SATURDAY

AUGUST 23

2014

BIANCULLI’S BEST BETS

FXX, Check local listings

All day, and for the rest of the month and beyond, The Simpsons will be on FXX any time you tune in there. But I highly recommend making a point to catch or record the network late tonight, at 1:30 a.m. ET, when FXX presents “Who Shot Mr. Burns?,” the brilliantly funny two-parter that ended Season 6 with a cliffhanger, and opened Season 7 with a very satisfying conclusion back in 1995. The two-part mystery riffed on everything from Dallas to Twin Peaks, including a dream sequence in which Chief Wiggum is fed cryptic clues by a backwards-talking Lisa in a weird red room.

DOCTOR WHO TAKEOVER WEEK

BBC America, 8:00 a.m. ET

I’ve absolutely loved this week-long marathon of modern Doctor Who episodes, and I’ve finally realized why. I’ve set my DVR to record my very favorite episodes, even though I already have them on DVD – and whenever I’m home, I’m switching between this marathon, and the FXX mega-marathon of The Simpsons, enjoying old delights and noticing new ones. And while I slept overnight, my DVR recorded the first Doctor Who appearance by Jenna Coleman, the current companion, who first showed up in a different role, then was reintroduced as Clara, the role she portrays in all of today’s episodes, opposite Matt Smith. So what I finally realized, revisiting these old Doctor Who episodes out of order, is that I’m popping in on all of these Doctor Who time lines whenever I want, in any order. I’m a TV Time Lord, using my TiVo, and BBC America, as my virtual video TARDIS. What fun. And what a cleverly written show.

THE BIG INTERVIEW WITH DAN RATHER

AXS TV, 8:00 p.m. ET

On his post-CBS cable and satellite TV home, exiled like Napoleon at Elba, Dan Rather continues to hold court at AXS TV, headlining documentaries and conducting extending interviews – like this one, with former American Idol judge Simon Cowell. There’s a cynically obvious reason for the booking of this particular interview – the AXS TV network has obtained U.S. telecast rights for Cowell’s The X Factor U.K., the ongoing original British version of X Factor that begins Season 11 later this month, with executive producer Cowell returning to the judging panel after years away from the camera. Those programs will be imported by AXS TV beginning Sunday, Aug. 31, at 8 p.m. ET. And in the meantime, Rather visits Cowell for an in-depth conversation about exactly how Cowell amassed his clout and fame, while assessing the talent of others.

DOCTOR WHO

BBC America, 8:00 p.m. ET

SEASON PREMIERE: After a week of Doctor Who repeats, here comes what all the show’s fans have been waiting to see: The first Season 8 episode of the new Doctor Who, introducing the latest regeneration of the Doctor – now played by Peter Capaldi, who inherits his fabulous co-star, Jenna Coleman as the Doctor’s time-traveling companion, Clara. Coleman has such a vibrant presence on screen, and has been so good, so magnetic, and sometimes so chameleonic, throughout her run on this show, that I expect bigger roles will come to her quickly in the years to come. For Capaldi, the oldest Doctor in quite a while, this is the biggest role for his lifetime – and he knows it. Though, if you want a look at a much younger Capaldi, and a pre-stardom Hugh Grant as well, I strongly recommend seeking out Ken Russell’s kinky camp horror classic, 1988’s The Lair of the White Worm, based on a story by Dracula creator Bram Stoker. It stars Amanda Donohoe, later of L.A. Law, as a serpentine demon seductress, and features some of the most knowingly funny and twisted scenes ever included in a horror film. But back to the new Doctor Who, David. Take a deep breath – and recommend “Deep Breath,” the season-opening episode introducing Capaldi as the new Doctor.

THE INTRUDERS

BBC America, 10:00 p.m. ET

SERIES PREMIERE: I’ve seen only the first two episodes of this new series – certainly not nearly enough to figure out what’s going on, much less whether this series is worth watching in the long run. My first impression is a reluctant no – partly because most of the early performances are as overdone as the violence. Mira Sorvino doesn’t even get enough of a chance to be judged fairly in the early episodes, but others do – and even the youngest players seem miscast. Glen Morgan is the guy behind this complicated story about consciousness hopping from body to body – and while his X-Files lineage bodes well, his subsequent overseeing of NBC’s dismal reboot of The Bionic Woman does not.

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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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