TUESDAY
MAY 14
2019

BIANCULLI’S BEST BETS

 

Netflix, 3:00 a.m. ET

SPECIAL PREMIERE: Original Roman & Martin’s Laugh-In cast members Lily Tomlin, Ruth Buzzi and Jo Anne Worley appear in this new celebratory special, honoring the fast-paced comedy sketch series that was among TV’s most popular shows of the early 1970s. Historically, Laugh-In borrowed from the rapid-fire joke style and sight-gag setups of Ernie Kovacs’ brilliant specials of the 1950s, and the prime-time topical comedy of The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour. But by firing at all targets simultaneously across the political and social spectrum, it offended, and pleased, everyone pretty much equally. This special is a bit late – the actual 50th anniversary of the Laugh-In series was in 2017 – and, built around a live salute held at a Los Angeles theater, with lots of younger performers paying homage to Laugh-In alongside the few participating veterans, it’s not written or performed sharply enough. It’s nice Netflix is paying attention to older TV shows. I just wish, in this case, they’d done a better job, in terms of both the history and the comedy.

 
  
 
 

HBO, 8:00 p.m. ET

DOCUMENTARY PREMIERE: Director Antoine Fuqua and writer Steven Leckart have crafted this two-part documentary biography of the former Cassius Clay. It’s a powerful study, and both parts are shown tonight, so settle in and watch with intrigue, to get more proof about how early, and how consistently, the man calling himself “the Greatest” was battling more than rival boxers in his pursuit of freedom, justice, equality and celebrity. What’s My Name? is better than most Ali documentaries at putting us in his frame of mind, and in the ring with him, to understand what was at stake in his many major bouts. But also, by showing footage from his days with Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, Jr., this documentary shows us how willing he was, from the start, to fight fiercely for his beliefs outside the ring as well. Stay for the end, and you get the two best clips from Ali’s final years: His interview with Ed Bradley on 60 Minutes, and his triumphant lighting of the Olympic torch in 1996. It’s worth noting that the producers of What’s My Name? include LeBron James, who, with this documentary and his talk series The Shop, has done a champion’s job of presenting TV shows for HBO that reveal the histories and intricacies of sports and race. For a full review, see Ed Bark's Uncle Barky's Bytes.

 
  
 
 

NBC, 9:00 p.m. ET

Last night, for the first time, The Voice was granted access to the songs of The Beatles, and presented duet showcases in which its semifinalists teamed for such songs as “Yesterday” and “Hey Jude.” Tonight, the results of that battle – but I can reveal my results early. The Voice didn’t do the legacy of The Beatles any favors. The show should have let it be.

 
  
 
 

FX, 10:00 p.m. ET

This sixth episode of Fosse/Verdon is called “All I Care About Is Love,” taking its title from a song from the Broadway musical Chicago. That musical, in which Bob Fosse fashioned a later-career showcase for Gwen Verdon, is the subject of tonight’s episode – and so is the physical stress Fosse put himself under at the time. The movie All That Jazz, directed by Fosse himself, covered this ground already. This time, though, it’s done without changing the names.

 
  
 
 

Sundance, 10:00 p.m. ET

Part 7. With nothing more than dialogue, and an occasional dash down the street or impulsive shove, Chris O’Dowd and Rosamund Pike have made their characters here come fully to life. They play a married couple, at this point living apart and seeing a therapist, trying to decide whether to heal or put an end to their marital relationship. This 10-part series is written by Nick Hornby and directed by Stephen Frears, who collaborated on the wonderful movie version of High Fidelity. And by now, I’m desperately rooting for the characters to work it out, because their conversations are more charming and witty than just about anything else on TV. In fact, I want a sequel series, please.

 
  
 
 
 
 
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)
 
XAACD
Type in the verification word shown on the image.
 
 
 Page: 1 of 208  | Go to page: 
4156 Comments
 
 
You have a good point here! I totally agree with what you have said !! Thanks for sharing your views ... hope more people will read this article
Jul 9, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
Great write-up, I am a big believer in commenting on blogs to inform the blog writers know that they've added something worthwhile to the world wide web!
Jul 9, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
???
You have a good point here! I totally agree with what you have said !! Thanks for sharing your views ... hope more people will read this article
Jul 9, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
I recently came across your blog and have been reading along. I thought I would leave my first comment. I don't know what to say except that I have enjoyed reading. Nice blog, I will keep visiting this blog very often
Jul 9, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
I recently came across your blog and have been reading along. I thought I would leave my first comment. I don't know what to say except that I have enjoyed reading. Nice blog, I will keep visiting this blog very often
Jul 9, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
Such a very useful article. Very interesting to read this article. I would like to thank you for the efforts you had made for writing this awesome article.
Jul 9, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
I got too much interesting stuff on your blog. I guess I am not the only one having all the enjoyment here! Keep up the good work
Jul 8, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
Wow! Such an amazing and helpful post this is. I really really love it. It's so good and so awesome. I am just amazed. I hope that you continue to do your work like this in the future also
Jul 8, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
Efficiently written information. It will be profitable to anybody who utilizes it, counting me. Keep up the good work. For certain I will review out more posts day in and day out
Jul 7, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
"Very interesting blog. Alot of blogs I see these days don't really provide anything that I'm interested in, but I'm most definately interested in this one. Just thought that I would post and let you know.
"
Jul 7, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
Thank you for such a well written article. It’s full of insightful information and entertaining descriptions. Your point of view is the best
Jul 7, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
Hey, this day is too much good for me, since this time I am reading this enormous informative article here at my home. Thanks a lot for massive hard work
Jul 7, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
The appearance positively wonderful. All of these miniature info are fashioned utilizing massive amount historical past experience. I want it all significantly
Jul 7, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
This article gives the light in which we can observe the reality. This is very nice one and gives indepth information. Thanks for this nice article
Jul 7, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
Everything has its own value, but this is really precious information shared by Author
Jul 7, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
Very likely I’m going to bookmark your blog . You absolutely have wonderful stories. Cheers for sharing with us your blo
Jul 7, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
Pretty good post. I have just stumbled upon your blog and enjoyed reading your blog posts very much. I am looking for new posts to get more precious info. Big thanks for the useful info.
Jul 7, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
don't forget, keep sharing useful infoSo grab a drink, roll the dice, and let’s get began! With an LLC, you will have to file paperwork with the Secretary of State (or different company) to type the organization.
Jul 7, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
Hey! Someone in my Facebook group shared this website with us so I came to give it a look. I’m definitely loving the information. I’m book-marking and will be tweeting this to my followers! Terrific blog and amazing design.| You reported this exceptionally well! fda kratom
Jul 7, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
Excellent analysis! Your perspective on this matter provides a lot of value to the community. I recently saved for future reference, and your points align perfectly with their updated guidelines. Thanks for putting this together.
Jul 6, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
 
 Page: 1 of 208  | 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.