WEDNESDAY
MARCH 23
2016

BIANCULLI’S BEST BETS

 

TCM, 8:00 p.m. ET

Tied to Friday’s release of Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice, which puts those two DC Comics superheroes and Wonder Woman all in the same movie, TCM devotes tonight’s entire lineup, from prime time through late night, to early films inspired by comic books and newspaper comic strips. First up are some serials, sampled in double doses, starting at 8 p.m. ET with 1943’s Batman. The action sequences may be laughable (well, let’s be honest: they are), and the anti-Asian sentiment is embarrassing (this was filmed in mid-WWII, with J. Carroll Naish playing the mind-controlling Japanese villain Dr. Daka. Lewis Wilson’s Batman is flabby, and Douglas Croft’s Robin looks…well, ridiculous. But this is a fun film intro to the Dynamic Duo anyway – and fans of the campy 1960s TV Batman may be startled to learn that this 1943 serial was the source of the cartoon bat logo in the TV show’s opening credits.

 
  
 
 

TCM, 9:00 p.m. ET

By this 1949 serial, the Caped Crusaders were played by other actors – Robert Lowery as Batman, and Johnny Duncan as Robin. But the changes were ineffective, really: Batman was still too out of shape, and the acting, like the fight sequences, laughably stiff. But it’s still fun to compare it to the brand-new blockbuster hitting theaters, and to other full-length films in the Batman canon. This one even has Bruce Wayne’s love interest Vicki Vale, played by Jane Adams – and a hooded villain called The Wizard.

 
  
 
 

FX, 10:00 p.m. ET

I’ve seen the first four episodes of this season’s The Americans, and it’s ratcheted up the suspense and intrigue yet again, to the point where this series is now one of the best of the year. And if you’ve been following the story line, in which Elizabeth and Philip (Keri Russell, Matthew Rhys) are struggling to deal with their 15-year-old daughter Paige (Holly Taylor) after she learned of their roles as Soviet sleeper agents living in the U.S., tonight the parents learn that she’s confided that secret to someone else. Tonight’s title? “Pastor Tim.” Tonight’s quality acting and writing? Off the charts.

 
  
 
 

TCM, 10:00 p.m. ET

This is the biggest treat of tonight’s TCM From Comics to Film tribute night: Two episodes, including the premiere installment, of the 1948 live-action serial bringing Superman to the big screen. Kirk Alyn plays Superman, and Tommy Bond plays Jimmy Olsen – but Lois Lane is played by Noel Neill, who reprised the role when The Adventures of Superman became a TV weekly TV series in 1952. The first episode shown has the entire “Baby Kryptonian sent by rocket ship to Earth” origin story – and also works in time for a villain, Carol Foreman as The Spider Lady. (No relation to Spider-Man: That’s a Marvel Comics character, not from Superman’s DC Comics.)

 
  
 
 

TCM, 12:30 a.m. ET

Another treat served up in tonight’s From Comics to Film tribute is this early, influential serial from 1939, starring Buster Crabbe as Buck Rogers, a sort of sci-fi Rip Van Winkle, and Constance Moore as Wilma Deering. Other notable serials shown tonight include 1940’s The Green Hornet at 11:30 p.m. ET, the same year’s Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe at 1:30 a.m. ET, and 1943’s The Phantom at 2:15 a.m. ET. So where’s the vintage Wonder Woman serial? They never made one…

 
  
 
 
 
 
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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.