One of the sad developments in pop culture is the onslaught of superhero worship and the attendant rise of supernatural hogwash. Cinematic heroes have to be “enchanted” or endowed with superhuman abilities. If you’re not Captain America or the “chosen one,” like Harry Potter, you’re a nobody.
This stands in stark contrast to another entertainment era when Jimmy Stewart and Cary Grant played ordinary guys capable of rising to heroism. And you don’t have to go back 70 years to find them. In 1998, Tom Hanks played the hero of “Saving Private Ryan,” who was an English teacher back home.
Tonight’s “American Experience” (9 p.m., PBS, TV-PG, check local listings), “The Codebreaker,” recalls Elizebeth Smith Friedman, an “ordinary” mother of two who proved to be a secret weapon in two world wars and who took on organized crime in ways more effective than Eliot Ness or J. Edgar Hoover.
Her story reads like a fantastic novel. The youngest daughter of a resentful and tight-fisted Quaker who believed women had no place in higher education, Elizebeth Smith became besotted with poetry and Shakespeare. Unable to find work, she fell in with an eccentric tycoon, George Fabyan, who was trying to “decode” Shakespeare’s works to prove that they were really written by Francis Bacon.
Untrained in codes and cyphers, Smith pretty much invented the field of cryptology all by herself. Her renown led to work for the military during World War I, when she organized the country’s first code-breakers. During prohibition, bootleggers used elaborate ciphers to indicate where and when they were smuggling contraband liquor. Not only did Smith’s code-breaking lead to many arrests, she essentially mapped out a nationwide network of criminal syndicates, a theory of organized crime that J. Edgar Hoover’s FBI did not accept until well into the 1950s.
During World War II, she took on a ring of Nazi spies dispersed all over South America who were using codes to tell Nazi submariners where and when to find Allied cargo ships. Using her gifts, she saved hundreds of ships and thousands of lives.
“Codebreaker” is based on “The Woman Who Smashed Codes: A True Story of Love, Spies, and the Unlikely Heroine Who Outwitted America’s Enemies” by Jason Fagone. Who needs a phony “Wonder Woman” when you can read about the real thing?
This tale of a woman and her singular genius may appeal to viewers who liked “The Queen’s Gambit,” Netflix’s 2020 hit.
— A miserable woman (Amy Huberman) creates a popular vlog promoting personal happiness in the Irish comedy “Finding Joy,” streaming its second season on Acorn.
TONIGHT’S OTHER HIGHLIGHTS
— A derailed train causes many injuries on “9-1-1” (8 p.m., Fox, r, TV-14).
— Group photos and emotional breakdowns on “The Bachelor” (8 p.m., ABC, TV-14).
— Ohio State and Alabama meet in college football action (8 p.m., ESPN).
— A bus driver (Robert De Niro) tries to keep his son away from the influence of a local mobster (Chazz Palminteri) in the 1993 drama “A Bronx Tale” (8 p.m., Sundance, TV-14).
— A recent grad must decide if she wants to stay with roommates or get her own place on “Ty Breaker” (9 p.m., HGTV).
— A murder case is reversed on appeal on “All Rise” (9 p.m., CBS, r, TV-14).
— Judd’s dad needs help on “9-1-1: Lone Star” (9 p.m., Fox, r, TV-14).
— A haunted mirror emerges on “30 Coins” (9 p.m., HBO, TV-MA).
— After receiving immunity, a diplomat faces a civil charge on “Bull” (10 p.m., CBS, r, TV-14).
— Audrey can’t cope with COVID on “The Good Doctor” (10 p.m., ABC, TV-14).
— “Independent Lens” (10 p.m., PBS, TV-14, check local listings) presents “A Day in the Life of America,” documenting a 2017 attempt to capture a nation’s essence.
CULT CHOICE
Al Pacino goes over the top as a drug lord in Brian De Palma’s 1983 crime epic “Scarface” (8 p.m., StarzEncore).
SERIES NOTES
Friendly competition on “The Neighborhood” (8 p.m., CBS, r, TV-PG) … “Ellen’s Game of Games” (8 p.m., NBC, TV-PG) … Athletes relate tales of perseverance on “All American Stories” (8 p.m., CW, TV-PG) … Strange bedfellows on “Bob Hearts Abishola” (8:30 p.m., CBS, r, TV-PG).
“The Wall” (9 p.m., NBC, TV-PG) … Illusionists audition on “Penn & Teller: Fool Us” (9 p.m., CW, r, TV-PG) … Jane Lynch hosts “Weakest Link” (10 p.m., NBC, TV-PG).
LATE NIGHT
Heather Graham appears on “Conan” (11 p.m., TBS, r) … Jimmy Fallon welcomes Rashida Jones, Bill Burr and Old Dominion on “The Tonight Show” (11:35 p.m., NBC).
David Spade, Amber Ruffin, Lacey Lamar and Future Islands visit “Late Night With Seth Meyers” (12:35 a.m., NBC).
