Into the Void on ‘Good Place,’ Matt Bomer on ‘Will & Grace,’ Good Eats on ‘Great American Baking Show’ & ‘Top Chef,’ ‘A Charlie Brown Christmas’
A critical checklist of notable Thursday TV:
The Good Place (8:30/7:30c, NBC): Even by this sitcom’s fanciful standards, there hasn’t been an episode quite like this, with Janet (D’Arcy Carden) inviting the “Soul Squad” foursome into her void to escape the big bads on Earth. (This means they’ll all die on Earth, but… been there, mourned that.) What happens next must be seen to be disbelieved, and it’s a tour de force for the terrific Carden, managing four restless “inter-dimensional fugitives” in her suddenly crowded void, each grappling philosophically with a conception of the self. Which is funnier than it sounds.
Will & Grace (9/8c, NBC): Under the heading “what took him so long?” Matt Bomer guests on the rollicking sitcom as a handsome — naturally — gay TV news anchor who could be a potential love interest for Will (Eric McCormack). The hitch: anchor-dude likes his guys on the silly and bubbly side, more like “Just Jack” (Sean Hayes), so can the more serious Will adjust his attitude? Other guest stars include Olympic skater Adam Rippon in a cameo as a snarky barista and the return of Minnie Driver as Karen’s (Megan Mullally) nemesis, Lorraine Finster.
What’s Cooking? Or baking, as the case may be. ABC revives The Great American Baking Show: Holiday Edition (8/7c) for a fourth season, a warm and fuzzy competition for dedicated amateur bakers. Emma “Baby Spice” Bunton joins Anthony “Spice” Adams as hosts, with The Great British Bake Off’s Paul Hollywood judging the yummy and decorative treats with new judge, award-winning pastry chef Sherry Yard. In back-to-back episodes, the endearing bakers try their hand at cakes and sweet and savory pastries.
Somewhat edgier, but still a blast in its 16th season, Bravo’s Emmy-winning Top Chef (10/9c) relocates to the Bluegrass State of Kentucky, with 15 new chef-testants congregating at the iconic Churchill Downs race track for a quicker-than-usual opening Quickfire Challenge. Teams then compete for “win, place and show” positions as they prepare dishes for 200 guests at a Kentucky Derby-themed party. Churchill Downs’ executive chef David Danielson joins judges Tom Colicchio, Padma Lakshmi and Graham Elliott to decide who’ll head to Last Chance Kitchen for possible redemption.
A Charlie Brown Christmas (8/7c, ABC): Nothing says Christmas like the first, and best, of the Peanuts animated specials, first seen in 1965. Bop along to Vince Guaraldi’s infection jazz score as Charlie Brown, Linus and the gang seek the true meaning of the season among all of the commercialization and holiday angst. To fill out the hour, ABC pairs this classic cartoon with Charlie Brown’s Christmas Tales.
Inside Thursday TV: The latest Star Trek: Short Treks vignette, “The Brightest Star” (streaming on CBS All Access) investigates the origin story of one of Star Trek: Discovery’s more fascinating characters: the Kelpien officer Saru (Doug Jones)… Young Sheldon stars Iain Armitage, Lance Barber and Montana Jordan cross over to CBS’s The Big Bang Theory (8/7c) when Sheldon (Jim Parsons) finds a VHS tape from his childhood to boost his spirits. Christine Baranski returns as Leonard’s severe mother, Beverly… On CBS’s Young Sheldon (8:30/7:30c), we’ll learn how “Bazinga!” came to be one of older Sheldon’s favorite catchphrases… Cupid alert: Wacky Tammy (Kristen Johnston) goes on her first date since getting out of prison on CBS’s Mom (9/8c). … Buddy Guy, k.d. lang, Rosanne Cash and Brandi Carlile are among the performers in CMT’s concert presentation of 2018 Americanafest (9/8c), a 90-minute special featuring highlights from the 17th annual Americana Honors & Awards ceremony earlier this year at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium.
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C
My comedies are all back this week: Superstore, Good Place, and Will & Grace on NBC and Big Bang and Sheldon on CBS!
