Part 2. “Location, Location, Location” is the title of this week’s episode, which examines not only why animals build or occupy the homes they do, from bear caves to bird nests, but also the reasons behind where they exist. Check local listings.
Tonight’s Nova takes a chicken-and-egg approach to the major mathematical theorems of the universe. Which came first, the principles of math or the fabrics of the universe? Why do so many elements in nature feature designs based on identical mathematical properties and proportions? It’s certainly a question worth pondering. And about that chicken egg, anyway… Check local listings.
We’ve arrived at that point – another penultimate episode for another season of another excellent TV drama. This time it’s The Americans – and this time, it features the return of a long-missing, long-missed character: Margo Martindale as Soviet handler Claudia.
Alex Anfanger and Lenny Jacobson have their filmmaking dreams back on track, even if it is a very bumpy railroad. And tonight, the scheme they employ to help them advance their dreams is a risky visit to Cuba. That is, to Cuba Gooding Jr., playing a very antic version of himself.
Anthony Quinn is being saluted all night, and every Wednesday this month, on TCM – but you have to wait until after midnight to see him as a co-star in David Lean’s magnificent 1962 biographical epic, Lawrence of Arabia. Peter O’Toole stars.
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.