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MONDAY
JANUARY 2
2017

BIANCULLI’S BEST BETS

 
THE TWILIGHT ZONE MARATHON

Syfy, 12:00 a.m. ET

The three-day Twilight Zone marathon continues, and continues to suck me in to its vortex. I look forward most to the episodes I’ve seen the least, or the installments that have a special resonance for me after all these years. That includes today’s showing, at 3:30 p.m. ET, of What’s in the Box, a seldom-shown 1964 story starring William Demarest and Joan Blondell as a long-married couple who find their everyday trials and tribulations reflected in their newly repaired television set. Yesterday, among the Twilight Zone episodes reflected in my own TV set was The Invaders, the classic episode starring a silent Agnes Moorehead – which I wrote about in a new Twilight Zone collection due next month from an old friend. It’s veteran TV critic Mark Dawidziak’s Everything I Need to Know I Learned in The Twilight Zone: A Fifth-Dimension Guide to Life, and is loaded with Zone-inspired observations, including those from scores of writers, actors, directors and others strongly influenced by Rod Serling’s seminal series. Consider, if you will, pre-ordering it now from Amazon…
 
  
 
 
DOWNTON ABBEY MARATHON

PBS, 12:00 a.m. ET

Another marathon that has been continuing all year long (okay, so the year’s only into day two) continues and concludes today, with PBS’s Downton Abbey running through its later episodes, all day long until 10:30 p.m. ET tonight. Watch, in particular, for Michelle Dockery as Lady Mary Crawley, who drops her primness and lets loose a bit as the Roaring Twenties arrive – but it’s nothing compared to how Dockery has let loose as the wig-wearing, scene-stealing, everything-stealing kleptomaniac of TNT’s Good Behavior, the latest episode of which is televised tomorrow night at 9 ET. Check local listings.

 
  
 
 
THE NEW CELEBRITY APPRENTICE

NBC, 8:00 p.m. ET

SERIES RETURN: This is a warning, not a recommendation. This reboot of NBC’s The Apprentice was filmed early last year, when the chances of former host Donald Trump actually becoming President of the United States seemed absurdly slim. Now it arrives to launch the New Year, with Trump, as President-Elect, continuing to be associated with this show and reportedly maintaining his salaried credit as one of its executive producers. The new host is another show business personality turned politician, former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who presides over a new gaggle of semi-celebrity contestants fawning for approval. This time out, they include Nicole Polizzi, better known (sadly) as Snooki on MTV’s Jersey Shore. There are others, including Jon Lovitz and Boy George and Carson Kressley, all of whom have long outlived their pop-culture use-by dates – but the threatened combo of Schwarzenegger and Snooki should be enough to make The New Celebrity Apprentice a critical mass to be avoided at all costs. Trump’s dismissive catch phrase was “You’re fired!”; I don’t know what Schwarzenegger’s will be, though “Hasta la vista, baby!” seems probable. Mine, though, I hope soon will be the following: “You’re canceled!”

 
  
 
 
JOHN STEINBECK FILM FESTIVAL

TCM, 8:00 p.m. ET

Films based on John Steinbeck stories are showcased this month on TCM, starting with tonight’s classic 1955 version of East of Eden, produced and directed by Elia Kazan and starring James Dean and Julie Harris. But watch also for 1943’s The Moon Is Down at 10:15 p.m. ET; 1982’s underrated Cannery Row, with Nick Note and Debra Winger, at midnight ET; and, following that, two stunning late-night cinematic classics. At 2:15 a.m. ET is 1940’s The Grapes of Wrath (pictured), starring Henry Fonda, one of those movies that simply has to be seen at least once. And at 4:30 a.m. ET is 1939’s Of Mice and Men, starring Burgess Meredith and Lon Chaney Jr. – which has me wondering something. Did any author ever get better movies made of his or her works in two consecutive years? Just asking. If you can think of any contenders, let me know…

 
  
 
 
 
 
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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.
 
 
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