FRIDAY
JUNE 26
2015

BIANCULLI’S BEST BETS

 

Fox, 7:30 p.m. ET

The United States faces China in today’s Women’s World Cup quarterfinal. If they were allowed to field teams based on their representative populations, China would have about four times as many players on the field. But both teams start with the same amount of players – though the U.S., on this occasion, has to sit two previously starting midfielders, Megan Rapinoe and Lauren Holiday, for accumulated yellow-card violations. The U.S. women’s team has yet to lose at this stage of the World Cup, but their play to this point suggests some vulnerability, especially in coaching and on-field personnel. Earlier in the day, beginning at 4 p.m. ET, Fox televises another of the quartfinal matches, Germany vs. France, a duel between Germany's top-ranked team and a feisty and dangerous French one.
 
  
 
 

PBS, 9:00 p.m. ET

All you have to know about this year’s In Performance at the White House, devoted to soul music, is that its performers, with Barack and Michelle Obama watching appreciatively, include Aretha Franklin. Being singled out and invited to perform at the White House? Now that’s R-E-S-P-E-C-T. Check local listings.

 
  
 
 

History, 9:00 p.m. ET

When a was a kid – not quite a teenager, but close enough – I fell big-time into the UFO craze, reading book after book about ancient aliens visiting us (just what else explains those biblical angels “floating in mid-heaven”?), and swallowing all their claims pretty much whole. How, for example, could ancient cultures have created giant figures on the ground, such as giant stylized hummingbirds, without alien overseers hovering in spacecraft to guide them? And how else to explain the perfect symmetry of crop circles, unless they were caused by flaying saucers landing on rural fields and crops? Then I read one account that, at age 12, pretty much made me go, “Oh.” Giant figures in perfect scale? Math. Perfectly round crop circles? Put a stake in the middle of a field, tie a length of rope to it, and walk around in a perfect circle, mowing everything inside. “Oh.” And yet, these TV specials keep appearing…

 
  
 
 

Science Channel, 9:00 p.m. ET

In this special, the Mythbusters gang tests shark myths from the 1975 movie Jaws. I wouldn’t myth this for the world… and I’m gonna need a bigger TV set.

 
  
 
 

Showtime, 9:00 p.m. ET

How, exactly, did former NBA player Dennis Rodman strike up a friendship with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un? And, more to the point, why? This documentary examines that bizarre set of questions, which led to an international sports exhibition that played out both on a basketball court and in the court of public opinion.

 
  
 
 

HBO, 10:00 p.m. ET

Not to slight the panelists on tonight’s show (though I’m about to do just that), Bill Maher’s most interesting guests tonight come early and late. His opening interview is scheduled to be with EPA administrator Gina McCarthy, and the mid-show special guest is Judd Apatow.

 
  
 
 
 
 
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)
 
NCJIN
Type in the verification word shown on the image.
 
 
 Page: 1 of 270  | Go to page: 
5382 Comments
 
 
??? ??? ???? ??? ???? ??? ?????. ??? ???? ??? ???? ?? ??? ???? ???? ?? ?? ?????.
Nov 12, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
I am very much pleased with the contents you have mentioned. I wanted to thank you for this great article.
Nov 12, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
I like your blog. Very interesting. Thank you for sharing it
Nov 12, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
I’ve been searching for some decent stuff on the subject and haven't had any luck up until this point, You just got a new biggest fan!.
Nov 12, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
Wow, cool post. I'd like to write like this too - taking time and real hard work to make a great article... but I put things off too much and never seem to get started. Thanks though.
Nov 12, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
I am definitely enjoying your website. You definitely have some great insight and great stories.
Nov 12, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
We are really grateful for your blog post. You will find a lot of approaches after visiting your post. I was exactly searching for. Thanks for such post and please keep it up. Great work.
Nov 12, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
Admiring the time and effort you put into your blog and detailed information you offer!..
Nov 12, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
Very useful information shared in this article, nicely written! I will be reading your articles and using the informative tips. Looking forward to read such knowledgeable articles.
Nov 12, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
"I really appreciate this post. I’ve been looking everywhere for this! Thank goodness I found it on Bing. You have made my day! Thank you again!

"
Nov 11, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
"It’s amazing to go to see this web page and reading the
views of all colleagues regarding this piece of writing,
while I am also keen of getting knowledge."
Nov 11, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
Manusia yang menyedihkan, mencari uang dengan menipu orang jujur. Persetan dengan sampah ini.
Nov 11, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
Perilaku penipuan murni. Bajingan-bajingan ini tidak punya moral dan tidak ragu-ragu menipu orang lain.
Nov 11, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
Para penipu kelas rendah melakukan apa yang paling mereka kuasai—berbohong, menipu, dan menghilang dengan uang orang lain.
Nov 11, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
Situs web ini benar-benar penipuan, jangan percayai mereka.
Nov 11, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
Pemerintah Indonesia tangkap situs web sialan itu
Nov 11, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
Hanya kebohongan dan taktik penipuan. Buang-buang waktu dan uang saja.
Nov 11, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
Sialan para penipu ini karena telah mencuri uang dan kepercayaan orang lain.
Nov 11, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
Para penipu ini adalah pembohong profesional. Siapa pun yang mempercayai mereka hanya ikut memperkuat penipuan mereka.
Nov 11, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
Bajingan keparat, akan kupukul pantatmu dengan sangat keras!
Nov 11, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
 
 Page: 1 of 270  | 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.