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)
 
ADPJO
Type in the verification word shown on the image.
 
 
 Page: 1 of 251  | Go to page: 
5017 Comments
 
 
A superbly written article, if only all bloggers offered the same content as you, the internet would be a far better place
Oct 15, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
Thank you for taking the time to publish this information very useful!
Oct 15, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
I am hoping the same best effort from you in the future as well. In fact your creative writing skills has inspired me.
Oct 15, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
This web site really has all the information I wanted about this subject and didn't know who to ask
Oct 15, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
" '??? ??? ???? ??? ???? ??? ? ??? ? ???? ?? ?? ????. ??? ???? ?? ?? ?? ??? ?????. ?????! ??? ??, ??? ? ???,? ???? ?? ??? ??? ?????? ?? ??? ? ????? ? ?? ??? ???? ??? ???? ?? ??? ???. ????? ???? ???? ??? ??????.
Oct 15, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
Such a very useful article. Very interesting to read this article. I would like to thank you for the efforts you had made for writing this awesome article.
Oct 15, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
Very good topic, similar texts are I do not know if they are as good as your work out. These you will then see the most important thing, the application provides you a website a powerful important internet page:
Oct 14, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
Nice work i love your work keep it up.....
Oct 14, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
I'm really enjoying the design and layout of your site. It's a very easy on the eyes which makes it much more pleasant for me to come here and visit more often. Did you hire out a developer to create your theme? Superb work!
Oct 14, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
Excellent post.I want to thank you for this informative read, I really appreciate sharing this great post.Keep up your work
Oct 14, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
I would like to thank you for the efforts you have made in writing this article. I am hoping the same best work from you in the future as well. Thanks..
Oct 14, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
Impressive work on the essayist's part.
Oct 14, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
After research a couple of of the weblog posts in your website now, and I really like your method of blogging. I bookmarked it to my bookmark website record and will probably be checking back soon.
Oct 14, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
Sweet internet site , super pattern , real clean and employ genial .
Oct 14, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
Very useful info. Hope to see more posts soon!.
Oct 14, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
I really like the new design. It is a lot easier to use and visually attractive.
Oct 14, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
Thanks for sharing these informations. I really like your blog post very much. You have really shared a informative and interesting blog post .
Oct 14, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
This is a fantastic website, thanks for sharing. There's no doubt i would fully rate it after i read what the idea about this article is. You did a nice
Oct 14, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
very nice post, i surely really like this website, go on it
Oct 14, 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.
Oct 14, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
 
 Page: 1 of 251  | 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.