THURSDAY
MARCH 28
2019

BIANCULLI’S BEST BETS

 

Various Networks, 7:00 p.m. ET

The Sweet 16 part of this year’s tournament, as always, is divided into two days, with four games played today and tomorrow. Four games per day, eight teams per day, times two = Sweet 16. CBS and TBS split the honors, with CBS offering tonight’s first contest, West No. 1 seed Gonzaga vs. No. 4 seed Florida State, at 7 p.m. ET. At 7:15 p.m. ET on TBS, South No. 2 seed Tennessee faces No. 3 seed Purdue. Then, in the evening’s next games, CBS presents West No. 2 Michigan against No. 3 Texas Tech at 9:30 p.m. ET. And at 9:45 p.m. ET on TBS, South No. 1 Virginia plays No. 12 Oregon, the only double-digit seed still standing in the Sweet 16. And how can you not root for the Oregon Ducks, whose jerseys identify them as… the Fighting Ducks?

 
  
 
 

TCM, 8:00 p.m. ET

I’ve been captivated by this tribute to movies about journalism all month, which means I just watched The China Syndrome for about the 20th time, and All the President’s Men for about the billionth. I also tuned in to revisit Ace in the Hole, which was hosted by Anderson Cooper – not, as I had thought and written, previous “Journalism in the Movies” co-host Carl Bernstein. So even journalists writing about movies about journalism can get it wrong. But tonight, I presume Cooper is back with TCM host Ben Mankiewicz – and I’m certain, regardless, that tonight’s films include Burgess Meredith in 1945’s The Story of G.I. Joe, as WWII correspondent Ernie Pyle (at 8 p.m. ET), with Robert Mitchum as co-star. That’s followed at 10 p.m. ET by 1982’s The Year of Living Dangerously, starring Mel Gibson, Sigourney Weaver, and Linda Hunt. Also, set your DVRs for 4 a.m. ET, to record Dragnet creator Jack Webb’s typically no-nonsense look at the newspaper industry, starring Webb himself. Its title is -30-, which is what we old-time newspaper guys and gals used to type at the end of our stories to let the typesetters know there were no more sentences to set. -30-

 
  
 
 

NBC, 9:30 p.m. ET

SERIES PREMIERE: Check out this new sitcom, because it’s an amazingly rare TV animal. Created by Josh Malmuth, and with The Good Place creator Michael Schur as an executive producer, Abby’s is a sitcom shot in the once-standard multi-camera format, in front of an audience – but it’s shot outdoors. TV critics are loath to ever use the word “first” when referring to anything a TV show attempts, but I can’t come up with a precursor for this one. It’s a comedy set in an outdoor, under-the-radar neighborhood bar, like Cheers under the stars – and fronted by some very, very likable performers. The bar belongs to Abby, who’s played by Natalie Morales (from Parks and Recreation and The Middleman); Neil Flynn from The Middle co-stars. For full reviews, see Ed Bark's Uncle Barky's Bytes, and David Hinckley's All Along the Watchtower.

 
  
 
 
 
 
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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.