THURSDAY
JANUARY 17
2013

BIANCULLI’S BEST BETS

 

Fox, 8:00 p.m. ET

SEASON PREMIERE: Part 2 of 2. The second half of premiere week arrives tonight, with the focus on the worst, more than the best, auditioning talents. This season, that may end up applying to the new judges as well – but in these early rounds, which are taped and heavily edited, don’t expect to see anything that the Idol producers don’t want to be shown.
 
  
 
 

NBC, 8:00 p.m. ET

When the cats are away, the mice will play… on live television. In this case, the cats are Jack (Alec Baldwin) and Liz (Tina Fey), who take a trip to Florida to settle the estate of Jack’s mom. And the mice are Jenna and Tracy (Jane Krakowski, Tracy Morgan), who get to run their show without any pesky producer or network executive around to tell them no.
 
  
 
 

OWN, 9:00 p.m. ET

Without a doubt, this is Oprah Winfrey’s most newsworthy, attention-getting interview since she launched her own cable network. Tonight, boiled down from a lengthy interview she taped earlier this week, Winfrey interviews Lance Armstrong. What he’ll say here – how much he’ll admit, and take responsibility for, regarding his doping while bicycle racing as a professional – isn’t yet known. Nor is viewer reaction, which may or may not elicit the sort of sympathetic response Armstrong presumably is seeking.
 
  
 
 

FX, 10:00 p.m. ET

SEASON PREMIERE: Tonight’s episode begins with a knowing wink: Secret agent Archer, whose voice is provided by H. Jon Benjamin, is seen living a different life as Bob, the owner of Bob’s Burgers. Bob’s Burgers, of course, is another prime-time animated sitcom – and another one in which the title character is voiced by Benjamin. So it all makes sense – until it gets very bloody, at least for a cartoon. Welcome back, Archer. For a full review, see Eric Gould’s The Cold Light Reader.
 
  
 
 

FX, 10:30 p.m. ET

SERIES PREMIERE: FX’s newest comedy series stars, and is co-created by, Australian standup comic Jim Jefferies, whose character here voices some outrageous, intentionally provocative viewpoints – yet, at times, allows some warm sensitivity to shine through. For a full review, see Eric Gould’s The Cold Light Reader.
 
  
 
 
 
 
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4483 Comments
 
 
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Aug 19, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
Robin_B
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Aug 18, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
Pemerintah Indonesia, persetan dengan situs web ini, mereka menipu orang.
Aug 18, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
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Aug 18, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
Para bajingan penipu ini benar-benar sampah, pembohong keji yang mencuri dari orang-orang yang tidak bersalah. Persetan dengan para penipu kotor ini dan permainan penipuan mereka yang menyedihkan.
Aug 18, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
Penipuan murahan yang berpura-pura sah. Jangan sampai tertipu.
Aug 18, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
Layanan palsu, ulasan palsu, janji palsu—100% sampah penipuan.
Aug 18, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
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Aug 18, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
Para penipu licik menjalankan operasi kotor yang dibangun di atas kebohongan dan penipuan.
Aug 18, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
Penipuan murahan yang berpura-pura sah. Jangan sampai tertipu.
Aug 18, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
Para penipu yang memalukan memangsa orang-orang dengan klaim palsu dan kebohongan.
Aug 18, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
Para penipu ini mengira orang-orang itu bodoh. Modus penipuan yang sama, omong kosong yang sama.
Aug 18, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
Para penipu ini adalah pembohong profesional. Siapa pun yang mempercayai mereka hanya ikut memperkuat penipuan mereka.
Aug 18, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
Para penipu ini adalah pembohong profesional. Siapa pun yang mempercayai mereka hanya ikut memperkuat penipuan mereka.
Aug 18, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
Pemerintah Indonesia, persetan dengan situs web ini, mereka menipu orang.
Aug 18, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
Pemerintah Indonesia tangkap situs web sialan itu
Aug 18, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
Penipu sejati, persetan denganmu, jalang!
Aug 18, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
Hanya sekelompok penipu lain yang melakukan bisnis kotor secara online.
Aug 18, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
Para penipu ini adalah pembohong profesional. Siapa pun yang mempercayai mereka hanya ikut memperkuat penipuan mereka.
Aug 18, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
Penipu berkualitas rendah tanpa integritas dan penuh kebohongan.
Aug 18, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
 
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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.