TUESDAY

APRIL 5

2016

BIANCULLI’S BEST BETS

NBC, 8:00 p.m. ET

Both The Voice and American Idol are diluting the product, or stretching the inventory, tonight with retrospective specials. In the case of The Voice, it’s a one-hour “previously on The Voice” special, catching up viewers on what’s happened so far this season. And since Cycle 10 has been, to this point, the show’s best, I’d suggest it for anyone who hasn’t been watching, but would like to jump aboard the bandwagon. And in this case, the band is included.

AMERICAN IDOL: AMERICAN DREAM

Fox, 8:00 p.m. ET

This is a retrospective of American Idol, but not just of this season. It’s of the show’s entire run, starting with Brian Dunkleman – which is why Fox is allotting 90 minutes. And we may as well look back, because after next week’s finals, we won’t have American Idol to watch any more.

CAPE FEAR

TCM, 8:00 p.m. ET

Two very memorable movies from 1962 are shown tonight in prime time – both about lawyers, and both starring Gregory Peck, on what would have been his 100^th birthday. First up: Cape Fear, in which he plays an attorney terrorized by a vengeful former convict he helped send to prison. Robert Mitchum plays the vicious ex-con, who terrorizes the lawyer and his family.

AMERICAN CRIME STORY: "THE PEOPLE V. O.J. SIMPSON"

FX, 10:00 p.m. ET

MINISERIES CONCLUSION: Episode 10. This is the final installment of this unexpectedly excellent dramatization of the O.J. Simpson murder trial. When the verdict was televised live in 1995, it drew one of the largest TV audiences in history. This FX re-examination won’t score those kind of ratings. Then again, the original trial coverage didn’t win any Emmys – and this one will, starting with Sarah Paulson as Marcia Clark.

TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD

TCM, 10:00 p.m. ET

The second Gregory Peck movie in prime time, also from 1962, is To Kill a Mockingbird. Watch it with a child of the right age (and the right age may be anywhere from 8 to 18), and you might make them an even better person as a result. What a great film – and, with its insistence on standing up for unpopular causes and seeing beyond racial differences, what a great message.

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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

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Fox, 8:00 p.m. ET

TCM, 8:00 p.m. ET

FX, 10:00 p.m. ET

TCM, 10:00 p.m. ET

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