TUESDAY
APRIL 7
2020

BIANCULLI’S BEST BETS

 

PBS, 8:00 p.m. ET

DOCUMENTARY PREMIERE: Part 1 of 2. This two-part, four-hour documentary has Ken Burns as its primary executive producer, and is based on the book by physician and New Yorker writer Siddhartha Mukherjee. The other name that stands out, to me, is that of its top-listed TV writer, Geoffrey C. Ward, who has been a major contributor to most of Burns’ best nonfiction miniseries, The Civil War included. (By the way? Want to feel old? This fall, PBS’s The Civil War turns 30.) Anyway, The Gene is absurdly ambitious as science documentaries go: It aims not only to tell the origin and history of genetic research, and explore the moral and ethical questions posed by the ability to alter the genetic codes of human beings, but also to tell the very personal story of one family – and, in particular, one little girl – whose life could be altered for the better, and for her entire lifetime, by a daring new form of scientific manipulation. And it all works: the family steals your heart, the history fascinates, and the genetic science, through clear writing and elaborate animation, is made shockingly accessible. Now, finally, I know what I was doing, all those decades ago at Nova High School, tracing the genetic variations of fruit flies with vestigial wings. Check local listings.
 
  
 
 

Pop TV, Comedy Central, 8:00 p.m. ET

SERIES FINALE: The finale of this engagingly weird comedy is shown tonight not only on Pop TV, which has ended up being its too-obscure TV home base, but also is simulcast on Comedy Central. See it – and then go back and revel in the rest of the series, based on the comic premise that a wealthy family falls on super-hard times, then remembers that one family member once gifted another with the purchase of a small town with an absurd name: Schitt’s Creek. They end up relocating there, like the former Manhattanites of Green Acres, and learning a lot about life, the town, and one another. Stars include Second City TV alumni Catherine O’Hara and Eugene Levy, and Levy’s son Dan Levy, whose character, David, is scheduled to be married tonight, to Noah Reid’s Patrick. Watch and enjoy; no paddle required. For more on Schitt's Creek, see Mike Hughes' Open Mike.
 
  
 
 
 
 
Read and add comments HERE for today's Best Bets!
 
 
 
 
Leave a Comment: (No HTML, 1000 chars max)
 
 Name (required)
 
 Email (required) (will not be published)
 
CIDAW
Type in the verification word shown on the image.
 
 
 Page: 1 of 244  | Go to page: 
4865 Comments
 
 
?? ??? ??? ???? ??? ???? ??? ???? ? ???? ?? ?? ?????. ?? ??? ???? ?? ?? ?? ??????. ?????!
Oct 1, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
? ? ?? ??? ?? ? ??? ??? ??? ?????.
Oct 1, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
? ? ?? ??? ?? ? ??? ??? ??? ?????.
Oct 1, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
??
? ? ?? ??? ?? ? ??? ??? ??? ?????.
Oct 1, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
?? ??? ???! ???? ?? ???? ???? ???? ? ????? ?? ??? ??? ????!
Oct 1, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
?? ??? ??? ???? ??? ???? ??? ???? ? ???? ?? ?? ?????. ?? ??? ???? ?? ?? ?? ??????. ?????!
Oct 1, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
?? ??? ??? ???? ??? ???? ??? ???? ? ???? ?? ?? ?????. ?? ??? ???? ?? ?? ?? ??????. ?????!
Oct 1, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
Sialan para penipu ini karena telah mencuri uang dan kepercayaan orang lain.
Sep 29, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
Pemerintah Indonesia, persetan dengan situs web ini, mereka menipu orang.
Sep 29, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
Penipu sejati, persetan denganmu, jalang!
Sep 29, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
Penipuan murahan yang berpura-pura sah. Jangan sampai tertipu.
Sep 29, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
Penipuan murahan yang berpura-pura sah. Jangan sampai tertipu.
Sep 29, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
Para bajingan ini tidak punya rasa malu sama sekali, menipu orang-orang yang tidak bersalah setiap hari.
Sep 29, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
Para penipu ini mengira orang-orang itu bodoh. Modus penipuan yang sama, omong kosong yang sama.
Sep 29, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
Para penipu ini benar-benar bajingan, berbohong kepada orang-orang dan mencuri uang seperti penipu kotor yang sebenarnya.
Sep 29, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
Para penipu ini adalah pembohong profesional. Siapa pun yang mempercayai mereka hanya ikut memperkuat penipuan mereka.
Sep 29, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
Para penipu ini pantas untuk diungkap kebohongan dan kebusukan mereka.
Sep 29, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
I surprised with the analysis you made to create this actual publish extraordinary.
Sep 29, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
Situs web ini benar-benar penipuan, jangan percayai mereka.
Sep 29, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
Para bajingan penipu ini benar-benar sampah, pembohong keji yang mencuri dari orang-orang yang tidak bersalah. Persetan dengan para penipu kotor ini dan permainan penipuan mereka yang menyedihkan.
Sep 29, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
 
 Page: 1 of 244  | Go to page: 
 
 

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.