Sundance, 8:00 p.m. ET
This 1998 version of the Charles Dickens tale works best if you come to it with less than great expectations – but if so, there are two performances that make it quite worthwhile, and both of them are of the women who have the most effect upon Ethan Hawkes’ poor “Finnegan Bell.” Yes, the names are changed to protect the non-innocent (ain’t that a Pip?). The vengeful, man-hating reclusive Miss Havisham is now called “Ms. Dinsmoor,” and played by Anne Bancroft – while the other powerful female role, Estella, gets to keep her original name from the novel – and is played by Gwyneth Paltrow.
TCM, 8:00 p.m. ET
This isn’t one of the “spaghetti Western” entries of Clint Eastwood’s career – though it’s of the same vintage, and the same genre. Bruce Dern and Dennis Hopper have small roles in this 1968 movie, which is a more standard Western – though what makes it stand out most is a fairly unusual leading lady: Inger Stevens, the Swedish-born actress who was one of my deep TV crushes in the 1960s. Sigh.
NBC, 10:00 p.m. ET
Looking for tension and drama wherever it can find it, Smash has gone from settling last season's question of which actress will star in the Marilyn Monroe musical bound for Broadway to asking other questions. Will the show get to Broadway at all? And if it does, who will produce it? Tonight, there’s yet another question added to the mix: Will the show’s leading lady, Karen (Katharine McPhee), keep the job, or abdicate because of a conflict with another career opportunity?
FX, 10:00 p.m. ET
This season’s plot has been all about the mystery of Drew Thompson, a mysterious figure long thought dead – but apparently very alive and well and living in Harlan County or thereabouts. Last week, we finally learned the real identity of Drew, the man sought so persistently by U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens (Timothy Olyphant) and Sheriff Shelby (Jim Beaver). Watching these two old Deadwood hands share some scenes together again has been a real treat – and clearly, as more characters learn about Drew’s true identity, there’s more fun ahead.
BBC America, 10:00 p.m. ET
On tonight’s new show, in search of one of the deadlier reptiles on the planet, host and adventurer Dominic Monaghan tells you five things you need to know about the Guatemalan beaded lizard. I’ll tell you one: The closest I want to get to one is on the other side of a high-def TV screen.