Worth Watching: Hot-Dogging It on ESPN’s ’30 for 30,’ ‘Alternatino,’ Sci-Fi Classics on TCM
A selective critical checklist of notable Tuesday TV:
The Good, the Bad, the Hungry (8/7c, ESPN): Even if you have trouble swallowing the notion of competitive eating as an actual sport, Nicole Lucas Haimes’s entertaining 30 for 30 documentary makes a compellingly cringe-inducing argument, serving as a curtain-raiser for the annual Fourth of July spectacle of the Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest at New York’s Coney Island. As the special traces the growth of a local sideshow into an international event organized by Major League Eating, the focus falls on a classic rivalry between six-time champ Takeru Kobayashi, a slight youth from Japan, and his American nemesis Joey Chestnut. (This year’s Nathan’s contest will air live on July 4 on ESPN2.)
Alternatino (10:30/9:30c, Comedy Central): Arturo Castro’s hilarious sketch comedy mixes the personal and the political, this week including an opening spoof on immigration and a bit where a climate change trade agreement dissolves among a not-so-United Latin Nations. Castro shows his comic range in a show-stopper as a drunk and bitter bridesmaid disrupting a friend’s wedding, and in a running gag as himself, is visited by two overbearing aunts committed to helping him get over his latest heartbreak. The half-hour zips by.
Out of This World: Celebrating Sci-Fi (Turner Classic Movies, 8/7c): From cinema’s earliest days, filmmakers and moviegoers have been enraptured by science fiction with flights of outer-space fancy and tales of futuristic dystopia. On Tuesdays through July, TCM recaptures the genre’s high points, starting with a lineup dedicated to “Early Sci-Fi,” including Georges Melies’ revolutionary 1902 silent film A Trip to the Moon, with in-camera special effects that may appear primitive now but were an influence on pioneering directors. Followed by Fritz Lang’s silent 1926 epic Metropolis (8:30/7:30c), whose impressionistic production design illuminates a melodrama of social revolt against a mechanized future society.
Inside Tuesday TV: In a Deadliest Catch special, Mystery of the Destination (9/8c, Discovery), the show’s captains look for answers in the 2017 sinking of the fishing vessel Destination, which rocked the Bering Sea crab fleet. The goal: to explain, and avoid, their friends’ tragic fate… In the season premiere of Cooking Channel’s Man v. Food (10/9c), Casey Webb investigates just how many 10-pound grilled cheese one man can eat without exploding. Sounds like the perfect companion piece to The Good, the Bad, the Hungry… Mark Valley (Fringe) guests on CBS’s Blood & Treasure (10/9c) as Danny’s (Matt Barr) jailbird dad, Patrick. The FBI needs his intel on paintings he stole 20 years ago before they’ll help Danny and Lexi (Sofia Pernas) in their search for Cleopatra.
Conversation16 Comments
Please read the TV Insider Community Guidelines.
Comments are closed on this story.
-
G
My #1 guilty pleasure this summer is ABC's Grand Hotel. It improves week after week. Hope ratings are high enough for second season.
-
R
Blood & Treasure is my only scripted show tonight. I can't believe Mark Valley is going to play someone who is (supposedly) old enough to be Danny's father. 😮
Otherwise, my local PBS channel is airing Secrets of the Dead, which this week is about how Galileo discovered that the Earth is not the center of the universe. Also, NatGeo has a show about the Nasca Lines, which sounds good. Plus, two historic early films (both silent)... how much more "classic" can you get?
-
G
Blood & Treasure for me too! Yeah seems like just yesterday that Mark Valley was considered a young lawyer on Boston Legal..
-
R
have you watched Burden of Truth yet?
-
G
Yes, and I also have similar questions that I can't answer. This season is good so far, but there are continuity issues. The large law firm /cyber case is totally ignored now. It's like the show runners scrapped up that storyline for this new one. But happy to have Billy w/o his annoying brother. The racist stupid cop is suddenly getting smarter and a bit more sensitive.
Am I mistaken or does the murderer seem to be Luna's girlfriend Molly. I was really tired watching it and dozed off a few times during the Luna/Molly scene and some of the prison scenes.
The mysteries of Grand Hotel are much easier to follow. Burden of Truth actually make me use my brain. Something I'm not used to doing in the summertime, lol.
-
G
Just checked, Mark Valley was born in Dec, 1964 that would make him 54.
Not sure how old Danny is but he looks around 30ish .
Meanwhile I can't believe Poppy Montgomery of Reef Break is 47!!?? She looks no more than 30 on that show.
-
R
I don't necessarily think it was Molly (Luna's girlfriend). I think Molly is in the process of growing away from Luna, living her new life with $$$ and now that Luna is in prison, Molly feels guilty for that. That's my take, anyway.
I still think a big key to this case is the fact that Billy's annoying brother was "supposed" to be in that motel room. We already know he's been involved in some shady money-making schemes, so maybe he's involved in something he can't control, and someone was supposed to off him (but got the wrong man).
But I still can't believe that Billy & Joanna have no curiosity about the other girl (Taylor... I just looked up her name, and it's Taylor) who had a record of what happened that night... and who is unfortunately now being wrongfully charged with conspiracy.
Agreed that the cyber/tech law case was suddenly shoved off to the side. I don't think it's totally over, though... at least I hope it's not. I think in that one episode, Joanna scored a temporary victory for her client (Noah), but the actual lawsuit is still going on. I'd like to see her nail that company to the wall. Who knows, she may end up contacting Noah to see if his super-duper tech skills can help her case in some way.
-
C
TCM is a gem.
-
R
I first saw Poppy Montgomery in Without a Trace, which began in 2002. Funny, but that show had three characters of its ensemble cast who were hiding accents: two Australians, and one from England. You'd never know if someone didn't tell you.
-
G
She is a terrific actress and her show is worth sampling.
It's lots of fun and the scenic values are gorgeous.
1
-
G
Your probably right. I was dozing off , will need to watch again to get more insight into the dialogue . Show seems simple on the surface, but its not at all. Very deep (especially for a summer show).
I saw the preview for The Outpost season 2 while watching Burden. Looks like another fun filled season !
-
G
I hope the killer doesn't turn out to be some random character we never knew before with no knowledge of the connection. This happens with some mysteries and that always annoys me. Hope its a character we know or your prediction that Billy's looser bro was the one who was supposed to be murdered.
-
This comment was removed by its author.
-
C
Semi plausible? I know of at least a dozen guys who were fathers at 19 and even younger! I swear, no one around here has ever heard of birth control!
-
C
I wish I got it. I'd have to upgrade to a package that costs a lot more money to get it
-
G
Danny looks more like 30ish so it makes sense having Mark Valley (mid 50s) play the dad.
-
-
C
Looks like America's Got Talent and Animal Kingdom again! Still working on those Penny Dreadful episodes too!
Watchlist Easy access to only the shows you care about — all in one simple place
Alerts Only important notifications — when a show is returning, when it becomes available to stream, and more.
Special Offers Exclusive products we release related to your favorite shows and streaming services