TUESDAY
JUNE 16
2020

BIANCULLI’S BEST BETS

 

Movies On Demand, 3:00 a.m. ET

MOVIE PREMIERE: This documentary is about one of the premier film critics at a time when the movies arguably were at their most expressive and experimental. Pauline Kael had a bestselling collection of essays and reviews of films, and wrote from her powerful perch at The New Yorker for a generation, rhapsodizing and arguing at length about Bonnie and Clyde, Last Tango in Paris, and Nashville, to name just a few of her influential reviews from the 1960s and 1970s. I was impressed and influenced by her when I was a young reader and writer, but never knew anything about her personal history at the time. And hardly any of it, really, until now, which makes this new documentary particularly appealing to me. But even if you’re not interested in critics (Hey! Be nice!) or Kael, the movies covered in What She Said are worth the time here, in this nonfiction film by Rob Garver.
 
  
 
 

PBS, 8:00 p.m. ET

This new American Masters documentary could be a few notches more insightful – anyone watching the documentary, in this current age, may well ask some questions this program never does, about whether Mae West’s predatory sexual on-screen persona is any more laudable for being a gender-reversal on typical bedroom and boardroom lotharios. But as a stage and screen pioneer, especially in the days just prior to the stifling Hollywood production code, West stands alone, and confident – as quotable and irreverent, in her way, as Groucho Marx. Dirty Blonde examines that evolution, and revolution, in a way that should be eye-opening to younger viewers who are relatively unfamiliar with her work and legacy. Check local listings. For full reviews, see David Hinckley's All Along the Watchtower, and Mike Hughes' Open Mike.
 
  
 
 

PBS, 9:30 p.m. ET

A lot. And this new Frontline documentary deconstructs the history to answer that question. It’s a question Frontline poses in the past tense, but the going wrong is still very much with us – which makes this particular era, like this particular documentary, a present tense experience. Check local listings. For a full review, see Alex Strachan's TV That Matters
 
  
 
 

Pop, 9:30 p.m. ET

SPECIAL PREMIERE: What to do when you have a finished script for a show, but can’t gather the cast, in this socially distanced period in time, to film it? Some shows have staged remote, Zoom-meeting-type table reads, letting actors recite their lines as though performing in a radio play. Tonight’s One Day At a Time Animated Special takes another approach: It has the cast of One Day recording its scripted lines, as in a radio play, but then fleshes out that soundtrack by animating it and presenting the episode as a special cartoon. Well, “fleshing out” is the wrong term. A more accurate one, since it’s animated, would be “Cel-ing out”… but that sounds worse, at least if said aloud. For more on this and animation in general in the time of social distancing, see Mike Hughes' Open Mike
 
  
 
 
 
 
Read and add comments HERE for today's Best Bets!
 
 
 
 
Leave a Comment: (No HTML, 1000 chars max)
 
 Name (required)
 
 Email (required) (will not be published)
 
JKETE
Type in the verification word shown on the image.
 
 
 Page: 1 of 189  | Go to page: 
3772 Comments
 
 
???
I am happy to find this post very useful for me, as it contains lot of information. I always prefer to read the quality content and this thing I found in you post. Thanks for sharing
Apr 16, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
Impressive web site, Distinguished feedback that I can tackle. Im moving forward and may apply to my current job as a  pet sitter, which is very enjoyable, but I need to additional  expand. Regards
Apr 16, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
???
I definitely enjoying every little bit of it and I have you bookmarked to check out new stuff you post
Apr 16, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
Wow i can say that this is another great article as expected of this blog.Bookmarked this site..
Apr 16, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
Amazing website sir. A great information given by you in this blog. It really informative and very helpful. Thank you.
Apr 16, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
Very useful post. This is my first time i visit here. I found so many interesting stuff in your blog especially its discussion. Really its great article. Keep it up.
Apr 16, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
This web site really has all the information I wanted about this subject and didn't know who to ask
Apr 16, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
this is really good website, coolest I have ever visit thank you so much, i will follow and stay tuned much appriciated
Apr 16, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
I'm amazed, I must say. Seldom do I come across a blog that's both educative and engaging, and without a doubt, you've hit the nail on the head. The problem is something which too few people are speaking intelligently abou
Apr 16, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
So it is intriguing and great composed and see what they think about other individuals.
Apr 16, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
You re in point of fact a just right webmaster. The website loading speed is amazing. It kind of feels that you're doing any distinctive trick. Moreover, The contents are masterpiece. you have done a fantastic activity on this subject!
Apr 16, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
Wonderful article. Fascinating to read. I love to read such an excellent article. Thanks! It has made my task more and extra easy. Keep rocking
Apr 16, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
Thank you a bunch for sharing this with all of us you actually realize what you are talking about! Bookmarked.
Apr 16, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
Phenomenal blog. I delighted in researching your articles. This is to an extraordinary degree an amazing examined for me. I have bookmarked it and I am suspecting inspecting new articles. Continue doing shocking
Apr 16, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
Oh my goodness! an excellent article dude. Thank you However I'm experiencing problem with ur rss. Do not know why Cannot register for it. Could there be any person getting identical rss difficulty? Anybody who knows kindly respond. Thnkx
Apr 16, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
I wear t have room schedule-wise right now to completely read your site yet I have bookmarked it and furthermore include your RSS channels. I will return in a day or two. much obliged for an extraordinary site
Apr 16, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
Hello I am so delighted I located your blog, I really located you by mistake, while I was watching on google for something else, Anyways I am here now and could just like to say thank for a tremendous post and a all round entertaining website. Please do keep up the great work.
Apr 16, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
I’ve read some good stuff here. Definitely worth bookmarking for revisiting. I surprise how much effort you put to create such a great informative website.
Apr 16, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
???
? ??? ?? ???? ???? ??? ? ????? ????? ?? ? ????.
Apr 16, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
This is a great inspiring article.I am pretty much pleased with your good work.You put really very helpful information..
Apr 16, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
 
 Page: 1 of 189  | Go to page: 
 
 

David Bianculli

Founder / Editor

David Bianculli has been a TV critic since 1975, including a 14-year stint at the New York Daily News, and sees no reason to stop now. Currently, he's TV critic for NPR's Fresh Air with Terry Gross, and is an occasional substitute host for that show. He's also an author and teaches TV and film history at New Jersey's Rowan University. His 2009 Dangerously Funny: The Uncensored Story of 'The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour', has been purchased for film rights. His latest, The Platinum Age of Television: From I Love Lucy to the Walking Dead, How TV Became Terrific, is an effusive guidebook that plots the path from the 1950s’ Golden Age to today’s era of quality TV.