DAVID BIANCULLI

Founder / Editor

ERIC GOULD

Associate Editor

LINDA DONOVAN

Assistant Editor

Contributors

ALEX STRACHAN

MIKE HUGHES

KIM AKASS

MONIQUE NAZARETH

ROGER CATLIN

GARY EDGERTON

TOM BRINKMOELLER

GERALD JORDAN

NOEL HOLSTON

 
 
2018
Feb
5
 
 
Before Winnie Mandela married African activist Nelson Mandela, she was Winnie Madikizela, and was an activist herself. This new documentary is about her life before and after her long and often high-profile marriage to the African icon, as well as the period during their marriage and his long imprisonment. Hence the all-inclusive title, Winnie. Check local listings.
 
 
 
  
 
 
2018
Feb
5
 
 
If you have room on your DVR, record this for sure. Although the movie Woodstock: 3 Days of Peace and Music came out in 1970, a year after the massively attended Bethel, NY rock festival itself, this four-hour expanded Director’s Cut edition, shown tonight as part of TCM’s “31 Days of Oscar” salute to documentaries, wasn’t released until 1994. And in this case, more is better, and the strained, overwhelming size of the film just seems to mirror the subject itself. (
 
 
 
  
 
 
2018
Feb
4
 
 
So here’s the deal: Even if you’re not going to exercise the option, you should know there is at least one show on television Sunday evening that is not the Super Bowl...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2018
Feb
4
 
 
By now, most people should know the rules of Puppy Bowl. There are puppies, and they wear colored kerchiefs denoting which “team” they’re on, and there are human referees, and a miniature stadium, and… okay, so I just realized I don’t know any of the rules. But there are cute puppies running around all over the place, so what else do you need? A scorecard, perhaps? Or a scouting report, so you can tell the dogs from… the underdogs?
 
 
 
  
 
 
2018
Feb
4
 
 
Speaking of underdogs, the statistics in the accompanying photo refer to the respective 53-man rosters of the returning Super Bowl-champion New England Patriots and the significantly less favored Philadelphia Eagles. I’m rooting for the Eagles anyway, and not only because I’ve lived in or outside Philly for the past 35 years. I’ve also been a Miami Dolphins fan all my life – and if you love the Dolphins, as I do, you have to hate the Patriots. At least coach Bill Belichic
 
 
 
  
 
 
2018
Feb
4
 
 
Not many TV networks are programming original material against the Super Bowl – why bother? But Starz is, by presenting the premiere of Episode 3 of this new alternate-universe drama series starring J.K. Simmons. Because, in some alternate universe, someone may be watching…
 
 
 
  
 
 
2018
Feb
4
 
 
Another first-run option against Super Bowl LII tonight is the latest new episode of Star Trek: Discovery, which is rolling out exclusively on the CBS All Access streaming service. But on that service, though the new episode premieres at 9:30 p.m. ET tonight, it’s available any time thereafter for All Access subscribers. Because, after that, they all have access.
 
 
 
  
 
 
2018
Feb
4
 
 
Of all the counter-programming moves against the Super Bowl tonight, this is the one that makes the most sense. It’s the latest new episode of Victoria, starring Jenna Coleman – and tonight’s episode concerns a parson from Ireland, who visits the castle, and the Queen, to give her details of some horrible news from his part of her kingdom: the widespread Irish potato famine. Check local listings.
 
 
 
  
 
 
2018
Feb
4
 
 
Every year after the Super Bowl, whichever network broadcasts that biggest of all big games also gets to use the time slot immediately after the post-game show as a launching pad, either unveiling a new series or rewarding an existing one. This year, NBC does the latter, by following Super Bowl LII with a new episode of its most popular current drama series, This is Us. There’s a tie-in, because the episode is titled “Super Bowl Sunday,” and features flashback sequences in whic
 
 
 
  
 
 
2018
Feb
4
 
 
This is a special outing for Jimmy Fallon’s Tonight Show, and not only because it’s on a Sunday. It’s also on Super Bowl Sunday, trying to attract and please what’s left of that large and rowdy audience. And it’s broadcast live. Oh, and it features other people associated with NBC’s coverage of the Super Bowl tonight, including the stars of NBC’s post-game TV treat, This Is Us, and the star of the Super Bowl halftime show, frequent Jimmy Fallon cohort, a