TV picks for Jan. 31: The 1937 'A Star Is Born,' Deion Sanders, 'Will and Grace'

January 30, 2019 at 9:49PM
Megan Mullally in "Will & Grace."
Megan Mullally in “Will & Grace.” (NBC/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

Prime time

"Deion's Double Play" is filled with plenty of celebrity fans defending Deion Sanders' decision in 1992 to try playing both football and baseball on the same day, but no one is a better character witness than the superstar himself, who inexplicably makes his case in an airport hangar. He's so convincing that you might swear he could still compete in both sports, with a quarter of basketball to boot.

8 p.m., ESPN

That's what she said

"Will & Grace" is so expertly performed, even in reboot mode, that you might not realize the sitcom is mostly a never-ending series of dirty one-liners that could have been read from a book of Playboy Party Jokes. Still, there are moments of pure eloquence, such as the moment in Thursday's episode — the first new one since early December — in which Megan Mullally's Karen does a heartbreaking rendition of "The Man That Got Away."

8:30 p.m., KARE, Ch. 11

First star

If you swooned over Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper in "A Star Is Born," you may want to check out the original 1937 version. The film and its stars, Fredric March and Janet Gaynor, were nominated for Oscars but went home empty-handed. The big winner that night? Something called "The Life of Emile Zola."

8:45 p.m., TCM

Neal Justin

August 6, 1936 Selznick International Presents - Janet Gaynor and Fredric March in "A Star is Born" In Techniclor, Released thru United Artists. Minneapolis Star Tribune
Fredric March and Janet Gaynor in 1937’s “A Star Is Born.” (The Minnesota Star Tribune)

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