SATURDAY

MARCH 3

2012

BIANCULLI’S BEST BETS

Public Television, 7:00 p.m. ET

(Check Local Listings) This new PBS pledge special pops up this weekend on most local public TV member stations, with a lot of them showing it late afternoon or in prime time tonight. Check local listings to find it in your area, and make a special effort to do so: Hosted by Peter Marshall (yes, of Hollywood Squares fame) and Nick Clooney (yes, George’s dad), this special is a compilation of movie clips and promotional film shorts highlighting big band headliners. It’s all vintage, and it’s quite a haul. A dapper young Frank Sinatra sings “Night and Day” with, and to, an all-girl orchestra (at left); Benny Goodman trades solo spots with vocalist Peggy Lee; and Louis Armstrong holds court from behind a bar. Great stuff, pristinely restored – and paired, on many stations, by another T.J. Lubinsky pledge production, a concert reunion special called ’70s Soul Superstars.

"THE MONKEES" MARATHON

Antenna TV, 5:00 p.m. ET

(Antenna TV, 5 p.m. Saturday-10 p.m. Sunday ET) In tribute to Davy Jones, who died earlier this week, Antenna TV has cleared its decks to make this a Pleasant Valley Sunday – and Saturday, too. Beginning at 5 p.m. ET today, Antenna TV is replaying, in order, every episode of the 1966-68 NBC series The Monkees. And many times, the performance segments on the shows featured different vocal tracks than the ones on the singles and albums, so there are interesting variations to be found here. For more Monkees information and reflection, see Diane Werts’ For Better or Werts column HERE and my Bianculli’s Blog entry HERE. And finally, to find Antenna TV in your area, click HERE.

SOME LIKE IT HOT

TCM, 8:00 p.m. ET

If you’re into NBC's Smash – and I wish more of you were, because I’m rooting for that ambitious series to succeed – this is the perfect time to catch this 1959 comedy, one of Marilyn Monroe’s career-best comedy roles. She stars as a member of an all-girl orchestra, which is infiltrated by a disguised Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon, who are hiding from gangsters. (Who would have thought? Two references to all-girl orchestras in the same day's BEST BETS!)

AN IDIOT ABROAD 2: THE BUCKET LIST

Science Channel, 10:00 p.m. ET

On this season’s penultimate episode, Karl Pilkington travels to Japan, where he climbs Mount Fuji, tours Tokyo, encounters the world’s steepest roller coaster, and climbs in the ring with a Sumo wrestler. My money's on Karl... but only to be entertaining.

SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE

NBC, 11:29 p.m. ET

Lindsay Lohan returns to SNL for her first guest-hosting gig in six years – and her first appearance post-rehab. On Late Night with Jimmy Fallon this week, she extracted a promise from the host to appear with her on her SNL comeback show, so Fallon, as well as Lohan, is someone to watch tonight. The musical guest is – well, really, this week, who cares?

<< PREVIOUS | NEXT >>

Read and add comments HERE for today's Best Bets!

Leave a Comment: (No HTML, 1000 chars max)

Name (required)

Email (required) (will not be published)


Type in the verification word shown on the image.

Page: 1 of 208 | Go to page:

4148 Comments

BNG ?????

Efficiently written information. It will be profitable to anybody who utilizes it, counting me. Keep up the good work. For certain I will review out more posts day in and day out

Jul 7, 2026 | Reply

????? ??? ?????

"Very interesting blog. Alot of blogs I see these days don't really provide anything that I'm interested in, but I'm most definately interested in this one. Just thought that I would post and let you know.
"

Jul 7, 2026 | Reply

?????

Thank you for such a well written article. It’s full of insightful information and entertaining descriptions. Your point of view is the best

Jul 7, 2026 | Reply

????? ??

Hey, this day is too much good for me, since this time I am reading this enormous informative article here at my home. Thanks a lot for massive hard work

Jul 7, 2026 | Reply

CQ9 ?? ??? ??

The appearance positively wonderful. All of these miniature info are fashioned utilizing massive amount historical past experience. I want it all significantly

Jul 7, 2026 | Reply

?? ????

This article gives the light in which we can observe the reality. This is very nice one and gives indepth information. Thanks for this nice article

Jul 7, 2026 | Reply

????

Everything has its own value, but this is really precious information shared by Author

Jul 7, 2026 | Reply

???????

Very likely I’m going to bookmark your blog . You absolutely have wonderful stories. Cheers for sharing with us your blo

Jul 7, 2026 | Reply

Sell GPU servers

Pretty good post. I have just stumbled upon your blog and enjoyed reading your blog posts very much. I am looking for new posts to get more precious info. Big thanks for the useful info.

Jul 7, 2026 | Reply

??? ????

don't forget, keep sharing useful infoSo grab a drink, roll the dice, and let’s get began! With an LLC, you will have to file paperwork with the Secretary of State (or different company) to type the organization.

Jul 7, 2026 | Reply

????

Hey! Someone in my Facebook group shared this website with us so I came to give it a look. I’m definitely loving the information. I’m book-marking and will be tweeting this to my followers! Terrific blog and amazing design.| You reported this exceptionally well! fda kratom

Jul 7, 2026 | Reply

https://wonderl.ink/@manilatooto

Excellent analysis! Your perspective on this matter provides a lot of value to the community. I recently saved for future reference, and your points align perfectly with their updated guidelines. Thanks for putting this together.

Jul 6, 2026 | Reply

https://www.nanaimolandscaping.ca/

The majority of coach bags labeling tend to be steel although not all are.

Jul 6, 2026 | Reply

???????

The appearance positively wonderful. All of these miniature info are fashioned utilizing massive amount historical past experience. I want it all significantly

Jul 5, 2026 | Reply

jacktoto

Sialan para penipu ini karena telah mencuri uang dan kepercayaan orang lain.

Jul 5, 2026 | Reply

?????

??? ???? ??????. ?? ??? ?? ??? ??? ?? ????. ?? ??? ?????. ? ???? ??? ?? ?????.

Jul 5, 2026 | Reply

??????

?? ??? ? ?? ???? ???? ? ?? ?? ?? ? ????. ?? ??? ??? ???? ??? ? ????

Jul 5, 2026 | Reply

?????

?? ??? ? ?? ???? ???? ? ?? ?? ?? ? ????. ?? ??? ??? ???? ??? ? ????

Jul 5, 2026 | Reply

?????

?? ??? ? ?? ???? ???? ? ?? ?? ?? ? ????. ?? ??? ??? ???? ??? ? ????

Jul 5, 2026 | Reply

???

??? ???? ??????. ?? ??? ?? ??? ??? ?? ????. ?? ??? ?????. ? ???? ??? ?? ?????.

Jul 5, 2026 | Reply

Page: 1 of 208 | Go to page:

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.

New From TVWW

BIANCULLI’S BEST BETS

Public Television, 7:00 p.m. ET

Antenna TV, 5:00 p.m. ET

TCM, 8:00 p.m. ET

Science Channel, 10:00 p.m. ET

NBC, 11:29 p.m. ET

David Bianculli

PBS' 'Frontline’ Examines Pension Promises and — Spoiler Alert — Finds the Math Doesn’t Add Up

The Decadence of ‘Versailles’ Comes to Ovation

Prescribing Mamie Gummer in 'Emily Owens, M.D.'

Looking for a Free Ride? HBO Can Deliver

'Pass the Biscuits' Part of the Hatfield-McCoy Pop-Culture Legacy