Long Story Short: CBC Turns 75 Sunday, CBC, 8 p.m.
This portion of CBC's lengthy 75th-birthday celebration involves Martin Short, who "digs into the CBC archives and uncovers some of our finest moments from the past 75 years." The program lasts an hour, which seems like less time than is necessary. But, it appears, the point is to do special showbiz memories. Promised are "special guest stars" Anne Murray, Norman Jewison, Cynthia Dale, k.d. lang, Lorne Michaels, Peter Mansbridge, Rick Mercer and many others. What name does not fit on that list? If you picked Pastor Mansbridge, I'd agree. Still, he's been a sport on many occasions and indulged in merry-making at his own and CBC's expense. An hour of fond CBC memories. To some people that's ideal Sunday-night entertainment and we can't begrudge them.
Masterpiece Mystery! Inspector Lewis Sunday, PBS, 9 p.m.
A new batch of the Lewis mysteries starts tonight. And at this point the mysteries seem much less a spinoff of the Inspector Morse dramas. Lewis (Kevin Whately) is more fully created, a compelling character. He's still awkward with women, and there is usually a subplot about a potential love interest. But the mystery story, and the breezy wit of his sidekick, Hathaway (Laurence Fox), are at the fore. Hathaway is a delight: a cop who is way too clever for the job, and brimming with skepticism about the Oxford University crowd he encounters. In this episode, "Lewis and Hathaway get a dizzying education in the scandals and secrets of Lady Matilda's College." Indeed. The story is about a reunion at a fictional all-women Oxford college and, of course, the shocking murder of a person who is not what they seem to be. Juliet Stevenson is the guest star.
The Good Wife: A New Beginning Sunday, CBS, Global, 9:30 p.m.
This half-hour special recaps the first two seasons of the show, which moves into a new Sunday-night slot in a few weeks. Thirty minutes could be too short a time to recap a show that has become complex, sophisticated and utterly compelling in its storytelling. Also there's a sneak peek of the new season, and interviews with Julianna Margulies, Chris Noth, Josh Charles and Archie Panjabi, among others. The main bait for this show might be clues about the role to be played by the great Lisa Edelstein, who left her role as Dr. Cuddy on House for The Good Wife. The word is that Edelstein will play "a lawyer with pliable ethics." Yes, but will she wear those pencil skirts and heels?
9/11: State Of Emergency Sunday, CBC NN, 10 p.m.
A repeat, but one of the best docs on 9/11 ever made, this British production delivers a minute-by-minute investigation of the official reaction in the U.S. to events during Sept. 11, 2001. At times it is a tad too dramatic, especially in the dramatizations. Its strength is in personal interviews, some never seen before, with officials such as former National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card. We get a true sense of the level of confusion and panic that ensued as the reality of the unfolding terrorist attack became clear. There was no rulebook for dealing with events. Rice says, "We didn't even think that the White House bunker was safe." Rice also talks about the very tense, heated conversation she had with President George W. Bush after the first attack was confirmed. In fact, she pretty much says that she ordered Bush not to return to Washington, and just hung up the phone.
Check local listings.