Worth Watching: Celebrating Sammy Davis Jr., Back to School with McGee on ‘NCIS,’ Back ‘Home’ with Amy Sedaris
A selective critical checklist of notable Tuesday TV:
Sammy Davis, Jr.: I’ve Gotta Be Me (9/8c, PBS, check local listings at pbs.org): A sensational edition of American Masters revels in the musical achievements and private paradox of a groundbreaking and versatile entertainer. Davis crossed color lines as a charter member of the Rat Pack and challenged societal norms by converting to Judaism and marrying a white woman (Swedish actress May Britt), yet for all of his success, he never felt entirely accepted by any community. His talent (showcased in many stirring excerpts), however, can’t be denied.
NCIS (8/7c, CBS): In an episode rescheduled from the back-and-forth State of the Union, McGee (Sean Murray) goes into flashback mode when forced to make a reluctant return to his high school. Seems a computer password he used back then is connected to a Department of Defense contractor’s murder. Things get more urgent when someone breaks into his and Delilah’s (Margo Harshman) home looking for his old computer.
The Kids Are Alright (8:30/7:30c, ABC): Holy curveball! My favorite new TV family, the Clearys, is caught off-guard when longtime pastor Father Dunne (Paul Dooley) announces he’s giving up the cloth for his girlfriend — and Mike (Michael Cudlitz) and Peggy (Mary McCormack) have trouble adjusting to the new regime of associate pastor Father Abdi (Jojo Nwoko). Also freaking: obsequious Frank (scene stealer Sawyer Barth), when he loses the church keys.
At Home with Amy Sedaris (10/9c, truTV): The delirious send-up of domestic how-to shows returns for a second season of sublime silliness. You never know who’ll show up to play in the kitchen with Amy, and in the opener, Matthew Broderick drops by as a vacuous academic “expert” on adolescence who’s no help when Amy encounters an actual teenager.
Inside Tuesday TV: Genealogy is no laughing matter when comedians Seth Meyers, Tig Notaro and Sarah Silverman explore their ancestral histories on PBS’s Finding Your Roots with Henry Louis Gates, Jr. (8/7c, check local listings at pbs.org)… Singer Michelle Williams channels Diana Ross on BET’s American Soul (9/8c), as Don Cornelius (Sinqua Walls) pursues the Motown diva to appear on Soul Train. Robert Townsend directs… National Geographic Channel’s Life Below Zero (9/8c) wraps its season with the Alaskan survivalists prepping for a brutal winter, and Sue Aikens building an arctic entryway to keep the deep freeze at bay… It’s not easy being The Rookie (10/9c, ABC), as the newbies learn when they become prime suspects after cash used for a drug bust goes missing… If they were British, they could turn to Shakespeare and Hathaway: Private Investigators (streaming on Britbox), a BBC mystery-comedy starring Jo Joyner and Mark Benton as partners solving crimes in Stratford-upon-Avon.
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Definitely interested in the Sammy Davis Jr. Bio will be perfect for my all month Black History movie\tv binge. Thank god I came here or I wouldn't have even had known there was one airing. For casual viewing I guess i'll check out Blackish tonight but most excited to catch up on my DVR recordings
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Matt did a full review of the program the other day:
https://www.tvinsider.com/750859/sammy-davis-jr-ive-gotta-be-me-review-matt-roush/
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For anyone who never saw Sammy's visit to "All in the Family," do check it out. Still hilarious.
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Oh I loved that episode! The kiss was iconic! One of the longest laughs in sitcom history
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I read that they had to edit that down to some degree because the laugh was TOO long.
I've been watching the show over from the beginning (right now I'm up to Nixon/McGovern), and it's astonishing how timely it continues to be: on any given show, either the exact same issue as today, an adjacent one, or one where you just have to substitute a few names. We haven't come all that far.
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Well we've come certainly far in a lot of ways and gone backwards a lot of ways but that's true that All in the family is a timeless show, and that's because unlike a lot of stuff today the humor and issues were all about the characters and not just some topical situation or political agenda being spouted. That's the key to keeping a show relevant far after its time. I think AITF despite the occasional topical reference like the Watergate mention for ex. it doesn't hurt the comedy which is the exception rather than the rule. I still think you can't beat that cast and writers with any comedy today. It was hilariously funny and emotionally poignant all the same episode. The show won multiple emmys for a reason
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Guess I'll watch Finding Your Roots and then FBI. I wonder if the Scientology Aftermath show is over for the season? It seems like it barely aired at all. But maybe that means it was interesting and went by too fast.
