BEST BETS FOR MONDAY, JUNE 09, 2008

GIMME SHELTER

Sundance, 7 p.m. ET

There was only the slightest glimmer of time between the two concert events that, as bookends, exemplified the best and worst of the 1960s. The best was Woodstock. The worst, another 1969 rock showcase turned into a film, was The Rolling Stones’ Altamont concert, which ended with the stabbing death of an audience member at the hand of the Hell’s Angels “security team.” Captured on film is both the attack on the unarmed audience member and the death of the ’60s.

CUSTER OF THE WEST

TCM, 8 p.m. ET

I’ve never seen this 1967 film, and certainly have never seen it broadcast on television – but how intriguing is this? Robert Shaw, of Jaws fame, stars as Custer in this period action film, along with Jeffrey Hunter, Robert Ryan and Shaw’s real-life wife, Mary Ure.

HOUSE

Fox, 9 p.m. ET

If this popular Fox series retains viewers for summer as it repeats its serialized story about the competition for new slots at the hospital, it’ll be bucking a years-long trend of such stories tanking in the hot months. And they’re fun watching again, too, so they might just pulling off. In addition to the continuing story element, there’s always the patient of the week to consider… such as this week’s astronaut-in-training.

ROMAN POLANSKI: WANTED AND DESIRED

HBO, 9 p.m. ET

This documentary film about director Roman Polanski focuses on the infamous scandal, having sex with a 13-year-old girl, that eventually led to his fleeing the United States. But it also leaves room to recount Polanski’s relationship with his wife Sharon Tate, one of the victims of the Charles Manson murder spree in California. For more, see today’s BIANCULLI’S BLOG.

L.A. CONFIDENTIAL

Starz, 10:45 p.m. ET

Kim Basinger is the face of beauty – and it’s a face that plays a pivotal part in this multilayered period drama about love, loyalty and obsession. Russell Crowe and Kevin Spacey co-star in this 1997 drama, set in the 1950s. Basinger won a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her work here.