SUNDAY

JANUARY 3

2016

BIANCULLI’S BEST BETS

ABC, 8:00 p.m. ET

SEASON PREMIERE: A second season of this medieval musical comedy wasn’t expected by many – even by many of those making this goofy but little-viewed limited series last year. But here it is, back for Season 2, with Madalena (Mallory Jansen, pictured) on the throne, Princess Isabella (Karen David) in the dungeon, and Galavant (Joshua Sasse) paired, Defiant Ones style, with an on-the-road, in-danger King Richard (Timothy Omundson). As with Season 1, two episodes are shown back-to-back each Sunday for a month, beginning tonight.

COOPER BARRETT'S GUIDE TO SURVIVING LIFE

Fox, 8:30 p.m. ET

SERIES PREMIERE: This is not a recommendation, just a warning. You’d think TV in general, and Fox in particular, by now would have generated the most reprehensible and irresponsible depictions of college boys. But no. That happens here, in plots with enough casual alcohol and drug use, and intentional stupidity, to receive that ignoble crown. For a full review, see Ed Bark's Uncle Barky's Bytes.

MASTERPIECE: "DOWNTON ABBEY"

PBS, 9:00 p.m. ET

SEASON PREMIERE: It’s back, for a new and final season, beginning with a fox hunt and ending with a Red Wedding. Well, just kidding about that second part – but a lot happens in this opening installment, and fans will be pleased by the screen time, and bits of business, given to virtually all of its favorite characters. Check local listings.

STEVE JOBS: THE MAN IN THE MACHINE

CNN, 9:00 p.m. ET

In 2015, Danny Boyle directed Aaron Sorkin’s cleverly constructed screenplay, and created a less than flattering, but never less than fascinating, biography of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs. Michael Fassbender starred as Jobs in that movie. In tonight’s new two-hour study, directed by documentarian Alex Gibney, it’s Jobs himself who takes center stage, in a new nonfiction examination of the man, his methods, and his marketing savvy.

GALAXY QUEST

Syfy, 9:00 p.m. ET

I’ve seen a lot of Syfy the last few days, as it works its way through the entire Twilight Zone canon. That finishes up this morning, but I’ve seen plenty of on-air promos for another tasty treat, shown by the network in prime time tonight: a showing of the dazzlingly clever, surprisingly touching 1999 comedy Galaxy Quest, starring Tim Allen as a William Shatlner-type star of a Star Trek-tyke TV show, enlisted with his former “crew” by alien visitors who believe the heroes to be real, and capable of saving them from a ruthless enemy.

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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

ABC, 8:00 p.m. ET

Fox, 8:30 p.m. ET

PBS, 9:00 p.m. ET

CNN, 9:00 p.m. ET

Syfy, 9:00 p.m. ET

David Bianculli

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