If you have a calendar handy, you might want to put a circle around June 20.
That will be a strong night to see … well, something. There’s “Jaws” and Janis Ian, Grammy greats and (shown here) Minecraft men.
That’s during a generally sleepy summer of TV. Suddenly, different networks all shoveled key specials into the same night: Read more…
1) “NCIS: Sydney,” 10 p,m., CBS. All three NCIS shows have moved to Tuesdays, which will be their night this fall. This rerun, a good one, starts explosively (shown here); then it plunges the Sydney team into the shaky world of conspiracy theories. That follows “NCIS” (a fun “ladies night” turns into work) and “NCIS Origins,” with a mourning Gibbs joining the search for a girl. Read more…
1) “Walking With Dinosaurs,” 8-10 p.m., PBS. Back in 1999, this drew praise and enthusiasm. Now it’s been rebooted beautifully, in a three-night series mixing special effects, animatronics and great filming. We see scientists finding bones … then get stories imagining those creatures. This starts (shown here) with a baby triceratops and a 13-foot-high tyrannosaurus. Read more…
If your mom is a driving instructor and your dad is a driver, there’s a good chance your career will put you in a car.
It worked that way for Rishi Nair (shown here, right), but in a round-about way. As the star of “Grantchester” (9 p.m. Sundays on PBS), he gets to drive a zippy red Triumph convertible.
“I really like it,” he said. “I love the sound of it when I hit the accelerator.”
That vintage car is a part of his introduction to different worlds. Nair is a city guy from London, playing someone at the core of village life. He’s a Hindu, playing a Christian vicar. He’s someone who was born in 1991, stepping back into life in 1961. Read more…
1) “Underdogs” (shown here), 9 and 9:54 p.m., National Geographic. This gem offers a three-Sunday, five-hour look at lowly creatures. The first hour (also on ABC at 9:03) shows superpowers, from invisibility to superglue slime. The second has terrible parents, including one that puts her eggs on an 800-foot cliff, with no exit strategy. Ryan Reynolds narrates. Read more…
1) “Walking With Dinosaurs,” 8-10 p.m. today, Tuesday and Wednesday, PBS. Fact and fiction blend neatly, in a lush production. We see scientists finding bones … then get stories imagining those creatures. Special-effects and animatronics link with great filming (shown here). Rebooting a 1999 series, this starts with a baby triceratops and a 13-foot-high tyrannosaurus. Read more…
1) Football, 8 p.m. ET, ABC. There’s one more game … followed by a couple football-free months. This one wraps the second year of the United Football League. The Michigan Panthers (shown here) and D.C. Defenders had 6-4 records during the regular season, then upset the division leaders in the semi-finals. Now they collide for the championship. Read more…
1) “Resident Alien,” 11 p.m., USA and Syfy. Last week, our alien found double trouble: A shapeshifter (shown here) was disguising as Harry (his Earthly persona) … and captors had stolen his alien powers, making him a mere human. Now he’s desperate — as is the mayor … and the half-alien Joseph … and the deputy and many others. It’s a wild and funny hour. Read more…
1) “Revival” debut, 10 p.m., Syfy and USA. Elsewhere, evil zombies roam afar. Here, a few benign (mostly) ones are confined to Wausau, Wis. The opener starts adequately and gets better as we get to know Dana (a cop), her dad (the police chief), her son and her sister. The result is sometimes involving (albeit nasty, shown here) or funny, with a great closing line. Read more…
1) “Sherlock & Daughter” season-finale, 9 p.m., CW. Holmes was skeptical about the American who says he’s her father. (They’re shown here.) But now they’ve linked to unmask the syndicate that kidnapped Watson. The final confrontation is at a debutante ball, where, CW says, shots are fired and hearts are betrayed. Read more…
