Daily Best Bets

Best-bets for Aug. 2: “SHIELD” saves the world

1) “Agents of SHIELD” season-finale, 8 and 9 p.m., ABC. Epic in scale and (presumably) in budget, “SHIELD” has had modest ratings. Still, it’s been renewed annually, possibly because Disney (ABC’s parent company) owns Marvel and makes profits selling sci-fi shows overseas. Now “SHIELD” has been given one more 13-episode season for next summer. Tonight, ABC says, the team tries “to stop the end of everything.” That seems like a worthy goal. Read more…

Best-bets for Aug. 1: A farewell to zombies

1) “iZombie” series finale, 8 p.m., CW. For the second straight night, CW ends one of its best shows. On Wednesday, it was “Jane the Virgin”; tonight is “iZombie.” Both are bright-looking, with a smart and likeable woman at the core; only one, however, has someone munch the brains of murder victim, hoping to absorb memories and attitudes. That’s Liv (shown here), a doctor and inadvertent zombie who works in the morgue and helps police. Now she has a bigger goal — preventing a war between humans and zombies. Read more…

Best-bets for July 31: Farewell to “Jane”

1) “Jane the Virgin” series finale, 9 p.m., CW. Jane’s grandmother (shown here with her daughter and granddaughter) has always loved telenovela finales. “The good people get what they deserve,” she says. “And there’s usually a wedding.” Now we get all of that and more. It’s the 100th episode (if you count the 8 p.m. hour of interviews as No. 99) and many of the key issues were settled in No. 98. Still, there are a few surprises … including a bizarre wedding vehicle. Eventually, good people — and good viewers — do get what they deserve. Read more…

Best-bets for July 30: Close Encounters with space and politics

1) “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” (shown here) and “Star Wars” (both 1977), 8 and 10:30 p.m., Turner Classic Movies. It’s a splendid night for space. PBS’ “American Experience” concludes its rerun of the excellent, three-part “Chasing the Moon” (8-10 p.m.). And TCM has these masterpieces from Steven Spielberg and George Lucas, respectively. And yes, 1977 was a fun year to go to the movies. Read more…

Best-bets for July 29; “Big Bang” is back, “Bachelorette” departs

1) “The Bachelorette” finale, 8-10:01 p.m., ABC; concludes Tuesday. On the eve of the finale, we still see Hannah Brown, 24, (shown here) with three guys to choose from. Peter Weber, 27, is a pilot from California; Tyler Cameron, 26, is a contractor from Florida; Jed Wyatt, 25, is a singer-songwrier from Tennessee. Tonight, she dumps one and takes the others to meet her family. On Tuesday, we see her choice. Read more…

Best-bets for July 28: Music, sharks and more

1) “Masterpiece: Grantchester,” 9 p.m., PBS. This season has had mini-glimpses of the new vicar. Its first two mysteries were tackled by the original guy, the third by his assistant. Now, at last, Will Davenport (Tom Brittney, shown here) takes over. Riding a motorcycle and listening to rock, he gives this late-’50s, English village a jolt. He has no plans to help solve crimes … until a boy, silent and blood-stained, arrives. With one exception (the boy’s over-the-top father), the result is skillfully written and played. Read more…

Best-bets for July 27: A slice of ‘Heaven’

1) “Heaven,” 8-10 p.m., Lifetime. Starting with “Flowers in the Attic,” Lifetime has soared big with movies based on V.C. Andrews novels. Now it will fill five straight Saturdays with her stories of the Casteel family. In this first one, Heaven Casteel (Annalise Basso, 18, shown here) is the oldest of five siblings in a mountain shack. A tragedy forces her into new worlds. Read more…

Best-bets for Friday, July 26: “SHIELD” tries to save the world

1) “Agents of SHIELD,” 8 p.m., ABC. A week from the season-finale (and a year from the series-finale), “SHIELD” has our attention. Tonight, ABC says, the team is in full crisis mode; that thrusts it toward next week’s two-hour finale, trying “to stop the end of everything,” a worthy goal. The series (shown here from its first year) had already been renewed for 13 episodes next summer, but ABC recently said that will be the end. Read more…

Best-bets for July 25: For “iZombie,” the end is near

1) “iZombie,” 8 p.m., CW. Next week, two CW gems will depart. It will be the final episodes of “Jane the Virgin” on Wednesday and “iZombie” a week from today; add “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend” (which concluded this spring) and you have the network’s best shows. As for tonight … Liv – the doctor who accidentally became a crimesolving zombie – gets devastating news; also, Clive (shown here) does some society dancing. Read more…

Best-bets for July 24: Nearing the finish, “Jane” soars

1) “Jane the Virgin,” 9 p.m., CW. At the end of a terrific episode. Jane’s mom quietly asks: “How do we say goodbye?” Good question; after five seasons and 98 episodes, we hate to see “Jane” end. It started well (including a Golden Globe for Gina Rodriguez and a best-comedy-series nomination), stumbled a bit, but is ending with humor and warmth. This episode manages to settle most of the plot points, even providing some warmth for ex-spouses Rafael and Petra, shown here. In fact, one problem is disposed of quite spectacularly. We’re not sure what will be left for next week’s two-part finale. Read more…