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SATURDAY
AUGUST 19
2017

BIANCULLI’S BEST BETS

 
PLANET EARTH II

BBC America, 1:00 p.m. ET

This spectacular nature series gets an encore telecast today, in what it calls an “enhanced” version. That usually means a few extra facts super-imposed or added as interstitial informational spots – but no matter what is or isn’t added, the program itself is unbeatable. The action begins at 1 p.m. ET, with installments repeated all afternoon.

 
  
 
 
EPISODES MARATHON

Showtime, 7:00 p.m. ET

Season 5 of this underrated Showtime comedy series begins tomorrow – and to set the table, Showtime tonight presents an “Episodes eve” marathon showing of Season 4. Matt LeBlanc stars as an exaggerated version of himself, taking paychecks to star in one bad TV series after another – just as, in his post-Friends career, in real life. He’s excellent and very funny here, though – as are his co-stars, Tamsin Greig (pictured here with LeBlanc) and Stephen Mangan, as the TV writing team roped into working with him, again and again.

 
  
 
 
NOCTURNAL ANIMALS

HBO, 8:00 p.m. ET

Fashion designer, and movie writer-director Tom Ford, has made only two films to date, but they’ve both been visually arresting, and nominated for Oscars. His first was 2009’s A Single Man, and his follow-up, shown tonight on HBO, was last year’s Nocturnal Animals, a moody and mysterious piece starring Amy Adams and Jake Gyllenhaal.

 
  
 
 
THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE

TCM, 8:00 p.m. ET

This 1962 psychological thriller, directed by John Frankenheimer, is one of the best political dramas of the decade – and somewhat ahead of its time, since it feels like one of those great Seventies conspiracy films. Especially like The Parallax View. Frank Sinatra, Laurence Harvey, Janet Leigh, and Angela Lansbury star. Leigh sandwiched this movie in between filming 1960’s Psycho and 1963’s Bye Bye Birdie. Talk about range… and as movies go, talk about The Essentials, which this film, presented under that appreciative TCM umbrella, certainly is…

 
  
 
 
HALT AND CATCH FIRE

AMC, 9:00 p.m. ET

SEASON PREMIERE: AMC’s tale of the early Internet – a sort of more serious prequel to HBO’s Silicon Valley – begins its fourth and final season tonight. If the series ever returns, it’ll be as a 2.0 reboot. For a full review, see David Hinckley's All Along the Watchtower.

 
  
 
 
WILD WEST

BBC America, 9:00 p.m. ET

DOCUMENTARY PREMIERE: This three-part series, from some of the makers of Planet Earth II, looks squarely and exclusively at America – that part also known as John Ford country, and the wide open lands – and, yes, the wild west. Part 1 is shown tonight, beginning at 9 p.m. ET with a special look at the impact of the Acme company on the hunting habits of Wile E. Coyote in his unending quest to catch the Road Runner. (Okay, I was kidding about that last bit. Meep meep!)

 
  
 
 
 
 
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4319 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.
 
 
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