FRIDAY

JULY 27

2012

BIANCULLI’S BEST BETS

Public Television, Check local listings

On this weekend’s program, Bill Moyers interviews Karl Marlantes, a Rhodes scholar and Vietnam veteran who struggles to make sense of the concept of war. But as an online extra added this week to the Moyers & Company website, Moyers also delivers an exclusive video essay about the Colorado shooting, in which he takes aim at recent interpretations of the second amendment. You can watch that video essay HERE. Moyers & Company airs from Friday to Sunday on local public TV stations; to find it in your local area, click HERE.

PRIMARY COLORS

Showtime 2, 6:30 p.m. ET

If you’ve seen USA’s Political Animals, even though we at TVWW have warned you not to bother, then you know it’s an unabashed fan fiction drama about Bill and Hillary Clinton, with the names changed to protect the guilty from lawyers. But here’s the real deal – a very smart 1998 political satire, directed by Mike Nichols, starring John Travolta and Emma Thompson as a thinly veiled variation on Bill and Hillary. Compare and contrast, and you’ll see why Political Animals is such a tame beast.

2012 SUMMER OLYMPICS

NBC, 7:30 p.m. ET

And so it begins. Don’t expect a dazzling spectacle on the scale of Beijing as London hosts the opening ceremonies of the 2012 Summer Olympic Games. Jon Stewart, reacting to press conference video in which a scale model of the pastoral setting planned by the Brits, likened it to the Teletubbies set.” Ouch. But here it comes, along with a bunch of sheep, some folks playing cricket, and Sir Paul McCartney performing. And from this moment on, the temperature will be taken for the 2012 strain of Olympic fever. For the opening ceremonies of our own Olympics coverage, see out scene-setting pieces by Ed Bark at Uncle Bark's Bytes HERE, by Gerald Jordan at Crossing Jordan HERE, and by Christy Slewinski at Television and Beyond HERE.

WEB THERAPY

Showtime 2, 9:30 p.m. ET

Promos for Monday’s episode of Web Therapy promised a very special mystery guest star. The mystery was solved Monday night, when it turned out to be Julia Louis-Dreyfus, playing the sister of Lisa Kudrow’s Fiona. The two actresses had a great time acting out a vicious verbal duel of sibling rivalry – so if you missed it Monday, here’s a convenient chance to catch up.

NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN

Bravo, 10:00 p.m. ET

The Coen brothers did it again – made a hypnotically watchable and unpredictable movie – with this 2007 thriller about a quiet killer (played by Javier Bardem, pictured, who won an Oscar) and the people in his path, who include Josh Brolin, Tommy Lee Jones and Woody Harrelson. Also, watch for Kelly Macdonald, who went from here to HBO’s Boardwalk Empire.

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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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