WEDNESDAY
JANUARY 15
2014

BIANCULLI’S BEST BETS

 

Fox, 8:00 p.m. ET

SEASON PREMIERE: Superstitious types may worry that Season 13 of this long-running Fox competition reality series comes burdened with an ill omen, numerically speaking. But what it’s unburdened by is the caustic bickering, and bitching, by last year’s mismatched female judges, Nicki Minaj and  Mariah Carey. They’re gone, as is now-retired original judge Randy Jackson. But Season 13 has two experienced judges in the saddle – not only returning, amiable Keith Urban, but former Idol sweetheart Jennifer Lopez. And with the (back to a pared-down) trio of judges rounded out by likable Harry Connick, Jr., this year promises, or threatens, to be the most positive Idol ever. Whether that makes it more entertaining, or will stop the show’s precipitous ratings slide (last year’s finale drew a third fewer viewers than the year before), only time will tell. And that time will arrive when the show goes live, and the judges’ collective chemistry is televised unedited and unfiltered. For now, the show is firmly in “Best Behavior” mode, hoping to persuade viewers their stars are one big happy family. Think of it as a prime-time version of the Today show.

 
  
 
 

ABC, 9:00 p.m. ET

Tonight’s new episode is full of guest stars, including Jesse Eisenberg as Mitchell’s new neighbor, and Jane Krakowski as a rival mom who faces Gloria (Sofia Vergara) in a game of… dodgeball?

 
  
 
 

PBS, 9:00 p.m. ET

What eventually was called World War I was full of stories of flying aces and aerial dogfights, but that war over Europe introduced another type of flying warfare as well: the zeppelin, floating passenger craft commissioned by the German army and navy for use during the war. Most of the flights were for reconnaissance, but there were bombing missions as well, over England, with the sight of the giant dirigibles often striking as much fear into the locals as the bombs themselves. Check local listings.

 
  
 
 

FX, 10:00 p.m. ET

The witches under the care of Fiona (Jessica Lange) have a common enemy, but can’t seem to get along with one another, either. Last week, one witch was entombed alive, while another was drowned in a bathtub – and both of these were what could be classified as “witch-on-witch crimes.” But just because those witches are dead and/or buried, that doesn’t mean we won’t be seeing them again. On this series, quite the contrary. Take Kathy Bates as Delphine, for example. Tonight, she’s baaaaa-ack…

 
  
 
 

TCM, 10:15 p.m. ET

This 1973 movie, starring Timothy Bottoms as a first-year law student who fights through the classes of crusty Professor Kingsfield (John Houseman), is the movie I showed my daughter, Kristin, the weekend before she went away to attend law school. It scared her to death, she said later, but also prepared her for how seriously to take law school from the start. And she’s been a lawyer for years now so it worked. “Here’s a dime, Mr. Hart…”

 
  
 
 
 
 
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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.