TUESDAY

FEBRUARY 4

2014

BIANCULLI’S BEST BETS

BILLY JOEL: A MATTER OF TRUST – THE BRIDGE TO RUSSIA

Showtime, 8:30 p.m. ET

This documentary really surprised me – not only because of the musical event it captured, with Billy Joel taking his band, songs and family to the Soviet Union in the Cold War year of 1987, but because of the emotions it captured as well. The evolving reactions by the crowds as Joel toured various cities behind the Iron Curtain, and his private interactions with everyday citizens – it all makes this much more than a concert documentary. It would be part of a perfect double bill with another documentary: Exporting Raymond, Phil Rosenthal’s account of trying to adapt Everybody Loves Raymond for a Russian audience. If you missed A Matter of Trust when it premiered Friday, catch the repeat tonight.

NEW GIRL

Fox, 9:00 p.m. ET

After Sunday’s Super Bowl, a special episode of New Girl drew an estimated 25.8 million viewers – good enough to make it the highest-rating scripted TV offering in three years (since Fox’s Glee occupied the same post-Super Bowl slot). It’s a far cry from the zenith days of such stunts, when an expanded post-game episode of NBC’s Friends in 1996 pulled in nearly 53 million viewers. But the enhanced exposure of New Girl ought to translate to additional viewers for tonight’s new episode, which guest stars Adam Brody. How many new viewers? Ay, there’s the rub.

BROOKLYN NINE-NINE

Fox, 9:30 p.m. ET

This series also had a post-Super Bowl slot on Fox Sunday night, but it was not only post-game, but post-New Girl. As a result, estimated viewership for that special episode of Brooklyn Nine-Nine was estimated at “just” 14.8 million. These days, those are major TV numbers, and, as with New Girl, the question is how many new eyeballs Sunday’s exposure will bring to tonight’s new episode, with which Brooklyn moves to a new time slot. Tomorrow, we’ll know the answer.

JUSTIFIED

FX, 10:00 p.m. ET

Last week’s episode of Justified threw all sorts of obstacles in front of Boyd (Walton Goggins), and the gauntlet continues tonight. Meanwhile, old information surfaces which makes Raylan (Timothy Olyphant) feel just as threatened – and even more persecuted by those around him.

GIRLS

HBO, 10:00 p.m. ET

Last weekend, to avoid a Sunday night conflict with the Super Bowl, HBO aired that week’s new episode of Girls one night early, on Saturday night. For those who missed it – and, I confess, I didn’t help by not pointing out the special telecast in that day’s Bianculli’s Best Bets – here’s a welcome repeat, of the episode in which Hannah (Lena Dunham) scrambles to find a new publisher for her manuscript.

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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

Showtime, 8:30 p.m. ET

Fox, 9:00 p.m. ET

Fox, 9:30 p.m. ET

FX, 10:00 p.m. ET

HBO, 10:00 p.m. ET

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