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WEDNESDAY
SEPTEMBER 17
2014

BIANCULLI’S BEST BETS

 
THE ROOSEVELTS: AN INTIMATE HISTORY

PBS, 8:00 p.m. ET

Part 4. This is my favorite episode of The Roosevelts – a shining installment that rises above even the rest of this documentary series’ glorious standards. In this two-hour segment, Franklin Roosevelt, at age 39 and with a growing family and the most promising of political careers, suddenly is stricken with infantile paralysis from polio, and finds himself, overnight, unable to walk. Edward Herrmann, in giving voice to Franklin’s memories of that period, is hauntingly evocative. So is this series’ writer, Geoffrey C. Ward, a polio survivor himself, who appears on camera to explain how Franklin must have felt – and succeeds with such empathy that it becomes this show’s most unforgettable moment. For my full review, see Bianculli’s Blog. And to hear my review on NPR’s Fresh Air with Terry Gross, which includes audio samples from several episodes, visit the Fresh Air website. Check local listings.
 
  
 
 
RED BAND SOCIETY

Fox, 9:00 p.m. ET

SERIES PREMIERE: This new series has been widely, and accurately, described as The Breakfast Club in the children’s wing of a hospital. Octavia Spencer stars as an autocratic nurse who seems frightening but has a warm heart underneath, the character who guides viewers through the show’s story (Griffin Gluck) is narrating from a coma, and the various young patients, with their various illnesses, include such identifiable stereotypes as the haughty cheerleader, the brooding loner and the untamed troublemaker. The problem, with this series opener, is that bonds between these disparate types are forged even before the opening episode is over. The commendable thing, though, is that Red Band Society contains many helpful aphorisms and understated teaching moments – and should be applauded, at least, for introducing teen characters with something more significant to confront than self-absorption and an obsession with popularity. For a review, read Uncle Barky's Bytes.

 
  
 
 
EXTANT

CBS, 10:00 p.m. ET

SEASON FINALE: For this final entry in this season’s continuing story line on Extant, astronaut Molly (Halle Berry) dons her space suit once again, and heads into space, this time on a different and more dangerous type of mission. But will her mission ever end? To date, CBS hasn’t confirmed a second-season order for this series – so after tonight, there’s a good chance that Extant will become Extinct.

 
  
 
 
THE MYSTERIES OF LAURA

NBC, 10:00 p.m. ET

SERIES PREMIERE: This is a warning, not a recommendation. Debra Messing is a very likable actress. The Mysteries of Laura, however, is a very unlikable show. She plays a detective juggling an intense and dangerous life at work with a hectic and harried life at home,  thanks to two wild young boys who won’t behave and a husband from whom she’s separated, and on the verge of divorcing. One immediate problem with this opening episode: The boys are such terrors, and their misbehavior so unaddressed, the viewer is all but forced to dislike and dismiss the parents as irresponsible, and the entire series as indefensible.

 
  
 
 
TOP CHEF: DUELS

Bravo, 10:00 p.m. ET

Hey, look who the guest judges are on tonight’s installment: Cast members from Brooklyn Nine-Nine!

 
  
 
 
 
 
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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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