SUNDAY

MAY 7

2017

BIANCULLI’S BEST BETS

NORM MACDONALD: HITLER'S DOG, GOSSIP & TRICKERY

Netflix, 3:00 a.m. ET

SPECIAL PREMIERE: Netflix continues its bumper crop of standup comedy specials by presenting the very dry, very clever Norm Macdonald in a new standup special. The promo for it consists of the former anchor for “Weekend Update” on Saturday Night Live musing about how weird it is that the accepted abbreviation for “identification” is “ID.” As abbreviations go, he points out, the D is doing all the work. If that strikes you as funny (as it does me), then this special is for you.

ONCE UPON A TIME

ABC, 8:00 p.m. ET

Xena: Warrior Princess did it. Buffy the Vampire Slayer did it. Scrubs did it. Even Psych did it. They all presented special musical episodes of their otherwise non-musical series – and tonight, thanks to a spell causing everyone to sing rather than speak, it happens on Once Upon a Time as well. And yes, that’s the same plot used for the “Once More with Feeling” musical episode of Buffy, the landmark episode with music and script by Joss Whedon.

THE CIRCUS: INSIDE THE BIGGEST STORY ON EARTH

Showtime, 8:00 p.m. ET

Based on what happened politically this week, this behind-the-scenes political documentary is mandatory viewing. Watching everyone’s real-time reactions, from the reporters covering the story at ground level (and, at times, underground level) to the politicians reacting to, or ignoring, the camera and questions, is as fascinating as it is illuminating.

THE LAST 100 DAYS OF DIANA

ABC, 9:00 p.m. ET

Lots of networks are serving up 20^th anniversary specials noting the 1997 death of Princess Diana. This being ABC, it’s the only one able to present lengthy excerpts from one of her last and most famous interviews, with Martin Bashir – whose updated report is part of this ABC special, which, while taking time to provide a longer perspective, focuses in depth on the princess’ final 100 days. Terry Wrong, behind so many of ABC’s exemplary medical documentary series, is one of the executive producers here. For a full review, see David Hinckley’s All Along the Watchtower.

AMERICAN GODS

Starz!, 9:00 p.m. ET

Episode two of this new series from Bryan Fuller, based on the novel by Neil Gaiman, is just as outlandish and convoluted as the premiere – but it adds enough new players and characters to the mix to make things much more interesting. Orlando Jones starts things off with a searing monologue, delivered to barely comprehending prisoners aboard a slave ship – and before the hour is over, other gods and demigods and false gods will be played by Cloris Leachman (pictured, with series co-star Ian McShane), Gillian Anderson, and Kristin Chenoweth.

BILLIONS

Showtime, 10:00 p.m. ET

SEASON FINALE: Last week’s episode was a very smart shocker. The entire hour led you to believe – misled you to believe, really – that in their ruthless game of high-stakes financial chess, Damian Lewis’ billionaire Axe was the master manipulator, holding the upper hand against Paul Giamatti’s government district attorney Chuck. Then, in the last surprise moments, the truth was revealed like an unexpected magic trick: Chuck had been one step ahead of Axe all along, and had succeeded in suckering his wealthy adversary into a costly Wall Street failure. The Axe has fallen – and tonight, in the season finale, we see where, and how, the pieces fall.

VEEP

HBO, 10:31 p.m. ET

Last week, Selina (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) bulldozed her way through an episode that had her overseeing a political election in Georgia (not the U.S. one) and sitting for a presidential portrait. Both plots provided her a rich trove of physical comedy and verbal assaults, as well as many of the sharpest one-liners of the season. Vowing revenge to a former underling whose congressional vote denied her the presidency, Selina got right in his face and snarled, “I will destroy you in ways so creative, they will honor me at the Kennedy Center.” The funniest comedy on TV right now? I think so. And here comes another first-run episode…

LAST WEEK TONIGHT WITH JOHN OLIVER

HBO, 11:01 p.m. ET

There were many weeks, when this show was about to start, that I hoped John Oliver would devote his air time and energies to some story besides President Donald Trump and the latest headlines out of Washington. Now I hope he will talk about them, because I need the perspective as much as I need the laughs.

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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

Netflix, 3:00 a.m. ET

ABC, 8:00 p.m. ET

Showtime, 8:00 p.m. ET

ABC, 9:00 p.m. ET

Starz!, 9:00 p.m. ET

Showtime, 10:00 p.m. ET

HBO, 10:31 p.m. ET

HBO, 11:01 p.m. ET

David Bianculli

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