SUNDAY

APRIL 16

2017

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STAYIN' ALIVE: A GRAMMY SALUTE TO THE MUSIC OF THE BEE GEES

CBS, 8:00 p.m. ET

Taped in February, this star-studded salute to the music of the Bee Gees is attended by the last surviving group member, Barry Gibb, and its executive producer is long-time Grammy Awards showman Ken Ehrlich. That means this lineup will feature not just ratings-bait nostalgia, but inspired pairings of artists and material. Celine Dion sings “Immortality,” not a Bee Gees song at all, but a song the Gibb brothers wrote for her in 1997. Old, pre-disco Bee Gees compositions also are represented: the performers and performances on this CBS special include Keith Urban doing “To Love Somebody,” Ed Sheeran performing “Massachusetts,” the appropriately named Panic! at the Disco doing “Lonely Days,” and – listen to this – John Legend and Stevie Wonder teaming on “How Can You Mend a Broken Heart.” In other words, even disco haters will enjoy this special. And for those among you who love the mirror-globe falsetto stuff, that’s here too. And so is Barry, taking the lead for the big finale.

THE LEGEND OF IRON CHEF

Food Network, 8:00 p.m. ET

SPECIAL: This Food Network special is supposed to look back at “more than 12 years” of Iron Chef culinary battles, as well as set the stage for the show’s newest incarnation of kitchen duels. Alton Brown, who is taking over as the new Chairman of the games, hosts – and Iron Chef Gauntlet, which premieres immediately afterward at 9 p.m. ET, enlists among its professional adversaries two of the best Iron Chefs in the show’s long and entertaining history: Masaharu Morimoto and Bobby Flay. But Morimoto was one of the Iron Chefs on the original Iron Chef series, which dates all the way back to 1993 (Morimoto himself, pictured, joined that show in 1998). The “more than 12 years” refers to the Americanized version, Iron Chef America: The Series, on which Brown was commentator, and both Morimoto and Flay were Iron Chefs. That series began in 2005, but never was nearly as much fun as the original, imported Japanese cooking competition.

THE CIRCUS: INSIDE THE BIGGEST STORY ON EARTH

Showtime, 8:00 p.m. ET

This weekly recap political documentary series is no bomb – but tonight, it gets to discuss one. It’s another dynamic, explosive week of Washington headlines for The Circus to summarize, and explore behind the scenes – but what week, since this excellent Showtime series began last year, hasn’t been?

THE LEFTOVERS

HBO, 9:00 p.m. ET

SEASON PREMIERE: Carrie Coon, soon to be seen as one of the protagonists in the new incarnation of FX’s Fargo, returns here for Season 3 of The Leftovers, playing Nora, the girlfriend of Kevin (Justin Theroux) – who may just turn out to be the savior in this strange religious parable. The Sudden Departure, a mysterious event in which 140 million people in the world instantly and inexplicably disappeared, is now almost seven years hence, as this new season jumps forward four years in its narrative. The Guilty Remnant, the apparent villains in this piece, are still around, and more manipulative than ever.

GUERRILLA

Showtime, 9:00 p.m. ET

MINISERIES PREMIERE: This new six-part miniseries is a Showtime co-production with a British production company, and tells a story of activism and radicalism in 1971 London. Frieda Pinto stars as Jas, an Indian immigrant pulled into the riptide of terrorism – with the energy and conviction of such iconic Seventies militant activists as, say, Patty Hearst or Angela Davis. This miniseries comes from John Ridley, who’s also the creator of ABC’s American Crime. For a full review, see David Hinckley's All Along the Watchtower.

AMERICAN CRIME

ABC, 10:00 p.m. ET

Speaking of John Ridley and American Crime: promos for tonight’s episode promise something truly unsettling and memorable for a prime-time TV series. And since American Crime, this season as always, has been compelling on a weekly basis already (Felicity Huffman, this year, has been especially captivating), the promo’s promise is intriguing bait indeed.

FEUD: BETTE AND JOAN

FX, 10:00 p.m. ET

Last week, Jessica Lange’s Joan Crawford showed up at the Louisiana hotel that was the home base for her next film with Susan Sarandon’s Bette Davis, Hush…Hush, Sweet Charlotte, only to call the director’s hotel room and hear Bette’s laughing voice in the background. This week, more indignities follow… enough so that, as we know from history, Bette Davis remains as the star of Sweet Charlotte, while Crawford does not.

GIRLS

HBO, 10:03 p.m. ET

SERIES FINALE: When this series began in 2012, Lena Dunham’s Hannah, an aspiring writer, declared herself to her parents as “the voice of her generation,” then walked it back a bit to amend it as, maybe, “a voice of a generation.” Dunham and girls started as the latter, and has successfully become the former. Last week, it stuck its four primary women characters in a bathroom for what may or may not have been their last group argument. Tonight, Girls presents its finale – the TV event of the night.

VEEP

HBO, 10:30 p.m. ET

SEASON PREMIERE: How in the world will the writers of this political satire outdo and out-imagine what has happened in and around the Beltway lately in real life, as the show presents its Season 6 premiere? It’s not an enviable job, but I sure hope they succeed in making it funnier, as well as more laughable. Julia-Louis Dreyfus stars as Selina, who is now not only a former vice president, but a former president as well… For a full review, see Ed Bark's Uncle Barky's Bytes.

LAST WEEK TONIGHT WITH JOHN OLIVER

HBO, 11:06 p.m. ET

Good luck summarizing this week, John Oliver.

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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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