SUNDAY
AUGUST 6
2017

BIANCULLI’S BEST BETS

 

Showtime, 8:00 p.m. ET

Last week, Twin Peaks: The Return finally made room for one of the original series’ central figures: Audrey Horne, played by Sherilyn Fenn. We waited until Episode 12 of the new series to see her, and see where and with whom Audrey ended up with after all these years. And now it’s Episode 13, and there’s truly no telling who might be showing up this week. Spare moments of Twin Peaks: The Return have matched the appealing oddness of the original, but we still are in search of a satisfying primary plot – and explanations for lots of what we’ve seen so far. Like, how did Audrey escape the explosion when she had chained herself in protest to an ultimately blown-up bank in the end of the original Twin Peaks? Oh, well. Since Kyle MacLachlan’s Dale Cooper was trapped in some alternate Black Lodge reality at the end of that show, with an evil doppelganger taking his place possessed by the spirit of Killer Bob – and since, 13 episodes in, we still haven’t gotten back to the “real” Cooper yet, what right do I have to complain? If there’s one thing about which David Lynch is consistent, it’s inconsistency. For example: All season, Twin Peaks: The Return has been televised Sundays at 9 p.m. ET – but beginning tonight, it moves back an hour, to 8.

 
  
 
 

Syfy, 8:00 p.m. ET

Syfy’s Sharknado franchise is the Pet Rocks of modern TV. There’s no explaining how an idea this basic, and this stupid, ever got this popular. Yet here it is, with a rabid social media following that keeps these tongue-in-cheek, teeth-in-mouth shark movies coming, each more intentionally absurd than the last. Ian Ziering and Tara Reid continue to star, and a bewildering array of guest stars make cameo appearances, usually as some type of instantly devoured shark victim. One thing about Sharknado 5 that’s worth applauding, though, is its sloganeering. Not only is Global Swarming a clever subtitle, but this latest Sharknado outing has an unbeatable tag line it’s using on promos: “Make America bait again.”

 
  
 
 

CNN, 9:00 p.m. ET

This week’s installment is called Terrorism Hits Home – yet it also focuses on terrorism abroad, and how it finds its way to U.S. targets and operations. One terrorist introduced in this decade, and covered in The Nineties, is Osama bin Laden. More on him in future decades…

 
  
 
 

HBO, 9:00 p.m. ET

The episode shown tonight was pirated and leaked online a few days ago. But I didn’t see it, so whatever otherwise top-secret intrigues occur in tonight’s episode, they’re still secret to me. But I have a feeling, just from the promotional photos that were released officially in advance, that Daenerys Targaryen probably won’t be having a terrific time.

 
  
 
 

Showtime, 9:00 p.m. ET

SEASON PREMIERE: Season 5 of this strong Showtime series promises to start very dramatically, with a death in (or around) the family. But it also begins by introducing this year’s season-long guest player: Susan Sarandon, playing a movie executive whose needs, and enemies, pull Liev Schreiber’s problem-fixer Ray Donovan back into the Hollywood world where we first met him. For Sarandon, it’s another dazzling TV role, right on the heels of playing Bette Davis on FX’s Feud: Bette and Joan. Like her co-star in that excellent FX miniseries, Jessica Lange (who played an equally unforgettable Joan Crawford), Sarandon has decided that TV is where the best roles are these days – for women, and especially for more mature women, but basically for everyone. For a full review, see David Hinckley's All Along the Watchtower

 
  
 
 

HBO, 11:08 p.m. ET

So John Oliver does a segment on a lawsuit-happy coal executive, Bob Murray, after which Murray obliges by suing Oliver. Now the ACLU has filed an amicus curiae brief with the court, on Oliver’s behalf. Oliver may not be able to discuss this at any length on tonight’s show – it is, after all, a case in active litigation – but hey, perhaps he’ll raise someone else’s hackles with tonight’s show. At any rate, he gets to talk about a lot… including a grand jury.

 
  
 
 
 
 
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)
 
TSUQL
Type in the verification word shown on the image.
 
 
 Page: 1 of 147  | Go to page: 
2924 Comments
 
 
Para penipu yang memalukan memangsa orang-orang dengan klaim palsu dan kebohongan.
Jan 12, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
After reading your article I was amazed. I know that you explain it very well. And I hope that other readers will also experience how I feel after reading your article
Jan 12, 2026   |  Reply
 
Dave Bianculli
Thank you!!! Did you feel a little tingling sensation in your pants after reading my article?? ROTFLMBFFAO!!!

Sincerely,

Dave
Jan 12, 2026
 
 
 
After reading your article I was amazed. I know that you explain it very well. And I hope that other readers will also experience how I feel after reading your article
Jan 12, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
The information from the blog above is very good, thank you for the information, if you want to know more information, please visit our website
Jan 12, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
Nice post. I learn some thing more difficult on various blogs everyday. It will always be stimulating you just read content using their company writers and use a little something from their site. I'd prefer to use some with all the content in my small weblog no matter whether you don't mind. Natually I'll provide you with a link on the internet weblog. Many thanks sharing
Jan 12, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
Oh my goodness! an incredible article dude. Thanks Nonetheless I am experiencing subject with ur rss
Jan 12, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
That is the excellent mindset, nonetheless is just not help to make every sence whatsoever preaching about that mather. Virtually any method many thanks in addition to i had endeavor to promote your own article in to delicius nevertheless it is apparently a dilemma using your information sites can you please recheck the idea. thanks once more
Jan 12, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
I as well believe thence , perfectly pent post! Youre so cool! I dont suppose Ive read something such as this before. So nice to seek out somebody by incorporating authentic ideas on this subject. realy i appreciate you for starting this up. this excellent website are some things that’s needed online, somebody after a little bit originality. helpful work for bringing something new to the web! You really should take part in a tournament for starters of the best blogs on-line. I am going to recommend this great site! Nice post! This is a very nice blog that I will definitively come back to more times this year! Thanks for informative post.
Jan 12, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
Para penipu ini benar-benar bajingan, berbohong kepada orang-orang dan mencuri uang seperti penipu kotor yang sebenarnya.
Jan 12, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
I got what you mean , thanks for posting .Woh I am happy to find this website through google.
Jan 12, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
We are manufacturers and exporters of high quality Sportswear & Textile products. Our company produces custom designs and sizes as per our customer’s requirements. For biker jacket visit!
Jan 12, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
I need to to thank you for ones time for this particularly fantastic read!! I definitely really liked every part of it and i also have you saved to fav to look at new information in your site.
Jan 12, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
Wow i can say that this is another great article as expected of this blog.Bookmarked this site..
Jan 12, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
Truly, this article is really one of the very best in the history of articles. I am a antique ’Article’ collector and I sometimes read some new articles if I find them interesting. And I found this one pretty fascinating and it should go into my collection. Very good work!
Jan 12, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
This is very useful, although it will be important to help simply click that web page link:
Jan 12, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
This is very useful, although it will be important to help simply click that web page link:
Jan 12, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
Tidak ada yang nyata di sini. Hanya omong kosong penuh tipu daya dari orang-orang serakah.
Jan 12, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
Hanya kebohongan dan taktik penipuan. Buang-buang waktu dan uang saja.
Jan 10, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
Pemerintah Indonesia, persetan dengan situs web ini, mereka menipu orang.
Jan 10, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
Sialan para penipu ini karena telah mencuri uang dan kepercayaan orang lain.
Jan 10, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
 
 Page: 1 of 147  | 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.