SUNDAY

DECEMBER 17

2017

BIANCULLI’S BEST BETS

Fox, 7:00 p.m. ET

For 20 years now, TNT and TBS have televised 24-hour marathons of A Christmas Story, the 1983 film version of Jean Shepherd’s funny account of his childhood and holiday memories from the 1940s. And five years ago, Broadway staged a musical adaptation, A Christmas Story: The Musical. And tonight, the Fox network presents a live TV musical version, called A Christmas Story Live!, starring newcomer Andy Walken as young Ralphie. Ralphie’s parents are played by Maya Rudolph and Chris Diamantopoulos, and co-stars include Jane Krakowski, Ana Gasteyer, David Alan Grier, and Ken Jeong.

REAL LIFE

TCM, 8:00 p.m. ET

An Albert Brooks doubleheader is presented tonight on TNT, and the network is featuring two of his less frequently televised comic experiments. First up is this 1979 movie, his directorial and starring debut, which was way, way ahead of its time. In 1973, PBS presented An American Family, one of TV’s first “reality shows,” a documentary recounting the everyday private life of a middle-class suburban family called the Louds. Six years later, Brooks presented this satire, playing a filmmaker embarking on a similar documentary – but becoming increasingly heavy-handed about manipulating his chosen family’s behavior to make a “better” movie. Brilliant.

MODERN ROMANCE

TCM, 10:00 p.m. ET

This second Albert Brooks movie, this one from 1981, has him playing another filmmaker – this time a film editor with a volatile on-again-off-again relationship with his girlfriend, played by Kathryn Harrold. Supporting actors include Bob Einstein, now of HBO’s Curb Your Enthusiasm, and writer-director James L. Brooks, who also had a small on-screen role in Brooks’ Real Life.

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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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