SUNDAY
JUNE 29
2014

BIANCULLI’S BEST BETS

 

ESPN, 12:00 p.m. ET

How about yesterday’s penalty shoot-out between host country Brazil and Chile? What a way to start the round of 16. Today’s games in the knockout round are televised by ESPN, not ABC. The first game, kickoff at noon ET, is the Netherlands vs. Mexico. The Netherlands is showing as much strength as any team in this year’s World Cup: In its first game, the Netherlands demolished defending champions Spain 5-1, and won its next two games – emerging from the group stage not only undefeated, but with nothing but victories. (In soccer, those are two different concepts entirely.) It plays Mexico, which had two wins and a draw in a group stage, and finished just below Brazil in Group A. The second game, beginning at 4 p.m. ET, features Costa Rica and Greece, two teams that weren’t expected to get this far, but are eager to continue their surprising winning streaks.

 
  
 
 

HBO, 9:00 p.m. ET

In this second episode of the final season of True Blood, everyone seems to be in jeopardy – and that jeopardy is serious, because any character could die at any time. Of course, on True Blood, that doesn’t always mean the end of that character’s journey – quite the contrary. But tonight, for example, we learn the fate of some of the captured humans, including poor Arlene (redheaded Carrie Preston, who, between this series and The Good Wife, is having a banner year as a colorful supporting character actress).
 
  
 
 

Showtime, 9:00 p.m. ET

SEASON FINALE: Jackie (Edie Falco) has spent this series in an on-again, off-again battle with her drug addiction. This season, it’s been on again – and in tonight’s season finale, she’s confronted about this at work, and ordered to take a drug test or admit her addiction. It’s her move… and she just might.
 
  
 
 

Showtime, 9:30 p.m. ET

SERIES FINALE: After seven seasons, David Duchovny’s rebellious writer Hank Moody finally gets to the end of his own story. Does it end happily? And for Hank, what does happily really mean?

 
  
 
 

HBO, 10:00 p.m. ET

SERIES PREMIERE: Tom Perrotta’s novel, which he helped adapt for television with Damon Lindelof from Lost, is a really odd TV show to wrestle to the ground. It’s built around a fascinating and unique premise: a Rapture-type event results in the sudden disappearance of millions of people across the globe, with the focus on the people left behind to wonder why. And it’s got some excellent performances, starting with series stars Justin Theroux (pictured) and Amy Brenneman. But after watching half of this first season’s 10 episodes, I had few if any questions answered, and began to understand that most answers would never arrive. So however compelling a story line, why commit to something where the payoff may never be there? The answer to that, I guess, is a personal one, consistent with the primary subject of the series itself: It’s a question of faith. And after the brilliance of Lost was diluted by its weak and unsatisfying finale, I’m not sure, in this case, whether to count myself among the faithful.

 
  
 
 

Showtime, 10:00 p.m. ET

SEASON FINALE: This series has done so well its first season, in introducing new characters and doing new things with established ones from Victorian-era literary ones, that this Season 1 finale is something to approach with great anticipation. That’s especially true since it’s titled, and set in the on-stage world of, “Grand Guignol” – the early theatrical equivalent of splatter films and horror movies. Meanwhile, the characters who have stood together up to now begin to divide – but not to conquer.

 
  
 
 

HBO, 11:15 p.m. ET

Just a reminder: Any show that features an interview with Stephen Hawking, in which the theoretical physicist jokes with its host by firing off computer-voice-aided one-liners, is a show not to miss. If you weren’t watching recently, you did miss it – but that’s the sort of unexpected treat to expect when John Oliver is recapping the week in news.

 
  
 
 
 
 
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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.