Best-bets for Aug. 31: fantasy and reality share the night

1) “Stargirl” season-opener, 8 p.m., CW. While others pause, CW has an above-average show to bridge the late-summer/early-fall lull. “Stargirl” skips all the reluctant-hero cliches; Courtney (shown here in the new-season poster) is a teen who’s delighted to discover her superpowers. Two skilled pros help – Joel McHale as Starman, back from the dead, and Luke Wilson as Courtney’s dad and sidekick. Now The Gambler is back, drawing suspicion. Read more…

1) “Stargirl” season-opener, 8 p.m., CW. While others pause, CW has an above-average show to bridge the late-summer/early-fall lull. “Stargirl” skips all the reluctant-hero cliches; Courtney (shown here in the new-season poster) is a teen who’s delighted to discover her superpowers. Two skilled pros help – Joel McHale as Starman, back from the dead, and Luke Wilson as Courtney’s dad and sidekick. Now The Gambler is back, drawing suspicion.

2) “Welcome to Wrexham,” 10 and 10:35 p.m., FX; rerunning at 11:09 p.m., 12:18 and 1:27 a.m. “There’s got to be more to life than this,” Shaun Winter says. By day, he keep painting apartments the same drab color; by night, he’s separated, sharing time with his sons. What could revive his life is the local soccer team, now that two Hollywood guys own it. In two strong episodes, they try money and persuasion, to lure a star player and coach.

3) “Resident Alien,” 10 p.m., Syfy. The alien is usually inside a human disguise. After all, he killed Harry (a loner doctor) and took his identity. But this excellent hour leaps in all directions. We see him shed his human skin; we see him flash forward, both as a human and not. Meanwhile, he tries to find the alien baby (sometimes disguised as a boy) before the general can. It’s a key hour for a show that deftly mixes humor and adventure.

4) “America’s National Parks,” 8 and 9 p.m., National Geographic. On the same day that the terrific, nine-hour series reaches Disney+, we can see two of the hours here. First is Great Smoky Mountains, leading all parks with 12 million annual visitors. Then is Big Bend, which barely has 400,00, but offers compelling sights — a road runner scooting, a beaver damming, big-horn sheep battling … and a lizard that can swallow insects before they release their venom.

5) “Archer,” 10 p.m., FXX. The new boss has put Ray in charge of a mission – which may explain why the team is now stranded on an island, surrounded by piranha. The result alternates between fairly good humor and a blur of action. It reruns at 11:39, after reruns of the first two “Little Demons” episodes, both excellent; the third will be 10 p.m. Thursday.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *