Television

Subterms

    More stories

    • 163 Shares189 Views

      in Television

      Ron Ely, Who Played an Updated Tarzan in the 1960s, Dies at 86

      by

      He later built a career as a reliable TV guest star. His life turned tragic in 2019 when his son killed Mr. Ely’s wife and was then shot to death by the police.Ron Ely, a veteran television actor best known for his role as an educated, urbane vine-swinger on the 1960s show “Tarzan,” died on Sept. 29 at the home of one of his daughters near Santa Barbara, Calif. He was 86.That daughter, Kirsten Ely, announced the death on Wednesday on social media. It had not been previously reported.A tall, muscled Texas native, Mr. Ely (pronounced “EE-lee”) had made his name by the early 1960s as a reliable supporting actor on popular TV shows like the sitcoms “Father Knows Best,” “How to Marry a Millionaire” and “The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis” before landing the lead role on “Tarzan” in 1966.The show, which ran on NBC for 57 episodes across two seasons, featured a Tarzan updated for a modern audience. Gone were the semi-verbal grunts of previous iterations; in this version, Tarzan had left the jungle and learned the ways of modern civilization before deciding to return to the creature comforts of his former home.Gone, too, was Jane, Tarzan’s traditional love interest, though Cheetah, his chimpanzee sidekick, remained.Mr. Ely performed almost all his own stunts, which left him with two broken shoulders, a torn back muscle and two lion bites.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

    • 100 Shares189 Views

      in Television

      Danny Amendola’s ‘DWTS’ Lift Inspires TikTok Dance Trend

      by

      Danny Amendola’s smooth lift on “Dancing With the Stars” spawned numerous imitators (with varying results). TikTok cautions users that it can be dangerous.Katie Fraser and her fiancé, Amandeep Sandhu, woke up the other day feeling sore and experiencing mild pain. They hadn’t fallen out of bed or exercised vigorously, though it felt that way. Rather, they had tried to recreate a move done by Danny Amendola on the ABC show “Dancing With the Stars.”On an episode that aired on Oct. 15, Mr. Amendola, 38, a former N.F.L. player, and his partner, Witney Carson, a dancer and choreographer, performed a sexy routine set to the song “Unsteady” by X Ambassadors. At around the 45-second mark, Mr. Amendola lifted Ms. Carson, who was laying on the ground, by pulling her up by her ankle.The pair, who performed the move seamlessly, drew immediate cheers from the studio audience. They also unwittingly created a trend on TikTok as others have tried to recreate the move, which apparently is so difficult that TikTok added a disclaimer to some of the videos. “Participating in this activity could result in you or others getting hurt,” it reads.“I had seen their dance posted online and I thought it was absolutely beautiful,” Ms. Fraser, 28, wrote in an email. “Then I saw the TikTok trend going around of other couples trying and begged my fiancé to try it with me.”Like Johnny’s iconic lift of Baby in the movie “Dirty Dancing,” Mr. Amendola’s lift of Ms. Carson has proved appealing for many, but is considerably harder than it looks.

      @mollythemom @Dancing with the Stars #DWTS HERE WE COME! Dance by @Witney Carson ♬ original sound – Walmart Amy Adams

      @madismellie Why is this all I want to do now😂💃🙈 @Dancing with the Stars #DWTS @Witney Carson #leglift #husband #witneycarson #dannyamendola #mykindofdatenight ♬ Unsteady – X Ambassadors We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

