SATURDAY
NOVEMBER 17
2012

BIANCULLI’S BEST BETS

 

TCM, 8:00 p.m. ET

Made in 1974, this intimate romantic comedy-drama isn’t the sort of movie you’d instantly associate with its director, Martin Scorsese, who made it between Mean Streets and Taxi Driver.  Ellen Burstyn and Kris Kristofferson star – but yes, Harvey Keitel is in here, too, in a small supporting role. Amazingly, this movie inspired a 1976 TV spinoff, CBS’s Alice, starring Linda Lavin as Alice. The movie roles of waitress Flo and diner owner Mel, played by Diane Ladd and Vic Tayback, went in the TV series to Polly Holliday and… Vic Tayback.
 
  
 
 

Starz!, 9:00 p.m. ET

This 2012 science fiction film, based on Edgar Rice Burroughs’ A Princess of Mars novel, turned out to be the Ishtar of fantasy movies, a thudding box-office and critical failure so instantaneous and universal, it became instantly legendary. Just the sort of movie you’re happy to have avoided in the theaters, but equally happy to check out on TV. So here it is, starring Taylor Kitsch from Friday Night Lights in the title role.
 
  
 
 

TCM, 10:00 p.m. ET

Written by and starring Peter Cook and Dudley Moore, this 1967 comedy take on the Faust story presents Cook as the devil and Moore as his hapless latest victim. The Devil is not above playing underhanded to claim a soul, which is why he enlists the embodiment of Lust, as played by Raquel Welch, to seduce him. It doesn’t work: But you have to give her a Scarlet A for effort.
 
  
 
 

BBC America, 11:00 p.m. ET

In tonight’s new installment of TV’s most unguarded talk show, Cameron Diaz ropes a cow. I know, it sounds udderly ridiculous, but give it a chance. And on the same show, Diaz reveals that her first stylish haircut was designed to emulate Rod Stewart – and she reveals that to another of Norton’s guests. Namely, Rod Stewart.
 
  
 
 

NBC, 11:29 p.m. ET

This week’s guest host is Jeremy Renner, and the musical guest is Maroon 5. I guess, after Anne Hathaway last week, SNL wanted to return the balance closer to the male side of things.
 
  
 
 
 
 
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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.