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.

30 ROCK

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.

OPRAH'S NEXT CHAPTER: LANCE ARMSTRONG

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.

ARCHER

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.

LEGIT

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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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

Fox, 8:00 p.m. ET

NBC, 8:00 p.m. ET

OWN, 9:00 p.m. ET

FX, 10:00 p.m. ET

FX, 10:30 p.m. ET

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