TUESDAY

AUGUST 26

2014

BIANCULLI’S BEST BETS

FXX, Check local listings

The marathon every-episode showing of The Simpsons has been going nonstop for six days now, and we’re not even at the halfway point. Amazing. So tune in any time for more fun – though, of today’s batch, I have a particular fondness for “Trilogy of Error,” televised tonight at 10:30 ET. Why? Partly because its structure is particularly complex and inventive, and partly because the title is a play on an excellent Seventies-vintage TV movie, Trilogy of Terror, starring Karen Black, and partly because Homer loses part of his thumb in an accident, which is clumsy even for Homer. All of which compels me to give the episode a non-severed thumbs up.

O BROTHER, WHERE ART THOU?

Starz!, 7:05 p.m. ET

This 2000 Coen Brothers film is a marvelous comedy. At least I marvel at it every time I see it, and I see it virtually every time it’s televised. The images are amazing, the performances – starting with George Clooney in one of his best and bravest roles– are superb, and the music is every bit as dynamic as everything else in the movie. Oh, and it’s based on Homer’s Odyssey, and features John Goodman as a Depression-era Cyclops. So how many times have you seen that in a film? I’m just saying…

FACE OFF

Syfy, 9:00 p.m. ET

Tonight’s challenge has the special-effects makeup contestants devising and designing mashups between characters and looks from The Wizard of Oz and Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. And since this is shown on Syfy, expect some strange, Sharknado-type hybrids indeed. Personally, I’m hoping for a Jabbertoto. Or a Munchqueen.

TYRANT

FX, 10:00 p.m. ET

SEASON FINALE: We now know that a coup has been put in place, one that pits brother against brother, and could well end up pitting brother against sister-in-law as well.

GROUNDHOG DAY

Sundance, 10:00 p.m. ET

Do you feel like you’ve read my Bianculli’s Best Bet about this 1993 Bill Murray movie before? Maybe you have. Maybe a lot more than once. And what does that say about whether you’re stuck in a repetitive time loop? Don’t bother responding. I already know your answer…

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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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BIANCULLI’S BEST BETS

FXX, Check local listings

Starz!, 7:05 p.m. ET

Syfy, 9:00 p.m. ET

FX, 10:00 p.m. ET

Sundance, 10:00 p.m. ET

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