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I'll watch the consistent FBI tonight. And will try and catch the Sammy Davis Jr special another time.
I still have to catch up with Magnum, Passage and Manifest. Fell asleep early last night.
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They better renew Manifest. It ended with a HUGE cliffhanger!
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I figured they would end Manifest with a cliffhanger. Almost every previous episode did.
NBC will most likely renew it. I think it's their highest rated new show .
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I thought last night's Magnum was pretty good, Let me know what you think of it.
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Will do. CW is in reruns again tonight. I never recall witnessing a February with so many repeats across all of the broadcast networks.
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That season finale ending is reminiscent of cliffhangers from soaps. Considering this show covers such a large canvas of puzzles, mysteries and conspiracies , I was let down with the ending. Oh, I'll be back next season if this show is renewed, but I doubt I can struggle through another season.
Now, last night's The Passage was just a random episode and it was SO much more satisfying.
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I thought the latest Magnum episode was fantastic. Many of the action scenes were akin to the big theatrical Fast and Furious movies. I don't why many criticize this very entertaining action/adventure. The scenery alone is worth watching. Sometimes I feel the title is a detriment. Perhaps if the title was say Aloha Adventures. And the characters had different names, the show would have had a stronger fan base.
FBI was also way above par tonight. Whenever the personal past of the main characters
are revealed and actually have some connection to the case of the week, I find it more engrossing.
Whenever Sela Ward puts on her smarty glasses she gets inquisitive . I laugh every time. I can see why you think she's annoying. But its her character, she really is a fine and very attractive actress. They just need to give her character a personal storyline so we can relate to her.
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I too thought Magnum was good. I usually don't like when cases get "personal," but the fact that the ex-fiance wasn't 'redeemed' or otherwise held blameless (i.e., coerced into doing what she'd done, etc.) was a help. I do sort of roll my eyes that she wasn't found or put in custody; just like original MacGyver and his nemesis Murdoc. Anyway, I too don't get why so many people don't like the new Magnum. Maybe it's a more... personal thing?
As for FBI-- the last few times I've watched, I thought the storyline was good. But, unlike you, and as I said above, I do NOT like when things get personal for the characters. I think the young woman went WAAAY over the line in this episode, in going to the hospital to see the bad guy. I think her co-worker(s) should have guessed she'd do that, or should have stuck with her to be sure she didn't do something stupid. I do think the characters--all of them-- are a bit cliche'd. And that guy Jubal... all he seems to do is walk around that squad room, shouting out facts. "Here's our guy-- his name is Ben Jones... did five years for assault and robbery... we've got to find him, people!!" I think his main function is to "tell" us, the audience, the basic facts. That whole room full of people--they all start scurrying around and doing stuff on their computers, but nobody seems to have a specific assignment. The young black woman is the only one who either digs up info, or speaks up to tell it, or both. I find those squadroom scenes a little silly. But I do like the storylines they come up with; I just wish the execution was better.
Fun fact about Magnum: in that scene when the big armored truck swerves an crashes.... a number of seasons ago Hawaii Five-O had a spectacular scene that was filmed on that same stretch (or so it looked like to me; but then a lot of roads in Hawaii overlook the water like that). It involved a helicopter swooping down and helping to rescue a prisoner being transferred somewhere. It was pretty amazing, sort of a big-budget scene.
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Magnum seems to employ lots of big budget scenes. I find it fun to watch and I'm glad CBS believes in it enough that they renewed it . No its not a hit show like NCIS, but it's not a bomb either.
Your right about that Jubal or whatever his name his. His character just shouts his clichéd lines every episode.
And when the young FBI agent (Maggie, I think) barged in the hospital room, I also found it not believable. But its a show and it entertains me, so it's good enough for me.
I still insist that Quantico was far superior as an FBI show. It had more style and more intriguing characters and storylines. Oh well at least ABC granted it 3 seasons. My favorite by far was the third season.
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No Flash or Roswell this week! I'll have to settle for The Kids, This Is Us, The Gifted, New Amsterdam, and Miracle Workers! I'm also going to try to catch the Sammy Davis bio when it repeats later!
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