    • 125 Shares149 Views

      in Television

      ‘What We Do in the Shadows’ Returns One Last Time

      by

      One of TV’s few great funny ha-ha comedies begins its sixth and final season this week on FX and Hulu.One of my absolute favorite shows, FX’s “What We Do in the Shadows,” is back for its sixth and final season, with three new episodes now streaming on Hulu. The show, set within a household of vampires on Staten Island, remains goofy and grotesque, full of warped zingers and silly asides.Only the first three episodes of the season were made available to critics, and they introduce a few new facets, including a long-dormant additional roommate, Jerry the Vampire (Mike O’Brien). His fellow vampires were supposed to wake him in 1996, and he’s peeved to discover that not only did they let him oversleep for so long, but they also haven’t achieved any of the world-conquering goals they’d all set. Elsewhere, Guillermo, the lovable familiar, has re-entered the regular human work force — first at Panera and then at a financial firm (where they keep odd hours … hmm…).In the wake of Jerry’s disapproval, Laszlo (Matt Berry) feels motivated to get back to the lab and take another crack at one of his hideous experiments. Colin (Mark Proksch) tags along, and lo, he too has a knack for freaky discoveries. “Another young scientist inspired,” Laszlo crows. “First Mr. Oppenheimer, and now Colin Robinson.”“Shadows” faces the most vexing question for both vampires and sitcoms: Does anything change? It’s the curse and comfort of immortality and comedy alike, that everything tends to — has to? — reset and reset and reset to the norm. Even when “Shadows” stretches itself with format, as in Season 4’s brilliant HGTV episode, or in season-long surprise arcs, as with Colin’s gleefully bizarre death and rebirth, everything finds its way back to how it always was.My fondest hope is that “Shadows” has a few final tricks up its sleeve, but even its waning fifth season brought me plenty of joy last year. At a time when funny ha-ha comedies are rare, losing one of our jokiest shows stings extra hard. More

    • 125 Shares179 Views

      in Television

      Seth Meyers Isn’t as Nice as You Think He Is

      by

      There was a hole in Seth Meyers’s office at “Saturday Night Live” for seven years.A sketch he’d written was cut for someone else’s piece, and in a fit of what Meyers described as “door-slamming petulance,” he threw the dressing room entrance open so hard that the door handle went through the wall. Michael Shoemaker, a producer on the show who has become perhaps Meyers’s closest professional partner, refused to get the crater fixed.“I want you to see it every day,” Meyers recalled Shoemaker telling him. “I want you to remember how small of a thing it was.”Shoemaker said his response to Meyers’s tantrum was a little simpler: “Stop it,” he told him. Then Shoemaker quoted Meyers’s father, whom he had gotten to know: “When something goes wrong, you have to think, what is it that you did that you could have done better?”Aggravated pettiness might seem at odds with the persona Meyers has crafted over more than two decades on television: 13 years on “S.N.L.,” with the final eight as an anchor of Weekend Update, followed by a decade as the comedically precise but genial host of “Late Night With Seth Meyers.” He struck a similarly charming note in 2019 in his first stand-up special, “Lobby Baby,” about the birth of his second child in the unexpected location the title suggests.Seth Meyers at the Beacon Theater in Manhattan, where he has a monthly stand-up residency with John Oliver.Sinna Nasseri for The New York TimesHowever, when Meyers’s new HBO special, “Dad Man Walking,” premieres on Saturday, the idea that he could be an antagonist — even if only of the most benign and humorous type — might make more sense. It’s about parenting, specifically the reality that “good parents have moments where they really hate what their kids are doing,” Meyers said. And while the broadly cantankerous tone of the special seems like a departure, it actually reflects a facet of Meyers that has always been there.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

