A Capitol Fourth, on PBS
Celebrate Independence Day with an all-star musical extravaganza from the West Lawn of the United States Capitol. This year marks the 35th anniversary of the special, which features one of the biggest fireworks displays in the nation.
Q: I loved the crime series "Backstrom." Is it coming back, or has it been canceled?
I'll try to deliver this news with a little more tact than Rainn Wilson's spectacularly rude detective would do: "Backstrom" gave it a good try, but the numbers just weren't there.
If I were to be more "irascible" (which is how Fox describes Wilson's character) about it, I'd say that the more people saw of "Backstrom," the less they liked it.
It premiered to fairly good ratings, but shed viewers pretty steadily from there.
Say Yes to the Dress, on TLC
TLC celebrates Christmas in July with this special holiday episode. Stephanie thinks a Black Friday wedding is the perfect start to the holiday season. Also, Katie hopes to look like an ice princess for her winter wonderland wedding.
Only human: AMC's 'Humans' blurs the lines between artificial and real intelligence
Gemma Chan stars in “Humans”
It's not a stretch to think that some day we could be living side by side with lifelike robots that are practically indiscernible from people. At the rate technology is advancing (and at the rate we're consuming it), the idea of humanoid robotic assistants doesn't seem as far-fetched as it did even 30 years ago.
Food Fighters, on NBC
Talented amateur cooks take on professional chefs as they compete for the chance to win $100,000 in this season premiere. For the first time ever, season 2 will feature the introduction of kid chefs, who will spice up the competition with their signature dishes.
Q: There was a movie whose name I can't remember, about a man who takes his son and daughter with him to Brazil. While he was working, the kids go into the jungle. They are surprised by some natives and the son is taken. Twenty years later, the son return
The plot doesn't go down quite like you describe it, but nonetheless it sounds like you're thinking of 1985's "The Emerald Forest."
The only difference from your description seems to be in the circumstances of the son's return, but I won't go into those for fear of spoiling a 30-year-old plot (this way maybe you'll get a little suspense when you see it again). Rest assured, there was no trend in rainforest-tribal-kidnapping movies in the past few decades, so this is pretty definitely the one.
Extant, on CBS
When Molly (Halle Berry) hears about bizarre deaths that sound like the ones she witnessed in space, she escapes a psychiatric hospital to investigate in this season premiere. Jeffrey Dean Morgan joins the cast as cop and bounty hunter J.D. Richter.
Extreme Weight Loss, on ABC
Since meeting in 2007, lovebirds Shane and Marissa haven't been apart for more than five days. They got engaged nine months ago, but they've decided to postpone the wedding until they lose some weight and adopt healthier habits so Chris steps in to help.
In the 'Dark': Sci-fi producer duo takes a 'graphic' path to TV
The cast of “Dark Matter”
It is said that there is nothing new under the sun. Ideas are explored, rehashed, discarded and revived in new works in a cycle as certain as our orbit around our nearest star. Quite often, books, shows or plays are adapted for the big screen or vice versa.
Q: I was watching an old black-and-white western and noticed a startling resemblance between star James McCallion and Sheldon on "The Big Bang Theory." Their smiles and eyes are very similar. Are they related?
There's certainly a resemblance between the two actors, but it's not genetic. Perhaps it can be chalked up to charm and Hollywood's tastes, instead.
Western-movie character actor James McCallion and "The Big Bang Theory's" Jim Parsons have similarly friendly eyes, upturned eyebrows and slightly crooked smiles -- engaging sorts of faces that, though not conventionally handsome, are still more likely to end up on film than the average mug.