WEDNESDAY

AUGUST 27

2014

BIANCULLI’S BEST BETS

FXX, Check local listings

Two “Treehouse” treats. At 11:30 a.m. ET, there’s “Treehouse of Horror XIII” from Season 14, the 2002 episode including the Island of Dr. Moreau takeoff with half-animal versions of the entire Simpsons clan. Then, at 10:30 p.m. ET, there’s 2003’s “Treehouse of Terror XIV,” which includes another mad scientist segment – this time Professor Frink, the thick-glasses, frantic-Jerry Lewis-talking, lab-coat-wearing oddball who, in this piece, attempts to bring his late father back to life. And guess who provides the voice of the elder Frink? The real Jerry Lewis. Oh, and speaking of “Treehouse of Horror,” I have an actual scoop: Last week I was on Radio Times, a wonderful local Philadelphia radio show hosted by Marty Moss-Coane, with Simpsons writer-producer Michael Price, and I asked him about this year’s upcoming “Treehouse.” One segment concept he revealed: a version of A Clockwork Orange, with Homer and his pals playing overage droogies. Sounds positively, and in this case literally, horrorshow…

SIDEWAYS

Sundance, 7:15 p.m. ET

Before directing 2013’s Nebraska and 2011’s The Descendants (set, respectively, in a black-and-white heartland and a deceptively sunny Hawaii), Alexander Payne directed and co-wrote this 2004 twisted road tour of the California wine country. Paul Giamatti was in peak form as a depressed man who accompanies a buddy (Thomas Haden Church) about to be married on a last-adventure trip to some local wineries, and Virginia Madsen and Sandra Oh are equally credible, touching, and unpredictable as the women they encounter along the way. Sideways feels more like a Seventies movie than a modern one – and I mean that as the highest sort of compliment.

SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE

Fox, 8:00 p.m. ET

It’s getting down to it. Tonight the four finalists – from left in photo, Valerie Rockey, Ricky Udeba, Zack Everhart and Jessica Richens – dance with paired guest partners, and alone, to try and earn enough viewer votes to win next week. And believe me: At this level of this particular competition, the stage is filled with nothing but talent, so opting for a winner could make the Emmy Best Dramatic Actor in a Series race look like an easy call.

EXTANT

CBS, 9:00 p.m. ET

Two more episodes are shown back-to-back tonight, as CBS rushes to finish off this show’s summer run before the rollout of new fall shows. Tonight, Molly’s “son” is around, and learning, and growing – and that sentence may refer to more than just her robot “offspring.”

THE DIVIDE

WE TV, 9:00 p.m. ET

SEASON FINALE: For now, let’s just call tonight’s episode the season finale – though the story’s far from finished, yet the series might be. But give WE TV credit, at any rate, for trying. The Divide was an eminently watchable program from that network, which might well be its first.

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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

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Sundance, 7:15 p.m. ET

Fox, 8:00 p.m. ET

CBS, 9:00 p.m. ET

WE TV, 9:00 p.m. ET

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