Various Networks, 8:00 p.m. ET
Gwyneth Paltrow produces this successful fundraiser, with celebrities manning phones as others, including Taylor Swift and Coldplay, perform. The special is being shown simultaneously on ABC, CBS, Fox, NBC, as well as cable's Bio, E!, Encore, HBO, Ion, Lifetime Movie Network, Showtime, Starz, Style, TBS and VH1. So if you don't watch, it's not because it's hard to find.
Sundance, 8:00 p.m. ET
The Sundance Channel's double feature of erotic twistedness starts off with Secretary, a 2002 love story starring James Spader as a very demanding boss who hires a new secretary, played by Maggie Gyllenhaal, and treats her poorly. Which she likes. And that's only the beginning of a surprising, sweet character study. It's followed at 10 p.m. ET by David Lynch's nightmarish Blue Velvet.
TCM, 8:00 p.m. ET
Someday, some cable network will present a triple feature of Alcatraz movie masterpieces, starting with this 1962 Burt Lancaster vehicle, and ending with Escape from Alcatraz and The Rock. In the meantime, this really is a great place to start.
PBS, 9:00 p.m. ET
The full album title McCartney is exploring here is
Kisses on the Bottom, a lyric from the Fats Waller standard "I'm Gonna Sit Right Down and Write Myself a Letter." One can only surmise
Kisses on the Bottom Live was vetoed by PBS's marketing team. No matter what the film's title, it captures McCartney, joined by Diana Krall and other jazz masters, performing in an equally classic setting — Los Angeles' iconic Capitol Records studios, where Frank Sinatra and others recorded. For a full review, see Eric Gould's
Cold Light Reader column.
Check local listings.
HBO, 10:00 p.m. ET
This week, the Democrats were very convention-al. Don't expect Bill Maher to behave likewise — or to behave, period. But the deconstruction of the past two weeks by Maher and tonight's guests is required viewing to end the political week. Scheduled guests include: Christine O'Donnell, David Simon, Steve Schmidt, Jim VandeHei and Katrina vanden Heuvel.