It’s not often that two epics in American film show opposite one another. But tonight it’s “Gone with the Wind” (TCM, 8 p.m.) vs. “Titanic” (More Max, 9 p.m.). Me, I probably would watch “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” (TMC, 8 p.m.).
“Gone with the Wind” kicks off a month-long, 23-film Tuesday night showcase of Leslie Howard, pictured left, on Turner Classic Movies. After his signature role as Ashley Wilkes, the other in which he’s featured is “Stand-In” (midnight). There are also two he directed, “The First of the Few” (1:45 a.m.) and “The Gentle Sex” (4 a.m.).
The day before the Fourth seems an odd time for two episodes of “Michael Wood’s Story of England” (PBS, 8 and 9 p.m., check local listings), but there you go.
What kind of picture do we get of America on TV tonight: Hotties and nerds falling down on “Wipeout” (ABC, 8 p.m.) the morbidly obese on “Extreme Makeover: Weight Loss Edition” (ABC, 9 p.m.) and apple pie in “Chopped” (Food, 10 p.m.).
More cooking occurs on “Hell’s Kitchen” (Fox, 8 p.m.) and “MasterChef” (Fox, 9 p.m.).
The big sports action happens abroad this morning: The women’s quarterfinals of Wimbledon (ESPN2, 7 a.m.; ESPN, 8 a.m.) and stage 3 of the Tour de France (NBC Sports Network, 8 a.m.).
As “The Amazing Spider-Man” opens in theaters, catch up with the last couple of stabs, “Spider Man 2.1” (FX, 7 p.m.) and “Spider-Man 3” (FX, 10 p.m.).
If things aren’t bad enough on the ice during “Deadliest Catch” (Discovery, 9 p.m.), there are problems on the home front on “After the Catch” (Discovery, 10 p.m.).
Animal Planet concentrates on individual animals now with the feature length “Echo: Queen of the Elephants” (Animal Planet, 8 p.m.) and “A Lion Called Christian” (Animal Planet, 10 p.m.).
Four of the 12 who performed Monday on “America’s Got Talent” (NBC, 9 p.m.) advance to the Top 24 in the series first audience results show. Highlights of Monday’s performances precede the results at 8.
Things are getting desperate for “Bristol Palin: Life’s a Tripp” (Lifetime, 11 p.m.). With ratings dipping toward just 500,000 viewers, they’re bringing in mom Sarah Palin for an episode tonight in Washington D.C. And the’ve bumped the show to 11 after a rerun of “Dance Moms” (Lifetime, 10 p.m.).(Two other “Dance Moms” reruns run at 8 and 9 p.m.
One new show I’ve been actually watching this summer is “American Colony: Meet the Hutterites” (National Geographic, 10 p.m.).
Tarantulas invade “Love in the Wild” (NBC, 10 p.m.) and end up bored as well.
If Anderson Cooper was smart, he’d interview himself on “Anderson Cooper 360” (CNN, 8 and 10 p.m.).
Daytime Talk
Kelly Ripa: John Travolta, Martin Sheen, willi.i.am & Eva Simons, Michael Strahan. The View: Teri Hatcher, Marc Summers, Keke Palmer. The Talk: Howie Mandel, Justin Klosky (rerun). Ellen DeGeneres: Emma Stone, Kenny Chesney, Tim McGraw (rerun).
Late Talk
David Letterman: Conan O’Brien, Regina Spektor, John Mayer (rerun). Jay Leno: Kevin Costner, Bailee Madison, Lisa Marie Presley (rerun). Jimmy Kimmel: Sally Field, Kevin Love, Waka Flocka Flame (rerun). Jimmy Fallon: Will Smith, Bill Paxton, Ronnie Dunn, Stone Gossard & Shawn Smith (rerun). Craig Ferguson: Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Stephen Wright (rerun). Tavis Smiley: Cedric the Entertainer, Niecy Nash. Carson Daly: Mario Batali, Ry Russo-Young, White Denim (rerun). Jon Stewart: Sen. Marco Rubio (rerun). Stephen Colbert: Frank Deford (rerun). Conan O’Brien: Jennifer Aniston, Ron & Amy Shirley, Jay Larson (rerun). Chelsea Handler: Zach Wahls, April Richardson, Heather McDonald, Loni Love (rerun).