FRIDAY
MARCH 15
2013

BIANCULLI’S BEST BETS

 

Disney Channel, 8:00 p.m. ET

SPECIAL: Talk about timing. There’s a new movie opening today called Spring Breakers, which follows the somewhat steamy escapades of a gaggle of thrill-seeking young women, two of whom are played by actresses who became famous playing much more wholesome roles on the Disney Channel. One is Vanessa Hudgens, star of the hugely popular High School Musical Disney telemovies. The other is Selena Gomez, who starred as teen sorceress Alex Russo in Disney’s The Wizards of Waverly Place sitcom, which ended last year. But here, on the same night Spring Breakers premieres in theaters, Disney presents the TV premiere of a one-hour Wizards reunion special. Fittingly, given her pushing-the-boundaries big-screen role, Gomez plays two roles in this new special: Her regular role of Alex, and an “evil” Alex, who employs black magic, with a leather outfit to match. As a guy who always preferred Serena to Samantha on Bewitched, and Jeannie II to Jeannie on I Dream of Jeannie, I know which “Team Alex” I’ll be on.
 
  
 
 

PBS, 9:00 p.m. ET

Sometimes, reruns are the best things a TV schedule can offer. That’s certainly true of this 2006 biography, which does a great job saluting, explaining and presenting one of folk music’s most noble, iconic and impressive talents. Check local listings.
 
  
 
 

Showtime, 9:00 p.m. ET

R.J. Cutler, the documentarian behind The War Room, returns to politics for this new nonfiction study – but this one is more of a portrait, with former Vice President Dick Cheney telling his side of every story. It’s not fair and balanced, as documentaries go, but it’s not intended to be. It’s more of a P.O.V.-style study, and, as such, certainly is eye-opening. No matter what your politics, you’ll find something surprising in this two-hour special, especially during the early years, when Cheney manages to be around, yet not burned by, both Watergate and Iran-Contra. For a full review, see Uncle Barky's Bytes.
 
  
 
 

Cinemax, 10:00 p.m. ET

SEASON FINALE: Most of the episodes in this inaugural season have ended with some sort of cliffhanger, so I can’t even imagine what sort of cliffs, and hangers, will be used to wrap up the season tonight. If you're a Banshee fan, you'll want to read Eric Gould's The Cold Light Reader, which talks about the season finale and the show in general.
 
  
 
 

HBO, 10:00 p.m. ET

TV Chef Tom Collichio is tonight’s midshow guest, which makes him the live TV equivalent of an amuse bouche. And the main course? For my money, that’s an easy call: returning guest Rachel Maddow.
 
  
 
 
 
 
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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.