TUESDAY
JANUARY 21
2014

BIANCULLI’S BEST BETS

 

Fox, 9:00 p.m. ET

In tonight’s “Birthday” episode of New Girl, Jess (Zooey Deschanel) is thrilled by the apparent surprise birthday party planned for her by Nick (Jake Johnson) – except it isn’t his idea. Or her party. But don’t worry – better times are on the horizon, and quickly.

 
  
 
 

PBS, 9:00 p.m. ET

This expanded Season 28 premiere of American Masters is the formerly unseen director’s cut of the documentary Salinger by Shane Salerno. While straitjacketed by legal restrictions and a lack of cooperation from elusive author J.D. Salinger and his immediate family, Salerno (working with biographical co-author David Shields) has emerged with a portrait that, while incomplete and sometimes conflicting or conflicted, nevertheless manages to be both informative and evocative. Viewers must make up their own minds about the testimony and motives of certain interviewees – former Salinger lover Joyce Maynard, for one – but the testimony of Salinger’s wartime friends is invaluable. And the section tying The Catcher in the Rye to several high-profile assassinations is as disturbing as it is relevant. Check local listings.

 
  
 
 

Discovery, 9:00 p.m. ET

Part 2. Klondike is no Deadwood – but that’s almost like saying that any drama series about lawbreakers is no Breaking Bad. As a first foray into scripted material for Discovery Channel, it’s certainly worth a peek. And a lot more defensible, for that cable outfit, than, say, Hillbilly Blood.

 
  
 
 

FX, 10:00 p.m. ET

Now that Breaking Bad is gone, this is the show that I expect will bring me the most outrageous characters and conflicts on dramatic series television. And tonight, it has found a way to set up Raylan (Timothy Olyphant) in a new environment, with a new loose-cannon distraction. The environment is an opulent mansion the authorities have seized from a mob accountant – and the distraction is played by Amy Smart, as the social worker who made a strong first impression on Rayland, and challenged him to find her. He does.

 
  
 
 

Syfy, 10:00 p.m. ET

SERIES PREMIERE: Think of this new reality show as something far removed from reality, but still potentially interesting. It’s like Big Brother, except the participants in this particular contest are divided into two abutting, very different fantasy worlds: one from the primitive past, the other from the shiny future. It’s based on a hit reality series from Chile, and actually seems like a good fit for Syfy. Which is more than you can say for, say, WWE SmackDown.

 
  
 
 
 
 
Read and add comments HERE for today's Best Bets!
 
 
 
 
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4642 Comments
 
 
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Sep 10, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
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Sep 10, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
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Sep 10, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
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Sep 10, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
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Sep 10, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
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Sep 10, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
Bajingan keparat, akan kupukul pantatmu dengan sangat keras!
Sep 10, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
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Sep 10, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
Pemerintah Indonesia tangkap situs web sialan itu
Sep 9, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
Penipuan murahan yang berpura-pura sah. Jangan sampai tertipu.
Sep 9, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
Para penipu ini mengira orang-orang itu bodoh. Modus penipuan yang sama, omong kosong yang sama.
Sep 9, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
Para bajingan ini tidak punya rasa malu sama sekali, menipu orang-orang yang tidak bersalah setiap hari.
Sep 9, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
Pemerintah Indonesia, persetan dengan situs web ini, mereka menipu orang.
Sep 9, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
Tidak ada yang nyata di sini. Hanya omong kosong penuh tipu daya dari orang-orang serakah.
Sep 9, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
Para bajingan ini tidak punya rasa malu sama sekali, menipu orang-orang yang tidak bersalah setiap hari.
Sep 9, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
Penipu berkualitas rendah tanpa integritas dan penuh kebohongan.
Sep 9, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
Para bajingan penipu ini benar-benar sampah, pembohong keji yang mencuri dari orang-orang yang tidak bersalah. Persetan dengan para penipu kotor ini dan permainan penipuan mereka yang menyedihkan.
Sep 9, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
Manusia sampah sejati, memangsa orang-orang tak berdosa hanya untuk mengisi kantong mereka yang serakah. Sungguh memalukan.
Sep 9, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
Pemerintah Indonesia tangkap situs web sialan itu
Sep 9, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
Bajingan keparat, akan kupukul pantatmu dengan sangat keras!
Sep 9, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
 
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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.