SUNDAY
SEPTEMBER 10
2017

BIANCULLI’S BEST BETS

 

Fox, 8:00 p.m. ET

SERIES PREMIERE: This new Fox series is a split-personality conundrum. It’s created by, and stars, Seth MacFarlane, and is a sci-fi comedy modeled after the classic Star Trek universe of TV shows. Because MacFarlane also created Family Guy, the reasonable expectation would be for The Orville to be an all-out, perhaps even crude spoof – a less respectful Spaceballs, perhaps. But MacFarlane also was one of the executive producers of Fox’s very good reboot of Cosmos, as was one of his collaborators here, veteran genre writer-producer Brannon Braga, whose production credits include Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Voyager, and Star Trek: Enterprise. So while tonight’s premiere indeed has a few broad laughs, by the arrival of the third episode, The Orville plays like it wants to be – and should be – a straight sci-fi series in the old Star Trek mold. For one thing, The Orville looks better, special effects-wise, than any of the shows it’s spoofing. For another, the plots are so steeped in standard Star Trek lore (MacFarlane’s Captain Ed Mercer is even captured, at one point, for an alien zoo) that they’re kind of charming. The humor doesn’t work that well, but the universe created here is so complete, and so reverently realized, that I’m rooting for The Orville, in these first missions, to find the tone and balance it needs to survive. Standout co-stars include Adrianne Palicki as the captain’s ex-wife and First Officer, and Halston Sage as the Orville’s security officer. They get to play some strong scenes in the first few episodes – but for starters, The Orville is no Galaxy Quest. But it has some promise… For full reviews, see Ed Bark's Uncle Barky's Bytes and David Hinckley's All Along the Watchtower.
 
  
 
 

NBC, 8:20 p.m. ET

SEASON PREMIERE: TV’s most popular pro football showcase returns for a new official season, with the sort of big-city matchup that guarantees high ratings: the New York Giants vs. the Dallas Cowboys.

 
  
 
 

HBO, 9:00 p.m. ET

SERIES PREMIERE: The newest series from David Simon and company, once again, examines a specific place, time, and set of political and social circumstances, while following a generously large contingent of well-realized, seldom-presented characters. It’s the basic formula – big ideas, large issues, street-level people – utilized so brilliantly in The Wire and other Simon projects. For The Deuce, the setting is 1971 Times Square, and the “big picture” topic is how the encroachment of a new, more “acceptable” type of pornography made its way into the city and the culture. The story is smartly researched and very well written – Simon’s collaborators here include the powerhouse writers George Pelecanos and Richard Price – and you really do get to know this world, and its characters, very well, even before the times, and Times Square, begin to change. James Franco plays twins (it’s not a gimmick, and is based on twin brothers who ended up as key players in the transformation of the two-block 42nd Street stretch known as “the Deuce”), and the anchor of this series is Maggie Gyllenhaal, playing a streetwise hooker named Candy who’s very wise even when she’s not on the street. For my full review on NPR’s Fresh Air with Terry Gross, visit the Fresh Air website. And for other full reviews by TVWW contributors, see David Hinckley's All Along the Watchtower and Ed Bark's Uncle Barky's Bytes.
 
  
 
 

Sundance, 9:00 p.m. ET

SERIES RETURN: When Elisabeth Moss starred in Jane Campion’s Top of the Lake a few years ago, it was supposed to be a one-shot miniseries – but the star and director enjoyed working together so much, they came up with an excuse to do it again, even more darkly. Moss, as Australian Det. Robin Griffin, investigates the death of a young Asian prostitute – a case that continues to get more complex and personal as the episodes unfurl. Co-stars include Nicole Kidman, recently of HBO’s Big Little Lies, and Gwendoline Christie, one of the standout supporting players from HBO’s Game of Thrones. Christie, Kidman, and Moss (whose other triumphant TV roles include Mad Men and The Handmaid’s Tale) all seem to embrace the obvious here, that TV is providing the best roles these days for women. And for men, too… For full reviews, see David Hinckley's All Along the Watchtower and Ed Bark's Uncle Barky's Bytes.
 
  
 
 

Showtime, 9:00 p.m. ET

With The Deuce and Top of the Lake: China Girl competing for attention tonight, it’d be easy to forget about Ray Donovan. But don’t – this Showtime series is having one of its strongest seasons yet, playing with time and perspective shifts in a way that’s both gripping and haunting.

 
  
 
 

Showtime, 10:00 p.m. ET

And this long-neglected, little-respected Showtime comedy deserves more viewers and attention, too. Matt LeBlanc, playing a cold and loutish version of himself, has provided TV’s best self-satire since Larry David on Curb Your Enthusiasm. And tonight, the Matt of Episodes, after weathering a sexual scandal, has more clout in Hollywood than ever – and tonight, plans to use it to get his old writing team back together for one last TV series. To them, of course, that’s not an opportunity. It’s a threat.

 
  
 
 

HBO, 11:45 p.m. ET

How will John Oliver encapsulate this week? For once, politics isn’t the obvious lead story – instead, it’s another disaster, Hurricane Irma.

 
  
 
 
 
 
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2688 Comments
 
 
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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.