SATURDAY
DECEMBER 6
2014

BIANCULLI’S BEST BETS

 

NBC, 8:00 p.m. ET

Once ubiquitous, now a TV rarity: Here’s 1946’s It’s a Wonderful Life, brought back by NBC for one of its now twice-annual holiday prime-time telecasts. Hi, Bert! Hi, Ernie!

 
  
 
 

TCM, 8:00 p.m. ET

This 1966 film was scheduled by TCM to run on this date, long before the sudden death of its director, Mike Nichols. Subsequently, though, TCM has altered tonight’s lineup to add two more Nichols films to its lineup, making this a must-see and appreciate TV triple-header. First up: Nichols’ first film crossing over from stage director to movie director, and with an incendiary cast: Richard Burton, Elizabeth Taylor, George Segal and Sandy Dennis.

 
  
 
 

Sundance, 9:00 p.m. ET

MINISERIES CONCLUSION: Katie Leung stars as a woman of Chinese heritage, adopted at birth by a British man and his American wife, who learns as a young woman that the brother – a sibling she never knew she had – is on trial for murder back in China, facing execution.

 
  
 
 

TCM, 10:30 p.m. ET

This 1967 movie had a huge impact on me when I first saw it as a teenager, and I still see it as a near-perfect film – maybe a perfect one – about youth, alienation, ennui and the generation gap. I love the Simon & Garfunkel music, too, especially the guitar bits Paul Simon composed and performed expressly for the film score (as at the gas station, on the way to the wedding). And Nichols is so subtle as a director that sometimes it takes repeated viewings to realize that the film’s happy ending, when you watch closely, isn’t so happy after all. Dustin Hoffman, Anne Bancroft, Katharine Ross star.

 
  
 
 

NBC, 11:29 p.m. ET

For this new episode – episode eight of Season 40, to be precise – the scheduled guest host is James Franco, and the musical guest is Nicki Minaj.

 
  
 
 

TCM, 12:30 a.m. ET

There are interesting parallels to be made, if you care to make them, between this 1971 drama directed by Mike Nichols and another of his movies, 2004's Closer. Both focus on four characters with intertwined love lives, and very complicated and emotional reactions to every act of love or betrayal. In Carnal Knowledge, the stars are Jack Nicholson, Art Garfunkel, Candice Bergen and Ann-Margret – and for the time, both the subject matter and the on-screen action were considered very mature indeed.
 
  
 
 
 
 
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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.