First, this timely reminder.
The highly anticipated Fear the Walking Dead premieres at 8 p.m. today on AMC. Dig today's TV Week out of that stack of coupons, classified ads and inserts and read my positive review.
Also, Talking Dead Season 6 Preview Special airs at 7 p.m. today on AMC to chat up the Oct. 11 debut of The Walking Dead.
...
Meanwhile ... AETN is giving viewers an opportunity to see an encore presentation of perhaps the best Sherlock episode ever. Masterpiece: Mystery! airs at 8 p.m. today with Sherlock: The Hounds of Baskerville, starring Benedict Cumberbatch.
The 90-minute episode is rated TV-14.
I still remember the chills I got when I read Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's original when I was 12 or 13. Doyle wrote, "Never in the delirious dream of a disordered brain could anything more savage, more appalling, more hellish be conceived than that dark form and savage face which broke upon us out of the wall of fog."
I never looked at our little dachshund, Pogo, the same way again.
Cumberbatch is my favorite Sherlock of the more than 70 actors (according to Guinness World Records) who have portrayed the detective.
And that includes Basil Rathbone's iconic portrayal in 14 films, and post-Ironman Robert Downey Jr.'s interpretation of director Guy Ritchie's Sherlock as some sort of Victorian James Bond.
One of the reasons Cumberbatch is my favorite is the perfect chemistry his portrayal has with his faithful and long-suffering sidekick, Dr. John Watson, played to perfection by Martin Freeman (Bilbo Baggins in The Hobbit films).
In The Hounds of Baskerville, Holmes and Watson are on a cold case, investigating a murder that took place two decades earlier.
The murder was witnessed by the victim's son, who claims his father was killed by a huge dog. The investigation takes Holmes and Watson to the creepy British moors, where rumor has it a top-secret military base was experimenting on genetically engineered animals.
Purists may grumble that this modern version deviates from the original, but the Sherlock appeal is still there.
Season 3 of Masterpiece: Mystery!: Sherlock comes to AETN next month.
• Sneak peek. Before you settle back to enjoy Sherlock: The Hounds of Baskerville, be sure to check out the half-hour special PBS Previews -- The Best of Fall 2015. The preview airs at 7 p.m. and again at 7:30 today on AETN.
Featured will be highlights from the forthcoming American Experience: Walt Disney; Masterpiece's new drama, Indian Summers; Gorongosa Park; Earth's Natural Wonders; Nova: Making North America; the PBS Arts Fall Festival; Nature: Soul of an Elephant; and I'll Have What Phil's Having.
The Disney special will be a two-part, four-hour film on Sept. 14-15. It'll show how "Uncle Walt" was a far more complex personality than we thought.
Indian Summers is a 10-episode series set in India in 1932 and follows a group of British socialites.
The Nova presentation is set for November and is a three-part series detailing how the continent was formed.
I'll Have What Phil's Having follows host Phil Rosenthal (creator of Everybody Loves Raymond) on a six-part exploration of culinary delights from around the world. It premieres Sept. 28.
• Last chance. If you missed the early airings, there's one more opportunity to catch The Unauthorized Full House Story. The behind-the-scenes dramatization of the beloved family sitcom (1987-1995) runs at 7 p.m. today on Lifetime.
My favorite moment: When the unauthorized John Stamos (played by Justin Gaston) tries to get the Olsen twins fired because of a dirty diaper.
The real Stamos, by the way, has admitted that the scene was accurate.
• Jay's back. CNBC has announced Jay Leno's Garage will premiere at 9 p.m. Oct. 7. The former host of the Tonight Show (and a passionate car lover/collector) will have eight hour-long episodes that "cover all things automotive including classic cars, super cars, restoration projects, road tests, investments and the inner workings of the car collectors' market."
In a CNBC news release, Leno said, "Many of us see automobiles as kinetic artwork. Art doesn't always have to be stagnant. It could be rolling down the highway."
Celebrities set to appear include Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Tim Allen, Jeff Dunham, Francis Ford Coppola, Los Angeles Angels pitcher C.J. Wilson and six-time NASCAR Sprint Cup champion Jimmie Johnson.
• A new voice. Brad Paisley will join Team Blake as a mentor for Season 9, helping fellow country singer Blake Shelton's contestants when NBC's The Voice returns Sept. 21.
Gwen Stefani, who was a judge in Season 7, will replace Christina Aguilera, joining Shelton, Pharrell Williams and Adam Levine in the rotating chairs.
The TV Column appears Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday. Email:
mstorey@arkansasonline.com
Style on 08/23/2015