Another of Showtime’s documentaries, this one, made in 2012 but premiering tonight, is a profile of one of the wildest, most talented and most unpredictable drummers of the past 50 years. No, it’s not a film about Keith Moon. But it’s one about Ginger Baker, the drummer who could fill an entire side of a live Cream album with an extended solo – and whose personality, drives and interests off the stage and outside the studio were just as driven.

2013

Jul

DRUNK HISTORY By David Bianculli

This show is tonight’s prohibitive favorite – because this installment of Drunk History, about Chicago, includes a segment on Prohibition. Also included: August Spies and the Haymarket Riot (reenactment pictured). Chances are, if you watch, you’ll learn something. Chances are, also, you’ll feel a little guilty, while you’re laughing.

2013

Jul

RISKY BUSINESS By David Bianculli

I watched this 1983 movie again, for the first time in years, after putting it in Best Bets a few months ago. And my, 30 years on, was it delightful to watch. I especially enjoyed how the comedy, starring Tom Cruise as a suburban Chicago teenager who takes advantage of his parents’ temporary absence, and is himself taken advantage of in the bargain. Rebecca De Mornay co-stars as the young hooker with a heart of something less soft than gold, and among a strong group of future stars, Joe Pa

2013

Jul

CARSON ON TCM By David Bianculli

The Johnny Carson vintage interviews presented tonight include a 1983 interview with Michael Caine (at 8:48 p.m. ET), whose 1966 comedy The Wrong Box follows immediately at 9 p.m. ET. Other Carson interviews tonight, hosted by a properly reverential Conan O’Brien: Shelley Winters from 1975 (at 8 p.m. ET), followed at 12-minute intervals by Ronald Reagan (1975, five years before being elected President of the United States), Robin Williams (from 1981), Jonathan Winters (from 1988), and Cain

2013

Jul

UNDER THE DOME By David Bianculli

In this week’s new episode, as the town residents remain trapped under glass by a mysterious bubble, things start to get in very short supply. One thing people are running out of: medicine. Another thing: patience. Dean Norris stars.

2013

Jul

P.O.V.: ONLY THE YOUNG By David Bianculli

This new film, by Jason Tippet and Elizabeth Mims, follows three teenage Southern California friends – two boys, one girl – as they follow their passions (skateboarding, among other things) and face the future. Which, as this study shows, is more imposing than promising. Check local listings.

2013

Jul

THE DAILY SHOW WITH JON STEWART By David Bianculli

First Jon Stewart took off for the summer to make a film, and then his replacement, John Oliver, got a break as The Daily Show took a two-week vacation. But it returns tonight, as does Oliver – whose guest tonight is Aaron Sorkin, whose HBO series The Newsroom also returned, last night, for its second season.

2013

Jul

THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN By David Bianculli

Nowadays it’s common for an enterprising Hollywood writer-producer to acquire rights to a TV series made in another country, and adapt it with a new version tailored for American audiences. But long before Norman Lear helped pioneer that process for TV with All in the Family, movie studios were doing the same thing. This 1960 Western, for example, is an adaptation of a fabulous “Eastern”: Akira Kurosawa’s 1954 The Seven Samurai. And who are some of the stars of this Ameri

2013

Jul

THE KILLING By David Bianculli

Last week’s episode ended with two significant plot twists. One, Pastor Mike was revealed to be living under an assumed name, after fleeing a town where he was involved in a case with an assault on another young woman. And two, at the very end of the show, Linden (Mireille Enos) got into her car to discover a desperate Pastor Mike in her back seat, putting a knife to her throat and ordering her to “Drive.” So either The Killing, for once, has identified the killer early, or els

2013

Jul

DEXTER By David Bianculli

The more this season’s shows focus on Debra (Jennifer Carpenter), and her continuing breakdown after committing murder to protect her brother, the less satisfying and believable things get. But the more Charlotte Rampling, as a visiting police psychologist, probes the psyche of Michael C. Hall’s Dexter, the better this show becomes. So watching, for now, is a mixed bag – but it’s the final season, so who can stay away?

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