Daily Best Bets

Best-bets for March 5: with Oscars near, a great movie night

1) “Gone With the Wind” (1939) and “Casablanca” (1942), 4 and 8 p.m. ET, Turner Classic Movies. A week from the Academy Awards, TCM fills its line-up with great films. That peaks here, “Wind” is ranked No. 6 on the American Film Institute’s best-film list; “Casablanca” (shown here, with Dooley Wilson and Humphrey Bogart) is No. 3. They’re sandwiched by the epic “Doctor Zhivago” (1965) at 12:30 p.m. and “The Way We Were” (1973), a lushly emotional Streisand/Redford film, at 10.
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Best-bets for March 4: slime, spies and Bond

1) “Kids Choice Awards,” 7 p.m., Nickelodeon channels, plus CMT, TV Land, and MTV2. Each year, this offers lots of star and slime. This year’s hosts are Nate Burleson of “NFL Slimetime” and Charli D’Amelio, who was slimed two years ago. There’s music by Bebe Rexha (shown here) and Young Dylan and a career award for Adam Sandler. Presenters include Pete Davidson, Melissa McCarthy, Awkwafina, Chris Pine, Halle Bailey, Seth Rogen and more. Read more…

Best-bets for March 3: grand comedy, rocking drama

1) “Grand Crew” season-opener, 8:30 p.m., NBC. After a so-so first season, “Grand Crew” bounces back with a terrific episode, focusing on its two best characters. Noah (Echo Kellum, shown here) is a hopeless romantic, ready to marry his girlfriend so she doesn’t get deported to Canada; Nicky, his sister, is skeptical about love and is hiding a romance. Noah has a funny flight of imagination and then a frantic rush to the altar, while friends have their doubts. Read more…

Best-bets for March 2: Swank returns, baby arrives

1) “Alaska Daily” return, 10 p.m., ABC. This well-acted drama stepped aside mid-crisis, for a 15-week break. Now it’s back, with Eileen (Hilary Swank, shown here, a two-time Oscar-winner) at gunpoint. Once a star reporter, she’s rebuilding her career at an Anchorage paper. She exposed officials’ corruption and their indifference to the disappearance of native women; she’s also made an enemy, who now holds a gun. Read more…

Best-bets for March 1: spy fun, reality ordeals

1) “True Lies” debut, 10 p.m., CBS. Back in 1994, this was a fun James Cameron film, with Jamie Lee Curtis unaware her husband (Arnold Schwarzenegger) was a master spy. In this modern update (shown here), that won’t do; the wife (Ginger Gonzaga) learns quickly about her husband (Steve Howey) … then trains to work with him. This gets a silly at times; criminals seem awfully easy to defeat. Still it offers a rare TV blend — action and glamour, spiced with humor. Read more…

Best-bets for Feb. 28: “Black Broadway” leads a strong night

1) “Black Broadway,” 8 p.m., PBS (check local listings). Here are some of the best musical moments you’ll see on TV, back-to-back. After a bland overture (the only weak point), Corbin Bleu blasts a “Ragtime” anthem; soon, Nova Payton (shown here in a previous PBS special) sings from “The Color Purple” and “Dreamgirls.” These are potent, passionate songs that were first performed by Blacks. Stephanie Mills does a “Wiz” ballad she debuted 49 years ago, but mostly it’s a splendid showcase for young stars. Read more…

Best-bets for Feb. 27: “Alert” and “AGT” conclude

1) “Alert: Missing Persons Unit” finale, 8 and 9 p.m., Fox. After their son Keith vanished, Jason (Scott Caan, shown heree) and Nikki drifted. He struggled after returning from the military; she became a missing-persons cop and is engaged to a colleague. In the opener, they found a teen who seems to be Keith. Now these episodes wrap that up, alongside other cases. The two villains are way too similar and overwrought, but if “Alert” isn’t renewed, it’s had a strong finish. Read more…

Best-bets for Feb. 26: “Red” returns, witches leave

1) “The Blacklist” season-opener, 10 p.m., NBC. For nine seasons, “Red” Redington (James Spader, shown here) has been one of TV’s most distinctive characters. Rich and clever, he’s a likable crook who smites unlikable ones. As this final season starts, we see him only briefly – but see his impact as an apartment explodes. Soon, FBI agents are busy – and are meeting a key new character. This serialized tale leaves everything in limbo, but remains fascinating. Read more…

Best-bets for Feb. 25: Women rule award show

1) “NAACP Image Awards,” 8-10 p.m., everywhere. For a while, this was billed as “only on BET”; then common sense prevailed. This ceremony – strong on starpower (including Viola Davis, shown here) – has usually had a broadcast network, often NBC of Fox. This time, it gets CBS and many of its sister networks – CMT, VH1, MTV, TV Land, Comedy Central, Smithsonian, TV Land, Paramount Network … and yes, BET, which follows with two advance episodes of “The Ms. Pat Show.” Read more…

Best-bets for Feb. 24: revisiting Jedi and divas

1) “The Mandalorean,” 8 p.m., ABC, Freeform and FX. Here’s the first episode of a “Star Wars” spin-off (shown here) that has made a big splash. In each of its first two seasons, it won seven Emmys, for sets and stunts and such; in the second, it also was nominated for best drama series. Now this sampling will try to lure us to sign up for Disney+ and see those seasons, plus the third, which starts Wednesday. Read more…