MONDAY
OCTOBER 28
2013

BIANCULLI’S BEST BETS

 

Fox, 8:00 p.m. ET

These World Series games are finding unprecedented ways to end – and I’m not exaggerating. Game 3 ended with an obstruction call, ruling that a Boston Red Sox third baseman had interfered with a St. Louis Cardinals base runner on his effort to reach home plate. And last night, Game 4 ended with a pick off throw, when Red Sox closer Koji Uehara caught a base runner straying too far from first. With two outs in the bottom of the ninth, and the Cardinals behind 4-2, and hence the tying run at the plate. When was the last time a pitcher’s pick-off throw ended a postseason game? Never, that’s when. The pitching in this series has been amazing. The base running and fielding, not so much. But tonight is Game 5, and now the series is tied, 2-2.

 
  
 
 

TCM, 8:00 p.m. ET

The TCM showing of the film documentary series The Story of Film: An Odyssey is up to 1967, a pivotal time in American cinema – which means the accompanying film shown tonight are all, pretty much, must-see movies. The lineup begins with 1967’s The Graduate, Mike Nichols’ fluid masterpiece which game us the angst of the Baby Boom generation, the instant stardom of Dustin Hoffman, the unforgettable allure of Anne Bancroft (and, as her daughter, Katharine Ross), and the music of Simon & Garfunkel. Although, I must say, I look at this movie a bit differently, now that one of my college film students, female, told me that when she sees the character of Benjamin in The Graduate, she doesn't see an antihero. She sees… a stalker. Think about it. (She got an A.)

 
  
 
 

HBO, 9:00 p.m. ET

James Toback and Alec Baldwin team up for this new HBO Documentary film, which basically gives them an excuse to seek funding for an erotic movie they want to make, while flattering ad luring potential investors by filming the process. The snake-oil sales pitches are a little creepy, but the accompanying conversations with directors and actors, about Cannes and the filmmaking and fundraising process, are very entertaining. James Caan, Martin Scorsese, Francis Ford Coppola and Roman Polanski (pictured) tell good stories – and Ryan Gosling, the youngster in the group, tells some great ones. For a full review, see Eric Gould’s Cold Light Reader.
 
  
 
 

TCM, 10:00 p.m. ET

Tonight is Part 8: 1967-1979, New American Cinema. And this means the narrative of this documentary finally gets to one of the best periods in modern American cinema. And what movies are on the TCM schedule tonight, as extra treats! Mike Nichols’ 1967 The Graduate (at 8 p.m. ET). Robert Altman’s 1971 McCabe and Mrs. Miller (11:45 p.m. ET). Peter Bogdanovich’s 1971 The Last Picture Show (1:30 a.m. ET), featuring Jeff Bridges and introducing Cybill Shepherd (pictured). And Martin Scorsese’s 1973 Mean Streets (3:45 a.m. ET). Wow.

 
  
 
 

TCM, 11:45 p.m. ET

Robert Altman’s 1971 Western is a wonderful movie that subverts almost everything you expect in a traditional Western, yet delivers a satisfying, fascinating drama anyway.  Warren Beatty and Julie Christie star in the title roles: He plays a gambler, she plays a prostitute. And you can’t take your eyes off either one of them, even in the snow.

 
  
 
 
 
 
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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.