    • 88 Shares169 Views

      in Television

      Angela Merkel Is Solving Crimes on TV

      by

      This fall on TV from the rest of the world: a German small-town murder show called “Miss Merkel,” an Italian “Citadel” and an Israeli act of witness.Plucked from the bountiful fall harvest of international series, this selection of notable shows travels from the sheerly fanciful — Angela Merkel whiling away her retirement investigating small-town murders in “Miss Merkel” — to the achingly real, as survivors of the Oct. 7 attacks tell their stories a year later in the Israeli series “Picture This.”‘The Tower’Gray and quiet in tone, this British cop show is a little like a more serious, less amped-up “Line of Duty” and a little like a simpler, less emotionally walloping “Unforgotten.” Situating it between two of the most absorbing British crime dramas of recent years does not do this modest series (its four-episode third season concluded last week on BritBox) any favors, but it holds its own as a character piece in genre clothing.Gemma Whelan (the seagoing Yara Greyjoy in “Game of Thrones”) stars as Sarah Collins, a by-the-book detective sergeant in a working-class, racially mixed district of south London; the show’s title refers to the apartment building from which a Muslim girl and a policeman fall to their deaths in the first season. Collins is variously allied or at cross purposes with a cocky inspector (Emmett J. Scanlan), a nervous rookie (Tahirah Sharif) and a tough, stoic constable (Jimmy Akingbola) in stories involving agonizing questions of personal and professional conduct; all four are excellent.‘Miss Merkel’Angela Merkel, free of her duties as chancellor of Germany and retired to the fictional Klein Freudenstadt (Little Happy Town), stays sharp by solving the occasional local homicide in two German television movies that premiered Tuesday on MHz Choice. This Merkel, played by the veteran stage actress and director Katharina Thalbach, is a gossipy, evidence-stealing, slightly smug 70-ish pixie whose stern East German upbringing gives her the wherewithal to run rings around feckless local cops in the former West.That attention-grabbing twist on the cozy-village mystery (the films are based on novels by David Safier) does not entirely make up for some lackluster direction and a Teutonic propensity to deliver even sharply written laugh lines with as little expression as possible. But Thalbach’s running patter of political in-jokes and jabs at Merkel’s contemporaries and successors is consistently amusing, even accounting for the number of references that are most likely opaque to American viewers. “How do you manage to exploit me for your own goals against my beliefs?” Mike (Tim Kalkhof), her young bodyguard and reluctant crime-solving partner, plaintively asks, speaking for a generation of European politicians.Matilda De Angelis stars in “Citadel: Diana” as an operative caught between rival spy organizations.Marco Ghidelli/Prime VideoWe are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

    • 125 Shares199 Views

      in Television

      Michael Kosta Thinks He’s Found Elon Musk’s Next Failed Purchase

      by

      The “Daily Show” host said Musk “bought Twitter just to drive it into the ground” and is now considering doing the same for America.Welcome to Best of Late Night, a rundown of the previous night’s highlights that lets you sleep — and lets us get paid to watch comedy. Here are the 50 best movies on Netflix right now.How Low Can You Go?Elon Musk, who’s so excited to support Donald Trump that he jumped up and down to show it, said on Saturday that he’d give $1 million per day to a randomly chosen registered Pennsylvania voter who signs an online petition.On Tuesday’s “Daily Show,” Michael Kosta called Musk “a man of gravitas, a man of dignity, a man with roughly a four-inch vertical leap” and wondered, “How exactly does this bribe — sorry, gift — work?”“Wow, Elon’s giving a million dollars to his fans. Now they can afford the best anime girlfriend pillow money can buy.” — MICHAEL KOSTA“He’s so rich, he bought Twitter just to drive it into the ground for his own personal pleasure, and now he’s thinking, ‘Well, what if I did the same with America?’” — MICHAEL KOSTA“I know what you’re thinking right now: How could Republicans sink so low? And also, can I sink low enough to register for this?’” — MICHAEL KOSTA“During his first solo campaign event in support of former President Trump last week, Elon Musk urged the crowd to ‘pester’ their friends and family who are not yet registered to vote, adding, ‘I would if I had either of those.’” — SETH MEYERSA Tale of Two Town HallsOn his Fox News show on Tuesday, Greg Gutfeld had harsh words for Kamala Harris, saying her Monday night town hall in Michigan “had all the spontaneity of synchronized swimming.”“So right off the bat, we got the lay of the land — another manicured platform for Kamala to blurt out her now legendary word salads. I mean, this broad ought to come to every event with a side of ranch and a bag of croutons.” — GREG GUTFELDOn “The Tonight Show,” Jimmy Fallon noted that Trump had canceled a Tuesday event that would have been titled “Make America Healthy Again.”“Tough to make America healthy again when you were just making them French fries a day ago,” Fallon joked, referring to the ex-president’s campaign appearance behind a McDonald’s counter.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

