TCM, 8:00 p.m. ET
Ellen Burstyn won an Oscar for her portrayal of a widow, who, in search of a new beginning, hits the road with her pre-teen son and ends up working in an Arizona diner. The film inspired the 1976 sitcom, Alice. Actor Vic Tayback played the diner's owner, Mel, in both the film and TV series. In the film, actress Diane Ladd played Flo, the role famously played on TV by Polly Holliday. Ladd later joined the CBS series as waitress Belle Dupree.
IFC, 8:00 p.m. ET
This story, in two parts, features several of Tarantino's basic film ingredients coming together in one place: a B-grade martial arts story, noir-meets-comic book dialog and a worthy female adversary (namely the fearless Uma Thurman, in a yellow track suit). The Kill Bill films also helped to revive the career of David Carradine, much like Pulp Fiction brought back John Travolta. As a filmmaker, Tarantino is like an abstract painter swinging a wild brush — or in this case, a Samurai's' sacred sword. Somehow, it comes together into something great. Kill Bill Vol. 2 follows Vol. 1, at 10:15 p.m. ET.
TNT, 8:30 p.m. ET
The Oklahoma City Thunder ended San Antonio's 20-game winning streak Thursday with a 20-point lead, ending the Spurs' hope for a series sweep. The Thunder's dramatic win re-energizes the Western Conference Final contest and turns on the heat for tonight's Game 4 in Oklahoma.
Sundance, 10:00 p.m. ET
This is the 2010 indie film about a college grad's struggle to find direction that launched the career of phenom writer/actress/filmmaker/producer Lena Dunham and ultimately led to her current HBO series, Girls. The film — which won best narrative feature at 2010's South by Southwest — co-stars Dunham's real-life mother, artist/photographer Laurie Simmons, and her younger sister, Grace.
Starz!, 9:00 p.m. ET
George Clooney, Grant Heslov and Beau Willimon's brilliant political drama — an adaptation of Willimon's 2008 play, Farragut North — about a young, idealistic campaign manager (Ryan Gosling) and his initiation into the darker side of politics. The stellar supporting cast includes Philip Seymour Hoffman, Paul Giamatti, Evan Rachel Wood, Marisa Tomei and Max Minghella.