Daily Best Bets

Best-bets for March 18: Witches & rappers

1) “Motherland: Fort Salem” debut, 9 p.m., Freeform. They forgot to tell us this in history class: Ever since the Revolutionary War, it seems, witches have been a key part of the American army. Now we meet three young ones (two are shown here) in basic training. There’s the privileged daughter of an officer … an angry youth mourning her mom … and an idealist who just wants to do good. Their arguments feel contrived, but other scenes work well – especially the opening and closing ones, showing how potent the enemy is. Read more…

Best-bets for March 17: St. Patrick’s Day gem

1) “Finian’s Rainbow” (1968), 10:30 p.m. ET, Turner Classic Movies. With many St. Patrick’s Day events canceled, people can settle for TCM’s full day of Irish films. Logically, there are two that John Ford filmed in his parents’ homeland – “Rising of the Moon” (1965) at 4:30 p.m. ET and John Wayne’s “The Quiet Man” (1952) ar 8. But no, you don’t have to be Irish: Before directing “Godfather” films, Francis Coppola made “Finian’s Rainbo,”(shown here with Fred Astaire and Tommy Steele), a gem of a musical with zesty visuals and bursts of satire. Read more…

Best-bets for March 16: “Idol” expands, “Roswell” resurrects

1) “Roswell, New Mexico” season-opener, 9 p.m., CW. We’re used to death having a certain permanence, but not here. A decade ago, Liz’s sister died – apparently as a drunken driver, also responsible for the deaths of two friends. Later, we learned that Noah was responsible; Max (Nathan Parsons, shown here with Jeanine Mason as Liz) found Rosa’s well-preserved body and resurrected her. (Outer-space aliens can do that, apparently.) Tonight, we find Rosa alive, Max and Noah dead (for now) and Isobel – Max’s sister, Noah’s widow – bitter. Read more…

Best-bets for March 15: Basketball dies; androids don’t

1) “Westworld” season-opener, 9 p.m., HBO. This show takes its time. It was 16 months between the end of the first season and the start of the second … and another 20 months after the second. “Westworld” has drawn praise– 41 Emmy nominations, with seven wins – and confusion. Now the sentient androids have escaped. Dolores (Evan Rachel Wood, shown here in a previous season) is in futuristic Los Angeles with a guy (Aaron Paul); Maeve (Emmy-winner Thandie Newton) is in a different park, based on Fascist Italy. Read more…

Best-bets for March 14: A fast, furious day

1) “Fast and Furious” films (shown here) everywhere. How many roaring engines and screeching tires do we need in one day? Today brings eight of the nine “F&F” movies; the missing one shows up Sunday. WGN America has the first four at 9 and 11 a.m. and 1:30 and 3:30 p.m.; it reruns the first two at 5:30 and 7:30, skips the third and reruns the fourth at 10. The fifth? That’s at 5:45 p.m. on HBO. Others are at 8 p.m. – the seventh on FX, the eighth on NBC, the ninth on HBO. That leaves the sixth, at 10 p.m. Sunday on FX. Read more…

Best-bets on Friday-the-13th: “Flack” starts, Rhyme ends

1) “Flack” season-opener, 10 p.m., Pop. Anna Paquin (shown here) produces this smart, saucy show and stars as Robyn, a public-relations whiz who shields London’s celebrities … while ducking her own pill addiction. As the second, six-week season starts, she adds a new personal problem … and more people need help. One is caught in a brothel raid; another (Daniel Dae Kim) is brought by Robyn’s boss’ ex-husband … played by Sam Neill, Paquin’s “The Piano” co-star. Read more…

Best-bets for March 12: A “Runway” winner, an “Okay” finale

1) “Project Runway” finale, 9 p.m., Bravo. It’s time for the final four … or maybe three. Last week, four designers each showed three pieces, with judges considering sending someone home before the Fashion Week final. Then … well, the episode ended without telling us if they all survived. For now, we have opposites: Nancy Volpe-Beringer (shown here) is 64 and went to fashion school at 58. Victoria Cocieru is 27 and was a teen TV host in her native Moldava. Sergio Guadarrama is 36; Geoffrey Mac is 42. Read more…

Bestd-bets for March 11: “Modern” memories

1) “Modern Family” marathon, 8-11 p.m, ABC. Four weeks from its finale, this clever show – five-time winner of the best-comedy Emmy – reruns six episodes chosen by viewers. That starts with the pilot, introducing Lily to the family, and follows at 8:30 with the hilarious moment when the kids see their parents having sex. Jay helps Manny’s sales at 9, with a Las Vegas trip (shown here) at 9:30; a gem using Claire’s computer at 10; and an alliance to hide mistakes at 10:30. Read more…

Best-bets for March 10: Fox has love, pain and music

1) “Empire,” 9 p.m., Fox. When Tracy was killed last week, it set off aftershocks. Cookie, who shot her in self-defense, keeps flashing back to a long-ago murder she committed. Her son Andre’s condition is getting worse, as he imagines that he sees – and is controlled by – Tracy’s late son Jeff Kingsley. As usual, “Empire” mixes soap-opera excess with great music. Now it’s Kiandra Richardson (shown here) as the immensely talented Yana, reminding us that this overwrought show is still about music-makers. Read more…

Best-bets for March 9: “The Bachelor” ends; the world begins

1) “The Bachelor” finale, 8-10 p.m., ABC; concludes 8-10 p.m. Tuesday. Let’s not even try to figure this out. Peter Weber, 28, a pilot, is supposed to choose Madison Prewett or Hannah Ann Sloss (shown here), both 23. But Prewett, a foster parent recruiter, had said she’s saving herself for marriage and probably couldn’t continue if he’d slept with the others; he said he had. Prewett left … and returned. Now Weber is supposed to choose her or Sloss, a model. First, there’s a visit form his family and some more drama. Read more…