Daily Best Bets

1) CBS in space. A half-century ago, Walter Cronkite (shown here) and CBS grabbed a large chunk of viewers who obsessed on the moon mission. Now the network tries to recapture some of that. At 9:32 a.m. — exactly 50 years after the fact – its streaming site (www.cbsnews.com/live) reruns the original coverage of the lift-off. At 6:30 p.m., Norah O’Donnell anchors “CBS Evening News” from the Kennedy Space Center. And at 10, she anchors “Man on the Moon,” incorporating Cronkite’s coverage. Read more…

1) “CBS Evening News,” 6:30 p.m., CBS. This is the day Norah O’Donnell (shown here) takes over multi-duties; she’s anchor and managing editor of the newscast … anchor of political events … and occasional “60 Minutes” correspondent. That puts her on Murrow/Cronkite/Rather/Couric turf and she starts with a subject Walter Cronkite savored, the moon launch. Tonight, she discusses the future with space entrepreneur Jeff Bezos and with Caroline Kennedy, whose father propelled the moon program. Read more…

1) “Masterpiece: Grantchester” season-opener, 9 and 10 p.m., PBS. For three summers, James Norton has played a village vicar – decent and fragile – who helps a cop (Robson Green, shown here with Norton) solve crimes. Now he has his final two cases; we also glimpse the man who will replace him next week. Set in the 1950s, tonight’s first hour has a strong civil-rights theme; the second eyes a corrupt businessman. The mysteries are so-so. but this is a deep portrait of a good man, torn by his flaws. Read more…

1) Disney movies, TBS and Freeform. On a slow night for other shows, Disney films come to the rescue. The one TBS film — the gorgeous “Beauty and the Beast” (2017) at 6 p.m. – isn’t a cartoon, but Freeform counters with an animation spree. It has “Finding Nemo” (2003) at 2:10 p.m., “Ratatouille” (2007) a 4:40 and then two gems — “Moana” (2016, shown here) at 7:20 and “The Lion King” (1994) ar 9:50. Read more…

1) “Gone With the Wind” (1939), 10 p.m. ET, Turner Classic Movies. Last week, a TCM film called 1939 Hollywood’s greatest year; instant proof was provided with “Wizard of Oz” and “Ninotchka.” Both were Academy Award nominees for best picture, but that Oscar (and seven others) went to “Gone With the Wind” (its poster is shown here). Today, it’s preceded by a day of black-and-white, 1939 films; that peaks at 8 p.m. ET with “Dark Victory,” an Oscar nominee for best picture, actress (Bette Davis) and music. Read more…

1) “Hollywood Game Night” season-opener, 9 p.m., NBC. This reminds us of a sad fact: Thursdays – usually the best night for situation comedies – have suddenly become sitcom-free. Summertime reality shows have bumped comedy from CBS (“Big Bang,” “Mom,” etc.) and NBC. As a slight consolation, this opener has people from NBC’s “Superstore” (Nico Santos) and “The Good Place” (D’Arcy Carden, Marc Evan Jackson and Jameela Jamil, shown here), plus the “Ninja Warrior” hosts. Read more…

1) “Jane the Virgin,” 9 p.m., CW. With just five weeks left, “Jane” is clicking again. Yes, it sputtered for a while, especially with its Rafael-or-Michael storyline. But now Jane and Rafael are engaged; this episode ripples with sharp plot twists and brief bursts of humor. Jane frets about finishing and selling her book … and about being a good stepmom to the twins of Petra (who has her own evil mom to worry about) and Rafael. Also, many people – Jane’s dad, Rose, the twins (shown here)– scheme in the telenovela fashion. Read more…

1) “Bring the Funny” debut, 10:01 p.m., NBC. For a dozen years, NBC had a shaky relationship with “Last Comic Standing.” Once, it ordered a second edition for the fall … then failed to run the final episode. It cancelled the show three times – once for a year, then for three, then forever. Now, four years later, a new show debuts. Like “Last Comic,” it has stand-up comedians; unlike it, there are also sketch comedy (shown here), magicians and more. Kenan Thompson, Jeff Foxworthy and Chrissy Teigen are judges. Read more…

1) “The Bachelorette,” 8-10:01 p.m., ABC. It’s time for Hannah Brown (shown here) to visit the home towns and meet the families of the final four. And that means mostly staying close to her Southern roots: She’s 24, a former Miss Alabama. Luke Parker, 24, an import/export manager, is from Georgia … Jed Wyatt, 25, a singer/songwriter, is from Tennessee … Tyler Cameron, 26, a contractor, is from Florida … and Peter Weber, 27, a pilot, is from California. Read more…

1) “The Movies” debut, 9 p.m. ET, CNN (barring breaking news), rerunning at midnight. This is like the former Disney World ride that zipped us through Hollywood history — fast and fun, but never really staying anywhere for long. The opener takes us through the 1980s. It has fresh interviews with the great filmmakers – Steven Spielberg, James Cameron, Rob Reiner, Tim Burton, Ridley Scott, the late John Singleton – and a few actors, critics and historians. It has a few insights — Tom Hanks calls “Roger Rabbit” (shown here) the most difficult filmmaking ever — and lots of quick, fun clips. Read more…