SATURDAY
MARCH 2
2019

BIANCULLI’S BEST BETS

 

TCM, 8:00 p.m. ET

Many times, when watching a Dustin Hoffman movie, you have to watch more than once to truly appreciate the contributions of his co-stars. In The Graduate, Hoffman is the center that demands the spotlight – but Anne Bancroft’s performance as Mrs. Robinson, ranging from underplayed comedy to fierce anger, is crucial to the movie’s success. In All the President’s Men, Hoffman has the showier part as Carl Bernstein, but Robert Redford much more than holds his own. In Rain Man, Hoffman’s role was properly and widely lauded, but Tom Cruise’s character arc as the initially selfish brother of Hoffman’s autistic Charlie Babbitt was just as important an ingredient to that film’s recipe. And in Tootsie, Hoffman gets to have so much fun as Dorothy, while making some serious points about gender roles and expectations, that we tend to overlook just how tender and honest a performance Jessica Lange was giving, at the start of her career, as the soap actress who is attracted to Dorothy as a friend. Watch Tootsie again, and this time, keep your eye focused on Lange. (And, when he’s on screen, to Bill Murray, who, at the start of his career, seems effortlessly assured and funny.

 
  
 
 

CNN, 9:00 p.m. ET

I can’t help pointing out this rerun – not when I’m not only in this documentary on TV in the 2000s, but wrote the book from which this episode of The 2000s gets it title. And yes, if you want to see the show, then read the book, the latter is still available: Click here to buy a paperback copy of, yes, The Platinum Age of Television. The founder of this site thanks you profusely.
 
  
 
 

NBC, 11:29 p.m. ET

Tonight’s guest, a former SNL writer returning for another round as guest host, is John Mulaney, who had a great time, and presided over a strong show, when he first guest hosted last April. He’s heavily involved with the writers’ room, unlike many guest hosts, and the regular SNL players seem determined to bring their ‘A’ game. Speaking of ‘A’ games: In the current Co-Op episode of the IFC spoof series Documentary Now!, Mulaney parodies the perfectionist Stephen Sondheim in a program brilliantly poking fun at the documentary about the cast recording of Sondheim’s musical Company. The musical guest – of SNL, not Company or Co-Op – is Thomas Rhett.

 
  
 
 
 
 
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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.