SUNDAY

JUNE 21

2015

BIANCULLI’S BEST BETS

2015 U.S. OPEN GOLF TOURNAMENT

Fox, 1:00 p.m. ET

The final day of the U.S. Open begins just before 11 a.m. ET, but Fox doesn’t begin TV coverage until two hours later, at 1 p.m. ET. From that point on, though, it’s an all-day, all-night affair until approximately 11:30 p.m. ET. The four golfers tied for the lead after three days of play will tee off just before or at 6 p.m. ET. – and Jason Day, the player fighting vertigo who collapsed and barely finished his round on Friday, is scheduled to tee off at 6 p.m. ET with Dustin Johnson as part of the final pairing, and one of four golfers sharing the lead at 4 under par. Day fought through more vertigo, dizziness and nausea – almost quitting several times – to complete his third round under par, one of the only players to do so. The other players tied for the lead, Jordan Spieth and Branden Grace, tee off at 5:48 p.m. ET.

MASTERPIECE: "POLDARK"

PBS, 9:00 p.m. ET

MINISERIES PREMIERE: The original Poldark miniseries, imported by Masterpiece Theatre on PBS way back in 1975, starred Robin Ellis in the title role. (It’s available to watch, in its two-season entirety, on the Acorn TV streaming site, if you’re interested.) Ellis appears in this new version as well, but not as the lead: he plays Rev. Halse. The titular star this time, playing the British Redcoat who returns to Cornwall after being presumed dead in the Revolutionary War, is Aidan Turner. This new version feels very old-fashioned – almost like a cross between a PBS costume drama and a Lifetime telemovie – but fans of the genre, especially those old enough to remember the original, may be intrigued. Personally, not so much. Check local listings.

TRUE DETECTIVE

HBO, 9:00 p.m. ET

SEASON PREMIERE: It’s an all-new season of True Detective, with a new setting a new story, and a new cast of characters and actors, led by Vince Vaughn, Colin Farrell, Rachel McAdams and Taylor Kitsch. And if you watch the first two episodes, as I have already, you ought to see enough to be hooked. It starts out as a bleak story with lots of very damaged characters – but that’s the territory this series traverses. The new season revolves around a murder that pulls in investigators from three different local and federal jurisdictions – investigators played by Kitsch, Farrell and McAdams. But they don’t start interacting, really, until episode two, so hang on, and be patient. For my review on NPR’s Fresh Air with Terry Gross, visit the Fresh Air website. And for a full review, see Eric Gould’s Cold Light Reader.

ANNE FRANK'S HOLOCAUST

National Geographic, 9:00 p.m. ET

This two-hour documentary utilizes a very effective visual gimmick throughout, and positions cameras in such a way as to juxtapose modern images – from Amsterdam, Auschwitz and elsewhere – with period photographs so that present and past fade in and out of one another like ghosts. Anne Frank’s Holocaust spends hardly any time on its young heroine’s confined seclusion or literary output; instead, it traces her life’s journey from location to location, and uses that to explain the indignities and horrors of persecution and extermination under Nazi rule. It’s a well-documented, compelling, illuminating documentary – and haunting, too.

THE 74TH ANNUAL PEABODY AWARDS

Pivot, 9:00 p.m. ET

This prestigious awards ceremony, taped last month, is televised this year, and there’s a reason to seek out the Pivot network to find it. The shows awarded here really are the cream of the crop, and winners this year include Amy Schumer (who accepts her award for Inside Amy Schumer from Tina Fey, in quite memorable fashion), John Oliver (for Last Week Tonight with John Oliver), The Americans, Fargo, and the first Peabody ever given to a podcast (for Serial). Fred Armisen hosts – and some of the most powerful moments come from the various winners in the documentary category. I was there at the ceremony, and some acceptance speeches were truly inspiring.

BALLERS

HBO, 10:00 p.m. ET

SERIES PREMIERE: A cross between Jerry Maguire, Arli$$ and Entourage, this new comedy series stars Dwayne Johnson as a former Miami Dolphins defensive star who, after retiring, tries to make it as a financial consultant, specializing in representing his wealthy former peers. It’s a funnier show than expected – well, funnier than I expected, anyway, and Johnson does very well here, essentially playing the straight man reacting to insults and insanity all around him. For my review on NPR’s Fresh Air with Terry Gross, visit the Fresh Air website.

THE BRINK

HBO, 10:30 p.m. ET

SERIES PREMIERE: Tim Robbins stars as a secretary of state who finds himself embroiled in a sudden international crisis, after a coup in Pakistan results in an unstable leader poised and willing to instigate what could well turn into World War III. Some of the American assets on the ground in Pakistan? An unlikely duo played by Aziz Ansari and Jack Black. They’re very good, and Robbins is terrific, in a fast-paced political satire that intentionally echoes Dr. Strangelove – and, astoundingly, lives up to that comparison. For my review on NPR’s Fresh Air with Terry Gross, visit the Fresh Air website.

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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

Fox, 1:00 p.m. ET

PBS, 9:00 p.m. ET

HBO, 9:00 p.m. ET

National Geographic, 9:00 p.m. ET

Pivot, 9:00 p.m. ET

HBO, 10:00 p.m. ET

HBO, 10:30 p.m. ET

David Bianculli

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