TUESDAY
MAY 12
2020

BIANCULLI’S BEST BETS

 

Netflix, 3:00 a.m. ET

SPECIAL: This sequel special to The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt picks up with former cult kidnap victim Kimmy (Ellie Kemper) about to marry the posh and proper Frederick (Daniel Radcliffe), when she embarks upon a path that reunites her with the imprisoned “reverend” who abducted and imprisoned her long ago – played, again, by Jon Hamm. The path that takes Kimmy there is especially twisted, however, because this special is very, very different. Like a previous Netflix stand-alone series special, the Black Mirror episode called Bandersnatch, this Kimmy vs. the Reverend special is interactive. You can’t watch it on your regular TV – but on a computer or mobile device allowing you to enter input and choose from among the various offered selections, you can, as they say, build your own adventure. The Black Mirror installment was mind-bendingly meta, and this Kimmy Schmidt continuation, written by 30 Rock partners Tina Fey, Robert Carlock and others, is the sitcom equivalent. At least my version was. Featured players in this episode include not only co-stars Tituss Burgess and Jane Krakowski, but Carol Kane, Jack McBrayer, Fred Armisen, Chris Parnell, and Lauren Adams. And now, for the interactive portion of this particular Bianculli’s Best Bet entry. Choose one: WATCH. DON’T WATCH.
 
  
 
 

ABC, 8:00 p.m. ET

In the late 1970s, ABC vaulted from third place to first (there was no Fox then, and DuMont was long gone, so there were only three commercial broadcast networks), and did so based on momentum from three major forces. One was the mega-success of miniseries such as Roots. Another was the instant success of the so-called “jiggle TV” of shows such as Charlie’s Angels. And third ingredient, saluted tonight by ABC, were the top-rated sitcoms produced by Garry Marshall – a lineup headed by Happy Days, Laverne & Shirley, and Mork & Mindy. Those sitcoms were either nostalgic or aggressively family-friendly, or both, and proved very, very popular for years. And Marshall, whenever he showed up on the Television Critics Association press tour to tout one of his series, always was reliably funnier than any of his comedies – but funnier than anyone else’s at the time, too. His press conferences, joking about the network and the casts and himself, were like standup comedy gold, only Marshall was sitting down. I’m hoping tonight’s salute to Marshall captures the man’s personal sense of humor, because it’s one of the many reasons so many of his cast and crew members adored him. And a lot of crusty TV critics, too – though, to be fair, I was significantly less crusty as a TV critic in the 1970s. For a full review, see David Hinckley's All Along the Watchtower. 
 
  
 
 

BBC America, 8:00 p.m. ET

Can you handle Aaron Sorkin’s breakout film vehicle? If you can, and you should, tune in and watch the way he wrote the screenplay adapting his stage play into this 1992 movie. Rob Reiner directed it, knowing full well Sorkin had given him a knockout courtroom climax pitting military attorney Tom Cruise against a fierce colonel played by Jack Nicholson. It’s a stunning scene, powerfully acted – and A Few Good Men makes room for so many good performances, every scene is littered with them. And for a movie that soon will be 30 years old, its cast is full of faces to watch: not only Nicholson, Cruise and Demi Moore, who were big stars at the time, but Kevin Bacon, Kiefer Sutherland, Kevin Pollak, James Marshall, Noah Wyle and Cuba Gooding Jr., who weren’t. But three years later, Gooding would reteam with Cruise, and shine even more brightly, as a pro football player asking Cruise’s sports agent to “Show me the money!” in Jerry Maguire.
 
  
 
 

TCM, 8:00 p.m. ET

William Gibson originally wrote The Miracle Worker, the character study of young Helen Keller and her influential teacher, Annie Sullivan, for a live Playhouse 90 TV production in 1957. Teresa Wright starred as Annie, and Patricia McCormack, with Arthur Penn directing. Five years later, this movie version was released – directed, once again, by Penn, with a screenplay by Gibson. But this time, the stars were Anne Bancroft as Annie and Patty Duke, both of whom are stunningly good. One year later, Duke would play “identical twin cousins” on the sitcom The Patty Duke Show. Five years later, Bancroft would play Mrs. Robinson in Mike Nichols’ classic film The Graduate.
 
  
 
 

National Comedy Center Anywhere, 8:00 p.m. ET

STREAMING EVENT: Maybe you feel you don’t need, and can’t deal with, one more streaming service or platform during this pandemic – but you do, and you should. The National Comedy Center, a museum and archival organization in Jamestown, NY, is an amazing place to visit, with more than 50 interactive exhibits, curated with an eye (and an ear) for both history and comedy. But now, starting with these hide-at-home times, it’s launched its own online program and platform, called National Comedy Center Anywhere. And tonight at 8 ET, it presents its first live streaming special under its new Laughing Matters umbrella. It’s called Carlin’s Legacy – and it makes sense to start there, not only because this is George Carlin’s birthday, but because Carlin basically is the linchpin of the impressive new museum. Also impressive: tonight’s scheduled guest list, which includes Judd Apatow, Richard Lewis, Lewis Black, Kathy Griffin, Tommy Chong, Jay Leno, Alan Zweibel, Norman Lear, Colin Quinn, Elayne Boosler, and Kelly Carlin, George’s daughter, whose donations to the museum of her father’s meticulous notebooks are the cornerstone of the entire place. Virtually, and in person. You can also watch it live tonight on the National Comedy Center Facebook page.
 
  
 
 
 
 
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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.