BBC America, 2:00 p.m. ET
If you’ve been following my advice for the past seven weeks, this is a redundant recommendation, brought to you by the Department of Redundancy Department (thanks, Mad magazine, for making that memorable joke all those decades ago). But if you haven’t been watching and recording Sir David Attenborough and his weekly Seven Worlds, One Planet episodes, with one installment devoted to each continent, then you’ve missed one of the best nature documentary series ever made. But don’t despair: Today, starting at 2 p.m. ET, BBC America repeats the entire miniseries, then caps it off with a behind-the-scenes special. Consider it world-class TV, in more ways than one.
HBO, 8:00 p.m. ET
Richard Curtis and Jack Barth came up with the idea, and Curtis wrote the screenplay, for this imaginative 2019 movie, which Danny Boyle directed with flair. The premise is as simple as it is original: What if a man awoke one day to discover he was the only person alive with memories of The Beatles and their music? Himesh Patel plays the lucky musician, who gets to pass off the music as his own, and Lily James plays the woman who understandably is drawn to him, and his songs. It’s a movie that reminds us all why we love The Beatles – and, in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make.
TCM, 8:00 p.m. ET
I showed this 1974 movie to my daughter, Kristin, just before she went away to attend law school. She’s never forgotten it, and maybe only recently forgiven me for it – but she told me, years later, it was the best preparation she could have had for taking law school seriously from the start. Timothy Bottoms stars as a first-year Harvard Law School student, Lindsay Wagner plays a local distraction for his attentions, and John Houseman, who won an Oscar for his role, plays Professor Kingsfield, the imperious law professor who lords over his mostly cowering students. Funny – when I first saw The Paper Chase, I was in college student, and identified with the student. Now, 46 years later, I’m a college professor myself, and identify more with Kingsfield. “Mistah Haaaaaht, here’s a dime! Call your muthah….” Sorry, Kris. Bet hey – you did great at law school, and after.
BBC America, 9:00 p.m. ET
SERIES FINALE: I’ve got a secret: Ever since I saw the premiere of Nova back in the 1970s, I’ve been a sucker for making-of documentaries about nature films. And since some of the most astounding nature photography I’ve ever seen has appeared in Seven Worlds, One Planet, this post-series special providing the tricks of the producers’ trade is the perfect dessert, complementing the perfect meal. And it’s amazing in itself. Some of the shots I was certain were photographed by drones were taken by helicopter, and vice versa. And the land-level or sea-level shots of animals in action? The effort it took to get those, sometimes taking months to capture, is worth a show in itself. And here it is.
HBO, 10:00 p.m. ET
SEASON PREMIERE: This is the Season 3 premiere of LeBron James’ exceptional HBO talk show, which basically appears whenever he feels like it. He and Maverick Carter appear in almost every episode, guiding a refreshingly freewheeling and honest talk that always touches on sports, pop culture, money, and music. It takes place in a barbershop, a setting as casual as the conversation, and in this season premiere episode includes such guests as Super Bowl MVP Patrick Mahomes (pictured), Black Panther star Chadwick Boseman, and comedian Tiffany Haddish. I didn’t see James in the promos for tonight’s episode – but I did see enough, including conversation about Kobe Bryant, to make me eager to watch, as usual.
getTV, 11:00 p.m. ET
SERIES REPEAT: The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour is one of my all-time favorite TV shows – and, in terms of comedy/variety television, one of the most important. If not for what Tom and Dick Smothers and company (and what a company, including Mason Williams and Pat Paulsen!) did in their 1966-69 CBS series, such spiritual successors as Saturday Night Live may never have existed. The last time any episodes of Comedy Hour were televised, anywhere, was almost 30 years ago, on E! – but this month, on Saturday nights, GetTV is presenting hand-picked episodes from all three seasons. Starting off the rare revival of classic hours: a Season 1 episode, never released on home video, featuring then-married couples Sonny & Cher, and Mission: Impossible costars Martin Landau and Barbara Bain.
NBC, 11:29 p.m. ET
This week’s new episode features Daniel Craig as guest host, even though he was booked to promote No Time to Die, the new James Bond international blockbuster – which its studio, MGM, two days ago delayed from release until November. Why? Because of fears about movie attendance dropping because of the spreading coronavirus. It could have been worse: The film in question could have been a remake of Live and Let Die. Regardless, the news of the delay of No Time to Die (which, actually, is an ironically bleak title all by itself) arrived too late to delay Craig’s appearance. But not too late, presumably, for the writers to address it. Tonight’s scheduled musical guest: The Weeknd.