James Cameron Explores Space, Eve Myles in ‘Keeping Faith,’ Round 2 of ‘DWTS,’ Remembering 1968
A selective critical checklist of notable Monday TV:
AMC Visionaries: James Cameron’s Story of Science Fiction (10/9c, AMC): “This has been an amazing brain jam,” James Cameron gushes to Star Wars guru George Lucas at the end of the second hour of Cameron’s sweeping survey of sci-fi. And so it is as fellow filmmakers including Ridley Scott, Steven Spielberg and Paul Verhoeven celebrate cinematic treatments of space explorations, discussing influences from such iconic landmarks as 2001: A Space Odyssey, Forbidden Planet and Star Trek through more modern hits: The Martian, Gravity and Guardians of the Galaxy.
Keeping Faith (streaming on Acorn TV): Another winner from the streaming service, which with BBC Wales co-produced this eight-part mystery, already renewed for a second season. Torchwood‘s Eve Myles is marvelous as Faith Howell, jolted from a happy maternity leave when her lawyer/partner husband suddenly vanishes one morning en route to work. Called back to the firm, which Faith soon learns is struggling (among many other secrets to unearth), she frantically tries to hold her family together while juggling cases and dodging suspicion from the gossipy Welsh community. Even at its darkest, Myles manages to inject a wry humor into this tremendously overburdened character.
Dancing With the Stars (8/7c, ABC): The ballroom competition certainly isn’t dragging its heels in this shortened all-athletes season. In just the second episode, the remaining couples will perform a team dance—themed to either 1950s tennis or 1970s football—in addition to their solos. Once again, a double elimination will thin the field to only six. Early standouts: figure skaters Adam Rippon and Mirai Nagasu, and the NFL’s Josh Norman. If Kareem Abdul-Jabbar makes it to the next round, it will be a testament to his celebrity, not his movement.
The Year That Changed Everything: So much happened in 1968 that TV can’t stop remembering it 50 years later. The nostalgia-driven Decades network presents 1968: The Game Changer (9/8c), which focuses on athletic achievement in an Olympics year that included Peggy Fleming’s success on ice in Grenoble and the silent protest of sprinters John Carlos and Tommie Smith on the medal podium in Mexico City. Also featured: Arthur Ashe, who won the first U.S. Open championship that year, and Muhammed Ali, whose anti-war fight against the Vietnam War went all the way to the Supreme Court.
Smithsonian Channel takes a broader view in Smithsonian Time Capsule: 1968 (8/7c), raiding the Smithsonian Institution’s vaults to find artifacts symbolizing key events including the Tet Offensive, Apollo 8, the assassinations of Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy, and quirkier milestones like the introduction of Pringles potato chips and the emergence of the Peace Sign.
Inside Monday TV: Kelly Clarkson performs her new single “I Don’t Think About You” during the live “Challenge Week” show of NBC’s The Voice (8/7c). Maybe if the coaches could be challenged to stay in their chairs, these fledgling singers would get more attention. … VH1’s annual Mother’s Day tribute, Dear Mama: A Love Letter to Moms (9/8c) brings together Sean “Diddy” Combs, Gabrielle Union and Colin Kaepernick to honor their mothers. … You had to figure E! would go nuts anticipating this month’s royal wedding. Which is why the channel is kicking off its coverage with the special The Real Princess Diaries: From Diana to Meghan (9/8c), with fashion editors and other experts analyzing the impact of modern royals Princess Diana, Kate Middleton, Duchess of Cambridge, and of course Meghan Markle. … A new season of NBC’s Running Wild With Bear Grylls (10/9c) teams Joseph Gordon-Levitt with the adventurer as they drop into Kenya from a helicopter, climb a massive rock dome and battle a crocodile for the remains of a water buffalo. Because why not?
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Wheel of Fortune QUESTION:
Last week a contestant went into the Final Prize Round with the $1Million Wedge => spun the wheel => picked a card => solved the puzzle => won $35,000...but...THEN...
Sajak WASTES MY TIME to walk over to the wheel...spin it until he finds the $1Million card on it...then SHOW us the $1Million card...
Now...if Wheel of Fortune is SO UNtrustworthy that Pat has to PROVE the $1Million card was, indeed, on the wheel...why doesn't he every OTHER night spin the wheel to prove that the $100,000 card (that the $1Million replaces) is also, indeed, on it????
[Or...is it...we're supposed to TRUST them on the $100,000...but NOT with the $1Million???]
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Rather than doing it to prove it's on the wheel, I think it's just to show where it is on the wheel and how close (or far away) the spinner was to it.
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Any thoughts on last night's Premiers of Sweetbitter and Vida???
I found them BOTH to be QUITE interesting...kept them BOTH as Season Passes...but...was a little surprised that I found Vida somewhat MORE engaging than Sweetbitter...
[I had a hard time actually "seeing" the main Sweetbitter character...after reading Matt Roush's..."wide-eyed Tess (Ella Purnell, resembling a grown-up Winnie Cooper from The Wonder Years)".]
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Just Supergirl for me, I guess. (I wonder if that Princess special is going to mention Camilla (The Other Woman) Bowles, the woman who ruined Princess Diana's life.)
