Bob Newhart makes yet another appearance tonight as former children’s TV host Professor Proton. Given the plot, it may well be his last – but maybe not, since not even what looks like a final departure can keep the Professor from participating, albeit reluctantly, in Sheldon’s “Star Wars Day” celebration.
Jennifer Lawrence won the Best Actress Oscar for her role as troubled free spirit Tiffany in this 2012 David O. Russell movie, which stars Bradley Cooper as a bipolar Philadelphia man pining for his ex-wife. It’s an outstanding movie, full of smart and sensitive performances – and Lawrence, in the range she shows here, earned all the accolades she’s gotten since.
Last week’s episode broke up this sleuthing dynamic duo, as Watson (Lucy Liu) was kidnapped. Tonight, Sherlock (Jonny Lee Miller) and his visiting brother Mycroft (Rhys Ifans) team up to retrieve her – while the real Liu spends a lot of time behind the camera, as this episode’s director.
SEASON FINALE: For this Season 4 finale, most of the familiar Portlandia faces, including recurring guest stars Jason Sudeikis and k.d. lang, hit the road and head out of town – to attend a feminist retreat held in neighboring New Beavertown.
SEASON PREMIERE PREVIEW: I know, that’s weird. But so is Marc Maron. Tonight, a week before launching Season 2 of his very personalized comedy series, he and IFC present a sneak preview. And, really, why not?
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.