1) “Chicago P.D.,” 10 p.m., NBC. This is easily the best of the three “Chicago” series, as shown tonight. After a bland “Chicago Fire” at 9 p.m., we get this taut hour. It starts with Haily Upton (Tracy Spiradakos, shown here) on a nighttime run. A crisis leads to a stunning opening; then the propulsive story streaks toward its emotional finish. There’s strong writing and visuals, plus great work from Spiradakos. Read more…
1) “This Is Us,” 9 p.m., NBC. After an Olympic break, broadcast-TV’s best drama is back with another emotional and well-crafted episode. This one steps outside the usual Pearson universe. There are nods to nice-guy types – Miguel (in a flashback, before he married Rebecca) and Elijah (who’s with Madison). But the real focus is on Randall’s wife Beth (shown here). If you saw (in real life) a 15-year-old Olympian being berated for falling, you’ll be moved by Beth’s reaction here. Read more…
1) “Abraham Lincoln,” 8-10:33 p.m., History, rerunning at 12:04 a.m. Sunday’s opener (rerunning at 5:30 p.m. today) took Abe through a tough childhood, brightened when his new stepmother brought warmth and books. Now, on Presidents Day, we see him (shown here) waging war and pondering emancipation. Skillfully blending historians and re-enactments, this concludes at 8 p.m. Tuesday, with reruns at 3 and 5:30. Read more…
1) Olympic finale, 8-10:30 p.m., NBC. The Chinese have shown a mastery of spectacles – from inventing fireworks (1,00 years ago) to holding he Olympic opening ceremony (16 days ago). Now it’s time for the closing ceremony (the 2018 one is shown here), plus two reruns of the figure-skating gala. One (3:30-8 a.m.) is on the USA Network, which also reruns the men’s hockey championship during that stretch; the other (2-6 p.m.) is on NBC, which also has women’s cross-country skiing plus (at 7 p.m.) an Olympic wrap-up. Read more…
1) Figure-skating gala, 11:30 p.m. ET, NBC. Here’s one of the highlights of the winter games – no rules, no judges, just skilled skaters entertaining us. That includes the medal winners and, sometimes, others. We can expect to see the gold-medalists, including the French ice-dance duo (shown here) and Nathan Chen of the U.S.; we’ll also see the winners of the pairs finals, which air from 6-10 a.m. today on the USA Network. That will rerun in NBCs primetime (8-11 p.m. ET) … just before we see the medalists have gala fun. Read more…
1) ”Knives Out” (2019), 8-11 p.m., Syfy. In no universe would this be considered sci-fi or syfy or whatever. Still, it’s a terrific film, worth seeing. Rian Johnson’s Oscar-nominated script skillfully juggles humor, action and a murder mystery. The stars include Jamie Lee Curtis (shown here, foreground), Chris Evans and – as a detective with a big Southern accent – Daniel Craig. And Ana de Armas, relatively unknown to American audiences, is terrific as an innocent, working for a scheming family. Read more…
1) Olympic figures-skating. It’s time for the women’s individual finals, always a ratings-grabber … especially when there’s a whiff of scandal. Russia’s Kamila Valieva (shown here) is clearly the best skater, but word came late – VERY late – that she’d tested positive for a banned drug. An agency rule that she can skate … while people figure out who’s responsible and whether she gets a medal. That’s live this morning (5-9 a.m. ET) on the USA Network, then on tape tonight (8-11:30 p.m.) on NBC. Read more…
1) “Nature,” 8 p.m., PBS. Each year, billions of sardines (shown here) make a massive South African run, for … well, no reason that researchers can discern. Along the way, they attract way too many predators; birds, sharks, whales and dolphins sometimes work together for a massive round-up and feast. The result creates visuals that are both gorgeous and bizarre. Read more…
1) Olympic figure-skating, USA Network and NBC. This was supposed to be the key time for viewers, with women skating solo. That’s live during USA’s morning (4-9:25 a.m. today, 5-9 a.m. Thursday) and taped for NBC’s evenings (8-11:30 p.m.). The problem came with the event’s star, Russia’s Kamila Valieva (shown here), 15. After she skated brilliantly in the team event, word came that she’d tested positive for a banned drug. With or without her, this loses some of its joy. Read more…
1) “State of the Union” opener, 10 p.m., Sundance. You wanna spend part of Valentine’s Day watching a fractured marriage? Maybe not; there are plenty of romantic choices, including (shown here), the splendid “Shakespeare in Love” (details below). But “State of the Union” is special; written by novelist Nick Hornby, it has wit, depth and skilled actors. Like the first season, this has ten 10-minute episodes, airing each weekday for two weeks; each shows the couple in a coffeeshop, waiting to see a marriage counselor. He (Brendan Gleeson) resists a changing world; she (Patricia Clarkson) embraces it. Read more…
