TV picks for Dec. 17: Bruce Springsteen, 'Fail State,' Burt Reynolds

December 14, 2018 at 9:10PM
Bruce Springsteen and his wife Patti Scialfa in "Springsteen on Broadway," an evening of singing and storytelling, at the Walter Kerr Theater in New York, Oct. 12, 2017. The show raked in $2.33 million last week from just five performances. Even more striking than the overall gross was the average ticket price at the Springsteen show: $497. (Sara Krulwich/The New York Times) ORG XMIT: XNYT124
Bruce Springsteen and his wife, Patti Scialfa, in “Springsteen on Broadway,”which is now streaming on Netflix. (The Minnesota Star Tribune)

Spirit in the night

Those unable to fork over a week's salary to see the Boss' one-man show in New York can finally get a better sense of what all the fuss is about. "Springsteen on Broadway" captures the entire three-hour performance with intimate stories and renditions of "Long Time Coming," "My Father's House" and "Born in the U.S.A."

Now streaming on Netflix

Dearly departed

Benedict Cumberbatch pays tribute to Stephen Hawking, and Loni Anderson looks back fondly at ex-husband Burt Reynolds in "The Year in Memoriam 2018," a celebration of those we lost this past year. Aretha Franklin, John McCain and Barbara Bush are also honored.

9 p.m., KSTP, Ch. 5

F is for failure

If you're looking for an education on the state of higher learning in America, start with "Fail State," a documentary that tracks how for-profit colleges have used the system to rake in millions and take advantage of students. Neither political party gets a favorable grade in this thorough takedown, executive-produced by Dan Rather.

8 p.m., Starz

Neal Justin

FILE - In this Wednesday, July 21, 1999 file photo Professor Stephen Hawking smiles during a news conference at the University of Potsdam, near Berlin, Germany. Hawking, whose brilliant mind ranged across time and space though his body was paralyzed by disease, has died, a family spokesman said early Wednesday, March 14, 2018.(AP Photo/Markus Schreiber, File)
Hawking (The Minnesota Star Tribune)
FILE - In this March 12, 2016 file photo, actor Burt Reynolds appears at the world premiere of "The Bandit" during the South by Southwest Film Festival in Austin, Texas. Reynolds, who starred in films including "Deliverance," "Boogie Nights," and the "Smokey and the Bandit" films, died at age 82, according to his agent. (Photo by Jack Plunkett/Invision/AP, File)
Reynolds (The Minnesota Star Tribune)
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