SATURDAY
MARCH 1
2014

BIANCULLI’S BEST BETS

 

IFC, 7:45 p.m. ET

Mickey Rourke, Marisa Tomei and Evan Rachel Wood star in this 2008 movie from director Darren Aronofsky, who handed Rourke a career-reviving role as a washed-up pro wrestler trying to find his place, and some happiness, outside the ring.

 
  
 
 

ABC Family, 8:15 p.m. ET

This 1989 animated feature continued the Disney resurgence in modern-day full-length cartoon movies, especially movies with music. Jodi Benson provides the voice of Ariel.

 
  
 
 

TCM, 10:00 p.m. ET

Mike Nichols directed this 1967 movie, and did so with the audacity, freshness and confidence of a young cinema visionary – which is exactly what he was. Casting Dustin Hoffman, Anne Bancroft and  Katharine Ross was only part of his genius in this movie. Using the music of Simon & Garfunkel was another. And having Paul Simon score parts of the film with his guitar – that was definitely another. Watch for the scenes when Hoffman, as Benjamin, asks a gas-station attendant for directions when he’s frantically trying to make it to the church on time…

 
  
 
 

BBC America, 10:15 p.m. ET

On this week’s show, Norton’s guests include Dominic Cooper, who just starred as Ian Fleming in BBC America’s Fleming miniseries, singer Lily Allen, and Miriam Margoyles, a veteran British actress whose recent credits include playing Professor Pomona Sprout in one of the Harry Potter movies.

 
  
 
 

NBC, 11:29 p.m. ET

Tonight’s guest host is Jim Parsons, and the musical guest is Beck. The most notable new participant in the long run, though, will be Colin Jost. He’s been with Saturday Night Live for years, serving most recently as the head writer – but starting tonight, he moves to the on-camera side of the TV lens, as Cicely Strong’s new co-host on “Weekend Update.” He may not always be credited as such, but Jost really is the final domino to fall in NBC’s current late-night shuffle: Jimmy Fallon moves from Late Night to Tonight to replace Jay Leno, Seth Meyers moves from SNL to Late Night to replace Jimmy Fallon, and, starting tonight, Colin Jost moves to “Weekend Update” to replace Seth Meyers. Other SNL head writers who have gone on to host “Update”? Well, just for starters, there’s Seth Meyers… and Tina Fey.

 
  
 
 
 
 
Read and add comments HERE for today's Best Bets!
 
 
 
 
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3701 Comments
 
 
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Mar 29, 2026   |  Reply
 
Dave Bianculli
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Mar 21, 2026   |  Reply
 
Dave Bianculli
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Mar 22, 2026
 
 
 
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Mar 21, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
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Mar 21, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
 
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David Bianculli

Founder / Editor

David Bianculli has been a TV critic since 1975, including a 14-year stint at the New York Daily News, and sees no reason to stop now. Currently, he's TV critic for NPR's Fresh Air with Terry Gross, and is an occasional substitute host for that show. He's also an author and teaches TV and film history at New Jersey's Rowan University. His 2009 Dangerously Funny: The Uncensored Story of 'The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour', has been purchased for film rights. His latest, The Platinum Age of Television: From I Love Lucy to the Walking Dead, How TV Became Terrific, is an effusive guidebook that plots the path from the 1950s’ Golden Age to today’s era of quality TV.