FRIDAY
MAY 22
2015

BIANCULLI’S BEST BETS

 

ABC, 8:00 p.m. ET

The mini-marathon of questions and answers continues – and will keep continuing Saturday night. And Sunday. And Monday. And Tuesday. And Wednesday. And will end next Thursday, with an expanded two-hour finale. So pace yourself…

 
  
 
 

BBC America, 8:00 p.m. ET

You still haven’t seen this 1987 movie, based on William Goldman’s novel and adapted by himself, perfectly, for the screen? Incon-theivable! It’s one of my favorite films of all time. And after you watch it, it’ll be yours. Stars include Mandy Patinkin, Andre the Giant, Wallace Shawn (pictured), Billy Crystal, Robin Wright, Cary Elwes, Christopher Guest, and… oh, just see it, please.

 
  
 
 

TCM, 8:00 p.m. ET

Another Friday in May means another sampling of Orson Welles films. One of them, at 10 p.m. ET, is Welles’ 1963 version of The Trial, a moody story that is more than Kafkaesque. It is Kafka, based on one of his novels. But the first movie in this Friday night doubleheader is 1946’s The Stranger, in which Welles not only directs, but stars, as a suspected Nazi war criminal hiding in plain sight on an American college campus. Edward G. Robinson and Loretta Young co-star, and this film, released only a year after the end of WWII, includes what may well be the earliest footage of Nazi concentration-camp footage incorporated into a Hollywood movie drama.

 
  
 
 

Showtime, 9:00 p.m. ET

This 2013 comedy is about a guy who, after a lifetime of a lack of romantic commitment,  finally decides to get married – so his friends throw him a bachelor party in Las Vegas. What makes this different from a thousand other youth comedies out there? Because there’s nothing youthful about Last Vegas: The groom-to-be is played by Michael Douglas, and his friends by Robert De Niro, Morgan Freeman and Kevin Kline.

 
  
 
 

Starz!, 9:00 p.m. ET

This 2014 live-action movie is based on a graphic novel, and 1998 animated miniseries, about a young girl who turns chameleonic assassin to avenge the death of her parents – and to stay alive herself, in a dangerous dystopian world of killers and gangsters. The star of the film is India Eisley, a former co-star of ABC Family’s The Secret Life of an American Teenager. And her co-star, perhaps an even more unlikely presence in this kinetic, flashy drama, is Samuel L. Jackson.
 
  
 
 
 
 
Read and add comments HERE for today's Best Bets!
 
 
 
 
Leave a Comment: (No HTML, 1000 chars max)
 
 Name (required)
 
 Email (required) (will not be published)
 
YMKLJ
Type in the verification word shown on the image.
 
 
 Page: 1 of 202  | Go to page: 
4027 Comments
 
 
???
??? ?? ??? ??? ????? ?? ??? ?? ?????. ?? ??? ? ???? ??? ???? ????. ?? ? ?????
Jun 23, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
https://gangnamya.clickn.co.kr/
https://gangnamya.clickn.co.kr/
Jun 23, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
https://changwoncoco.clickn.co.kr/
https://changwoncoco.clickn.co.kr/
Jun 17, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
?? ??? ???! ???? ?? ???? ???? ???? ? ????? ?? ??? ??? ????!
Jun 17, 2026   |  Reply
 
Dave Bianculli
Howdy pardner,

Did you pass out on your keyboard after getting drunk, and then just kept bouncing your head over and over and over???

ROTFFLMBFAO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Seriously dude, watch more TV, drink less alcohol!!!!

Warmly,

Dave
Jun 20, 2026
 
 
 
?? ??? ???! ???? ?? ???? ???? ???? ? ????? ?? ??? ??? ????!
Jun 17, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
??? ??? ???? ?? ?? ?? ????? ?? ? ????, ?? ???? ??? ???? ??? ??? ?? ?????. ? ??? ???? ???? ?? ????? ????. ???!
Jun 17, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
??? ??? ???? ?? ?? ?? ????? ?? ? ????, ?? ???? ??? ???? ??? ??? ?? ?????. ? ??? ???? ???? ?? ????? ????. ???!
Jun 17, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
?? ??? ???! ???? ?? ???? ???? ???? ? ????? ?? ??? ??? ????!
Jun 17, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
???? ????? ? ?? ??? ?? ?? ? ??? ???? ??????. ? ?????? ??? ?? ??? ?????. ? ??? ??? ? ???? ??? ?????. ? ???? ???? ??????.
Jun 17, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
???? ????? ? ?? ??? ?? ?? ? ??? ???? ??????. ? ?????? ??? ?? ??? ?????. ? ??? ??? ? ???? ??? ?????. ? ???? ???? ??????.
Jun 17, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
?? ??????. ? ???? ?? ??????? ?? ????! ?? ??? ??, ?? ?? ?? ??? ?? ??? ??? ??. ? ?? ??? ???? ???????. ?????. ??? ???.
Jun 17, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
Thank you so much for sharing this great blog.Very inspiring and helpful too.Hope you continue to share more of your ideas.I will definitely love to read
Jun 16, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
?? ??? ???? ?? ? ??? ?? ?? ?? ?? ??? ?????. ? ??? ??? ?? ?????
Jun 16, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
Thank you so much for sharing this great blog.Very inspiring and helpful too.Hope you continue to share more of your ideas.I will definitely love to read
Jun 16, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
? ?? ?? ??? ?????.
Jun 15, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
??? ???? ??? ??????. ?? ?? ??????.
Jun 15, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
Stunning! Such an astonishing and accommodating post this is. I super love it. It's so great thus amazing. I am simply stunned. I trust that you keep on doing your work like this later on moreover.
Jun 15, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
I definitely enjoying every little bit of this blog. It is a great website and nice share. I want to thank you. Good job! You guys do a great blog, and have some great contents. Keep up the good work
Jun 14, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
??? ???,? ???? ??? ?? ??????. ? ???? ????? ????? ???? ??? ?? ???? ?? ???? ?? ?? ??? ? ??? ?? ???? ?????!
Jun 14, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
??? ???,? ???? ??? ?? ??????. ? ???? ????? ????? ???? ??? ?? ???? ?? ???? ?? ?? ??? ? ??? ?? ???? ?????!
Jun 14, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
 
 Page: 1 of 202  | Go to page: 
 
 

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.