall” and subsequent Cromwell novels) and the more sophisticated soap opera style of Julian Fellowes (“Downton Abbey”) or dash of Peter Morgan (“The Crown” and everything else that centers on Elizabeth II).
Even if I could praise “Bridgerton” for more than being bubbly and providing beautiful people to watch in flagrante, I would still be on the hunt for something that excites some anticipation (as, in the theater, the idea of seeing Tom Stoppard’s latest opus, “Leopoldstadt,” interrupted last year by COVID-19 shutdowns, does).
Last week’s sad passing of Jessica Walter, who I was lucky enough to chat with when she appeared in “Steel Magnolias” at New Hope’s Bucks County Playhouse, has gleefully prompted me to watch “Arrested Development” from the beginning, and I’m having fun revisiting all of “Shameless,” but the new sustains television, and the new isn’t there.
Even the smartness of Apple+’s “Ted Lasso,” arguably the streamer’s first hit, doesn’t yank me back to watch each new installment.
How long can one wait for the next season of “Better Call Saul,” “Ozark,” “The Crown,” or “Fargo?”
As long as it takes is the answer.
Meanwhile, a few shows have piqued my curiosity enough to
give a look.
One is a movie that premiered Friday on Netflix, “Concrete Cowboy,” the interest coming from the film being derived from a horseback riding program in West Philadelphia.
Another, which I already regret making a note to sample, is the CW (Channel 57) revival of “Kung Fu,” a beloved David Carradine series from the ‘70s, now set in current times with Olivia Liang playing a San Francisco police officer who used martial arts she acquired by training in Asia. It debuts 8 p.m. Wednesday.
Also on Wednesday, at 8:30 p.m., is a new ABC (Channel 6) series, Home Economics,” that only captures my imagination because its writer is a recent “Jeopardy!” champion, Michael Colton. The story involves three siblings with different success and financial
levels, one of whom is played by “That ‘70s Show” star Topher Grace, who also did a creditable job in 2018’s Spike Lee movie, “Blackkklansman.”
ABC debuts another show, “Rebel,” at 10 p.m. Thursday with Katey Sagal trading in her comedy chops to play a dramatic role inspired by Erin Brockovich, the crusading lawyer that earned Julia Roberts an Oscar for her portrayal in 2000.
Horror fans might take interest in an Amazon Prime program, “Them,” debuting on Friday and featuring a story called “Covenant” about an African-American family that moves to a white L.A. neighborhood, possibly haunted, in 1953. Deborah Ayorinde leads the cast.
Science fiction also governs HBO’s “The Nevers,” which has its first episode at 9 p.m. Sunday,
and is about a group of Victorian women who boast unusual talents they believe they can use to change the world. Olivia Williams and James Norton are among the starring cast. Joss Whedon of “Buffy” fame created the series and was its original showrunner until he was confronted with accusations of harassment. Philippa Goslett took his place.
Beyond this week, at 10 p.m. on Sunday, April 18, HBO begins a seven-part series, “Mare of Easttown,” which earns a look because it stars one of the great actresses of our time, Kate Winslet, in a rare TV outing, and features Guy Pearce and Jean Smart in the bargain. Also of interest is the show’s setting, a small town in Pennsylvania where Winslet’s character comes to investigate a murder. Adding to the intrigue is an article by my wonderful colleague,
Peg DeGrassa, in which she tells how dialect coach and local actress, Susanne Sulby, asked her and others to provide speaking samples so she could train the show’s cast in the dulcet vowels of a Delaware County accent.
I just hope the Delco patois doesn’t sound so much like mine that I don’t notice it.
One Sunday later, at 8 p.m., April 25, my personal Super Bowl, the Academy Awards for movies that debuted in 2020, will be handed out in a ceremony to be aired by ABC (Channel 6).
Aaron Rodgers takes over ‘Jeopardy!’
Aaron Rodgers, premier quarterback for the NFL’s Green Bay Packers, joins the guest hosts who have presided over “Jeopardy!”
since the passing of its beloved long-time emcee, Alex Trebek.
So far, the quiz show has fared well with the people who have walked a mile or two in Trebek’s difficult-tofill shoes.
Ken Jennings brought a sense of history to the show and mingled well with the contestants vying not only to win that night’s round but to match Jennings’s enviable record as the program’s all-time champion.
