THURSDAY

MARCH 5

2015

BIANCULLI’S BEST BETS

IFC, 6:30 p.m. ET

The other day, when the El Rey network presented its latest Director’s Chair installment (with Francis Coppola), it also repeated the two-parter in which host and filmmaker Robert Rodriguez sat down with old buddy Quentin Tarantino. It made me want to see Pulp Fiction all over again – and tonight I can. One thing I learned from that interview: Technically, Pulp Fiction is a trilogy, recycling some of the characters from three separate stories. Samuel L. Jackson, John Travolta star.

AMERICAN IDOL

Fox, 8:00 p.m. ET

Tonight, we’re down to the final eight female singers, with enough talent so that their song choices, as well as performances, should prove interesting. And, quite possibly, pivotal.

BBC America, 8:00 p.m. ET

If you watched any of this series when BBC America began importing it last week, I’m betting you’ll return for another dose of episodes of this delightfully smart and funny quiz show. I’ll be there for sure, and especially with the evening’s first episode, which is devoted to the topic of “Journalism.” Stephen Fry hosts.

AMERICAN CRIME

ABC, 10:00 p.m. ET

SERIES PREMIERE: John Ridley, who won an Oscar for his screenplay for 12 Years a Slave, created this new series, which is deliciously textured, impeccably performed, and structured in a way that is as thoughtful and dramatic as it is unusual. Felicity Huffman and Timothy Hutton play a long-divorced couple dealing with the murder of their grown son – a crime that resonates throughout various other families and couples as well. To read or hear my full review on NPR’s Fresh Air with Terry Gross, visit the Fresh Air website. And to read a full review by TVWW contributor Ed Bark, see Ed’s Uncle Barky’s Bytes.

PORTLANDIA

IFC, 10:00 p.m. ET

Tonight’s guest star? Paul Simon. What else do you need?

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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

IFC, 6:30 p.m. ET

Fox, 8:00 p.m. ET

BBC America, 8:00 p.m. ET

ABC, 10:00 p.m. ET

IFC, 10:00 p.m. ET

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