Marian Anderson Sings Lincoln Memorial 04-09-1939 (Wiki COmmons)

Best-bets for Feb. 15: True artistry and true crime

1) “American Experience: Voice of Freedom,” 9-11 p.m., PBS. This starts a great PBS week, including the superb “The Black Church” on Tuesday and Wednesday, plus an emotional season-finale of “All Creatures Great and Small” on Sunday. First is this compelling portrait of Marian Anderson. The world’s highest-paid singer, heralded by Arturo Toscanini for a “once in 100 years” voice, she was banned by a Whites-only concert hall; instead her free Lincoln Memorial concert (shown here) drew 75,000 people. Read more…

1) “American Experience: Voice of Freedom,” 9-11 p.m., PBS. This starts a great PBS week, including the superb “The Black Church” on Tuesday and Wednesday, plus an emotional season-finale of “All Creatures Great and Small” on Sunday. First is this compelling portrait of Marian Anderson. The world’s highest-paid singer, heralded by Arturo Toscanini for a “once in 100 years” voice, she was banned by a Whites-only concert hall; instead her free Lincoln Memorial concert (shown here) drew 75,000 people.

2) “In Cold Blood” (1967), 8 p.m., ET Turner Classic Movies. True-crime tales are popular now, but here’s a chance to see a great one from long ago. Robert Blake and Scott Wilson play the men who killed a wealthy farm family in Kansas. This drew Oscar-nominations for writer-director Richard Brooks, composer Quincy Jones and the black-and-white cinematography of Conrad Hall.

3) “9-1-1,” 8 p.m., Fox. Last week, Buck feuded with his visiting parents, then received a jolt from his sister Maddie: Unbeknownst to him, they had a brother who died. That triggers a look at Buck’s past and his daredevil nature … in a story that also finds people trapped in a five-alarm fire.

4) “Snowpiercer,” 9 p.m., TNT, rerunning at 10:01. Based on a graphic novel and an indie movie, this always has an artful look. That’s heightened in a rare connection: Mr.Wilford (Sean Bean) brings a handful of people (including Melanie’s daughter) to a party on the massive train his train is hooked to. In stylized scenes, he meets his ex-lover Miss Audrey, the mesmerizing singer he hasn’t seen in seven years. Also, Josie may get medical treatment; Melanie is on her daring weather-balloon mission.

5) “The Salisbury Poisonings” finale, 10 p.m., AMC. In the first three parts, we saw the aftershocks of the poisoning of a former Soviet spy (and British counter-spy) in England. There was a community shutdown and a tragedy that followed the discovery of the poison vial, in a dumpster. In this strong finale, people grope for normality … which isn’t easy for Nick, a cop who was stricken. Stick around for the last minutes, when we see the real people who were dramatized here.

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