THURSDAY

AUGUST 20

2015

BIANCULLI’S BEST BETS

CNN, 9:00 p.m. ET

Morton Downey, Jr. was the host of a TV talk show in the late Eighties, one that fanned the flames of televised incivility to previously uncharted levels. This documentary looks at the personality, and the programs he hosted, to analyze a period in TV that is both unsettling and unfortunate. And according to TVWW contributor Ed Bark, who’s seen Evocateur in advance, I’m in there somewhere, in vintage TV footage discussing Downey, back when I was about the age my son is now. For a full review of this documentary, see Ed Bark’s Uncle Barky’s Bytes.

FRANKENSTEIN

TCM, 9:30 p.m. ET

Today is Mae Clarke day on TCM – and while her most famous screen appearance comes very late at night (at 2:45 a.m. ET), when TCM shows her being smacked in the face by a grapefruit wielded by James Cagney in 1931’s The Public Enemy, she’s also on view earlier, at 9:30 p.m. ET, in the classic 1931 film Frankenstein, alongside Boris Karloff (pictured) and Colin Clive.

SEX&DRUGS&ROCK&ROLL

FX, 10:00 p.m. ET

In tonight’s episode, Johnny Rock (Denis Leary) is dared to get his first tattoo – and the person daring him is his own rebellious daughter. Also in this episode: guest star Callie Thorne, my favorite actress from Leary’s previous series, Rescue Me. John Corbett co-stars.

DOCUMENTARY NOW!

IFC, 10:00 p.m. ET

MINISERIES PREMIERE: This six-part comedy series, hosted by a totally straight-faced Helen Mirren, pretends to present “classic” documentaries, starting tonight with “Sandy Passage,” a parody of Grey Gardens starring Fred Armisen and Bill Hader as “Big Vivvy” and “Little Vivvy,” and written by fellow Saturday Night Live alumnus Seth Meyers. Other documentaries and documentarians are spoofed in coming weeks, always with a twist that makes them more than mere spoofs. For my full review, see Bianculli’s Blog, and listen today to NPR’s Fresh Air with Terry Gross, or, starting later this afternoon, visit the Fresh Air website.

LIP SYNC BATTLE

Spike, 10:00 p.m. ET

Empire fans, this one's for you: The stars of that Fox series, Terrence Howard and Taraji P. Henson, battling one another with a joint lip-synch version of “Hard Out Here for a Pimp.”

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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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BIANCULLI’S BEST BETS

CNN, 9:00 p.m. ET

TCM, 9:30 p.m. ET

FX, 10:00 p.m. ET

IFC, 10:00 p.m. ET

Spike, 10:00 p.m. ET

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