BIG SHOT
Disney+
IT'S ironic that American actor John Stamos would be playing a legendary college basketball coach who's trying to resurrect his career by mentoring a girls high school team.
Back in the late '80s and early '90s Stamos was one of the biggest stars in TV when he played the cool uncle Jesse in the family-friendly sitcom Full House. While he's had many roles since, including stints on ER and Grandfathered, he's forever known for Full House.
New series Big Shot gives Stamos a chance to channel a very different character in coach Marvyn Korn, and mostly he succeeds. Korn is a championship-winning college basketball coach who is fired when he throws a chair at an umpire.
In a bid to resurrect his career and reputation he reluctantly accepts an opportunity to coach at a prestigious private girls high school in San Diego. There Korn's temperamental personality and workaholic practices bring him into conflict with players, parents and teachers.
But as Korn deals with the various girls' problems and those of his own daughter, the coach learns few life lessons of his own.
Big Shot is predictably feel good - this is a Disney+ original after all - but it's an entertaining exploration of middle-aged men attempting to deal with the complexities of modern teens.
It also might be the second coming of John Stamos.
DOLLY PARTON: A MUSICARES TRIBUTE
Netflix
THE old musical tribute show - especially when the honoured star is still alive and in the audience - can feel nauseating when the gushing praise is laid on thicker than a child spreading Nutella on toast.
Thankfully in the case of this 2019-filmed Musicares Tribute to the US queen of country, Dolly Parton, the stunning performances and her wicked sense of humour outweigh the awkward praise.
If you've ever listened to popular music over the past 50 years you'll certainly know many of Parton's hits. God daughter Miley Cyrus delivers Islands In The Stream, Katy Perry and Kasey Musgraves duet on Here You Come Again and burly Chris Stapleton gives 9 To 5 a roadhouse blues makeover.
Norah Jones is stunning on The Grass Is Blue and the then almost 80-year-old Mavis Staples powers through a gospel-tinged Not Enough.
It was difficult to tell if Parton enjoyed the renditions as her face barely moves due to years of plastic surgery, but her acceptance speech was golden.
"Watching them [the performers] is like watching porn," she said straight-faced. "You're not personally involved, but you still get off on it."
If you love Dolly, you'll get off on it, too.
THE NEVERS
Binge
STRAIGHT off the bat, The Nevers looks amazing. The elaborate Victorian London setting, the special effects and period costumes give the fantasy series a sleek aesthetic.
Sadly the convoluted storyline about a group of women who have been gifted supernatural powers in 1899 London fails to engage.
While it's refreshing to see women portrayed as the protagonists in a period drama, the plot's execution is probably too strange for mainstream audiences.