1) “Band of Brothers,” 11:30 a.m. to 1:49 a.m., AMC. On Veterans Day, here’s a rerun of a mini-series (shown here) about a real-life World War II unit. It’s masterfully done — as is Steven Spielberg’s “Saving Private Ryan,” at noon and 8:05 p.m. on Showtime. Also, military-movie marathons are on Turner Classic Movies and digital channels called FMC and Movies. Read more…
In a logical world, this Sunday would be a national holiday.
It’s the 100th birthday of NBC. More importantly, it’s the 100th anniversary of national (almost) broadcasting.
There were lots of local radio shows in 1926. But on Nov. 15, one show reached 21 cities, from New York to Kansas City. Over four-plus hours, people heard an orchestra, an opera singer, comedians and five bands.
It was hugely ambitious. Would NBC always be like this?
Not really. The next night, the new network included “Jolly Buckeye Bakers” and “Auction Bridge Lessons.” Twenty years later, when NBC’s TV network debuted, it had “Geographically Speaking,” “Esso Newsreel,” “Fight Film Filler” an “I Love to Eat.” In the years that followed, it would include a talking chimp, two talking cars and a guy who could transform into animals.
But that same network would give us “West Wing,” “Seinfeld,” “Friends,” “Hill Street Blues,” Johnny Carson and “Saturday Night Live” (shown here). All in all, it’s been a good century. Read more…
1) “We Chose to Go to the Moon,” 8-10 p.m., PBS. This Carnegie Hall event views the space race through personal glimpses and epic music from an orchestra and six Broadway stars. After a slow start, it has a moving “Sounds of Silence” and a soaring “Aquarius,” later, there’s a rousing “Rocket Man” and a ballad Mark Armstrong wrote about his dad (shown here), the lunar pioneer. Read more…
The main function of November seems to be to keep Halloween from colliding with Christmas.
At least, that’s how it feels at the Freeform cable network. Fresh from its “31 Days of Halloween,” it has its plans for “25 Days of Christmas.”
This year’s line-up does have a few additions. It debuts a Christmas edition of “The Thrifting Show” at 10 p.m. Dec. 3 and adds a couple of Disney Channel shows — “A Very Jonas Christmas Movie” (9 p.m., Dec. 7) and “Mickey’s Home Alone” (2 p.m., Dec. 19).
Mostly, however, this is about re-rerunning certain mainstays. They include: Read more…
1) “The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins,” 8:30 p.m., NBC. Bobby Moynihan has been everywhere lately. He did a recent “Saturday Night Live” and is a regular on “NCIS: Origins” (including a key flashforward with Mark Harmon) and on this show: He plays Reggie’s freeloading ex-teammate (shown here, right); now come funny twists as people ponder his value. Read more…
The Christmas TV season will start a day earlier this year.
It will begin on Thanksgiving eve, thanks to Dorothy and Mickey and such.
ABC had already announced that it will air “Mickey’s Christmas Carol” — a long-ignored, half-hour gem — at 8 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 25. Now CW has picked that same time for “The Wizard of Oz” (shown here).
The mini-network will also air “Oz” on Dec. 20, as part of a season that includes three Dolly Parton shows, a few new specials and some semi-ancient cartoons. That includes: Read more…
1) “Cupertino,” 8-11 p.m., CBS. If you haven’t been watching this terrific show (10 p.m. Thursdays), here’s the perfect way to start. At 9 and 10 p.m. are reruns of the first two episodes, showing a mismatched duo launching a tiny law firm. At 8 is a great new episode — a serious, life-and-death tale, encased in the fun of all sides stuck in a traffic jam (shown here) grasping for a sort of street justice. Read more…
1) “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit,” 9 p.m. Thursday, NBC. Last week, “Chicago Fire” had its 300th episode; now “SVU” (same producer and network) doubles that. This is the 600th, trailing only “The Simpsons” (815) and “Gunsmoke” (635). Mariska Hargitay (shown here) has been there the entire time; for this episode, Christopher Meloni — who did the first 12 seasons, left for a decade and now appears occasionally — returns as Stabler. Read more…
1) “Saturday Night Live,” 11:29 p.m., NBC. Once confined to the internet, Druski (shown here) has expanded. The one-named comedian hosted the BET Awards in June and now has his first time hosting “SNL”; it’s the fifth for the Strokes as music guest. Druski, 32, started with YouTube comedy, then was in music videos and started a record label with online auditions. Read more…
1) “Sheriff Country” and “Fire Country,” 8 and 9 p.m., CBS. Here’s a high-stakes, crossover event that has both shows’ stars — including Matt Lauria and Max Thieriot, shown here — in each hour. A prison break escalates into a hostage crisis; the sheriff must make a quick, personal decision. The second hour has a manhunt, amid efforts to protect loved ones. Read more…
Best-bets for Nov. 11: a busy Veterans Day 
Best-bets for Nov. 10: memories of the space race 
Best-bets for Nov. 9: two comedies or two crises 
