WEDNESDAY
JANUARY 18
2017

BIANCULLI’S BEST BETS

 

TCM, 8:00 p.m. ET

Tonight’s guest programmer is Damien Chazelle. If his name isn’t familiar, his high-energy movies should be: He’s the writer-director of both Whiplash and the musical La La Land. And that’s why his roster of favorite films, presented tonight on TCM, is so inspired and inspiring. His lineup includes a lesser-known MGM Gene Kelly movie, 1955’s It’s Always Fair Weather, at 8 p.m. ET, and showings of 1944’s Meet Me in St. Louis at 11:45 p.m. ET and Charlie Chaplin’s 1931 masterpiece, City Lights, at 2 a.m. ET. But if there’s one film not to miss – and there is – it’s the 10 p.m. ET telecast of 1964’s The Umbrellas of Cherbourg by director Jacques Demy, starring the incandescent Catherine Deneuve (pictured), and which Chazelle calls “the greatest movie ever made.” Whether or not his passions are misplaced, they’re precisely why guest programmers are such a valuable part of TCM. 

 
  
 
 

PBS, 9:00 p.m. ET

Part 2 of 2. Last night, PBS began this new documentary about our ideologically and politically divided nation. Tonight, it presents the other side of that divide – or, at least, the other half of this four-hour study. Check local listings.

 
  
 
 

History, 10:00 p.m. ET

SERIES PREMIERE: When James Gandolfini died unexpectedly, the producers of The Night Of recast his role by hiring John Turturro, who did a fantastic job with the role, but undoubtedly took it to a different place than Gandolfini would have. Six, this new scripted drama series from the History network, was to have starred Joe Mangianello – but health issues reportedly caused him to back out, and his part was filled by Walton Goggins, who’s done such amazing work on The Shield and Justified, and as a recurring guest star on Sons of Anarchy. He certainly deserves a starring role, but this drama, about a former Navy SEAL who is captured by Boko Haram (prompting his former fellow Team Six warriors to reunite and try to locate and rescue him), may or may not be it.

 
  
 
 

FXX, 10:30 p.m. ET

Lucy (Katie Findlay) has been such a strong addition to this cast, and this show, that it makes sense Josh (Jay Baruchel) would be happy to upend his single-guy existence to be with her as much as possible. But this week, it doesn’t necessarily mean that the feeling is mutual…

 
  
 
 

Comedy Central, 10:30 p.m. ET

What kind of outrage and comedy will Samantha Bee and her cohorts present as they count down the days to the Donald Trump presidential inauguration? Tune in and see…

 
  
 
 
 
 
Read and add comments HERE for today's Best Bets!
 
 
 
 
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Dave Bianculli
Hey sweetie-pie,

WTF does this have to do with the greatest invention known to mankind: TV?????

Go away.

Warmly,

Dave
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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.