Best-bets for Aug. 9: A great game returns

1) “Password” debut, 10 p.m. Tuesday, NBC. For 61 years, off and on, this game has provided quick, slick fun. The new version has Keke Palmer hosting, with Jimmy Fallon (also the producer) playing each time; they’re shown here. Tonight, he’s with Jon Hamm (who’s especially good), then at 9 p.m. Wednesday, he’ll be with Heidi Klum. In the modern trend, people work way too hard at being cheerful. Still, these are smart, likable souls who make an old game feel fresh in its 60s. Read more…

1) “Password” debut, 10 p.m. Tuesday, NBC. For 61 years, off and on, this game has provided quick, slick fun. The new version has Keke Palmer hosting, with Jimmy Fallon (also the producer) playing each time; they’re shown here. Tonight, he’s with Jon Hamm (who’s especially good), then at 9 p.m. Wednesday, he’ll be with Heidi Klum. In the modern trend, people work way too hard at being cheerful. Still, these are smart, likable souls who make an old game feel fresh in its 60s.

2) “America Outdoors” season-finale, 9 p.m., PBS. In an overhyped world, Minnesota is refreshing. It calls itself the “Land of 10,000 Lakes” and, Baratunde Thurston says, has almost 12,000. It also has 100,000 miles of rivers and streams. Wrapping an excellent season, Thurston meets intriguing people, including a bird buff and a couple farming in a spot where agriculture is iffy. That’s followed at 10 by a “Frontline” undercover report on the Taliban’s treatment of women.

3) “What We Do in the Shadows,” 10 p.m., FX. It’s not easy planning a perfect wedding … especially when the groom (Nandor) has very specific expectations, none involving his bride’s wishes. That leaves Guillermo scrambling, in a brash and funny episode.

4) “So You Think You Can Dance,” 8 p.m., Fox. On Wednesday, the season concludes with two terrific dancers up for the championship. First, oddly, we get a rerun of the hour that trimmed from eight dancers to six. That faces a night of game reruns on ABC — “Celebrity Wheel of Fortune” at 8 p.m. (including basketball star Karl-Anthony Towns and basketball buff Anthony Anderson), “Generation Gap” at 9 and “Celebrity Family Feud” at 10.

5) “Sunset Boulevard,” 8 p.m. ET, Turner Classic Movies. A William Holden marathon peaks with Gloria Swanson ready for her close-up. If you prefer something newer (and in color), catch “Thor” (2011), at 7:30 p.m. on FX, or the animated “Brave” (2012), at 8 on Disney.

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