Laura Linney is the star of "The Big C" (Showtime, 10:30 tonight) and I mean she's the STAR.
She powers the show, giving a performance in which she's funny, moving, subtle, manic, thoughtful, selfish and smart, sometimes all in one scene. There are some good actors on this show, but Linney (also an executive producer) is the reason to watch.
"The Big C" tells the story of Cathy (Linney), an uptight schoolteacher who learns she has terminal stage 4 melanoma, and with that pronouncement decides it's time to start living. She doesn't tell her family of her diagnosis, which could mean she only has a year to live; instead she just starts changing.
Bored to Death (9:30pm, HBO) - "Bored to Death" has become a top destination for cool guest cameos. So far they've had Kristin Wiig, Jim Jarmusch, Parker Posey, and Patton Oswalt. The wonderful Oliver Platt (right) shows up again tonight as GQ magazine editor and nemesis of George (Ted Danson). John Hodgman is great as a book reviewer who trashed Jonathan's first novel, and Bebe Neuwirth appears again as Jonathan's book editor. (Look for NPR's Sarah Vowell next week.) Meanwhile, Ray (Zach Galifianakis, who continues to steal all his scenes) is alarmed when a lesbian couple (Samantha Bee shows up in this story line tonight too) to whom he has been donating sperm disappears.
