MONDAY
MAY 21
2018

BIANCULLI’S BEST BETS

 

Acorn TV, 3:00 a.m. ET

SERIES PREMIERE: After stepping forth earlier this month with an original production imported from Wales, the Acorn streaming service now presents another new series that scored well when shown in its home country. This time the place of origin is Australia, the program is called Sando, and it’s a comedy. Sacha Horler stars as Victoria Sandringham, known widely as “Sando.” She’s a wealthy, abrasive woman who made her fortune as a buy-in-bulk furniture salesperson, and her aggressive sales ads and public persona have made her a plain-talking media heroine – to everyone but her own disapproving family. The 2018 comedy series launches today on Acorn. For a full review, see David Hinckley's All Along the Watchtower

 
  
 
 

ABC, 9:00 p.m. ET

SEASON FINALE: Last night, in the first part of this first ABC Idol competition finale, the three remaining contestants sang three songs apiece – including, to end their respective sets, Caleb Lee Hutchinson singing Johnny Cash’s “Folsom Prison Blues,” Gabby Barrett singing Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin’,” and Maddie Poppe (pictured) singing Fleetwood Mac’s “Landslide.” After Poppe closed the show with that number, judge Katy Perry pulled out her smartphone and announced, “I’m voting for you!” If America follows suit, tonight will see Poppe crowned as the first American Idol of the new ABC era. But Idol has fallen for deep-voiced country singers before, so don’t count out Hutchinson quite yet…

 
  
 
 

NBC, 8:00 p.m. ET

SEASON FINALE: Part 1 of 2.  Tonight the finales of Idol and The Voice go head to head, which ought to be interesting, at least in terms of after-the-fact network boasting. But for now, in this first half of a two-part finale, The Voice presents its four finalists, who sing one last time to fight their way to tomorrow night’s winner’s circle. First-time judge Kelly Clarkson has one representative, Brynn Cartelli, still standing, while the show’s most victorious judge, Blake Shelton, has two: Kyla Jade and Spensha Baker. The fourth finalist, voted in after a win-or-go-home performance, is Britton Buchanan, representing judge Alicia Keys. Which means, for this cycle of The Voice, one person who has no chance at all of winning is… judge Adam Levine.

 
  
 
 

TCM, 8:00 p.m. ET

“Wherever there’s a fight so hungry people can eat, I’ll be there. Wherever there’s a cop beatin’ up on a guy, I’ll be there…” John Steinbeck wrote those words in his classic novel about American farmers buffeted by the Dust Bowl, and Henry Fonda brought them to searing, unforgettable life in this 1940 John Ford movie. Sadly, the message still fits, and still resonates…

 
  
 
 

ESPN, 8:30 p.m. ET

The Boston Celtics bullied the Cleveland Cavaliers in the first two games of this East series, winning both contests by scores of double-digit margins (the first game by a whopping 25 points). Yet for Game 3, LeBron James and his Cavs team, playing before its home crowd in Cleveland, beat the Celtics 116-86 – an even more whopping margin of 30 points. And tonight is Game 4, played, once again, in Cleveland…

 
  
 
 

AMC, 10:15 p.m. ET

Episode 4 of James Cameron’s very personal look at science fiction is devoted to the topic of “Dark Futures.” And if you don’t like dystopian visions, stay tuned, and perhaps you’ll prefer dat one… And look who’s in tonight’s episode, as one of the talking heads: Twilight Zone historian and analyst (and good TV critic friend) Mark Dawidziak!

 
  
 
 
 
 
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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.