THURSDAY

JUNE 12

2014

BIANCULLI’S BEST BETS

2014 U.S. OPEN GOLF

ESPN, 9:00 a.m. ET

As the U.S. Open coverage begins today with opening-round play live on ESPN, much has been written about the Pinehurst golf course and its radical redesign, which basically removes the rough from the edges of the fairway and replaces them with natural vegetation. Not to be critical – but I’ve done that with my front and back lawn for decades now, and never gotten any attention from it. Except from my neighbors, who insist on using the term “unsightly weeds” instead of “natural vegetation.”

2014 WORLD CUP

ESPN, 3:30 p.m. ET

Soccer, as we know it here in the U.S., and football, as it’s known everywhere else, begins its world-stage competition today, as host country Brazil battles Croatia, a team it’s widely expected to beat handily, in the opening game of the 2014 World Cup. For a preview, see Monique Nazareth’s MNtv.

NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN

IFC, 7:15 p.m. ET

This 2007 Coen Brothers movie, like their earlier Fargo, is a masterful mood piece of murder, mayhem and deliciously strange characters – and, like Fargo, could well inspire a spinoff series based on its overall mood alone. Josh Brolin and Tommy Lee Jones star, and Javier Bardem became a star.

NBA FINALS

ABC, 9:00 p.m. ET

It’s Game 4. The Miami Heat, despite home-court advantage, were trounced in Game 3, giving the San Antonio Spurs a 2-1 advantage. The same thing happened last year, and the Heat prevailed to win the finals – but this is another year, and history, especially with championships, is difficult to repeat, much less three-peat.

THE SIXTIES: "THE ASSASSINATION OF PRESIDENT KENNEDY"

CNN, 9:00 p.m. ET

Part 3. This particular episode of The Sixties has been televised already – back in November, on the golden anniversary of the tragic, world-changing killing of John F. Kennedy. But it's worth watching again, and certainly worth it if you missed it the first time around. Even with such a well-documented subject, The Sixties does an excellent job telling it well, and sometimes in new ways, especially with its inventive use of local Dallas TV footage from the time. Like the entire series, it’s well worth watching.

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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.

New From TVWW

BIANCULLI’S BEST BETS

ESPN, 9:00 a.m. ET

ESPN, 3:30 p.m. ET

IFC, 7:15 p.m. ET

ABC, 9:00 p.m. ET

CNN, 9:00 p.m. ET

David Bianculli

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