TUESDAY
JULY 17
2012

BIANCULLI’S BEST BETS

 

FX, 8:00 p.m. ET

The opening of the newest Batman movie is just around the corner, with director Christopher Nolan completing his Dark Knight trilogy.  Here’s where this particular reboot started, in 2005, with Christian Bale as Batman, Michael Caine as Bruce Wayne’s loyal manservant – and Katie Holmes, now in the news anew, as the female lead.

 
  
 
 

PBS, 9:00 p.m. ET

So is this Bob Dylan’s guitar, from the night he “went electric,” or isn’t it? It’d be nice to say this was an electrifying hour of History Detectives – but as Tom Brinkmoeller points out in his incisive Raised on MTM report, there are a few dots that don’t quite connect, at least not on camera. Read his full story, and his interview with the show’s producer, HERE. Check local listings.

 
  
 
 

ABC, 9:30 p.m. ET

This show, hosted by the warm and lovable Fred Willard, tries very hard to be a modern equivalent of Whose Line Is It Anyway – with improv comedy performed for very low stakes, other than just for the fun of it. The difference here is that they’re improvising around the true-life details of guest celebrities, who have to sit and watch the comics go through their paces. In the 9:30 p.m. ET installment, the guest is Ricky Gervais, who lends his raucous laugh to some of the routines – but stares almost painfully (see photo) when they break into hip-hop couplets. In an odd way, it’s almost entertaining. Almost.

 
  
 
 

ABC, 10:00 p.m. ET

When I previewed this installment of Terence Wrong’s new medical documentary series, this particular hour made me cry – in the segment about a father (Jon Kuhfeldt, at left) struggling to live long enough to walk his grown daughter down the aisle. And that was before more hospital drama entered my own life, and my daughter’s. So fair warning: I won’t be watching tonight. But you should be.

 
  
 
 

USA, 10:01 p.m. ET

This usually light USA Network series has begun Season 3 trying to darken the mood a bit, adding more credible danger to the mix, and complicating CIA agent Annie Walker’s relationships within the agency as well as in the field. Piper Perabo (pictured) stars – but has many scenes stolen by supporting cast members (Christopher Gorham, Kari Matchett, and now new arrival Sarah Clarke, for starters), so watch for that. It’s not treachery. Just talent.

 
  
 
 
 
 
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5380 Comments
 
 
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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.