TCM, 8:00 p.m. ET
This is one of the best, and most inventive, prime-time double features I’ve ever seen on TV, on TCM or anywhere else. It’s a John Wayne twin bill, but though the films are shown back to back, they were produced 30 years apart. First is John Ford’s 1939 classic Western, Stagecoach, which basically defined the genre. Then, at 9:45 p.m. ET, comes 1969’s True Grit, with Wayne still atop the saddle – and giving one of the best performances of his life. What a joy to see them in immediate proximity, and revel in this daily double of Duke.
CBS, 8:30 p.m. ET
This week’s episode is keyed to Friday’s celebration of Valentine’s Day. Bob and Abishola are approaching their first such romantic holiday since she cared for him at the hospital – and how will they get together for this one, if they will at all?
HBO, 10:00 p.m. ET
Last week’s episode ended by dropping the name of a major person of interest – a new big lead in the fraud case that drained many millions from the McDonald’s Monopoly lottery contest. I’m not fully won over by the storytelling here, but the story being told is a wild one. Apparently, the firm organizing and overseeing the McDonald’s contest had its own in-house McBurglar…