WEDNESDAY
JULY 11
2012

BIANCULLI’S BEST BETS

 

Encore, 8:00 p.m. ET

Okay, so I’m a sucker for Bond movies – even the “B” ones. (Just not the ones graded “C” and “D.”) This 1971 one, for example, returns Sean Connery to the franchise, after an embarrassingly ineffective one-film substitution by George Lazenby. Diamonds doesn’t sparkle, by any means, but it does show off Jill St. John to good effect as one of the Bond girls – and Lana Wood, Natalie’s sister (pictured), as another one.

 
  
 
 

TCM, 8:00 p.m. ET

Someday very soon, I’ll compile a list of the movies that ensnare me like a spider web whenever they’re televised, regardless of how many times I’ve seen them, and ask for yours. (But I want to get a whole column out of this, so hold your answers for the moment.) But suffice it to say that this 1973 movie is one of them. Robert Redford, who’s being honored tonight with a lineup of movies on TCM, is wonderful here. And Paul Newman, even though he’s in more of a supporting role, is even better. Then there’s Robert Shaw, as their mob-boss target. What a cast – and what a story.

 
  
 
 

DirecTV Audience Network, 9:00 p.m. ET

SEASON PREMIERE: It’s the last season for both this series and TNT’s The Closer, so enjoy these strong female leads while TV is giving them to you. And in the case of Damages, there’s not just one strong woman at the core, but two: Glenn Close as ruthless attorney Patty Hewes, and Rose Byrne as her protégé Ellen Parsons, who’s turned out to be just as tough, and just as hard to read. Tonight’s final-season opener introduces a typically complex new client: Ryan Phillippe as an Internet muckraker clearly modeled after Julian Assange. Villain or hero? It’s a question you could – and should – ask about Patty and Ellen as well.

 
  
 
 

Showtime, 10:00 p.m. ET

SEASON PREMIERE: Last year, The Franchise trained its cameras and microphones on the San Francisco Giants. This season, it’s the Miami Marlins, the team that’s both renamed and rebuilding – no Marlin was present at last night’s All-Star game. But Showtime promises even more behind-the-scenes access than with the Giants, starting with this expanded one-hour opener.

 
  
 
 

TCM, 10:15 p.m. ET

Another impressively effective Robert Redford performance and showcase, this 1984 movie is one of the two best baseball-as-fable movies ever made. (The other? Field of Dreams.) There’s a deep and wonderful cast here, but pay special attention to Glenn Close (pictured) as a woman who catches the eye of Redford’s late-blooming baseball rookie. If you flip from tonight’s Damages to this, you may get whiplash while absorbing the difference, and the range.

 
  
 
 
 
 
Read and add comments HERE for today's Best Bets!
 
 
 
 
Leave a Comment: (No HTML, 1000 chars max)
 
 Name (required)
 
 Email (required) (will not be published)
 
YYVVQ
Type in the verification word shown on the image.
 
 
 Page: 1 of 270  | Go to page: 
5382 Comments
 
 
??? ??? ???? ??? ???? ??? ?????. ??? ???? ??? ???? ?? ??? ???? ???? ?? ?? ?????.
Nov 12, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
I am very much pleased with the contents you have mentioned. I wanted to thank you for this great article.
Nov 12, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
I like your blog. Very interesting. Thank you for sharing it
Nov 12, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
I’ve been searching for some decent stuff on the subject and haven't had any luck up until this point, You just got a new biggest fan!.
Nov 12, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
Wow, cool post. I'd like to write like this too - taking time and real hard work to make a great article... but I put things off too much and never seem to get started. Thanks though.
Nov 12, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
I am definitely enjoying your website. You definitely have some great insight and great stories.
Nov 12, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
We are really grateful for your blog post. You will find a lot of approaches after visiting your post. I was exactly searching for. Thanks for such post and please keep it up. Great work.
Nov 12, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
Admiring the time and effort you put into your blog and detailed information you offer!..
Nov 12, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
Very useful information shared in this article, nicely written! I will be reading your articles and using the informative tips. Looking forward to read such knowledgeable articles.
Nov 12, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
"I really appreciate this post. I’ve been looking everywhere for this! Thank goodness I found it on Bing. You have made my day! Thank you again!

"
Nov 11, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
"It’s amazing to go to see this web page and reading the
views of all colleagues regarding this piece of writing,
while I am also keen of getting knowledge."
Nov 11, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
Manusia yang menyedihkan, mencari uang dengan menipu orang jujur. Persetan dengan sampah ini.
Nov 11, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
Perilaku penipuan murni. Bajingan-bajingan ini tidak punya moral dan tidak ragu-ragu menipu orang lain.
Nov 11, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
Para penipu kelas rendah melakukan apa yang paling mereka kuasai—berbohong, menipu, dan menghilang dengan uang orang lain.
Nov 11, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
Situs web ini benar-benar penipuan, jangan percayai mereka.
Nov 11, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
Pemerintah Indonesia tangkap situs web sialan itu
Nov 11, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
Hanya kebohongan dan taktik penipuan. Buang-buang waktu dan uang saja.
Nov 11, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
Sialan para penipu ini karena telah mencuri uang dan kepercayaan orang lain.
Nov 11, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
Para penipu ini adalah pembohong profesional. Siapa pun yang mempercayai mereka hanya ikut memperkuat penipuan mereka.
Nov 11, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
Bajingan keparat, akan kupukul pantatmu dengan sangat keras!
Nov 11, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
 
 Page: 1 of 270  | Go to page: 
 
 

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.