SATURDAY
SEPTEMBER 21
2013

BIANCULLI’S BEST BETS

 

HBO, 8:00 p.m. ET

In 2012, HBO mounted its own HBO Films presentation The Girl, in which Alfred Hitchcock was played by Toby Jones, and Tippi Hedren, Hitch’s star in The Birds, was played by Sienna Miller. Imelda Staunton played Alma, the director’s wife. Tonight, HBO presents this rival film, a similarly themed 2012 drama starring Anthony Hopkins as Hitch, Helen Mirren as his wife, Alma, and Scarlett Johansson as Psycho star Janet Leigh. Also appearing here: Jessica Biel as actress Vera Miles and James D’Arcy as Anthony Perkins. This movie has better over all performances, but neither biography goes off without a Hitch.

 
  
 
 

TCM, 8:00 p.m. ET

Less than a decade after the cinema went from silence to sound, director Frank Capra presented this perfect little gem of a romantic comedy that was as heavy on the dialogue as it was on the laughs. Clark Cable and Claudette Colbert star, with Gable playing a reporter and Colbert a runaway heiress. This 1934 classic was the first film to sweep the major Oscars, winning awards not only for Best Picture, but for actor, actress and direction as well.

 
  
 
 

FXX, 9:00 p.m. ET

These awards were handed out in a pre-Emmy Awards ceremony last Sunday – but you can watch this delayed broadcast anyway, courtesy of the new network FXX. And it’s worth finding, in this case, if only to see Bob Newhart, at age 84, winning and holding his first Emmy ever, getting a standing ovation, and misting up.

 
  
 
 

Starz!, 9:00 p.m. ET

In this new episode, both Margaret and Mary get married – and there’s also that little issue about a royal pardon to consider…

 
  
 
 

NBC, 11:29 p.m. ET

Next week, Saturday Night Live returns with its season premiere, and with quite a changeover among its repertory cast. Tonight, NBC repeats last season’s SNL finale, which turned out to be the swan song for several long-time late-night players – including the talented Bill Hader, who, as the outrageous Stefon, gets a regal sendoff during “Weekend Update.”

 
  
 
 
 
 
Read and add comments HERE for today's Best Bets!
 
 
 
 
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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.