TUESDAY

AUGUST 19

2014

BIANCULLI’S BEST BETS

BBC America, 8:00 a.m. ET

The all-week “Doctor Who takeover” on BBC America continues today – and tonight – running the rest of Season 2, and starting the reruns of Season 3, of Doctor Who, starring David Tennant as the Doctor and Billie Piper as his latest Companion, Rose Tyler. Any time you tune to BBC America today, after 8 a.m. ET, you’ll be seeing the Doctor.

COOL HAND LUKE

TCM, 5:45 p.m. ET

Today is Paul Newman day on TCM, and one of the best Newman movies on its lineup is this 1967 film, in which Newman plays a convict determined not to conform, even when his clashes with a sadistic chain-gang overseer leads to a classic “failure to communicate.” I also feel compelled to point out one of my all-time favorites, 1969’s Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (at 10 p.m. ET), but another reason to point out this particular showing of Cool Hand Luke: Less than a week ago, another Luke was added to the global census. To paraphrase Darth Vader: "Luke, I am your grandfather!"

DRUNK HISTORY

Comedy Central, 10:00 p.m. ET

Tonight’s new episode is set on my long-time stomping grounds: Philadelphia. And in an installment that also makes room for Stephen Merchant and David Cross, it also presents the story of Benedict Arnold and his personal Lady Macbeth, Peggy Shippen – a scheming duo played, quite amusingly, by Chris Parnell and Winona Ryder (pictured).

TYRANT

FX, 10:00 p.m. ET

Last week’s episode really shifted around the alliances and directions of this narrative: Barry (Adam Rayner) revealed to his American government contact (Justin Kirk) that he wanted to run for election and take the country from his brother Jamal (Ashraf Barhom). Meanwhile, Jamal confided to his wife Leila (Moran Atias, pictured) that Barry had helped him dispatch of a rival regional leader – and Leila let Barry know that she knew, which complicated Barry’s coup plans considerably. Or did it?

WIZARD WARS

Syfy, 10:00 p.m. ET

SERIES PREMIERE: The latest magic-show series of the summer (an odd but by now obvious coincidence) stars Penn & Teller, who already headline the CW import Penn & Teller: Fool Us. This time, the gimmick is to have teams of magicians compete for the chance to go against some resident experts in a final challenge – sort of like a sleight-of-hand version of Iron Chef. And while the quickly improvised magic tricks aren’t that amazing, this premiere episode is worth catching just to see Teller’s variation on the old shell game, using tiny tins of breath mints, and followed by Penn Jillette’s revelatory explanation. Kids, do try this at home!

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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

BBC America, 8:00 a.m. ET

TCM, 5:45 p.m. ET

Comedy Central, 10:00 p.m. ET

FX, 10:00 p.m. ET

Syfy, 10:00 p.m. ET

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