NBC, 8:00 p.m. ET
This is the final night of gymnastics, with four individual medals awarded – on a day of competition that also includes more track and field, semifinals in beach volleyball, and other events. But gymnastics, showcased in prime time, is the big draw, with all-around Olympics gold medalist, USA’s Gabby Douglas, appearing in her grand finale – and hoping to make it more grand than her performance in Monday’s uneven parallel bars, where she finished in last place.
Flix, 8:00 p.m. ET
This 1978 Oscar-winning war drama includes some scenes that are about as intense as cinema can get, and you have young Christopher Walken to thank for some of those. Robert de Niro, quickly building his stellar reputation, is amazing here as well, as are two co-stars whose backstage drama was just as potent. Meryl Streep was in love with John Cazale, who, they both knew, was dying of cancer. Cazale’s scenes were filmed first, and it was the last movie he made before he died.
ABC, 10:00 p.m. ET
Episode 5 in Terence Wrong’s eight-part medical documentary series runs a wide emotional gauntlet. On one end, there’s the touching drama of a brother who sacrifices half of his healthy liver to try and save his brother (putting both their lives at risk in the process). On the other, there’s Ben van Boxtel (left), an E.R. doctor who handles incoming emergencies with seeming aplomb – but drops his cool façade when victimized by a prank from co-workers.
HBO, 10:00 p.m. ET
SEASON PREMIERE: After preseason visits with the Kansas City Chiefs and the Dallas Cowboys, NFL Films takes its cameras down to Florida, the same year Showtime’s The Franchise trained its cameras on baseball’s Miami Marlins. But Hard Knocks is focusing on the Miami Dolphins, who have logged three straight losing seasons, and who have ripped out my heart more times than the women I’ve known. But the Dolphins, when I was young, also gave me that perfect season, so they’ve got me for life. And, for the past seven months, they’ve got new coach Joe Philbin, a three-way quarterback controversy, and plenty of built-in drama.
TCM, 10:15 p.m. ET
Another “spider-web” movie – and this one, released in 1967, may well have been the movie that made me want to grow up to be a teacher. Sidney Poitier stars, as a proud black teacher who takes charge of a London classroom full of unruly Eastenders. This movie was adapted for the screen by James Clavell, who later wrote Shogun, and made stars of three of Poitier’s more attractive students: Lulu, who performed the movie’s title song, Judy Geeson, and Suzy Kendall. Hmm. Maybe this fall, I’ll ask my students to call me “Sir.” Naah. The very thought would clash with my Hawaiian shirts…