SATURDAY
SEPTEMBER 8
2018

BIANCULLI’S BEST BETS

 

HBO, 8:00 p.m. ET

This 2017 musical biography returns Hugh Jackman to the musical form, the genre from which he first burst forth, in a revival of Oklahoma!, before becoming a movie star and a Wolverine. Here, he plays ringmaster and circus entrepreneur P.T. Barnum, whose vision of popular entertainment, under the same big tent, included everything from tigers and elephants to opera singers and bearded ladies. This very colorful and loose biography is co-written by Jenny Bicks, creator of The Big C and a writer-producer on Sex and the City, and Bill Condon, who wrote the screenplay adaptations for both Chicago and Dreamgirls. Michelle Williams plays Barnum’s wife, Charity; Rebecca Ferguson plays opera singer Jenny Lind (with Lind’s singing voice provided by a former Voice contestant, Loren Allred); Zac Efron plays Barnum’s protégé, Phillip Carlyle; Zendaya plays acrobat Anne Wheeler; and Keala Settle portrays bearded lady Lettie Lutz (pictured), and gets to sing what has emerged as this movie’s famous anthem, “This Is Me.”

 
  
 
 

IFC, 8:00 p.m. ET

Next year, The Shawshank Redemption, released in 1994, will celebrate its silver anniversary. Writer-director Frank Darabont, who later crafted AMC’s still-running TV adaptation of The Walking Dead, adapted this outstanding movie from a Stephen King novella, and the key starring roles went to Morgan Freeman and Tim Robbins – all of whom contributed immeasurably to this movie’s impact and excellence. Next year, when this film turns 25, raves and appreciations will be everywhere. Watch here, tonight, and get a head start.

 
  
 
 

BBC America, 9:00 p.m. ET

The technological advances of late allow this series to present some amazing photos, on land, in the air, and under the sea. Yeah, I think that about covers it. But what amazes and impresses me even more is the bravery and enthusiasm of these young scientists, whose passions for nature exploration lead them to the edge of lava floes, to previously unexplored ocean depths, and to take their submersible crafts in current so strong that they risk being bashed against the island coastline. Tonight’s episode is called “Future Frontiers,” which, two weeks ago, would have been the things they’ve televised so far on this series.

 

 
  
 
 
 
 
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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.