SATURDAY
FEBRUARY 18
2017

BIANCULLI’S BEST BETS

 

BBC America, 10:00 a.m. ET

When the original Planet Earth miniseries was co-produced and presented by Discovery Channel a decade ago, that network took the astoundingly infuriating, wrong-headed and insulting step of replacing the narration by Sir David Attenborough with newly recorded narration by Sigourney Weaver. Nothing about Sigourney Weaver (her father, after all, was one of TV’s first visionary programmers, NBC’s Sylvester “Pat” Weaver), but swapping out the best nature documentary host on the planet for an actress allegedly more “acceptable” to American ears is absurd. The good news is that the “original” 2006 Planet Earth, with Attenborough as narrator, still exists – and today, as a prelude to the U.S. premiere of Planet Earth II (also narrated by Attenborough, 10 years later), BBC America is repeating the entire 11-part Planet Earth all day, with Attenborough’s voice prominently and passionately attached. Watch, and listen. You’ll be astounded. And hit record, because you’ll want to savor every hour.

 
  
 
 

HBO, 8:00 p.m. ET

This updated 2016 version of the Edgar Rice Burroughs Tarzan story died on the vine, so to speak – but with its leading players, it’s worth a peek as it arrives on HBO. Alexander Skarsgard, who co-stars in tomorrow night’s Big Little Lies on the same network, has the title role, and Margot Robbie, last seen as Harley Quinn in Suicide Squad, plays the woman who tames him, brings him to London, and understands him better than anyone. We may have different reasons for checking out this movie. You, Tarzan. Me, Jane.

 
  
 
 

Lifetime, 8:00 p.m. ET

Not a recommendation: I’m just noting the arrival of this new Lifetime telemovie, in case you’re in search of a Saturday night Guilty Pleasure. It’s a made-for-TV biography of Britney Spears, starring Natasha Bassett as the pop star with the very public up-and-down private life.

 
  
 
 

BBC America, 9:00 p.m. ET

MINISERIES PREMIERE: TVWW contributor Alex Strachan has made it a personal pet project to bang the drums for this mature documentary sequel, writing several different articles about it, which you can (and should) read in his TV That Matters columns here, here, and here. The sequel to Planet Earth, arriving in the States 11 years after the original, shows two things with jaw-dropping clarity. One is how far TV technology and mature filmmaking have come in the intervening years, because the images captured are breathtaking, and in many instances unprecedented. The other thing Planet Earth II shows, with somber finality, is how far we haven’t come in protecting, preserving and appreciating our planet and its creatures and various environments. I’ve seen all of Planet Earth II in advance – and, like Alex, think it’s truly special, and important. Watch it on the best and biggest TV you can find, and record it for repeated viewings. Also, gather the kids. If ever there were a full-family television offering, Planet Earth II is it. And yes, the great David Attenborough is back as narrator. Welcome, Sir David, and thank you…
 
  
 
 

TCM, 10:30 p.m. ET

Every time I show this 1976 movie to one of my classes at Rowan University, I’m astounded all over again at how prescient writer Paddy Chayefsky was, about everything. Everything from the corporate acquisitions of broadcast networks and the encroachment of bottom-line profits and ratings into their news divisions, to the rise of reality television and angry and unchecked TV public-affairs “personalities,” is in here, in a movie made more than 40 years ago. Peter Finch is brilliant as unhinged network news anchor Howard Beale, and his ultra-talented co-stars include William Holden, Faye Dunaway, Robert Duvall, and Ned Beatty. Oh, and the famous scene in which everyday Americans are shown venting their anger by being encouraged to throw open their windows and shout, “I’m mad as hell, and I’m not going to take this any more!’’ – well, welcome to America 2017.

 
  
 
 
 
 
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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.