When you’re king of the world, everybody wants to appear on your show.
“James Cameron’s Story of Science Fiction” (10:05 p.m., AMC, TV-14) takes a six-episode tour of the genre. It does a good job blending ideas and mere celebrity. It offers observations from critics, authors and theorists about the use of science fiction to explore ideas about science, society, politics and the future of humanity. Not to mention our innermost fears. Along the way, the “Avatar” director interviews giants of the field, including fellow filmmakers Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, Ridley Scott, Christopher Nolan and Guillermo Del Toro.
Their observations range from the profound to the self-promotional.
Much of the first installment is about the notions of contact and communication between aliens and humans. While “Story” briefly mentions “The Thing From Another World” from 1951 and “Invasion of the Body Snatchers” from 1956 (and curiously omits “The Day the Earth Stood Still”), much of the conversation is about science fiction culture dating from Spielberg’s 1977 epic “Close Encounters of the Third Kind.”
Along the way, “Story” highlights films like “Contact” and “Arrival,” emphasizing the perception that alien movies are far more about human reaction than the aliens themselves. For his part, Spielberg feels that “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial” was more about divorce than creatures from outer space.
“Story” also features behind-the-scenes tidbits, including a chat with the stunt woman who provided E.T. with her hands, and a segment about the creation of the monster seen in “Alien.” Never stinting in clips and visuals, “Story” does an entertaining job of mixing big names with big ideas.
— Elsewhere, topicality takes center stage. A first-time collaboration between the youth-centric Freeform network and ABC News’ “Nightline,” the film “For Our Lives: Parkland” (10 p.m., Freeform, TV-14) follows survivors of the Valentine’s Day massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, and discusses how they turned grief into activism.
— The throwback sitcom “Superior Donuts” (9 p.m., CBS, TV-PG) aims its punchlines at politics when Sofia (Diane Guerrero) asks Franco (Jermaine Fowler) to shelter her undocumented brother, Rafael (Erik Rivera), who faces deportation to Colombia. This transpires after Officer DeLuca (Katey Sagal) mentions that she has to escort visiting feds on an ICE raid. Whether this is issued as a threat, a warning or a tipoff is open to interpretation.
The presence of comedy veterans like Sagal and series star Judd Hirsch is lost among the show’s excessive number of ephemeral characters, often seen firing one-liners into a crowded room.
TONIGHT’S OTHER HIGHLIGHTS
— The top 11 compete on “The Voice” (8 p.m., NBC, TV-PG).
— Dog shows can be murder on “Lucifer” (8 p.m., Fox, TV-14).
— “Dancing With the Stars” (8 p.m., ABC, TV-PG) enters its 26th season.
— Malcolm-Jamal Warner guest-stars on “The Resident” (9 p.m., Fox, TV-14).
— Southbound and vulnerable on “The Terror” (9 p.m., AMC, TV-14).
— Liv nibbles on the gray matter of a white rapper on “iZombie” (9 p.m., CW, TV-14).
— Holmes struggles as “Elementary” (10 p.m., CBS, TV-PG) enters its sixth season.
— Sara’s donor organ remains out of reach on “Good Girls” (10 p.m., NBC, TV-14).
— Flashbacks reveal Marshall’s past on “The Crossing” (10 p.m., ABC, TV-PG).
— Ex-cons open a detective agency to help exonerate the wrongly imprisoned in the “Independent Lens” documentary “True Conviction” (10 p.m., PBS, TV-PG, check local listings).
CULT CHOICE
A vulgar businessman (Broderick Crawford) hires a newsman (William Holden) to bring some refinement to his uneducated bride (Judy Holliday) in the 1950 adaptation of the Broadway comedy “Born Yesterday” (8 p.m., TCM). Holliday won the Best Actress Oscar, which many assumed would go to Bette Davis for “All About Eve.”
SERIES NOTES
A difficult merger on “Kevin Can Wait” (8 p.m., CBS, TV-PG) … Kara and Imra battle Pestilence on “Supergirl” (8 p.m., CW, TV-PG) … Kicking the tires on “Man With a Plan” (8:30 p.m., CBS, TV-PG) … Sheldon plans a TV dinner on “The Big Bang Theory” (9:30 p.m., CBS, r, TV-PG).
LATE NIGHT
Kevin Young is booked on “The Daily Show With Trevor Noah” (11 p.m., Comedy Central) … Tracy Morgan appears on “Conan” (11 p.m., TBS) … Jimmy Fallon welcomes Roseanne Barr, Tony Hale and Miguel on “The Tonight Show” (11:35 p.m., NBC).
John Mulaney, Lauren Ambrose and Carter McLean visit “Late Night With Seth Meyers” (12:35 a.m., NBC) … Benedict Cumberbatch and Kylie Minogue appear on “The Late Late Show With James Corden” (12:35 a.m., CBS).
(Kevin McDonough can be reached at [email protected].)
