TV Worth Watching logo
Links

BEST BETS FOR SATURDAY, MAY 03, 2008

MADONNA -- TRUTH OR DARE

Fuse, 7:30 p.m. ET

With Madonna releasing a new album, why not check out the 1991 documentary made when Madonna was at the very bullseye of pop culture? What I love most about this back-and-white behind-the-scenes study - think of it as a vanity-production reality show in movie form - is Warren Beatty, so briefly involved with her at the time, noting wryly how much Madonna adores the camera, while he'd rather avoid it.

THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: THE LION, THE WITCH AND THE WARDROBE

ABC, 8 p.m. ET

The second Narnia movie, Prince Caspian, will be released in two weeks – making this a perfect time to check out the 2005 movie that launched this particular film franchise. Tilda Swinton, in this one, makes for a deliciously icy witch.

REBECCA

TCM, 8 p.m. ET

Laurence Olivier, Joan Fontaine, Judith Anderson and George Sanders star in this creepy character study – suitably creepy, since it’s directed by Alfred Hitchcock. And though some of the edges of the original Daphne du Maurier story were sanded off to please the moralists of the time, Hitchcock manages to slip in a lot of unspoken subtext through his visuals. Watch closely.

THE 40-YEAR-OLD VIRGIN

USA Network, 8 p.m. ET

This perfectly titled 2005 movie accomplished a lot of things, besides presenting a very funny movie with a surprising amount of both bite and heart. It turned Steve Carell into a star. It pushed his TV series, The Office, to a higher level of pop-culture consciousness. And it turned director and co-writer Judd Apatow into Hollywood’s latest comedy maven – a crown he has yet to relinquish. Watch for the waxing scene – one take, completely ad-libbed.

THE GRAHAM NORTON SHOW

BBC America, 10 p.m. ET

The third season of TV’s most audacious talk show continues with Norton playing host tonight to Martin Sheen. It’s always fun to see how guests react to Norton, who can – and will – ask and do just about anything. On tonight’s show, he gets Sheen to admit to supporting Barack Obama, even though he hopes it won’t get back to Bill Clinton, a big fan of Sheen on The West Wing. What happens in England stays in England? Don’t think so.

HAROLD & KUMAR TO GO WHITE CASTLE

TNT, 11:30 p.m. ET

The sequel to this movie was released last week, and also featured a self-aware, slyly outrageous visit from Neil Patrick Harris, who was the big buzz ingredient of this original 2004 film. By the way: The plot has the stoner buddies making a pilgrimage to the White Castle burger place in Cherry Hill, NJ. That’s the city where I live, and the nearest White Castle is in neighboring Pennsauken. Or was, because it closed since the movie came out. But that’s okay. I’m a former Floridian, and still get misty dreaming of Royal Castle burgers instead.

<-- Previous Next -->