FRIDAY

APRIL 17

2015

BIANCULLI’S BEST BETS

CW, 9:00 p.m. ET

SERIES PREMIERE: CW has given its young audience vampires and superheroes, speedsters and zombies – and starting tonight, in its newest series, CW may or may not be introducing angels to the mix. At least they’re attractive young people who are trying to figure out their suddenly appearing new powers – and their occasionally appearing angel-like wings.

VOCES ON PBS: "CHILDREN OF GIANT"

PBS, 10:00 p.m. ET

Written and directed by Hector Galan, Children of Giant tells of the making of the 1956 film, based on the Edna Farber novel and starring Elizabeth Taylor, Rock Hudson and James Dean. But this is no ordinary behind-the-scenes account. Instead, Galan seeks to capture and measure the impact of the movie's cast and crew as they descended upon the small Texas town of Marva in 1955 – 60 years ago this summer. So instead of being a simple documentary about a visiting Hollywood production crew, Children of Giant is about how the movie, on set and off, railed against racial and sexual discrimination, and inspired many of the town’s citizens to become more active in fighting for their own rights. Check local listings.

REAL TIME WITH BILL MAHER

HBO, 10:00 p.m. ET

Journalist Judith Miller leads off tonight’s new edition, and the mid-show interview subject is Clay Aiken. That’s quite a spectrum, right there – and that doesn’t include this week’s regular roundtable, where the guests include historian Jon Meacham.

LOST GIRL

Syfy, 10:00 p.m. ET

SEASON PREMIERE: For the fifth and final season of this entertaining series import from Canada, Lost Girl goes to hell and back – in a two-parter called “Like Hell,” which very cleverly imagines hell as a combination luxury shopping mall and five-star hotel. But with a catch or two… one of which is a planned wedding, but not planned the way its bride expects.

ORPHAN BLACK MARATHON

IFC, 12:00 a.m. ET

Tomorrow night, BBC America begins its new season of the exciting genre series Orphan Black. As a preamble, presented by a different network entirely, IFC presents the series-to-date in its entirety, in a 21-hour marathon beginning at midnight ET with the addictive series pilot, and ending just in time to switch to BBC America for the new episode... or stay tuned on IFC, because it's showing the Season 3 premiere as well, along with sister network AMC. Tatiana Maslany stars, playing several differentiated clones – and if you haven’t seen her in Orphan Black, this is the perfect opportunity to tune in and see her. And see her, and see her, and see her…

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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

CW, 9:00 p.m. ET

PBS, 10:00 p.m. ET

HBO, 10:00 p.m. ET

Syfy, 10:00 p.m. ET

IFC, 12:00 a.m. ET

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