NBC Sports Network, 2:40 p.m. ET
NBC’s coverage of the Olympics was very satisfying in some spots yesterday, and annoyingly jingoistic in others. Today, though, at 2:45 p.m. ET on NBC Sports Network, it’s a particularly noteworthy semifinal game in women’s soccer. As Craig Ferguson would say, “It’s a great day for America” – because two of our continent’s representatives, The USA and Canada, square off, with the winner advancing to the finals and a shot at the 2012 gold medal.
Starz!, 7:20 p.m. ET
Here’s my most recently produced “spider-web” movie – a film I seem to watch on TV every time it’s televised. And this time, I’ll pay particular attention, and ask you to do the same, to Alison Pill, in a small but vibrant supporting role. Currently, on HBO’s The Newsroom, she plays TV associate producer Maggie Jordan – but in this 2011 Woody Allen film, as one of several wild characters encountered in Paris by Owen Wilson’s wandering writer, she plays a free-spirited young bride named Zelda, who takes him for a ride. Watch for her.
BBC America, 9:00 p.m. ET
This 2010 episode of this charming British import stars former Star Trek: The Next Generation star Patrick Stewart, who is instantly identified as the most famous guest to ever appear on the long-running car-enthusiast program. “This must be a terrible show, then,” Stewart shoots back. But it isn’t. And when Stewart straps himself behind the wheel for a timed test run, it’s an episode you’ll watch to watch to the finish – his and the program’s. Make it so.
CMT, 9:00 p.m. ET
I’m not sure, frankly, why this 1992 movie, written by Aaron Sorkin based on his own Broadway play, is being shown on Country Music Television. (Maybe because a few of its good men sport Southern accents?) But here it is, a movie that’s always a treat to watch – especially for Jack Nicholson’s scene-stealing, momentum-gathering supporting role. Tom Cruise stars.
TNT, 9:00 p.m. ET
This is the penultimate episode of The Closer, and it features an episode, and an investigation, that sets the stage for some major confrontations, decisions, and changes. Kyra Sedgwick, as Brenda, is being given the opportunity to go out in style – and, more important, completely in character. Good for her. Good for The Closer.