Bite-sized romances in TV rom-com
Each episode of the comedy-drama anthology “Love Bites” manages to tell three separate but somewhat related stories, mostly short but sweet rom-coms that get to the point in less than 15 minutes each. With regular cast members and several recurring guest actors, the show created by Cindy Chupack (“Sex and the City”) introduces new characters and relationships weekly.
Becki Newton plays Annie, a pregnant chef, while Greg Grunberg and Constance Zimmer play loving spouses Judd and Colleen. Those three regular characters are sometimes the focus, although they sometimes just hover in the periphery. There are smart stories about relationships, and there are silly but endearing ones about miscommunication and incompatibility.
The better-presented ones waste no time in telling a clear and concise tale, concluding satisfyingly and with some sense of finality. The heavy but ultimately optimistic “Goodbye Boob” centers on a tattoo artist (Steve Talley) who’s attracted to an art gallery owner (Laura Prepon), unaware that she’s about to undergo a mastectomy. Another short, “Cutlets,” is more escapist and cute, about Annie’s blind date with a weirdo, and her “rescue” by a kind stranger (Matt Long).
The more comedic stories, nonetheless, offer interesting takes on different relationships. The show can go in unexpected directions; it amusingly elaborates on an interracial gay couple’s engagement announcement foibles in one story, and the “ninja vanish” tricks of a man who’s just into temporary intimacy in another.
Chupack called the short-lived show a “successful little miniseries” when it was cancelled. “Love Bites” did offer a small, shared world that’s connected by universally relatable relationships and their inherent complications. Each three-story episode isn’t always a perfect set, but the outstanding stories are easily memorable and often end with feel-good panache.
“Love Bites” airs Mondays, 12 a.m., and Tuesdays, 9 p.m. on 2nd Avenue.
Action heroine
“Talk Asia” catches up with action heroine Michelle Yeoh this week on CNN.
Best known for her role in the Oscar-winning “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon,” the actress opens up to Anna Coren on numerous issues including the controversy around her latest movie “The Lady,” where she portrays Burma’s (Myanmar’s) iconic democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, and why she has been banned from the country.
The interview airs Monday at 7:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m., Tuesday at 9:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. and Nov. 17 at 1:30 p.m.
Noodling catfish
Animal Planet presents “Hillbilly Handfishin,’” a 12-part series where city dwellers and suburbanites travel to rural Oklahoma for some old-fashioned hand-fishing—the sport of catching catfish with the bare hands and feet.
Self-proclaimed hillbillies Skipper Bivins and Trent Jackson, Oklahoma hand-fishermen, guide city slickers through the paces of noodling catfish without tackle or bait.
New episodes air Tuesdays at 10 p.m. starting November 15, with encores on Thursdays at 6 p.m., Fridays at 12 a.m. and Sundays at 3 p.m. and 10 p.m.
Reel adventure
In Nickelodeon’s “Dora, the Explorer: Enchanted Forest Adventures,” the episode “The Secret of Atlantis” features Cousin Diego finding the legendary lost continent of Atlantis and recruiting Dora, Boots and King Unicornio to help him end the ancient feud between dragons and unicorns. It premieres Monday night at 6:30, with encores Tuesday at 9 a.m. and on Nov. 18 at 12 noon.
In a full-hour finale, Dora and Boots go back to the Enchanted Forest to save it from the evil gnome. Dora is crowned the Forest princess in “Dora Saves King Unicornio,” which premieres on November 21 at 6:30 p.m., with encores on November 22 at 9 a.m. and November 25 at 12 noon.
“Supah Ninjas,” which tells the story of three unsuspecting kids drafted into the secret world of Ninjas, airs Mondays to Wednesdays starting Monday night at 8.
“Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness,” which features the adventures of panda dragon warrior, Po, and his comrades Tigress, Monkey, Viper, Crane and Mantis (a.k.a. The Furious Five) and Master Shifu airs on November 18 at 7 p.m.
