FRIDAY
AUGUST 2
2013

BIANCULLI’S BEST BETS

 

Encore, 8:00 p.m. ET

When I recommended Tootsie as a Best Bet last week, I ended up watching it. (Yes, sometimes I catch myself taking my own advice.) And couldn’t stop, because every scene had something or someone else that was wonderful. I especially got a kick out of Dabney Coleman, Bill Murray and Geena Davis, supporting actors who all brought something special and playful to every scene. Put Dustin Hoffman, Jessica Lange, Sydney Pollack and the rest in the mix, and this 1982 movie is a sure-fire piece of entertainment – even if you did see it last week.

 
  
 
 

PBS, 9:00 p.m. ET

This concert, keyed to the 200th birthdays of Giuseppe Verdi and Richard Wagner, was taped on May 30, during a violent rainstorm – in terms of mood-setting, perfect for Wagner, but not Verdi good for Giuseppe. Conductor Lorin Maazel, tenor soloist Michael Schade and the Vienna Philharmonic stuck with it, holding court in what they said later was an exhilarating concert experience. And here it is, though viewers at home can stay dry. Check local listings.

 
  
 
 

HBO, 9:00 p.m. ET

This is a repeat showing of the latest edition of this fine sports series, but it’s got one report that really caught my attention. Soledad O’Brien’s feature on Chivas USA, a major league soccer franchise beginning to import its home-grown discriminatory hiring practices, is the exact opposite of a puff piece. Unless the puff is smoke – and where there’s smoke, there’s fire.

 
  
 
 

HBO, 10:00 p.m. ET

SUMMER FINALE: This is Maher’s last show until he returns in September, and he’s stacking the deck. Jay Z is scheduled to appear, and Barney Frank, and comedian Larry Miller. Oh, and yes, Jay Z has officially dropped his hyphen. This throws my whole sense of celebrity spelling topsy turvy, as well as willy nilly.

 
  
 
 

TCM, 10:00 p.m. ET

It’s Doris Day – or, more accurately, Doris Day Day – on TCM. Highlights include 1951’s Lullaby of Broadway at 11 a.m. ET, a 1976 appearance on The Tonight Show on Carson on TCM at 7:45 p.m. ET, and this 1960 comedy, which stars David Niven as a drama critic who moves his wife and family to a rollicking life in the country, based on the stories by Jean Kerr. When the TV version was made in 1965, he became a college professor played by Mark Miller, and she became a newspaper columnist played by Patricia Crowley – on whom, at age 12, I had a huge crush. I was too young to know Doris Day had originated the role in a movie, but I’m not sure that would have made any difference. Tonight, though, I’ll be focused entirely on Doris Day.

 
  
 
 
 
 
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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.