TV Critic's picks: Hooray for Mercer

Last update: November 3, 2009 - 4:04 PM

Hooray for Mercer

Cynics may think that Clint Eastwood produced "Johnny Mercer: The Dream's on Me" (7 p.m., TCM) only to give his daughter Morgan a chance to sing on camera, but the documentary quickly proves more than a family affair. Eastwood (pictured with Jamie Cullum) and director Bruce Ricker are determined to prove that Mercer is one of the most important, underrated songwriters of all time, and by the time you hear singers such as Ella Fitzgerald and Barbra Streisand perform "That Old Black Magic," "Skylark" and "Moon River," you'll be firmly in their camp. Heck, you'll even want to be Facebook friends with Morgan Eastwood.

Witch craft

What's scarier than a devilish newcomer to town and three beautiful women with bewitching powers? Cybill Shepherd, that's who. The former "Moonlighting" star, left, brings her howl to the ratings-challenged drama "Eastwick" (9:01 p.m., KSTP, Ch. 5).

NEAL JUSTIN

Mark his words

As he proved in his unforgettable shows at Orchestra Hall this year, Bill Cosby still has it -- and the cream of the industry knows it. Jerry Seinfeld, Chris Rock, Willie Nelson, Wynton Marsalis and Rita Moreno are among the big shots toasting the master during "Bill Cosby: The Mark Twain Prize" (7 p.m., KTCA, Ch. 2), an award he's previously turned down twice due to the naughty language used when it paid tribute to Richard Pryor.

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