The It List: Diana, Smokey, Stevie celebrate 'Motown 60,' a new 'Star Wars' adventure begins, 'Star Trek: Discovery' Season 2 reaches its finale and the best in pop culture the week of April 15, 2019
The It List is Yahoo’s weekly look at the best in pop culture, including movies, music, TV, streaming, games, books, podcasts and more. Here are our picks for April 15 to 21, including the best deals we could find for each.
WATCH IT: Motown 60: A Grammy Celebration
Motown great Smokey Robinson and comedian Cedric the Entertainer host a night of performances from the iconic label’s legends Diana Ross, Stevie Wonder and more. They performed alongside current chart-topping artists such as John Legend, Tori Kelly and Meghan Trainor for the special, taped in February, to mark a big anniversary. Singing along is optional.
Motown 60: A Grammy Celebration airs at 8 p.m. on April 21 on CBS and CBS All Access.
READ IT: Master & Apprentice by Claudia Gray
Thanks to the biennial Celebration, it’s been a big week for Star Wars. From our first look at the final "saga" film The Rise of Skywalker, to our first glimpse at the live action Disney+ series The Mandalorian, fans have a lot to be excited about. That includes the new novel Master & Apprentice by Claudia Gray. Gray has already proven to be one of the finest modern-day Star Wars authors with previous works such as Bloodline and Lost Stars. Now she brings her talents to the “Prequel Era” with an adventure following Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn and his apprentice Obi-Wan Kenobi. Set before the events of The Phantom Menace, this book is perfect for those fans eager to explore a previously canonically unexplored era of Star Wars.
Master & Apprentice is available on Amazon and Barnes and Noble.
BUY IT: The Simpsons Funko Pops
It’s been eight years since Springfield’s first family were last immortalized in Funko form. Starting this week, a new wave of Simpsons Pops are on the way with the first appearances of sisters Maggie and Lisa, as well as fan favorites like Mr. Burns, Moe and Grampa. You can also collect Bart and Homer in costumed avenger form as Bartman and Radioactive Man, respectively. Eat those shorts!
The Simpsons Funko Pops retail for $10.99 each from Entertainment Earth.
WATCH IT: Star Trek: Discovery (Season 2 finale)
Time travel has played a major role in Discovery’s sophomore year, culminating in a season finale where Michael Burnham and her crewmates appear posted to venture into the undiscovered country that is the future. If that time jump ends up happening, it would set the stage nicely for the upcoming post-Next Generation Jean-Luc Picard series, one of several Trek shows that CBS All Access has in the works. On the other hand, remaining in the pre-Original Series timeline would potentially allow Enterprise captain, Christopher Pike, to return to Discovery’s bridge — an acknowledgement of just how much Anson Mount has made that role his own.
Star Trek: Discovery streams Thursdays at 8:30 p.m. on CBS All Access.
HEAR IT: Blockbuster podcast
Learn how the beautiful friendship between blockbuster kings Steven Spielberg and George Lucas began courtesy of this six-episode narrative podcast, which dramatizes the duo’s early years in the rough-and-tumble New Hollywood of the 1970s. The first installment outlines the origins of the script that would become Star Wars and Spielberg’s attempts to land the coveted job of directing Jaws… an experience that turned out to be both the best and worst of times. If you’ve watched the many, many making-of documentaries made about these two seminal movies — or read such tell-alls as Easy Riders, Raging Bulls — much of this material will likely be familiar to you, but it’s fun hearing it brought to life through the power of podcasting.
Subscribe to Blockbuster on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
WATCH IT: The Amazing Race (Season 31 premiere)
CBS’s globetrotting competition series races back onto TV for its 31st season with an all-star cast of reality show stalwarts in tow. Besides returning racers from previous seasons, this year’s 11 teams of two include veterans from Big Brother and Survivor. While the “reality showdown” idea isn’t the best hook The Amazing Race has come up with in its long history, the exotic locations and inventive challenges are really what fans keep coming back for anyway. That and host Phil Keoghan’s most excellent eyebrows.
The Amazing Race airs Wednesdays at 9 p.m. on CBS and CBS All Access. It can also be streamed on Hulu the day after airing.
BOOK IT: Veep hotel experience
Commemorate the final season of the presidential HBO comedy with a stay at a Veep-themed suite at Hamilton Hotel in downtown Washington, D.C., with actual props from the show. Guests will find a recreation of President Selina Meyer’s Oval Office, featuring Meyer’s presidential portrait, on the 12th floor. They can also spend the night in her brownstone, which includes Meyer’s framed degree from Smith College, her family photos, vice presidential china set and more. Visitors will leave with some fun memories as well as a copy of Meyer’s autobiography, A Woman First: First Woman.