Mike Richards, now behind the scenes at “Jeopardy!” and “Wheel of Fortune” as both shows’ executive producer, lent a naïve charm to his stint, which also revealed a familiarity and love for the program.
Katie Couric was the single disappointment. She seemed nervous and ill at ease in the host role. Her badinage with the contestants was awkward, and unlike Trebek, Jennings, Richards, and her successor, Dr. Mehmet Oz, she didn’t convey the idea that she knew the answers (or questions) or was versed in many of the subjects.
Like Couric, Dr. Oz has lots of television experience, but while Couric seemed uncomfortable ad libbing and managing the pace of a game show, Oz came across as a master of the genre and kept proceedings smooth and seemingly effortless.
Rodgers has the least training as a TV host. I imagine Richards worked with him on the intricacies of “Jeopardy.” It will be interesting to see what the professional athlete brings to the mix. In Rodgers’s favor is his love for “Jeopardy!” as a viewer and a fan. The question is whether that will be enough.
‘The Voice’ is better than ‘Idol,’ ‘Singer’
After watching bits of ABC’s “American Idol” and Fox’s “The Masked Singer,” I can see why I have no trouble moving away from either of those programs while savoring the hour I spends viewing NBC’s “The Voice.”
Duets seemed to be the plan on both “Idol” and “The Voice” this week. “The Voice” is in its “battle rounds,” meaning singers from the same team compete in front of their coach – Kelly Clarkson, John Legend, Blake Shelton, or Nick Jonas – to see which is retained and which is eliminated. “Al” isn’t as formal and may just have fielded a program in which contestants were randomly featured in pairs.
I am not sure because I tuned out of “AI” before catching what the intended format was. The voices of the competitors were too small and inflexible to command my attention. I sat in front of the screen thinking I would never want to see any of these performers sing anywhere.
Those vying to win “The Voice” trigger the opposite reaction. Not only are the singers individually interesting and versatile, but they show improvement from their auditions and are so good, solo or paired, that I want them all to get recognition and reward.
I even feel that way during the blind audition process when the coaches select their team. More often that not, it breaks my heart that some talented singers will not get another chance to perform because none of the coaches turned his or her chair to recruit them.
The “battle round” is even tougher. No matter how good someone may sing, one of the battlers has to be eliminated. It was gratifying that John Legend and Kelsea Ballerini, sitting in for an ailing Clarkson, stole the ejected contestant from two of the battles and moved him or her to their team, giving them a chance to continue in the contest. Nick Jonas also did well by using his lone “save” to preserve a member of his team after he declared another singer the winner in their vocal battle..
You see how enthusiastic one show makes me while the other leave me cold.
“The Masked Singer” doesn’t even register on my thermometer.
I find the costumes clever and enjoy hearing the characters sing, but I am put off, before anything happens, by what looks like a faded, washed-out filming process. I never feel as if the show is live or that I’m watching something new. The subdued hues take away all brightness and make “The Masked Singer” practically unwatchable.
Then there’s the judging. OK. I have to admit something. I’m in the “shut up and sing” camp. I don’t want to know anything about a singer or character’s life on any of the shows being discussed. Their ordeal means nothing to me. I want to see finished performance, the more polished the better.
“The Masked Singer” never seems polished, and the judges screaming and gawking and acting like hayseeds watching their first Hollywood show is another factor that drives me away. I am not impressed with the judging on “Idol” either. It never seems critical enough to me.
“The Voice” involves coaches. Clarkson, Shelton, Legend, and Jonas are friendly, but they speak their mind and offer constructive advice. You can tell their coaching ability by how much better the singers in their individual stables sound from performance to performance. They are not there to flatter or to worry if they’re being to hard. I could stand less trading of digs between the coaches, but I appreciate what they say.
I also like that they, the coaches, get to choose who wins and who loses. Forgive me, but I abhor fan voting, as on “Idol” or “Dancing with the Stars.” It skews the competition. Popularity or sentiment can prevail over talent and merit. Terrible though it is to admit today, I believe fully in meritocracy and always want the best to win. That is more possible when experts, such as “The Voice” coaches are making decisions and not a fickle, swayable public that doesn’t have the same knowledge as stars that have honed their own talent to be in the position to judge and judge well, even Nick Jonas, who I’m saying, for I think the third time, has grown from his first appearance as a coach to be an asset to “The Voice this second time around.