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R
I believe you watched The Alienist, correct? It was nominated for a Golden Globe. It won't win, of course, but you know what they say:
"It's an honor just to be nominated." Also, the actor who played Laszlo Kreizler (sp?) was nominated as well. Kind of nice to see something on the "down-to-earth" TNT channel get nominated for something, along with all the pay-cable and hoity-toity streaming-service channels. -
C
The actors from broadcast and basic cable seem to get more nominations than the actresses do. Last year, Sterling K. Brown won, and Freddie Highmore, Bob Odenkirk. Anthony Anderson, and Eric McCormack were also nominated. All the women were from Premium Cable or Streaming shows.
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C
Keep plugging away at them.
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R
I guess because of all the "holiday hiatuses"...I'm, surprisingly, finding it somewhat convenient to keep up with the one-hour-per-night Nightflyers…
It's (for me) one of the most interesting "We're Off To Find The Aliens" Space Adventures that I've ever watched...
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C
Glad you're enjoying it. I didn't like it well enough to stick with it.
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I see Supernatural, Murphy Brown, and SWAT in my future viewing. I predict SWAT will have a treacly, tug-at-the-heartstrings ending.
Also, I wonder how Sheldon's going to watch a VHS tape on BBT. Almost nobody still has VCRs anymore. (Notice I said "almost." I still have one,... although it's mainly used because my small TV stand is too short, and the VCR raises the TV up another 4 inches.) Anyway, even though tech-savvy geeks almost surely got rid of their VCRs at least 15 years ago, I'm sure the geniuses in question will come up with a way for Sheldon to watch.
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C
I've got at least 5 VCRs right here in my living room! I've also got a stereo with an 8-track tape player in it, but I don't think it works.
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do you actualy use any of them?
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C
Not for a few years. My mother had one in every room, and I gathered them all up and put them in a pile behind the sofa. I've never gotten around to checking them all out.
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G
I still have multiple VCRs in my basement. I was using them up until around 2011 or so. My last recordings were episodes of Modern Family, The Middle and Cougar Town. Then Comcast offered us On Demand and DVR service .
I also have a stereo system with a cassette player from the early 90s. Not sure it works though. -
C
My mother's old stereo has a turntable, an 8-track, an AM/FM tuner, and a cassette in it. I don't know if any of them work anymore because the amp and/or the speakers are shot.
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G
My mom still has a TV with a built in VCR and an 80's era cassette stereo system. She dumped her 8-track system and turntable back in the 80's.
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C
I never had an 8-track, but I knew several people who were stuck with a car with one in it. I'd have to go look, but I'm thinking my old truck might have a cassette player in the radio. I know it takes a single CD which my newer car does not!
The newer cars just have a place to plug an iPod into them which sucks because I can't play my CDs in it. It also has satellite radio which I'm not paying to subscribe to! I don't spend enough time in the car to bother with it.
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Sheldon will just go to his secret storage unit, where all his tech gets stashed. ;) Remember that ep where he took Amy there and confessed he couldn't get rid of anything? HAS to be a few floppy drives and VCRs in there. :D
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Yes, I thought of that, too. :-D
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Yeah, I can't remember the last time I used my VCR to watch or tape anything.
I was in a store last week (Best Buy or something), and wondered: do people still buy DVDs of movies or TV shows? With streaming and on-demand, I wonder if people still do. I guess if it's something they want to keep in a personal library (like a favorite TV show) they might.
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I know an older couple who don't use their VCR but their TV system is routed through a number of different things, like stereo system, dvd players, etc. I think their wiring is probably a nightmare, but apparently it works for them.
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C
I think people still buy DVDs of favorite shows so they can watch them whenever they want. If I have to pay $5.99 to watch a movie once, I might as well buy it for $10.00.
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C
I about died when I found out my parents paid someone to hook a VCR up to their TV! I guess "Antenna In" and "Out to TV" were just too hard to understand!
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Even so, technology these days does seem to be a lot simpler: plug in the wireless "dongle" thingie (a word I'd never heard of until about 2 years ago when I got my Fitbit) and you're good to go.
Also, in fairness to the older couple I mentioned, they have a crap-load of equipment all wired together, in their new-but-old-fashioned entertainment center. I don't even understand why they have so much equipment: speakers in the living room, connect to speakers out on their deck, etc.
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