THURSDAY
AUGUST 24
2017

BIANCULLI’S BEST BETS

 

NBC, 9:00 p.m. ET

Every week on this half-hour Saturday Night Live summer spinoff, one bit has leapt out as the one most discussed, and remembered, the next day. Two weeks ago, on opening night, it was Alex Moffat and Mikey Day as, respectively, Eric and Donald Trump Jr. Last week, it was Tina Fey, suggesting an unusual “sheet cake” method (pictured) -- "sheetcaking" -- of coping with the upsetting news from Charlottesville. And tonight, who knows? All I know is, I’ll be watching. Colin Jost and Michael Che co-anchor.

 
  
 
 

MGM HD, 10:00 p.m. ET

This 1980 big-budget, comic-book sci-fi movie isn’t very good, but it’s fun – and oddly, it seems to improve with age, at least in terms of its campy soundtrack by Queen. This film arrived in cinemas a few years after the first Star Wars movie, and when TV already was littered with such garishly colored sci-fi ripoffs and retro offerings as Battlestar Galactica (the original, terrible one) and Buck Rogers in the 25th Century – which, like Flash Gordon, was a remake of a classic movie serial. Buck Rogers, as a weekly Saturday matinee feature in 1939, starred Buster Crabbe. Flash Gordon, a movie serial made three years earlier, also starred Buster Crabbe. In this 1980 reboot, Flash is played by the remarkably untalented Sam J. Jones, with Melody Anderson as his sweetheart Dale Arden, and Max Von Sydow as the malicious Emperor Ming. Future James Bond player Timothy Dalton plays a prince, and former Fiddler on the Roof star Topol an inventor, with Ornella Muti, as Princess Aura, providing most of the sex appeal. This movie’s original screenplay was written by Lorenzo Semple Jr., one of the original forces behind TV’s equally tongue-in-cheek, day-glo 1960s version of Batman.
 
  
 
 

TBS, 10:30 p.m. ET

Tonight’s installment of this clever Greg Garcia comedy anthology series stars Jenna Fischer, who was so endearing as the receptionist Pam on NBC’s version of The Office. She plays a scientist who attempts an innovative form of therapy for an Alzheimer’s patient, played by the great Orson Bean. She takes him to one of the few places he remembers – an old vacation cabin from decades ago – and redecorates and repopulates it so that she and everyone else who visits appears to be from an earlier era. This unorthodox approach indeed succeeds at triggering old memories, and reviving the old man’s personality. That’s the good news… and the bad news.
 
  
 
 
 
 
Read and add comments HERE for today's Best Bets!
 
 
 
 
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3808 Comments
 
 
Para penipu kelas rendah melakukan apa yang paling mereka kuasai—berbohong, menipu, dan menghilang dengan uang orang lain.
Apr 23, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
Manusia sampah sejati, memangsa orang-orang tak berdosa hanya untuk mengisi kantong mereka yang serakah. Sungguh memalukan.
Apr 23, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
Pemerintah Indonesia, persetan dengan para penipu itu, tangkap mereka dan persetan dengan mereka karena telah menipu banyak orang.
Apr 23, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
Manusia sampah sejati, memangsa orang-orang tak berdosa hanya untuk mengisi kantong mereka yang serakah. Sungguh memalukan.
Apr 23, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
Para penipu yang memalukan memangsa orang-orang dengan klaim palsu dan kebohongan.
Apr 23, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
This article is packed with insights! I truly appreciate the time and effort you put into making it so engaging. Well done!
Apr 22, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
Such an amazing read! Your ability to explain things in a simple yet detailed way is truly impressive.
Apr 22, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
You really make it seem so easy with your presentation but I find this matter to be actually something which I think I would never understand. It seems too complex and extremely broad for me. I am looking forward for your next post, I will try to get the hang of it!
Apr 21, 2026   |  Reply
 
Dave Bianculli
Hey sweetie,

It's not that complicated! It's TV!!! Do what I do!!!!! Grab a six pack of Miller Lite, crack the first one open and drink it. Rinse and repeat!!!!!!! ROTFLMBFFAO!!!!!!!!!

Just let the TV flow over you.

Good luck!!!!!!!!!!

Dave
Apr 21, 2026
 
 
 
You really make it seem so easy with your presentation but I find this matter to be actually something which I think I would never understand. It seems too complex and extremely broad for me. I am looking forward for your next post, I will try to get the hang of it!
Apr 21, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
This was well explained since it stayed concise and clear. Thanks for sharing this insight.
Apr 21, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
Para penipu ini adalah pembohong profesional. Siapa pun yang mempercayai mereka hanya ikut memperkuat penipuan mereka.
Apr 21, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
Pemerintah Indonesia, persetan dengan para penipu itu, tangkap mereka dan persetan dengan mereka karena telah menipu banyak orang.
Apr 21, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
Pemerintah Indonesia tangkap situs web sialan itu
Apr 21, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
Practical stream
A thoughtful reflection on TV criticism’s evolution and legacy—blending nostalgia, personal memories, and appreciation for creators who shaped meaningful viewing experiences.
Apr 21, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
Manusia sampah sejati, memangsa orang-orang tak berdosa hanya untuk mengisi kantong mereka yang serakah. Sungguh memalukan.
Apr 21, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
Sialan para penipu ini karena telah mencuri uang dan kepercayaan orang lain.
Apr 20, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
Situs web ini benar-benar penipuan, jangan percayai mereka.
Apr 20, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
Perilaku penipuan murni. Bajingan-bajingan ini tidak punya moral dan tidak ragu-ragu menipu orang lain.
Apr 20, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
Hanya sekelompok penipu lain yang melakukan bisnis kotor secara online.
Apr 20, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
Sialan para penipu ini karena telah mencuri uang dan kepercayaan orang lain.
Apr 20, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
 
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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.