FRIDAY

DECEMBER 14

2012

BIANCULLI’S BEST BETS

AMC, 7:00 p.m. ET

AMC continues its multiple showings of classic Christmas movies, by scheduling this 1954 Bing Crosby film in prime time both tonight and tomorrow night. The film is loaded with Irving Berlin songs, including the already famous title tune – and also is loaded with top-notch musical stars, including not only Crosby, but Rosemary Clooney, Danny Kaye and Vera-Ellen.

RAGING BULL

NBC Sports Network, 8:00 p.m. ET

Joe Pesci stands toe to toe with Robert De Niro in this fabulous 1980 Martin Scorsese drama – not in the ring, but out of it, in this story of boxer Jake LaMotta and the people around him, on both sides of the ropes. What a brilliantly acted, stunningly photographed movie.

FRINGE

Fox, 9:00 p.m. ET

To jog his impaired memory about his ridiculously complex plan to defeat the Observers, Walter does something else ridiculous: He takes LSD as a memory tool. Yeah, because that worked so well for people in the Sixties. And it doesn’t help that, under the influence, Walter looks out in the distance and thinks he sees… Emerald City. As in Oz.

GREAT PERFORMANCES: "MAGICAL MYSTERY TOUR REVISITED"

PBS, 9:00 p.m. ET

Clear room on your DVRs. Here comes a double feature, both parts of which you’ll want to snag as part of your permanent video collections. First up is this one-hour documentary on the making, and the context, of Magical Mystery Tour, the 1967 Beatles TV special that was never shown nationally in the United States. Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr offer new insights, and the filmmakers are generous with outtakes and other materials that make sense of it all. For my full review, and an interview with the documentary’s producer, see Bianculli’s Blog. And for a review of this documentary and of the Magical Mystery Tour special, check out Friday’s Fresh Air with Terry Gross on NPR. Check local listings.

GREAT PERFORMANCES: "MAGICAL MYSTERY TOUR"

PBS, 10:00 p.m. ET

It’s restored, it’s vivid and, for Beatles fans, it’s Must-See TV: Magical Mystery Tour, the 1967 TV special filmed by and starring the Beatles, right on the heels of the Sgt. Pepper album. See John Lennon shovel spaghetti onto a woman’s plate in a restaurant – with an actual shovel. See George Harrison play the pavement – as a musical instrument – on “Blue Jay Way.” And again: For my full review, and an interview with the documentary’s producer, see Bianculli’s Blog. And for a review of this documentary and of the Magical Mystery Tour special, check out Friday’s Fresh Air with Terry Gross on NPR. Check local listings.

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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.

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BIANCULLI’S BEST BETS

AMC, 7:00 p.m. ET

NBC Sports Network, 8:00 p.m. ET

Fox, 9:00 p.m. ET

PBS, 9:00 p.m. ET

PBS, 10:00 p.m. ET

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