TV Tip

Extended Family

8:30 p.m. Tuesdays, NBC

Jon Cryer and Donald Faison are a sitcom dream team. They starred on two long-running hits — Cryer on “Two and a Half Men” and Faison on “Scrubs” — and they bring their finely tuned abilities to this new show. Cryer plays Jim, who was formerly married to Julia, portrayed by Abigail Spencer. They had possibly the world’s happiest divorce. She went on to wed Faison’s character, owner of the Boston Celtics, and now Jim and Julia’s two young children are residing at the family house while their parents take turns living with them. The show, created by Mike O’Malley, is based on the real story of Celtics owner Wyc Grousbeck and his ex. The first two episodes exhibit plenty of promise, although I wish a stronger comedienne were cast as Julia. The show is at its beast when Cryer and Faison are trading quips; they’re experts at it, and they have great co-star chemistry. Added bonus: gravel-voiced, Bostonian Lenny Clarke is in the mix as Jim’s crusty father.

– Kristina Dorsey

BOOK TIP

My Effin’ Life

Geddy Lee

The hugely successful Canadian hard rock/prog band Rush is one of the most polarizing acts in music history. That alone should provide a fascinating insider’s backstory. But “My Effin’ Life,” by Geddy Lee, the band’s vocalist/bassist, is so much more than a pulpit from which the author could blather about the triumph of the trio (with guitarist Alex Lifeson and drummer Neil Peart). Instead, with self-effacing humor as well as justifiable pride, Lee has penned a fascinating, thoughtful, hyper-intelligent and absorbing story that goes well beyond the typical backstage exposes of drugs and sex. Bookended by moving sections about a) his parents’ survival of Nazi prison camps and b) the tragedy of Peart’s death from brain cancer, the book is a comprehensive and always entertaining account of friendship, the ever-changing and always perplexing music business and how his marriage endured from teen-sweetheart status through Rush’s rise to fame in a “we did it our way” fashion.

— Rick Koster

MOVIE TIP

Poor Things

I think there is less to “Poor Things” than reviewers suggest. What it does have a lot of, though, is style. Director Yorgos Lanthimos hasn’t met a fisheye lens that he doesn’t love. And, oh, the crazy steampunk sets and costumes! “Poor Things” is sort of a feminist counterpoint to “Frankenstein.” Willem Dafoe’s mad scientist character saves the body of a pregnant and suicidal woman, and he implants the baby’s brain into the woman’s head. The woman, played with Oscar-attention-grabbing commitment by Emma Stone, proceeds to learn about the world and sexuality (the movie earns its R rating) and men/women and haves/have-nots. She is accompanied by Mark Ruffalo, enjoying himself immensely as a louche lawyer. It’s all very stylized and strenuously weird. Lanthimos’ films “The Favourite” and “The Lobster” are much more effective, but “Poor Things” is never boring.

– Kristina Dorsey