Mystery man is too good to be true
The ultimate anti-Valentine’s Day treat, the documentary “He Lied About Everything” (8 p.m., ID, TV-14) can be enjoyed on so many strange levels. This tale of a suave con man and a woman betrayed is an example of television journalism that goes off the rails when an investigator gets a tad too close to her subject.
Featuring reenactments, copious home movies and other recordings, “He Lied” concerns Benita Alexander, an NBC News producer who first encounters world-renowned surgeon Paolo Macchiarini while preparing a television special about his remarkable procedure that uses artificial elements and human stem cells to create new windpipes for ailing patients.
She shares an instant chemistry with the doctor, and soon their relationship morphs from professional to romantic. Her friends and relatives are immediately smitten by Macchiarini, comparing the handsome physician and bearded European scholar to everyone from “the Most Interesting Man in the World” to Mr. Big from “Sex and the City” and even George Clooney.
Macchiarini woos Alexander in ways that make “The Bachelor” seem subtle. Their whole affair has a reality-TV vibe to it that only grows more preposterous once he pops the question and promises her a Vatican wedding officiated by the Pope himself!
By now, even her friends are warning Alexander that it all seems a bit too much. And when Macchiarini’s patients start dying and other European scholars begin questioning his publications and credentials, Dr. McDreamy’s world of compartmentalization and deception begins to unravel.
While entertaining, “He Lied” basically asks, “Who wouldn’t be bedazzled by this Prince Charming?” instead of wondering, “How could a professional news producer allow herself to become so bamboozled?”
“He Lied” might offer a greater emotional payoff as a fictional thriller or scripted drama, with the audience following Alexander deeper into Macchiarini’s scam with every champagne wish and caviar dream. Instead, each commercial break arrives with a battering ram of basic-cable foreshadowing. “He Lied About Everything” is a great title. Except for the fact that it gives away the story before it even begins.
DUNKIRK RUINS
Archaeologists discover ruins of ships involved in the Dunkirk evacuation on “Nova” (9 p.m., PBS, TV-PG).
OTHER HIGHLIGHTS
› An heiress’s (Kate Winslet) shipboard flight from her snooty fiance (Billy Zane) to a handsome steerage class striver (Leonardo DiCaprio) is rudely interrupted by an iceberg in the 1997 epic romance “Titanic” (6 and 10:30 p.m., AMC). Jack! Rose!
› Coverage of the 2018 Winter Olympics (8 p.m., NBC) includes figure skating, alpine skiing, men’s skeleton and speed skating.
› Mulder and Scully search for their son on “The X-Files” (8 p.m., Fox, repeat, TV-14).
› Dogs, bears, devil rays and other “Animals With Cameras” wrap up this three-part “Nature” (8 p.m., PBS, TV-G) miniseries.
› A mysterious chalkboard leads a winery owner to “My Secret Valentine” (8 p.m., Hallmark, TV-G).
› Dean Cain hosts a roundup of “The Top 14 Greatest Valentine’s Day Movies of All Time” (9 p.m., CW, TV-14).
› The Branch Davidians prepare for a long siege on “Waco” (10 p.m., Paramount, CMT, TV-14).
› “The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story” (10 p.m., FX, TV-MA) flashes back further to the origins of Cunanan’s friendship with Naval officer Jeffrey Trail.
› “Big Brother: Celebrity Edition” (8 p.m., CBS).
› The business faces new challenges on “The Goldbergs” (8 p.m., ABC, repeat, TV-PG).
› Comedians reflect on love and dating on “Relationships Just for Laughs” (8 p.m., CW, TV-PG).
› Speed dating on “Speechless” (8:30 p.m., ABC, repeat, TV-PG).
› Trekking through Bahrain on “The Amazing Race” (9 p.m., CBS).