Best-bets for Nov. 3: Farewell to “Durrells” and “Affair”

1) “The Durrells in Corfu” finale, 8 p.m., PBS. This has been an amiable, four-season run, following the real people described in Gerald Durrell’s books. Widowed and broke, Louisa moved with her four children to a Greek island in the 1930s. Now their boarding house is doing fine, their lives are settled … but the Germans have invaded Albania, just two miles away. Larry has returned home, Margo is on the way and Louisa scrambles anew, in a well-crafted farewell episode. Read more…

1) “The Durrells in Corfu” finale, 8 p.m., PBS. This has been an amiable, four-season run, following the real people described in Gerald Durrell’s books. Widowed and broke, Louisa moved with her four children to a Greek island in the 1930s. Now their boarding house is doing fine, their lives are settled … but the Germans have invaded Albania, just two miles away. Larry has returned home, Margo is on the way and Louisa scrambles anew, in a well-crafted farewell episode.
2) “The Affair” finale, 9 p.m., Showtime, rerunning at 10:40. Here’s another farewell, this one not nearly as sweet-spirited. This began five years ago, when Noah met Alison and cheated on his wife Helen. Much has happened since then: Alison is dead; Noah and Helen have split … but the wedding of their daughter Whitney brings people together for a movie-length finish.
3) “Cinderella” (2015), 5:45 p.m., and “Beauty and the Beast” (2017), 8 and 10:30, TNT. It seemed like an odd notion – Disney making non-cartoon versions of its cartoon classics. But Kenneth Branagh, a gifted Shakespearean, directed “Cinderella” beautifully; then “Beauty” blended gorgeous visuals with the terrific songs from the original.
4) “The Simpsons,” 7 and 8 p.m., Fox. After six decades working with Africa’s animals, Jane Goodall gets one of life’s great honors – being a voice on “The Simpsons.” That’s in the 8 p.m. episode, a new one in which Lisa hopes to free all the animals; the 7 p.m. one is a rerun, with Bart teaming with a band of rogue girls.
5) “NCIS: Los Angeles,” 9:30 p.m., CBS. British actor Vinnie Jones plays a former criminal whose hard life comes back at him. An arms dealer has kidnapped his daughter, in hopes of getting a powerful weapons system. That pushes him into an uneasy alliance with the NCIS.

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