Best-bets for Aug. 25: Lots of dramas, good and not

1) “Orphan Black: Echoes” season-finale, 10:07 p.m., AMC and BBC America. A once-promising season spirals into despair. Yes, the slow, pensive style has drawn great performances from Keeley Hawes, Krysten Ritter (shown here) and Amanda Fix. Now, however, that approach creates trouble; people sputter and stall, as disaster nears. Read more…

1) “Orphan Black: Echoes” season-finale, 10:07 p.m., AMC and BBC America. A once-promising season spirals into despair. Yes, the slow, pensive style has drawn great performances from Keeley Hawes, Krysten Ritter (shown here) and Amanda Fix. Now, however, that approach creates trouble; people sputter and stall, as disaster nears.

2) “Magpie Murders” conclusion, 9 and 10 p.m., PBS. Here’s a rerun of a brilliant tale. Susan probes two murders – fictional (in the missing chapter of a novel) and real (the novelist was slain). She even imagines talks with the book’s detective. A sequel – with equally clever twists – start Sept. 15.

3) More dramas. At 8 p.m., there’s CBS’ “Tulsa King” and PBS’ “Hotel Portofino,” which teeters beween soap and melodrama. At 9, HBO has “Industry” and AMC has a fierce “Snowpiercer,” with much to adjust to – the return of Wilford and the heroism of Ben, who died uncoupling the trains so people could flee toward New Eden.

4) “OceanXplorers,” 9 and 9:51 p.m., National Geographic Channel, rerunning at 10:41 and 11:32. James Cameron’s supership follows sharks – first sixgill, then hammerhead. That’s preceded by last week’s openers (7:12 and 8:05), focusing on whales.

5) Football. Eleven days before it has the opening game of the pro season, NBC warms up with the Patriots and Commanders, at 8 p.m. ET. And at 7 p.m., the CW has “American Underdog,” a faith-based film with Zachary Levi as quarterback Kurt Warner.

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