With so much mean-spirited talk of “childless cat ladies,” it’s easy to forget that some of the most cat-obsessed are, in fact, children. Now in its 10th glittering season, the Netflix kids’ series “Gabby’s Dollhouse” explores the frantic action in tiny, sparkly, pastel-rific dwellings designed by kids especially for their kitty friends.
HGTV shelter shows have nothing on the blueprints for “Gabby’s Dollhouse,” which feature seven feline-friendly rooms for cooking, music composing, play and exercise, crafting and scientific experiments. This being a very special cathouse, there’s plenty of space for leisure, lying around and sleeping, the gateway to dayglow dreams.
— This summer marks the 25th anniversary of the rebirth of the “Star Wars” franchise. The 1999 arrival of “The Phantom Menace” revived a story arc that had been idle since “The Return of the Jedi” hit theaters in 1983.
While hotly anticipated and exhaustively promoted, “Phantom” was met with fairly mixed reviews and less-than rapturous audiences. Some of that backlash was blamed on the introduction of Jar Jar Binks, a digitized character intended for comic relief. Some found him silly and others downright racist.
Despite Jar Jar, the film became the highest-grossing film of 1999; it and can be streamed on Disney+.
Jar Jar Binks is not the most hated George Lucas creation, not by a long shot. That status belongs to the title character of the 1986 live-action comic book adaptation “Howard the Duck.” After “Star Wars” and his association with “Indiana Jones,” Lucas was seen to have the Midas touch. “Howard” ended that illusion.
A tale of an alien anthropomorphic wild waterfowl, the film was too crude for children and too juvenile for adults. Its story and characterizations were wildly inconsistent, and the film received withering reviews and inspired audience hostility. Now streaming on Prime Video, “Howard” still maintains a Rotten Tomatoes score of 13%. Like all terrible movies, it has inspired a fervent, if tiny, cult following.
But even with his greatest failure, George Lucas was on to something. The 1986 film was the first theatrical adaptation of a Marvel comic book since the 1940s, when a handful of “Captain America” cartoons arrived in theaters. And it was a live-action adaptation, at that.
So, decades before Disney joined Marvel in corporate matrimony, Lucas, the father of “Star Wars,” was reawakening the box office force of the Marvel Universe.
— Set in the Spanish countryside, the “POV” (10 p.m., PBS) documentary “Fauna” explores strange connections between science and nature and the relationship between cutting-edge science and timeless ways.
The film follows an aging shepherd and his flock. Physically ill, the man worries about the passing of his way of life, a profession of herding animals that dates back to before the time of the Bible. The shepherd’s field sits beside a pharmaceutical research center, where scientists are working overtime to come up with a COVID vaccine, work that includes experimentation on local critters.
Blending the pastoral with technological wizardry, “Fauna” offers a surprising appreciation on the interconnected nature of humanity, culture and nature.
If your local PBS affiliate is not showing “POV” tonight, you can stream “Fauna” and most POV documentaries on demand on the PBS Video app.
TONIGHT’S OTHER HIGHLIGHTS
— A former dancer and an aerialist become a stylish team at a local arts festival in the 2024 bauble “Romance With a Twist” (7 p.m., Hallmark, TV-G).
— “Primetime in Paris: The Olympics” (8 p.m., NBC) presents coverage of track and field and gymnastics.
— Speed-dating on a sheep farm is only a helicopter ride away on “The Bachelorette” (8 p.m., ABC, TV-PG).
— “Antiques Roadshow” (8 p.m., PBS, r, TV-G, check local listings) visits Palm Springs.
— Torres faces up to a grim childhood on “NCIS” (9 p.m., CBS, r, TV-14).
— Chefs present dishes that changed their lives on “The Great American Recipe” (9 p.m., PBS, TV-PG, check local listings).
— Thrill-seekers rob a Navy credit union just for kicks on “NCIS: Hawai’i” (10 p.m., CBS, r, TV-14).
CULT CHOICE
An all-day TCM salute to Gordon McCrae includes the 1955 adaptation of “Oklahoma!” (8 p.m., TV-PG), one of the most beloved Rodgers & Hammerstein musicals, and “Carousel” (10:30 p.m., TV-G), featuring one of their strangest stories. Both co-star Shirley Jones.
SERIES NOTES
On two episodes of “The Neighborhood” (CBS, r, TV-PG): credit problems (8 p.m.); gentrification fears (8:30 p.m.) … “Name That Tune” (8 p.m., Fox, r, TV-PG) … Patton Oswalt hosts “The 1% Club” (9 p.m., Fox, r, TV-PG) … “Celebrity Family Feud” (10 p.m., ABC, r, TV-PG).
LATE NIGHT
“The Tonight Show” and “Late Night With Seth Meyers” are preempted for Olympic coverage … Taylor Tomlinson hosts “After Midnight” (12:35 a.m., CBS).
