Best-bets for Feb. 4: Skiing, skating and spectacle

1) Olympics opening ceremony, 6:30 a.m. ET, NBC, USA, Peacock, Olympic Channel. Then 8 p.m. and 12:38 a.m., NBC. As the first city to host both the summer and winter Olympics, Beijing tries to match its previous success – on a smaller scale. In the summer of 2008, its spectacular ceremony (shown here) had 15,000 performers and a reported $100-million budget. Now it’s in the same building, with the same director; about 3,000 performers are expected. Read more…

1) Olympics opening ceremony, 6:30 a.m. ET, NBC, USA, Peacock, Olympic Channel. Then 8 p.m. and 12:38 a.m., NBC. As the first city to host both the summer and winter Olympics, Beijing tries to match its previous success – on a smaller scale. In the summer of 2008, its spectacular ceremony (shown here) had 15,000 performers and a reported $100-million budget. Now it’s in the same building, with the same director; about 3,000 performers are expected.
2) Olympic competition, 2 p.m.. ET, USA Network. While NBC has its Olympics preview show (noon to 3 p.m.), USA shows early-starting events. The afternoon has reruns, including team figure-skating (rhythm dance and the short programs for men and pairs). The night has live coverage, including qualifying runs of women’s snowboarding (10 p.m. ET) and men’s ski-jumping (1:30 a.m.), plus women’s hockey (Canada-Finland) at 11:50 p.m.
3) “To Sir, With Love” (1967), 8 p.m. ET, Turner Classic Movies. Early in Black History Month, TCM has two Sidney Poitier films — this feel-good one about a London teacher and (8 p.m. Sunday) Poitier’s Oscar-winning role in “Lillies of the Field” (1963). They’ll be back at 2 and 4 p.m. Feb. 20, near the end of a 24-hour Poitier marathon. Also of Black History Month interest: “Shaft” (2019), 8 p.m., TBS; and an “enhanced” Janet Jackson profile, 8 to midnight, Lifetime.
4) “Blue Bloods,” 10 p.m., CBS. With a two-hour “Celebrity Big Brother” at 8 p.m., this is the only surviving show from CBS’ regular line-up. In a rerun of the season-opener, Frank argues with the mayor, Danny consults a psychic and Erin probes a cold case in which her boss (then 13) was the only witness.
5) “Reacher,” any time, Amazon Prime. Jack Reacher – played by Tom Cruise in the movies – is played here by the imposing Alan Ritchson, tackling a small-town murder. That arrives on the same day as the second season of Netflix’s “Sweet Magnolias.” They follow Hulu’s “Pam & Tommy” (which arrived Wednesday) and two season-openers Thursday – “Raised by Wolves” on HBO Max and “Dragons Rescue Riders” on Peacock.

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