FRIDAY

JUNE 20

2014

BIANCULLI’S BEST BETS

2014 WORLD CUP

ESPN, 12:00 p.m. ET

Well, I got a late start today, so as I type this, Italy just fell to Costa Rica in Group D – which means, among other things, that England fails to advance this year. But there’s another game televised on ESPN today featuring teams that won their first games, starting at 3 p.m. ET, featuring Switzerland and France from Group E. Then, at 6 p.m. ET, the other two teams from Group E play one another. They’re the losers of their first games: Ecuador and Honduras, and anything but a win will prove fatal. And even then…

COMING TO AMERICA

Spike, 6:30 p.m. ET

This 1988 comedy is one of the sparkling movies from Eddie Murphy’s early years, when he burst onto the big screen after commanding attention on Saturday Night Live. It’s followed on Spike by an even earlier triumph, 1982’s even better Trading Places comedy. If there had been room made for 1983’s 48 Hrs., you’d pretty much have the best of Eddie Murphy on film – then, and now.

AGAINST ALL FLAGS

TCM, 8:00 p.m. ET

Prime time tonight on TCM is devoted to Errol Flynn, and there are two swashbuckling entries from very different eras. Leading off is 1952’s Against All Flags, a later-career effort in which Flynn pokes fun at himself, and pirate movies in general, with help from co-star Maureen O’Hara. That’s followed, at 9:30 p.m. ET, by 1935’s Captain Blood, a sparkling film that exemplifies the swashbuckling movie genre.

24: LIVE ANOTHER DAY

Fox, 9:00 p.m. ET

Just in case you missed it the first time: Monday’s episode of 24 is repeated, complete with its ending image that qualifies as one of the most explosive cliffhangers in the history of the series.

REAL TIME WITH BILL MAHER

HBO, 10:00 p.m. ET

There are no A-list names on tonight’s guest list – unless your personal A-list is wonky enough to include the likes of Ta-Nehisi Coates and Glenn Greenwald. But sometimes, these are the very lineups that lead to the most interesting discussions.

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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.

New From TVWW

BIANCULLI’S BEST BETS

ESPN, 12:00 p.m. ET

Spike, 6:30 p.m. ET

TCM, 8:00 p.m. ET

Fox, 9:00 p.m. ET

HBO, 10:00 p.m. ET

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