1) “Benjamin Franklin,” 9-11 p.m., PBS. Franklin (depicted here) rippled with contrasts. He was a left-brain guy who invented the lightning rod, bifocals and Franklin stove, a right-brainer whose wrote cleverly. He was warm and lovable, but fought with his family, owned slaves and ran slavery ads in his newspaper. Ken Burn created this rich profile, which reruns over two Fridays. Read more…
1) “Law & Order” season-opener, 8- p.m., NBC. Dick Wolf’s dramas seem to go on forever … and are bouncing back quickly from the strikes. This one starts its 23rd season, with Reid Scott (shown here, left) replacing Jeffrey Donovan as one of thre cops. Tonight, an on-campus murder sparks a debate about hate speech. Read more…
1) “Chicago Fire” season-opener, 8-11 p.m., NBC. Producer Dick Wolf gets the prize for quickly getting dramas back, post-strike. He has three “Law & Order” ones Thursday, three FBI ones next month and three Chicago ones now. This is a fairly ordinary hour, with an arson probe, a fire (shown heere) and staff changes. One person is gone, one is back, one is leaviing … and life goes on. Read more…
1) “Fargo” finale, 10 p.m., FX; repeats at 11:07, 12:13, 1:19. A great show hits all of its odd extremes. The opening minutes are slow and brutal; the cruel Sheriff Tillman (Jon Hamm) prepares for battle as his blinded son wanders and his nasty dad taunts. And the final minutes are pure “Fargo,” with an ending that matches the original movie. In between, Dot (Juno Temple, shown here in the opening episode) tries to flee from Tillman. Read more…
1) Emmy night. After the drab Golden Globes, we’ll see if there can be fun at award time. The E channel starts its preview at 5 p.m. ET and goes to the red carpet with Laverne Cox at 6; Fox has the awards at 8, with Anthony Anderson hosting. One quirk: This is for an eligibility period that ended seven months ago. “The Bear” (shown here) had two seasons of Globe wins, before now getting its first Emmy night. Read more…
1) “Monsieur Spade” opener, 9 p.m., AMC. In “Maltese Falcon,” Sam Spade became the classic private eye, tough, terse and unblinking. Now he’s played by Clive Owen and (shown here) and written by Tom Fontana, the brilliant “Homicide” and “Oz” writer. Surprisingly, he’s living quietly in France; unsurprisingly, trouble finds him. The six-week story is oddly convoluted, but it ripples with quick, sharp dialog. Read more…
1) “The Simpsons Movie” (2007), 6 p.m. and midnight, FX. On TV in 2007, Bart Simpson scrawled: “I will not wait 20 years to make another movie.” But maybe he will. This first one (shown here) came 17 years after the series began. Critics approved and it topped a half-billion dollars worldwide. Still, we’ve waited 16-plus years – so far – for the next one. Read more…
1) “SWAT.” return, 8 p.m., CBS. After months of alternatives, CBS has re-assembled the line-up that gets strong ratings on Fridays. They’ll have reruns for now, with their new seasons starting Feb. 16. In “SWAT” (shown here in a previous episode), it’s Patrol Day, when the elite team must work the streets. Trouble soon follows. Read more…
1) “SEAL Team.” 9 and 10 p.m., CBS. After a long stretch of comedies (the original, British “Ghosts”) on Thursdays, CBS shifts to military action. Over two weeks, it reruns a four-parter that wrapped up a season on Paramount+. Jason (David Boreanaz, left, in a scene from another episode) takes the team to Venezuela, for a tough mission involving Iran’s nuclear program. Read more…
1) “Nature: Big Little Journeys” opener, 8 p.m., PBS. This three-week series shows small creatures with big migrations. Only one per cent of baby turtles reach adulthood, we’re told; in Canada, we see one try to cross a highway and reach a lake, to avoid freezing. And in South Africa, a bushbaby (shown here, not in a scene from the film) looks for a home. Both encounter creatures – a moose, an elephant, etc. — much larger. Read more…
