Q: Who is the guy always around town playing guitar in "Gilmore Girls"? Is he famous?
Identified just as "Grant" in the show's credits, the guitarist seen leaning on lampposts around "Gilmore Girls'" fictional town of Stars Hollow is, in fact, professional singer-songwriter Grant Lee Phillips, who fronted the buzz-generating indie rock band Grant Lee Buffalo in the 1990s.
They seemed poised for greatness at the time, with Phillips named Best Male Vocalist of the Year in 1995 by Rolling Stone magazine, but the group never escaped their emerging-stars status.
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, on NBC
Sgt. Olivia Benson (Mariska Hargitay) returns to investigate violent and sexual crimes in this intense drama's two-hour Season 23 premiere. Now the longest-running live-action series on air in prime time, it also stars Ice-T and Kelli Giddish.
Rescue mission: 'The Rookie' returns after cliffhanger finale with more drama
Mekia Cox, Nathan Fillion and Alyssa Diaz in "The Rookie"
Cop shows have been around practically since the dawn of television, and there's still nothing quite like a good police drama, especially one with a nail-biting cliffhanger season finale. After months of waiting, anxious fans will finally find out what happens when a prime-time hit returns to the airwaves.
Q: Who originally said, "Keep your friends close and your enemies closer"? I know it from "The Godfather," but I doubt that's where it originated.
Actually, it might be.
You're right that it seems much older than "The Godfather: Part II" — it was actually said in the sequel, by the new Godfather, Al Pacino's ("Scarface," 1983) Michael Corleone. The movie was released in 1974, a mere 47 years ago.
Chicago Fire, on NBC
In this drama, returning tonight for a 10th season, Capt. Matthew Casey (Jesse Spencer) and his team of firefighters at Chicago's Firehouse 51 battle dangerous blazes that threaten the city while they also navigate their professional and personal lives.
Our Kind of People, on Fox
Yaya DaCosta stars in this premiering series about a single mother setting out to change the world. Reclaiming her family's name and starting her own business, she begins a haircare line that highlights the natural strength and beauty of Black women.
Q: Did Whoopi Goldberg do her own singing in "Sister Act"?
Whoopi proved a good singer in the 1992 comedy smash "Sister Act," but she admits she's no Bette Midler ("Hocus Pocus," 1993).
The role was originally written for Midler -- an accomplished recording artist and musical theatre star -- but she rejected it (a decision she came to regret). When Whoopi stepped in to replace her, she was frank with the producers about what she could and couldn't do.
9-1-1, on Fox
LAPD patrol Sgt. Athena Grant Nash (Angela Basset) returns for another high-powered season of this series following first responders as they save lives and face dangerous situations. Peter Krause and Ryan Guzman also star in this Season 5 premiere.
New Releases for the week of Sept. 19 - 25
Sibyl
In the midst of abandoning her psychotherapy practice to advance her budding writing career, Sibyl (Efira) finds herself captivated with her patient, up-and-coming actress Margot (Exarchopoulos). Caught in an affair with a famous actor, Margot speaks to Sibyl about her inner turmoil. Desperate to jumpstart her creative process, Sibyl discretely records her appointments with Margot to take the lurid details for her own gain. When the lines of doctor and patient privilege are pushed to their edge, personal relationships are tested.
Director: Justine Triet. Stars: Virginie Efira, Adèle Exarchopoulos, Gaspard Ulliel, Sandra Hüller, Laure Calamy, Niels Schneider, Paul Hamy, Arthur Harari. 2019. 100 mins. Drama.
A Dark Foe
Living with vivid memories of his murdered mother and kidnapped sister, guilt-ridden FBI agent Tony Cruz (Cardenas) is fueled by his past to catch 'The Cradle,' the man responsible for his debilitating fear of darkness who kidnaps sex workers and removes their skin. When Tony's nyctophobia compromises an FBI operation, his friend and therapist Dr. Doris Baxter (Blair) helps him cope with his removal from the case. Encouraged by his partner, Rocco (Bellamy), to keep pursuing the case unofficially, Tony goes undercover with former sex worker Rebecca Crawford (Dalton) to track down the notorious killer once and for all.
Director: Maria Gabriela Cardenas. Stars: Oscar Cardenas, Kenzie Dalton, Selma Blair, Graham Greene, Bill Bellamy, Tokala Black Elk, Glenn Morshower, Jon Lindstrom, Julie Gonzalo, Monte Markham. 2020. 114 mins. Horror.
Last Call
After moving away from his old Philadelphia neighborhood of Darby Heights, real estate developer Mick (Piven) returns to his childhood community for his mother's funeral. However, the funeral quickly becomes a secondary event when Mick is tasked by developer Mr. Delvecchio (Pastore) to use his personal relationships to persuade the neighborhood's residents that a casino should be built in the area. Swayed by his aging bar-owning father, Laurence (McGee), and childhood crush, Ali (Manning), Mick finds himself questioning the important things in life.
Director: Paolo Pilladi. Stars: Jeremy Piven, Taryn Manning, Zach McGowan, Jack McGee, Bruce Dern, Jamie Kennedy, Cathy Moriarty, Cheri Oteri, Jason James Richter, Garry Pastore. 2021. 102 mins. Comedy.
Late Laughs for the week of September 19 - 25, 2021
The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon
Earlier this week in a company memo, the CEO of Delta Airlines refused to use the term "Delta variant" and only referred to the virus by its scientific name. I guess that explains why pilots have been saying "Welcome aboard. Thank you for flying B16172 Airlines."