SUNDAY
JULY 1
2012

BIANCULLI’S BEST BETS

 

PBS, 9:00 p.m. ET

The title character of the long-running PBS import Inspector Morse was dispatched to his final resting place a dozen years ago – but now comes a prequel, the pilot for a forthcoming new series. Replacing John Thaw as Endeavour Morse, and playing him as a younger man, is Shaun Evans. He doesn’t nail the younger incarnation as, say, Josh Brolin channels a younger Tommy Lee Jones in the newest Men in Black sequel, but doesn’t really try. By the way, this isn’t the first time TV decided to exhume a dead but popular character by presenting a prequel: That would be in 1955, when ABC’s Disneyland followed Davy Crockett at the Alamo (in which he died) with other adventures, set earlier in his life. The better to sell coonskin caps with, my dear… Check local listings.

 
  
 
 

HBO, 9:00 p.m. ET

This is the last of this season’s episodes that were provided for preview, and I’m already impatient to see what comes next. But I’ll tell you, without telling too much, that the way Eric and Bill are controlled in this episode is technologically and creatively ingenious – and makes ankle bracelets look like candy necklaces. And yes, hilariously, there’s an app for that.

 
  
 
 

HBO, 10:00 p.m. ET

This second episode of Aaron Sorkin’s new series institutes the fictional TV news show’s inaugural relaunch, with new rules, new ideals – and a lot of old-fashioned behind-the-scenes, and on-the-air, disasters. Jeff Daniels stars.

 
  
 
 

Showtime, 10:00 p.m. ET

SEASON PREMIERE: This is the eighth and final season for this Mary Louise Parker dark comedy, and it certainly opens on the darker side. Parker’s Nancy has assembled her extended and eccentric family to start yet another new life – this time in a communal residence back in suburbia, where the series began – when a laser dot appears on her forehead (pictured) just as she’s giving a toast to their new fortune.  That turns out to be a false alarm – a dot from a laser pen – but a real sniper indeed is in the bushes, gunning for someone. In this opener, you’ll find out the identities of the target, and, eventually, the person holding the gun. But not before a lot of wild hospital scenes in between…

 
  
 
 

Showtime, 10:30 p.m. ET

SEASON PREMIERE: This droll, deliciously wry comedy about Hollywood’s lures, dangers and excesses returns for a second season, picking up at the point where the show-within-a-show, Pucks! starring Matt LeBlanc, is about to premiere – but not to the best of reviews. For my full review – of Episodes, not Pucks! – see Bianculli’s Blog HERE.

 
  
 
 
 
 
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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.