It’s a miracle “Chuck” (NBC, 8 and 9 p.m.) lasted long as it did. Though I know it had its partisans, it only had enough fans to barely hang on for five seasons. They kept making season finales that would serve as series finales because it was never clear they were coming back.
The end tonight is definite, so they endeavor to end the story in the two one-hour episodes. By now, love interest Sarah has had her memory erased and is back to where the series begins, taking orders from a shadowy agency and keeping an eye on Chuck, the electronics salesman and self-pronounced geek who suddenly had a lot of government secrets downloaded in his brain (the more they repeat the story in the finale the more absurd it all seems again).
What began as a funny caper morphed into an action series hijacked by romance, with the comedy suddenly as scarce as credible storylines. Those who stuck with it this long, though, will probably appreciate the way it ends.
Five years after his first “Duets” album, which he recorded when he was 80, the long-lasting singer is back again, at 85, with “Tony Bennett: Duets II” an album whose stylish recordings was caught for an edition of “Great Performances” (PBS, 9 p.m., check local listings). Part testimonial, part concert,, it’s great to see him sing and fool around with Michael Buble, Willie Nelson and Lady Gaga. It also represents the final recording of Amy Winehouse.
Examining humor can be a deadly business. But it can also be the basis of some pretty amusing conversations, as was “The Green Room with Paul Provenza.”
I hadn’t realized how much I missed Kiefer Sutherland from network TV until the clock ran out on “24.”
When it comes to Academy Award season, you can’t deny Hollywood’s own infatuation with itself. Hence two movies that celebrate filmmaking and film history are the most nominated in the list released this morning.
With a Republican debate every other night, it seems, for weeks running, it might be a change of pace to hear Barack Obama deliver his State of the Union (ABC, NBC, CBS, NBC, Fox, CNN, CNBC, Fox News, MSNBC, 8 p.m.). Look for him to be as upbeat as possible, with half the room clapping wildly and the other half barely listening.
Bob Dylan got out of protest music about as quickly as he got in it, but his contemporary Phil Ochs stayed firmly in the field of activism and song, from the civil rights marches to the 1968 Democratic Convention and beyond. Of course, he name is not as well known as Dylan’s, and that’s partly what drove him crazy over the years – so did drink, depression and the shock of the deaths of Robert Kennedy.
“Prime Suspect” (NBC, 9 p.m.) winds up its unsuccessful season by showing its final two episodes before the hat is retired for good. Network chief Robert Greenblatt told TV critics said that it didn’t gain enough viewers in short enough time since its fall debut.
Tony Bennett on ‘Duets II,’ Winehouse and The Audience
Bennett naturally is always wearing a stylish suit, but many of those joining him, including Faith Hill, Norah Hones and Carrie Underwood, are wearing fancy gowns.
For Bennett, the elegance is a matter of course. “I like being dressed up,” he told reporters at the TV Critics press tour, following a mesmerizing dinner concert with his trio. “It’s called being civilized.”
For the others, maybe it was paying respect to the great standards they sang together.
But recording the “Duets II” album, the only No. 1 album from someone as old as he – 85 was historic in another aspect as well: The last recording session for Amy Winehouse, who died in July.
Bennett recalled how it came about:
“I was playing Royal Albert Hall for two nights in Great Britain, and she came back with her dad and her boyfriend. And she said, ‘You know, two years ago I won a Grammy, and I wasn’t excited about winning the Grammy but that Tony Bennett announced it,’” he said. “She was a big fan of mine, and I was very surprised because she’s so young.”
But when he thought of those who joined them who really sang “traditionally correct.” “It ended up being Amy,” says Bennett, who joined her on a version of “Body & Soul.” “She just had the gift of knowing how to sing as good, and was influenced by, Billie Holiday, Dinah Washington, Ella Fitzgerald.”
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