THURSDAY
AUGUST 7
2014

BIANCULLI’S BEST BETS

 

CNN, 9:00 p.m. ET

MINISERIES FINALE: This is the final installment of The Sixties, and this last installment includes, as it should, one of the defining, and last, iconic events of that decade: the August 1969 three-day music and arts festival known as Woodstock, which featured, at once, all three elements in tonight's title. “The New York State Thruway is closed, man!”
 
  
 
 

ABC, 10:00 p.m. ET

I just spent several hours watching preview DVDs of Cinemax’s new medical drama, The Knick, which premieres tomorrow night, and dramatizes “cutting-edge” medicine as practiced circa 1900. How jarring, then, to return to the current century, in this excellent documentary series, and watch what we consider state-of-the-art medical procedures in 2014. Oh, and this week’s installment, it’s also Take Your Daughter to Work Day – at least for Dr. Mehmet Oz, whose high-school daughter visits his hospital workplace to observe for the first time.

 
  
 
 

IFC, 10:00 p.m. ET

SERIES PREMIERE: IFC sent sample preview clips of some of the stuff “Garfunkel and Oates,” otherwise known as Riki Lindhome and Kate Micucci, will be performing in tonight’s inaugural show. The first thing I saw was a musical number that sings about a particular sex act from a female point of view – a song that made me both uncomfortable with, and impressed by, how aggressively out there they were being. Like some of the best bits on Key and Peele and Inside Amy Schumer right now, their humor is equal parts laugh and squirm.

 
  
 
 

Sundance, 10:00 p.m. ET

In tonight’s Episode 2 of this captivating and thoughtful eight-part miniseries, Nessa (Maggie Gyllenhaal) learns more about her obstacles in trying to broker some sort of peaceful prospects in the Gaza Strip – while some of the people investigating her find out more about her secret past. Much more.

 
  
 
 

Showtime, 11:00 p.m. ET

SERIES PREMIERE: Morgan Spurlock’s latest nonfiction series benefits greatly from its laser-like focus. The star of Super Size Me devotes his new show to a modern examination of the seven deadly sins, and begins with his personal specialty: gluttony. In one lengthy segment, he profiles the Las Vegas restaurant called the Heart Attack Grill, which features quarter-pound “Bypass Burgers” grilled in lard and covered with cheese, chili and bacon (the quadruple Bypass that’s pictured, we learn, clocks in at 9,983 calories). The guy who runs it is a former fitness trainer, and argues that his theme restaurant, with its public weigh-in stations and outrageous excess, actually works as an “obesity intervention” wake-up call. Sure. Then there’s a visit with Nicole James, otherwise known as Darling Nikki, whose goal is to be “the fattest entertainer in the world,” and who weighs in, when Spurlock’s show finds her, at 716 pounds. Then there’s a capper: a visit with the makers of “plus-size” caskets. Just in case you missed Spurlock’s points about gluttony up to that point…

 
  
 
 
 
 
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4197 Comments
 
 
This farewell page feels unusually personal for a recommendations site. What I appreciate most is the attention to habit: returning to shows, voices, and small details over time. That same kind of close listening matters in music practice too, where separating a full mix into parts can make hidden details easier to notice.
Jul 13, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
This closing note has a nice sense of memory and gratitude. I especially liked the way it treats television criticism as something personal rather than just a list of recommendations. It made me think about how much of media work is really about listening closely, saving small details, and returning to them later. I often do that with music practice as well, using simple tools like https://tunestems.com/ to separate parts and hear what is happening underneath the full mix.
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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.