Best-bets for Feb. 1: The Oscar rush begins

1) “Doctor Zhivago” (1965) and “Funny Girl” (1968), 8 and 11:30 p.m. ET, Turner Classic Movies. The 25th year of “31 Days of Oscar,” starts splendidly. It will be stuffed with Oscar-winners, each with a connection to the film that follows, In this case, the link is Omar Sharif (. He stars in the large and lush “Zhivago,” then co-stars in the musical “Funny Girl.” Both were nominated for best picture, but didn’t win. “Zhivago” won five other Oscars; “Funny Girl” won for Barbra Streisand’s great performance, mixing humor, heartbreak and superb music. Read more…

1) “Doctor Zhivago” (1965) and “Funny Girl” (1968), 8 and 11:30 p.m. ET, Turner Classic Movies. The 25th year of “31 Days of Oscar,” starts splendidly. It will be stuffed with Oscar-winners, each with a connection to the film that follows, In this case, the link is Omar Sharif (. He stars in the large and lush “Zhivago,” then co-stars in the musical “Funny Girl.” Both were nominated for best picture, but didn’t win. “Zhivago” won five other Oscars; “Funny Girl” won for Barbra Streisand’s great performance, mixing humor, heartbreak and superb music.

2) “Super Bowl Gospel Celebrtion,” 8 p.m., BET. Super Bowl viewers will hear one of the great voices Sunday, when Yolanda Adams sings “America the Beautiful.” First, we can hear her in her elemen – gospel. Taped Thursday in Miami, the concert also has Donnie McClurkin, Anthony Brown, Commissioned, Travis Greene and the NFL Players Choir. Honorees will be brothers Quinnen and Quincy Williams, of the Jets and Jaguars.

3) “NFL Honors,” 8-10 p.m., Fox. Steve Harvey hosts for the second straight year, as pro football hands out its awards for most valuable player, rookie of the year, top defensive player, top comeback player and more. That’s part of a busy sports night, with college basketball on cable and pro ball (76ers at Celtics) at 8:30 p.m. on ABC.

4) “Murdoch Mysteries,” 7 and 8 p.m. ET, Ovation. The 13th season of this amiable Canadian show begins, with the first two hours adding a topical touch to a show set early in the 20th century, First, there’s an explosion at a women’s suffrage rally. (In national elections, Canadian women finally got the vote in 1918 two years ahead of Americans.) Then there’s a murder at a labor rally. These are reasonably solid tales, each with a twist; also, the show adds an important new character.

5) And more: At 9 p.m. ET (rerunning at 12:30 a.m)., BBC America continues its gorgeous “Seven Worlds, One Planet”; this time, it views South America. And latenight? At 11 p.m., Fox has part of a Super Bowl concert, with Maroon 5, DJ Khaled and Guns N’ Roses. At 11:29, NBC’s “Saturday Night Live” keeps in the Super Bowl spirit by having football star JJ Watt host; country’s Luke Combs is the music guest.

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