I’m used to dull TV days during the summer, especially in August – but today may well be the dullest day of the year, with next to nothing to recommend, much less watch. In such cases, it’s best to scour the listings to find some entertaining old movies. I’ve found two, and this is one of them. From 1983, directed by John Landis and showcasing some photogenic Philadelphia locations, this comedy was part of the pop-culture trifecta vaulting a young Eddie Murphy to stardom

2017

Aug

MISERY By David Bianculli

Here’s another entertaining movie worth seeking out on a slow TV day. From 1990, director Rob Reiner worked with the great screenwriter William Goldman to present a stellar adaptation of the Stephen King story. James Caan plays a writer who is aided, then virtually imprisoned, by an unhinged fan – played, in a star-making, Oscar-winning turn, by Kathy Bates.

2017

Aug

AMERICA'S GOT TALENT By David Bianculli

If you’re at all curious about the talented that’s been assembled on this show this season, now’s the time to dive in. This is the first live show, with a dozen of the 36 remaining acts performing in hopes of advancing to the next round. Tyra Banks hosts.

2017

Aug

MANHUNT: UNABOMBER By David Bianculli

Part 4. Give Discovery some props here. Two weeks ago, it presented the premiere of its first major scripted dramatic series – and surprised almost everyone by how good it was, and remains. Tonight is the fourth installment of this eight-part miniseries, which stars Paul Bettany as the Unabomber, Ted Kaczynski, and Sam Worthington as FBI profiler James Fitzgerald. And, because of half-hearted scheduling from other networks, Discovery can claim to be presenting the best first-run offering o

2017

Aug

HUNTING THE KGB KILLERS By David Bianculli

DOCUMENTARY PREMIERE: This documentary is so engrossing, and so fascinating a forensic mystery, that it’s a very good bet it’ll be turned into a movie, or made-for-TV movie, before too long. But truth, in this case, isn’t only stranger than fiction – it’s bound to be more fascinating. This is the story of how former KGB officer Alexander Litvinenko, living in London in exile, died suddenly in 2006 by very strange circumstances. So strange that, according to the New

2017

Aug

HOOTEN AND THE LADY By David Bianculli

Hunting the KGB Killers isn’t the only Russian-related TV offering today. On this lighthearted summer import drama, the adventurers this week head to Moscow. My advice: Watch out for polonium.

2017

Aug

WILL By David Bianculli

The theater continues to stage new plays by William Shakespeare, and the playwright continues to search for inspiration wherever he can find it. The question this week, with another opening-night deadline looming, is: “Will he, or won’t he?”

2017

Aug

THE LATE SHOW WITH STEPHEN COLBERT By David Bianculli

Tonight, Stephen Colbert has a high-profile guest: Anthony Scaramucci, a.k.a. The Mooch, whose job as communications director for President Donald Trump’s White House lasted about a week. These are the sort of bookings that David Letterman would use to soar in late night. Let’s see how Colbert fares…

2017

Aug

2017 PGA GOLF CHAMPIONSHIP By David Bianculli

Finally, the final day: And today it’s a field so tight, and so competitive, that one streak of inspired golf could claim it all.

2017

Aug

TWIN PEAKS: THE RETURN By David Bianculli

The end of last week’s Twin Peaks: The Return gave us, at least, some old familiar faces and characters: Everett McGill’s Ed Hurley pining silently about his unrequited love for Peggy Lipton's Norma Jennings. James Marshall’s James Hurley, Ed’s son, reprising a song he sang on the original Twin Peaks. And Sherilyn Fenn’s Audrey Horne playing David Lynch’s existential version of “Should I Come or Should I Go?” to Clark Middleton’s oppressive C

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