THURSDAY
JANUARY 9
2014

BIANCULLI’S BEST BETS

 

CBS, 8:00 p.m. ET

In tonight’s new episode, Penny (Kaley Cuoco) confronts Leonard (Johnny Galecki) with an aggressive request, which throws into imbalance the relationship between that couple and Sheldon (Jim Parsons) – who responds despondently, like an abandoned pet. Including sitting on the stairs alone and whining.

 
  
 
 

Flix, 8:00 p.m. ET

In 1989, Daniel Day-Lewis made his mark portraying the determined poet, who fought to create and share his poems even as his body, stricken by cerebral palsy, was increasingly betraying him. Day-Lewis won a Best Actor Oscar here, the first of his three (the others being for 2007’s There Will Be Blood and 2012’s Lincoln). That makes him the only male actor to win Oscars in the top category three times – and he did it in three different decades.

 
  
 
 

NBC, 8:30 p.m. ET

Tonight marks episode number 100 for this durable, comical NBC series – and counted among those 100 are two of my personal favorite sitcoms of all time. (Okay, it’s because they mention me while making fun of public radio – but that’s good enough for me.)

 
  
 
 

NBC, 10:00 p.m. ET

Did you know that Ray Romano’s flinty character of Hank would be revealed, after appearing on the show for more than a year, as having a previously undiagnosed case of Asberger’s? It explains why he so strongly related to, and connected with, Adam and Kristina’s son Max (Max Burkholder), who has the same affliction – and also explains why he demonstrated so little patience with Sarah (Lauren Graham) during their on-again, off-again personal and professional relationship. That revelation caught me completely by surprise, but made so much sense that I adore Parenthood even more.

 
  
 
 

IFC, 10:00 p.m. ET

MINISERIES PREMIERE: This multi-part, bite-sized miniseries spoof is intended to lampoon such Golden Age of Miniseries epics as The Thorn Birds and Scruples, which covered decades, featured different costumes and hairstyles in almost every scene, and focused on doomed romances that percolated constantly but seldom reached a boil. It’s directed and co-written by Matt Piedmont, whose co-writer is fellow Saturday Night Live writer alumnus Andrew Steele, prominent contributors to Will Ferrell’s Funny or Die website. Ferrell is here, too, pretending to be the “real” auteur of The Spoils of Babylon, a bloated-ego, Orson Welles caricature named Eric Jonrosh. He’s my favorite thing about this spoof – but I also love watching Tim Robbins and Kristen Wiig, among others, taking this silliness so seriously. Co-stars include Tobey Maguire, Jessica Alba and Haley Joel Osment. Listen and/or read my Spoils review on NPR's Fresh Air with Terry Gross website -- and for a full review here on TVWW, see Bianculli’s Blog.

 
  
 
 
 
 
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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.