FRIDAY

MAY 3

2013

BIANCULLI’S BEST BETS

AMC, 8:00 p.m. ET

What a delight this 1999 movie is. I know, because every time I recommend it – which is just about every time it pops up on TV – I end up watching it, and being entranced all over again. Tim Allen stars as a low-rent kind of Captain Kirk on a Star Trek-type TV series, an actor preening and grousing his way through fan conventions until outer space visitors visit, confusing him and his cast members for real interstellar heroes. And what a team: Sigourney Weaver and the hilariously droll Alan Rickman head a flawless cast of endearing characters. “Spider-web” movies don’t get much stickier than this.

AUSTIN POWERS IN GOLDMEMBER

IFC, 8:00 p.m. ET

More than a decade after this 2002 Austin Powers sequel was made, the main reason to watch it today – other than to catch Dancing with the Stars judge Carrie Ann Inaba in a cameo as Asian twin “Fook Yu” – is to catch the confident co-starring role by a very young Beyoncé Knowles. She plays Foxxy Cleopatra, holding her own against Mike Myers in three roles (Austin Powers, Dr. Evil and new villain Goldmember), Seth Green as Scott Evil, and Michael York as Basil Exposition.

ALICE IN WONDERLAND

TCM, 8:00 p.m. ET

This is the 1933 version of Lewis Carroll’s wonderfully fanciful tale, and it boasts a wildly improbable collection of co-stars. Who would have imagined a movie that makes room for Gary Cooper (as the White Knight), Cary Grant (as the Mock Turtle), and W.C. Fields (as Humpty-Dumpty)? All this, and animation by Max Fleischer as well…

REAL TIME WITH BILL MAHER

HBO, 10:00 p.m. ET

This week’s guests include comic Marc Maron, whose new IFC comedy series premieres in the exact same time slot as he’s appearing with Maher. Now that’s funny. I wonder: Since Real Time is live, what’s to stop him from telling viewers to change channels?

MARON

IFC, 10:00 p.m. ET

SERIES PREMIERE: Comedian Marc Maron is the latest comic to go the Larry David route, playing an exaggerated version of himself – in this case, complete with podcasts he records in his garage. It’s a clever show at times, and shows strong potential. For a full review, see Eric Gould’s Cold Light Reader.

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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

AMC, 8:00 p.m. ET

IFC, 8:00 p.m. ET

TCM, 8:00 p.m. ET

HBO, 10:00 p.m. ET

IFC, 10:00 p.m. ET

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