BTW, I thought Madam Secretary was interesting last night, showing the Secretary's work from a different angle. As soon as I heard the voice of the journalist character (I heard him before I saw him), I knew who he was. That actor used to be on The Mentalist. I was hoping he'd be a little less jaded at the end of the episode than he was at the start, but I guess that was the point of his comment (to the baby) that "she's going to be president one day."
Also, re Instinct, I'm a little disappointed that the writers fell into the "not a sports fan" trope. Not only is Cumming's character not a sports fan (which would be fine) but they wrote him as so unbelievably clueless that he's... absolutely clueless. I find it hard to believe that in this day and age, even people who aren't into sports could be so vastly ignorant of anything related to sports. ALL sports. Most people have a passing knowledge of sports, even if they don't follow them. For someone whose life work involves the study of peoples' behavior, I find his ignorance and non-understanding of the concept of a "sports fan" to be totally mind-boggling. And yes, unrealistic.
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I was just wondering...why was Diana a Princess but Kate only a Duchess? Does it have something to do with Diana being from a noble family but Kate isn't? If William becomes King, will Kate become a Queen, or will she just be a Consort or something like that?
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Good questions. It may be the lack of royal blood, or it might be that Charles was first in line for the throne, and his wife was princess. Right now, William is second in line, and (maybe) when his father is King, Kate will become Princess rather than Duchess. As it is, Harry might get another title (like William got Duke of Cambridge) and then his wife's title will be equivalent to that. I can't imagine her being Princess Meghan, especially if Kate is "only" a duchess.
And I have no idea what will happen when/if William becomes King. Since Philip isn't a "king," maybe she will become only a Princess or Consort.
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I don't watch any sports and have zero interest. You can test me and I'll try and answer some questions without looking up the answers.
Tonight I'll be watching the sorely underrated The Crossing on ABC. I don't know why so many solid sci-fi /fantasy/comic book shows are suffering in the ratings this season. NBC's Timeless, ABC's Once Upon a Time, Marvel Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D, FOX's Gotham and most cable shows in this genre are lacking viewers.
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Even if you're not a sports fan, I'm sure you're not clueless about them. I'm reasonably certain you've heard of Lebron James and Tom Brady, and know that the Yankees play in New York, for example. More to the point, I bet you're very familiar with sports fans and how excited/rabid they can be. It wouldn't come as a surprise to you. In other words, you live in the real world on this planet. 😀
As for the shows you mention, maybe the dearth of viewers is because there's such a glut of shows. All the ones you mention, AS WELL as the ones on The CW: Supergirl, Arrow, The Flash, Legends, Black Lightning. Superhero shows are sort of a niche to begiin with, and then the niche is so diluted by so many shows. Too much of a good thing??
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I heard of those players because they have multiple endorsements and Brady is married to a model . And whoever doesn't know the Yankees are a NY team is likely not from this country. Your point is well taken.
I didn't mention CW/DC shows because for the most part they perform fine for the low rated network. Those shows are among the highest rated on CW .
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Interesting too: Andrew's daughters are both Princesses, but Edward's daughter is Lady Louise. Anne's children don't have any titles probably because their father was a commoner.
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I find when watching Jeopardy that I sometimes don't know one answer in a sports category (especially college sports) but other times know answers that none of the contestants do.
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Don't you think that sci-fi and fantasy fans are more likely to watch shows online or using apps on their phones than fans of traditional fare like NCIS and Dancing With the Stars are?
Also, I've found that the young people you'd think those shows would appeal to hardly watch TV shows. I've mentioned shows to dozens of teenagers, and they haven't even heard of half of them.
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Good point.
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I don't watch a lot of sports, either, but I do listen/watch news, and there are some news items about sports that 95% of people can't avoid hearing about, like playoffs or championships, or major star players (Steph Curry, Eli Manning, Dale Earnhardt etc.). I may not always know much about the sport, or who plays on which team, but I see the headlines. And getting back to my original point, the character of Dylan is supposed to be an expert on behavior, so you would think he'd be well versed on the sports fan phenomenon. His husband (almost) made a corollary point-- some people are big fans of Mozart and Bach, others know a lot of stats about baseball or football.
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I don't know who Steph Curry is.
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Male or female? (too lazy to look it up hehe)
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That's ok. When you didn't answer right away, I looked it up.
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Watching my regulars: Lucifer, iZombie, and The Crossing, and I'll probably catch The Story of Sci-Fi and One Strange Rock later.
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Are you still watching "The Terror" ? It has been a disappointment to me, it's boring, the scenes go on and on...with very little happening.
I'm going to watch it 'till the end, anyway.
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No, I gave up on it about halfway through the second episode.
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I struggled watching the first several episodes. Forget exactly how many. At least 4 the most 5. Dull, dreary and morbid. The reviews for it were splendid though.
Meanwhile one of my favorite new shows The Crossing receives very little press or acclaim.
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Interesting...that you would mention The Terror...
TODAY...my DVR was ready to record it...BUT I already had 4 episodes of it backed-up...
So...I canceled the Season Pass...and deleted the 4 backed-up episodes...
(That was my DVR telling me that I, evidently, have MUCH MORE interesting stuff to watch.)
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I saw part of last week's episode, and it was like watching paint dry.....except paint dries quicker.
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