    • 113 Shares129 Views

      in Television

      Late Night Mocks Trump for His McDonald’s Photo Op

      by

      The ex-president’s stint at the drive-through window was “blue-collar drag,” said Stephen Colbert. “But with more makeup.”Welcome to Best of Late Night, a rundown of the previous night’s highlights that lets you sleep — and lets us get paid to watch comedy. Here are the 50 best movies on Netflix right now.‘Blue-Collar Drag’Former President Donald Trump appeared behind a McDonald’s counter on Sunday, trolling Vice President Kamala Harris (he claims, with no evidence, that she’s lying about having worked at one in the ’80s). “No surprise, the man who’s never had an actual job in his life did not actually work at McDonald’s,” Stephen Colbert said on Monday. Citing news reports, he said the Trump appearance “was a half-hour photo op at a closed McDonald’s, and the people he served were preselected supporters.”“He’s not the common man. This is all just blue-collar drag. But with more makeup.” — STEPHEN COLBERT“Well, McDonald’s screwed up my order again!” — SETH MEYERS“That’s his whole campaign right now: ‘Ave Maria’ dance party, ‘I’m going to deport everybody,’ football tailgate, blame the Jews if I lose, McDonald’s drive-through.” — JON STEWART“Yeah, he had a great time at McDonald’s, ’cause for 20 minutes, Trump actually ran a successful business.” — JIMMY FALLON“Trump told reporters, ‘I love McDonald’s. I love jobs. I like to see good jobs.’ Wow, I just realized, if you replace ‘I’ with ‘me,’ he has the same vocabulary as Cookie Monster: ‘Me love McDonald’s. Me love jobs.’” — SETH MEYERS“I love when he said ‘I’ve always wanted to work at McDonald’s’ with a straight face and expects us to believe it. Oh, do you? Well, no one’s stopping you, bro. I noticed you didn’t pick up an application on your way out. Maybe you can get a job jumping out of the ball pit and scaring away kids who have been there for too long.” — SETH MEYERS“Give him the job. I implore you. I don’t care if his references don’t shake out. Save democracy, give him the job.” — JON STEWARTThe Punchiest Punchlines (Eggplant Emoji Edition)“While speaking over the weekend at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania, former President Trump discussed golf legend Arnold Palmer and said he was ‘all man.’ Well, technically, he was half man, half iced tea.” — SETH MEYERS“But for Trump, this was actually one of his milder genital rants. This was kind of his Kidz Bop genitals rant: classy, body-positive, he was complimenting somebody else. I don’t know why we have to parse everything that this guy says so sternly.” — JON STEWART“I think one of his staffers must have said, ‘We need to focus on the polls,’ and Trump was, like, ‘Oh, I’ll focus on the pole.’” — JIMMY FALLONWe are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

    • 125 Shares189 Views

      in Television

      Dylan Bachelet Brings Pirate Style to ‘Great British Baking Show’

      by

      A breakout contestant on “The Great British Baking Show” is drawing style comparisons to characters from “Pirates of the Caribbean,” “The Princess Bride” and more.Long hair, strong eyebrows, silver hoop earrings, a goatee and the occasional bandanna makes Dylan Bachelet’s style feel both unique and uncannily familiar.Though Mr. Bachelet, a talented 20-year-old contestant on the current season of “The Great British Baking Show,” did not initially get much screen time in the series known for its convivial contestants and some cringe-inducing baking challenges, it did not take long for fans to notice him. Online forums and comment sections lit up, comparing Mr. Bachelet to all sorts of roguish characters: Captain Jack Sparrow, Khal Drogo (a “Game of Thrones” chieftain played by Jason Momoa), Disney princes and romance novel cover models, to name a few.“He’s so striking. He’s got eyes that speak to your soul and a distinctive look,” said Karmen Ledgister, a personal trainer from London, who was among the people trying to find the perfect comparison. “He reminds me of Goku from ‘Dragon Ball Z’ with his style and his stance. Of course, there’s that dark hair!”Adding to the mythology, Mr. Bachelet joked with Noel Fielding, one of the show’s hosts, about what it means that both of them are left-handed. “You know the word sinister means left-handed?” he said to Mr. Fielding. “They used to kill us.”While the show — known as “The Great British Bake Off” outside of the United States — is not the type of reality TV program to play on looks, even Mr. Fielding appears to be smitten, calling Mr. Bachelet “too handsome to be a chef” in Episode 3.

      View this post on Instagram A post shared by Dylan Bachelet (@dylanbachelet_)
      We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More