WEDNESDAY

APRIL 16

2014

BIANCULLI’S BEST BETS

More Max, 6:30 p.m. ET

It used to be that a cinematic sequel, even of a very good movie, was bound to be a major disappointment. But that was before Francis Ford Coppola’s 1974 continuation of his movie The Godfather, which melded past (Robert De Niro) and present (Al Pacino) into an epic gangster film and character study.

FORREST GUMP

AMC, 7:00 p.m. ET

When director Robert Zameckis released this movie in 1994, its special effects, inserting Tom Hanks’ Forrest into vintage news footage, were state of the art. Now the sight of the fictional Forrest sharing the same film frame as the real LBJ no longer stuns. But when the state of the art is much different 20 years later, what we’re left with is the art itself – and Forrest Gump has plenty of that. Co-stars include Robin Wright, Gary Sinise and Sally Field.

THE REMAINS OF THE DAY

TCM, 8:00 p.m. ET

Here’s a 21-year-old movie that’s worth watching again: a period piece, set in Britain after WWII, that examines the increasingly complicated, and intimate, relationship between a proper British butler and a free-spirit housekeeper. If it helps, consider it a sort of Downton Abbey: The Next Generation. And it stars Anthony Hopkins and Emma Thompson, who are still acting up storms.

SIX BY SONDHEIM

HBO Family, 9:00 p.m. ET

I enjoyed this documentary so much, I figured I’d point out its appearance tonight on this subsidiary HBO channel. Broadway’s all-time best composer and lyricist (there, I said it) is profiled, using only his own words (in interviews both new and vintage) and a handful of his songs, showcased in very smart and revealing context (and, again, of both new and vintage variety).

THE AMERICANS

FX, 10:00 p.m. ET

Last week, Nina (Annet Mahendru) passed the polygraph administered at the request of her FBI handler and lover Stan (Noah Emmerich) – which makes her the perfect triple agent for KGB operative Oleg (Costa Ronin) to use against him.

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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

More Max, 6:30 p.m. ET

AMC, 7:00 p.m. ET

TCM, 8:00 p.m. ET

HBO Family, 9:00 p.m. ET

FX, 10:00 p.m. ET

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