1) “Independent Lens: The Librarians,” 10 p.m., PBS. Big or (shown here) small, libraries have been quiet refuges. Librarians have been the kindly source of words and wisdom; nNow, however, they’re under attack. Modern book-burners demand the removal of subjects ranging from sexuality to slavery. This compelling film follows several; some lost their jobs, others keep up the quiet fight. Read more…
So it turns out that Italy has quite an impressive history.
The early minutes of the Olympic ceremony remind us of that. It has hints of fashion and film, art and opera and more. It referred to Verdi and Da Vinci and Armani and Fellini; it didn’t mention Mussolini, but time was limited.
It even played the Lone Ranger theme song, although in Italy (and most of the world) that’s a tune about an archer shooting an apple off his kid’s head.
(Italy, it should be noted, had made some of the greatest cowboy films in history, just none about masked men. It’s also pretty good at art and opera.) Read more…
1) Super Bowl, 6:30 p.m. ET, NBC. The New England Patriots (shown here) have already been to the Super Bowl 11 times (a record), winning six (tied with the Steelers). Now they face the Seattle Seahawks, who have been here three times, winning once. Both were 14-3 in the regular season. Read more…
1) Winter Olympics, NBC. The first full day has mostly-live coverage from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. ET, then repackages it from 8-11. Figure-skating continues its team event, with men’s short program (1:45 to 3:15) and then the free dance finals — including U.S. leaders Madison Chone and Evan Bates (shown here) from 4-5 p.m.. Also: free-skiing (8 a.m.), speed-skating (10:05), luge (12:45 p.m.) and a snowboarding final (3:15 p.m.). Read more…
1) Olympic figure-skating. The men — led by U.S. whiz Ilia Malinin — start at 12:30 p.m. ET Tuesday on USA, then 1:45 to 5 on NBC; their finals are 1 p.m. Friday, USA; 3-5 p.m,, NBC. Ice dancers are 1:20 p.m. today, USA; 2:40 to 5, NBC. Pairs start at 1:45 p.m. Sunday, USA, 3-5 p.m., NBC. And it’s all repackaged on NBC, from 8-11 p.m. nightly. Read more…
1) Winter Olympics opening ceremony, 2-5 p.m. ET; also, 8 p.m. and 12:38 a.m. First, we can see the ceremony live, at what is 8 p.m. in Italy. Then it reruns in primetime and again after Jimmy Fallon. We’ll expect music (including Mariah Carey and Andrea Bocelli) and spectacle (shown here is the 2022 opening) with more than 3,500 athletes from 93 countries. Read more…
You may recall that life used to be simple. Even watching the Olympics was a breeze.
We just watched the one network, which decided when and what we’d see. Most of the events had already happened, but we didn’t know the results. We thought we were happy.
Now that’s changed and the Winter Olympics (shown here from 2022), on Feb. 6-22, bring dizzying choices. There are four channels; there’s live and not. Even the opening ceremony airs three times.
Not to worry. We’ll offer the specifics for one category (figure skating) and an overview for the others. First, some background: Read more…
1) “Next Level Chef,” 8 p.m, Fox. Here’s the fun bunch — eight social-media chefs, fighting for five spots. They range from 27 to 56, from a female body-builder to a guy (shown here) who announced during an online broadcast that he’s “fat and hungover,” from an at-home dad to Andy Allo, the female lead in the “Upload” streaming series. The result is filled with fun moments. Read more…
1) “Nova: Can Dogs Talk?” 9 p.m., PBS. They can, sort of. Given an array of buttons, they can step on the one that says a specific noun (a toy) or a request (a walk, a meal) or even a concept. Scientists have been skeptical, setting up careful tests. The results are fun to watch; so are the dogs — delighted by their new skill — and their people. Read more…
If you encase a story with elegance — beautiful people wearing gorgeous things in stately places — you can get away with a lot.
That pops up now, with two lush productions:
— “Bridgerton” (shown here) has just aired the first half of its eight-episode season on Netflix. The second half arrives Feb. 26.
— “Forsytes” debuts March 22 on PBS’ “Masterpiece,” for a six-week run. Read more…
Best-bets for Feb. 9: survivors, skaters, librarians 
Best-bets for Feb. 8: Super Bowl … and much more 
Best-bets for Feb. 7: First full day of Olympics 
