Banshee’s third season ends with quiet reflection. Oh wait, no—people are gonna get kicked in the face
Here’s what’s up in the world of TV for Friday, March 13, and Saturday, March 14. All times are Eastern.
Top pick
Banshee (Cinemax, 10 p.m., Friday): At the opening to his review of last week’s penultimate episode of Banshee’s third season, Les Chappell had this to say:
Sometimes, it’s hard to know how much of a plan Banshee has for its story and how much of it is just the result of throwing its various plots and characters together to produce maximum madcap exhilaration.
Fair enough, although, as Les has laid out pretty convincingly all season, Banshee is a fun ride, no matter if anyone’s at the wheel. Tonight, fake sheriff Lucas Hood and his allies (including the awesome Job, pictured above right) try to stay alive while dealing with the surprising number of violent bad guys a small town in Pennsylvania somehow continues to generate.
Also noted
House Of Cards (Netflix): Kevin Spacey’s Frank Underwood is the president, which has, if anything, made him even more of a devious, manipulative monster. Scott Von Doviak has been binge-watching the entire third season in one, huge dose, which has everyone keeping an eye on him suspiciously. Check out his reviews of episodes seven and eight at 2 p.m. on Friday—unless that’s just what Scott’s expecting you to do.
12 Monkeys (Syfy, 9 p.m., Friday): Cole’s mission to prevent the world-devastating plague hits a bit of a snag when he time travels to 2017, when the plague is really finding its legs. Emily L. Stephens has been similarly buffeted around by the ups and downs of this Syfy sci-fi series, but she’s hanging in there just like Aaron Stanford’s Cole. Sure, she’s only got one timeline to deal with, but she’s still a trooper.
Glee (Fox, 9 p.m., Friday): The title of this episode is “We Built This Glee Club,” and Brandon Nowalk is goddamn terrified that that means an entire Jefferson Starship/Starship musical montage. Brandon’s put up with a lot—a lot—this final season, but there is just some crap up with which he will not put. Not…at…all.
Comedy Bang! Bang! (IFC, 11:30 p.m., Friday): Fun fact: Zach Galifianakis was the very first guest in Comedy Bang! Bang! history! Now he’s back to act weird with Scott and Reggie for the fourth season Spring finale (which is a milestone, of sorts). Plus, a super nerdy additional guest star, nerds! Emily L. Stephens loves nerds, it’s okay.
Elsewhere in TV Club
With the release of Ethan Hawke’s documentary Seymour: An Introduction, Gwen Ihnat gives us her Watch This review of the young Maggie Smith’s portrait of another inspiring teacher The Prime Of Miss Jean Brodie. Then check out the new installment of the A.V. Club not-a-game show Pick A Choice—this week our own John Teti makes Greg Proops make a choice involving Sesame Street and wife swapping. It gets weird. After that, your favorite A.V. Clubbers let you in on their super-secret favorite music to write to. Our brains are not like normal brains.