Rich Heldenfels, Pop Culture Wanderer

Viewing of late has included "The Assistant" (pictured above), "The Old Guard," "Black and Blue,," "The Morning Show" and "Athlete A" along with a rewatch of "Bombshell," a cumulative contemplation of what women must endure -- and the evil men do. And then there's "Greyhound," where a woman appears in the most token fashion imaginable. Especially disturbing is the documentary "Athlete A" on Netflix, an examination of the horror inflicted on women gymnasts and the myriad ways people in power tried to hush it up. Unflinching in its description of the sexual abuse, unblinking in noting how the authorities added to the abuse by trying to intimidate the truth-tellers, almost unbearably agonizing as the women tell their stories -- stunning, agonizing work. And, sadly, not the only production dealing with such horrors. The absorbing "The Assistant" (now on disc) is mercifully brief -- under 90 minute...

I mentioned recently "The Great Influenza," a book about the 1918 pandemic, which is worth reading just to see the way government indifference and incompetence were a part of that disaster, and people who should have known better ignored warning signs and ways to control the disaster. As it was ever thus, right?  But I've done some other reading as well, including "Orson Welles: One-Man Band," the third volume of Simon Callow's biography of Welles, and as engrossing a read as the two previous volumes. (A fourth will complete the saga.) This book covers a period that included two Welles gems, "Touch of Evil" and "Chimes at Midnight" (also known as "Falstaff"), along with near-successes (some torpedoed by Welles's boredom as the project went on), failures (ditto), unrealized ideas, unpaid bills, unsatisfied appetites, unsuitable roles, It's a rapid read, full of accounts from people who knew Welles and who kept diaries, br...

A few months ago I started posting songs on Facebook. I've done that before, but this evolved from an occasional post (often with some thematic connection to events of the day) into a daily post of songs I liked for one reason or another, or which I thought might resonate with my FB friends. But which I still liked. I spared everyone commentary, beyond "Good morning," and let the songs speak for themselves. I also wanted to avoid too much duplication of artists and songs, which led to my keeping a list, one page of which you can see above.  I've done more than 100 songs so far (which you can see and hear via Rich Heldenfels on Facebook) and some duplication has crept in, but it has been fun to reach into my memory banks and old files for contenders. Songs I liked in high school, songs I liked in college and young adulthood, songs I like now (hello, Lizzo!), songs I had on vinyl and tape and CD and on iTunes (although my iTunes account went weird some time back, wiping...

Here is what happens after months of varied degrees of isolation: there's never enough digital content. My streaming music library has expanded, now including Pandora, SiriusXM, Spotify (the free version), Amazon Music (whatever comes with my Prime subscription) and the international channels I can reach with my Como Musica. My video streaming options include Disney+, Netflix, Hulu, CBS All Access and, most recently, Apple TV+. Getting that last service finally gave me a way to watch "The Morning Show," the drama with Reese Witherspoon and Jennifer Aniston. It is at times marvelous and other times just a drag, but it caught me up especially short when an episode found the morning-show team setting up in the Safari Inn, pictured above. "I stayed there," I said to my wife, and the memories came rolling back.  It was 1999. The Cleveland-set "Drew Carey Show" was making its 100th episode, and I had gone to L.A. to cover the event, appear as a back...

The official word, starting with the fall nightly recap: MONDAY :  Returning Coaches Kelly Clarkson, John Legend, Blake Shelton and Gwen Stefani and Host Carson Daly Reunite for Perennial Juggernaut  “The Voice,”  Followed by the Fall Return of Hit Mystery Drama “ Manifest”  at 10 P.M. TUESDAY : Dynamic Tuesday Lineup Stays Strong With “ The Voice ” Setting the Stage for the Fifth Season of TV’s #1 Drama “ This Is Us, ”   Leading Into Timeslot Winner “ New Amsterdam ” at 10 P.M. WEDNESDAY : Following Another Total Viewers Win, the Windy City Block Returns to Conquer Wednesday Nights Starting With “ Chicago Med ” at 8 P.M., Followed by Wednesday’s Most-Watched Series “ Chicago Fire ” and Concluding with “ Chicago P.D. ” THURSDAY : Fan Favorite Comedies “ Superstore ” and  “Brooklyn Nine-Nine”  Anchor Thursday Nights;   Drama Starts at 9 P.M. as  “Law & Order: SVU ” Marks its Record 22 nd  Season, Leading into the Much-Anticipa...

Update: Although ABC announced programs for the new season before (and that announcement is below), it had not included a night-by-night lineup for the fall. It has since offered the one listed here, as well as confirming the renewal of "For Life" and cancellation of "The Baker and the Beauty." Fans of "black-ish" and "mixed-ish" will also note their absence from the fall schedule; they have been picked up for midseason. MONDAY 8:00 p.m. “Dancing with the Stars” 10:00 p.m. “The Good Doctor” TUESDAY 8:00 p.m. “The Bachelorette” 10:00 p.m. “Big Sky” (NEW SERIES) WEDNESDAY 8:00 p.m. “The Goldbergs” 8:30 p.m. “American Housewife” 9:00 p.m. “The Conners” (NEW DATE/TIME) 9:30 p.m. “Call Your Mother” (NEW SERIES) 10:00 p.m. “Stumptown” THURSDAY 8:00 p.m. “Station 19” 9:00 p.m. “Grey’s Anatomy” 10:00 p.m. “A Million Little Things” FRIDAY 8:00 p.m. “Shark Tank” 9:00 p.m. “20/20” (TWO HOURS) SATURDAY 8:00 p.m. “...

I had missed the announcement below when it appeared last week. And things have gotten interesting since the release, with Ruby Rose announcing that she is leaving "Batwoman " (where, in case you didn't know, she played Batwoman), forcing a recasting, Anyway, here are the network plans (and the odd spacing was in the release): The CW Network will officially launch its new season in January 2021 with its regularly scheduled series line-up, while loading up Fall 2020 with fresh original and acquired scripted series and alternative programming, it was announced today by Mark Pedowitz, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, The CW Network. “ This year, The CW has made the proactive strategic decision to launch its new season in January 2021, rolling out a line-up of our signature returning series which will be joined next year by our four new series, including the return of the DC’s most iconic superhero in  SUPERMAN & LOIS , the return of the Texas Rangers in  WAL...