Q: I'm really enjoying the new season of "Archer" for its classic film-noir style. Is the story a reference to any particular old movie?
As is usual with "Archer," the cultural references are wide-ranging and frequent, and it seems the show's writers could never commit themselves to just one. But it's interesting to watch them restrict themselves to era-appropriate jokes.
Shonda shakes it up: ABC bolsters the ranks with ShondaLand's first costume drama
Wade Briggs, Lashana Lynch and Sterling Sulieman star in "Still Star-Crossed"
Love Connection, on Fox
Host Andy Cohen brings viewers an updated version of this classic dating series as single men and women search for romance in this premiere. If the participant chooses the same blind date as the audience, he or she wins $10,000.
Survivor: Game Changers, on CBS
The remaining game-changing castaways face their last challenges and one more Tribal Council before finding out who has been voted the sole survivor in this season finale. Following the finale, Jeff Probst interviews the castaways in a reunion special.
Q: Who does the voice in the "NCIS: New Orleans" theme song? It sounds to me like Scott Bakula. I have read that he is musical, and he appears to be playing piano in some shows.
"NCIS: New Orleans" star Scott Bakula is indeed a musician in his own right, but nonetheless they farmed out the intro work to Colorado-based blues band Big Head Todd and the Monsters.
The song isn't theirs, though. It's the blues classic "Boom Boom" by the late, great John Lee Hooker. That's the regional connection -- Hooker was born in neighboring Mississippi, and is known for helping to update and popularize the Delta blues genre.
The Voice, on NBC
The big moment finally arrives as the remaining vocalists find out who has won a lucrative recording contract and a $100,000 prize in this season finale. This season, Grammy winner Gwen Stefani returned as a coach alongside Alicia Keys, Adam Levine and Blake Shelton.
Q: The new AMC series "The Son" supposedly spans 1849 to 1915, but this makes no sense. When lead character Eli is first taken by the Comanches in 1849, he looks to be about 15; when the show goes to 1915, he looks to be in his late 60s, yet if he was 15
Oddly enough, you're the only one to pick up on this. Being a new drama on AMC, "The Son" was reviewed in every major entertainment publication, and though the reviews weren't exactly positive, none faulted the ages.
The Bachelorette, on ABC
Attorney Rachel Lindsay is the 13th Bachelorette in this season premiere. Before she embarks on her upcoming adventure to find Mr. Right, she meets with her close friends from last season of "The Bachelor" to discuss her hopes and dreams.
Can't fake this: Amateurs and pros face off in 'Bakers vs. Fakers'
Lorraine Pascale hosts “Bakers vs. Fakers”
Four culinary contestants, a secret ingredient, a panel of judges and a big cash prize. It's a formula that works, and it works well. But for one Food Network baking competition to stand out from the crowd, it needs a distinct little twist.
New Releases for the week of May 21 - 27
Get Out
Rose (Williams) and her boyfriend, Chris (Kaluuya), take a weekend vacation to her family's annual get-together, where he gets to meet her family for the first time. Upon arriving at the house of her parents, Dean (Whitford) and Missy (Keener), Chris develops an uneasy feeling and starts to suspect that something isn't right with the situation, especially after Missy hypnotizes him into quitting smoking without his permission. It's only after the rest of the guests arrive that he begins to realize that he is, in fact, in very grave danger.
Director: Jordan Peele. Stars: Daniel Kaluuya, Allison Williams, Catherine Keener, Bradley Whitford, Caleb Landry Jones. 2017. 104 min. Horror.
Logan
The latest installment in the X-Men franchise brings Wolverine's story arc to a close. It is 2029, and Logan (Jackman) no longer calls himself Wolverine. No mutants have been born in over two decades, and even existing ones, like Logan and Charles Xavier (Stewart), whom Logan cares for in his old age, are slowly losing their powers. After Logan is approached by a mysterious woman, he reluctantly agrees to escort a young girl named Laura (Keen) to a far-off sanctuary. Shortly after Logan learns that Laura is a mutant who was artificially bred in a lab, a team of assassins ambushes him and Xavier, intent on destroying the escaped mutant girl.
Director: James Mangold. Stars: Hugh Jackman, Patrick Stewart, Dafne Keen, Boyd Holbrook, Stephen Merchant. 2017. 137 min. Action.
The Great Wall
While ranging through the Far East, a group of European mercenaries is attacked by an alien beast, which two of them, William (Damon) and Tovar (Pascal), manage to escape. When the pair stumbles upon the Great Wall of China, they're taken prisoner. But when the monsters attack in force, the mercenaries join the soldiers in defending the fortification. After the battle, Chinese strategist Wang (Lau) explains that the monsters, called Taoties, first appeared 2,000 years ago after they emerged from a crashed green meteor, and that the just-repulsed attack won't be their last.