TUESDAY

JANUARY 31

2017

BIANCULLI’S BEST BETS

TCM, 8:00 p.m. ET

Filmmaker Frank Darabont concludes his “Stars Behind Bars” overview on TCM with one final Tuesday night of prison films. Tonight’s chain gang of movies begins at 8 p.m. ET with 1962’s Birdman of Alcatraz, starring Burt Lancaster (pictured), and also includes a late-night 2 a.m. ET showing of 1980’s Brubaker, starring Robert Redford.

TALE OF TALES

The Movie Channel, 8:00 p.m. ET

Fairy tales from the Brothers Grimm, and Hans Christian Andersen, have permeated our culture for generations – but this 2015 movie is based on tales by an Italian folklorist, Giambattista Basile. Watch for Salma Hayek as a vengeful queen, and John C. Reilly and Toby Jones as her co-stars.

AMERICAN EXPERIENCE: "THE RACE UNDERGROUND"

PBS, 9:00 p.m. ET

What a difference a day makes. Yesterday, in Bianculli’s Best Bets, I made the mistake of thinking yesterday was today, and including two of the PBS offerings, this show and Frontline, in Monday’s recommendations instead of Tuesday’s. Please forgive me – it was one of those stress days, or, as I think of them, days. And maybe you can think of them as very literal sneak previews. Regardless. They’re on tonight, and here are details, repeated from yesterday. When you think of subways – or at least when I do – the first city that comes to mind is New York, where the Bronx is up and the Battery’s down, and the people ride in a hole in the ground. But as this documentary explains, the first city to build a subway system wasn’t New York, but Boston. The Race Underground explains why, when, where – and, most important, how. Check local listings.

MARVEL'S AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D.

ABC, 10:00 p.m. ET

Tonight’s episode features Patton Oswalt in his recurring role as a loyal S.H.I.E.L.D. agent. Actually, it’s more than one recurring role – and tonight, both of them are in danger.

FRONTLINE: "BATTLE FOR IRAQ"

PBS, 10:00 p.m. ET

Repeated from my error-filled yesterday: This new installment of Frontline takes a very close-up look at the war in Iraq, with the battle for Mosul photographed from a street-level perspective. Check local listings.

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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

TCM, 8:00 p.m. ET

The Movie Channel, 8:00 p.m. ET

PBS, 9:00 p.m. ET

ABC, 10:00 p.m. ET

PBS, 10:00 p.m. ET

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