Nature: Spy in the Wild (PBS)
If you ever dreamed of being Jane Goodall, I invite you to take a stroll through this uncanny valley of robotic animal spies. With face-to-face interactions between themselves and their live counterparts, these animatronic creations provide footage that makes you feel more participant than observer. Experiences include floating in a raft of sea otters and making first contact with a group of orangutans. Comical and reclusive Spy Bushbaby is a personal favorite. Resembling an apprehensive troll doll, he peeks out from his hiding place in a hollow tree stump, provoking energetic responses from nearby chimpanzees. Fans of Furby autopsies will enjoy the final episode of this five-part miniseries, which reveals the technology behind the robots.Lethal Weapon (Fox)
I rolled my eyes when I heard Lethal Weapon would be rebooted as a series, but the two leads definitely know how to work the buddy-cop formula. Damon Wayans’ understated charisma gives Roger Murtaugh the screen presence needed to stand up to his partner’s theatrics, while Clayne Crawford (formerly of Rectify) as Martin Riggs balances a loopy, country-boy humor against his character’s grief and rage. I am hoping to see more of Thomas Lennon as a reimagined Leo Getz: in this iteration, a hapless attorney who advertises on bus stops.Preacher (AMC)
Just renewed for a third season, this imaginative take on Garth Ennis’ comic book series preserves all the gleeful gore and adds a welcome measure of goofiness to the dark, often juvenile humor of the source material. There’s a lot going on here: murderous angels, a supernatural love child, Adolf Hitler, fractional soul commerce, dubious school mascots, a supreme being gone AWOL, and a hell that looks like something out of Terry Gilliam’s Brazil. Surprises and moral ambiguity abound.– Controller Liz Franklin
This article appears in November 3 • 2017.