Book the Veep hotel experience online or by calling 866-407-1764.
HEAR IT: The O’Jays, The Last Word
The legendary R&B group’s first album in 15 years will officially be their last. But the current lineup of Eddie Levert, Walter Williams and Eric Grant is going out on a high note, with tracks like “Enjoy Yourself,” written by Bruno Mars and Train’s Patrick Monahan, and the gospel-tinged anthem “I Got You.”
Download on iTunes; buy on CD/vinyl at Amazon.
WATCH IT: The Kid Who Would Be King
Is The King Who Would Be King the biggest critical surprise of the year so far? The Joe Cornish-directed family-friendly film, about a bullied preteen (Louis Asbourne Serkis, son of Andy Serkis) plunged into a medieval adventure after finding Excalibur, looked like the type of weightless film studios typically dispatch of in the doldrums of January. But reviewers loved it, praising it to the tune of a whopping 90 percent approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Unfortunately, the raves didn’t translate to the box office, with the film earning only a meek $16 million stateside, but that makes it the perfect type of sleeper to discover on Blu-ray and DVD, where it lands this week. Besides, the kids could use their own Game of Thrones.
Buy The Kid Who Would Be King on DVD, Blu-ray, 4K or Digital on Amazon.
HEAR IT: Anderson .Paak, Ventura
We’ll admit it now: Oxnard, the third album from ever-emergent soul man Anderson .Paak released in November, was disappointing. It wasn’t a bad album, it just didn’t come anywhere close to the unskippable stylings of 2016’s Malibu. Luckily for us, .Paak didn’t give us much time to ruminate on that, because he’s already released a fourth album, and it’s another bonafide gem. Featuring a dream team of guests that includes Andre 3000, Smokey Robinson, Brandy and the late Nate Dogg (the last Cali crooner to so effortlessly pivot between hip-hop and R&B), .Paak alternates smooth downtempo ballads with breezy dancefloor-friendly vibes that will be echoing through live shows and DJ sets all summer long.
Download on iTunes; buy on CD at Amazon.
WATCH: The Karate Kid
Wanna feel old, as they say? The Karate Kid turns 35 this year. We know this because this week they’re releasing a 35th anniversary of the film on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray and Digital. And it’s perfect timing (OK, maybe just corporate synergy), with the YouTube Premium spinoff Cobra Kai debuting Season 2 next week. And with the shiny new 4K/Blu-ray release, we can return to a much simpler time, when Daniel LaRusso was our clear-cut hero and Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka) was the A-grade douchebag. These days, who even knows?
Buy The Karate Kid: 35th Anniversary on 4K Ultra HD/Blu-ray on Amazon.
HEAR IT: Cage the Elephant, Social Cues
Kentucky’s finest rock rabblerousers return with their rawest and realest release yet (it was recorded while frontman Matt Shultz was going through a divorce). Along with the confessional lead single “Ready to Let Go,” the album features a dubby, Gorillaz/Specials-reminiscent collaboration with Beck, “Night Running,” which previews Beck and CTE’s same-named upcoming joint tour.
Download on iTunes; buy on CD at Amazon.
BUY IT: Nerf Fortnite Blasters and Super Soakers
Don’t you dare bust a Fortnite move without one of these Nerf-made cannons in your hand. The super-sized SP-L and AR-L allow you to fire multiple shots from long-range distances, while the pocket-sized Mircroshots are perfect when you have to get up close and sneaky. If you’re looking to cool off as the warm weather approaches, the HC-E, TS-R and RL Super Soaker models promise maximum drench-age.
Nerf Fortnite Blasters and Super Soakers retail from $9.99 to $49.99 and are available at Amazon and Walmart.
WATCH IT: Bosch (Season 5 premiere)
Detective Harry Bosch (Titus Welliver) is on a new case in a different part of Los Angeles. This season, Bosch tries to solve a murder committed at a pharmacy in Hollywood that lead him to work undercover while tangling with an opioid ring. As for Bosch’s personal life, a trailer showed his daughter Maddie doing some investigating of her own.
The new season of Bosch debuts April 19 on Amazon Prime Video.
HEAR IT: Bananarama, In Stereo
Following their successful reunion tour last year, the British girl group is back with their first album in more than a decade. While the album doesn’t include band co-founder Siobhan Fahey, original members Sara Dallin and Keren Woodward bring the Hi-NRG dance-pop fun on this outing produced by Richard X (Kelis, M.I.A., Goldfrapp).
Download on iTunes; buy on CD/vinyl at Amazon.
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