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Marcia Gay Harden is perfectly legal in ‘So Help Me Todd’
BY JAY BOBBIN
In her return to series work, Marcia Gay Harden is laying down the law as both an attorney and a parent.
A recent Primetime Emmy nominee for her guest part on “The Morning Show,” the Oscar and Tony recipient headlines CBS’ seriocomic
“So Help Me Todd,” premiering Thursday, Sept. 29. Harden plays Margaret Wright, whose legal professionalism contradicts the scruffier nature of her son Todd (“Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist” and “Pitch Perfect” alum Skylar Astin), an exprivate eye taking whatever jobs he can get. His help on a case prompts her to hire him as her investigator, and possibly to bridge the gap between them. “It’s a lovely bubble that’s floating right now,” the pleasant Harden says of her career fortunes lately, “and it feels fantastic, but we know it will pop. What goes up must come down, and that’s the life of being in this business – so when it’s happening (on the positive side), I really cherish every moment. It feels good.”
While cameras aren’t swirling around her constantly as in her last weekly project for CBS, the medical drama “Code Black,” Harden asserts
“So Help Me Todd” (on which Dr. Phil McGraw is an executive producer) keeps the rules of the series game largely the same. “You have do it really fast,” she reflects. “It’s almost like theater, except that you don’t get all the rehearsals, so you have to come in and figure things out right away. And I find that fun.”
Harden also finds it challenging to adopt legal jargon in her new role: “What is an arraignment? What is a deposition? These aren’t necessarily words that we all know, other than from television shows, so I find myself looking things up so that I can say them with authority. The writing team is amazing, though, and Skylar and I love to bounce off of each other. They’ve written beautiful banter for us, so ... so far, so good.”
In effect, “Pollock” Oscar winner Harden plays Margaret on two levels, serious when it comes to law and lighter in her family relations. She notes that Margaret and Todd “are opposites. He’s digital and she’s analog. She’s exacting, he’s not. She goes by the rules, and he’s about breaking them. And because of that, they have to learn to play as a team.”
SEPTEMBER 24 – SEPTEMBER 30, 2022 7 Mayim Bialik presides over a weekly ‘Celebrity Jeopardy!’
BY GEORGE DICKIE
That’s the correct answer – or question – as ABC spins off the concept (last staged on “Jeopardy!’ in 2015) into its own series starting Sunday, Sept. 25. Mayim Bialik, who splits hosting duties with Ken Jennings on the syndicated weeknight edition of the parent contest, presides over sessions that pit three personalities against one another to play for charity.
“I have no sneaking suspicions when it comes to this arena,” Bialik says with a laugh in maintaining she didn’t foresee an every-week
Among the famous names stepping up to the latest “Celebrity Jeopardy!” challenge are Ray Romano, Patton Oswalt, Aisha Tyler (“Criminal Minds”), Simu Liu (“Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings”), Constance Wu (“Fresh Off the Boat”), Michael Cera (“Arrested Development”), B.J. Novak (“The Office”), comic Iliza Shlesinger and WNBA veteran Candace Parker.
Despite her famously brainy image that was reinforced by her Amy character on “The Big Bang Theory,” Bialik never has played “Celebrity Jeopardy!” herself. She allows, “I would be terrified! I would break into a cold sweat just to stand there. As the host, I have a lot of compassion for whatever (the celebrity players) are going to be going through.”
Having recently directed her first feature film, the Dustin Hoffman-starring “As They Made Us,” Bialik is hoping to do more of that “in theory, since the writing is where it all starts.” Meanwhile, she has a rare encounter with “Jeopardy”-mate Jennings coming up: He guest-stars in the Season 3 premiere of her Fox sitcom “Call Me Kat” Thursday, Sept. 29, marking only the second time they’ve actually met.
View from the Couch BY JAY BOBBIN
AS Adult situations P Profanity
Family Viewing Ratings
V Violence N Nudity
With Taika Waititi (“Thor: Ragnarok”) as the director again, the title Marvel character confronts challenges outside himself as well as within in this entertaining adventure. Chris Hemsworth returns as the Norse god, whose journey of self-discovery is interrupted by a powerful enemy (Christian Bale). Thor can’t accomplish the mission alone, though, so he relies on helpers including his former flame Jane Foster (Natalie Portman) ... who has some mighty surprises for him. Russell Crowe, Tessa Thompson and filmmaker Waititi (who also co-wrote the script) are in the cast as well. DVD extras: three “making-of” documentaries; audio commentary by Waititi; deleted scenes; outtakes. ›› (PG13: P, V) (Also on Blu-ray, 4K Ultra HD, Digital and On Demand)
The 1960s sitcom about a somewhat monstrous family remains a classic, but how the clan came to be is recounted in this prequel movie from someone well-known for his taste for the unusual, writerdirector Rob Zombie. Jeff Daniel Phillips and Sheri Moon Zombie (Rob’s wife) play Herman and Lily, who accept each other’s out-of-the-ordinary nature in starting a romance that Lily’s vampirish father doesn’t approve of. Veteran talents Sylvester McCoy (“Doctor Who”) and Catherine Schell also appear, as does “Elvira” herself, Cassandra Peterson. Likely of special interest to the “Munsters” faithful, the series’ Butch Patrick and Pat Priest turn up as well. DVD extras: “making-of” documentary; audio commentary by Rob Zombie. ››› (PG: AS, P) (Also on Blu-ray, Digital and On Demand)
Created by “Yellowstone’s” Taylor Sheridan and co-star Hugh Dillon (“Flashpoint”), this grim but effective Paramount+ drama series casts Jeremy Renner (“The Avengers”) as Mike McLusky, the mayor of a prison-centric Michigan town where the law doesn’t always rule. A delicate balance results among politicians, police officers, guards, convicts and McLusky and his own relatives. The cast also includes Emmy winner Kyle Chandler (“Friday Night Lights”), two-time Oscar winner Dianne Wiest, Taylor Handley, Emma Laird and Tobi Bamtefa. The pilot episode’s director, Antoine Fuqua (“Training Day”), is an executive producer (along with Sheridan, Dillon and Renner) of the show that counts MTV’s production arm among its makers. It has been renewed for a second season. ››› (AS, N, P, V) (Also on Blu-ray)
Two of producer George Pal’s sci-fi classics from the 1950s are paired in a new 4K Ultra HD release. Based on the legendary H.G. Wells story that has fueled various movies and television series since, “The War of the Worlds” boasts Oscar-winning special effects and casts Gene Barry and Ann Robinson as two of the people on the run from alien invaders when Martians launch an attack on Earth. “When Worlds Collide” finds experts designing a giant ark to get a group of people off our planet, in a bid to prevent an imminent collision between Earth and a renegade star; Richard Derr, Barbara Rush, Peter Hansen (later of TV’s “General Hospital”) and John Hoyt are featured. ››› (Not rated: V)
James Webb Space Telescope had been released by NASA only the day before the telecast. That was a culmination of more than two decades of work in developing an instrument that would outdo the famed Hubble Space Telescope not only in size and power, but also in flexibility ... since it had to fit inside a rocket bringing it to its destination, then unfold and adapt to the needed shape and dimensions for it to accomplish its mission. The launch was delayed by Hurricane Harvey, among other factors, before finally lifting off successfully last Christmas Day. ››› (Not rated)
GV Graphic Violence
