friday
Picks for Saturday and Sunday will be online around midnight.
Featured picks:
I’m a third generation fan of the soap opera As The World Turns (CBS, check your local listings).
I grew up with the show and while the series has certainly had it’s ups and downs in the 20+ years I’ve watched it (it’s been on the air for 45 years), it’s usually been pretty darn entertaining. Largely because of the many castmembers who’ve stuck with the show for a lot of years.
And of course there are the castmembers who went on to become stars elsewhere: Meg Ryan, Julianne Moore, Marisa Tomei, Parker Posey, Steven Weber, Kerr Smith, and lots of others. It was fun seeing some of their first work, that’s for sure.
It’s always been frustrating watching soap opera award shows, because too often the shows I watch (ATWT and Guiding Light) seem to be overlooked. They don’t have the far-out-there ratings and fanbase to win the awards that are voted on by the fans. And often just haven’t caught the eye of Emmy-voters. Well, there might be a nominee or winner here and there, but never the big sweeps that other shows have had.
‘Til this year. As The World Turns received 25 Emmy nominations this year!
Hugely impressive. Why? The show’s been pretty darn great. And another big factor is that right now, the cast gets along famously and so they all voted for and nominated each other and supported each other and it’s very very cool.
So I’m looking forward to tonight’s Daytime Emmy Awards (NBC, 8pm) more than I have in years. Because I’m sure to see some of my favorite actors (and maybe plenty of ‘em will win! Though I do worry with so many actors nominated against each other, that they may split the votes). It’s gonna be fun for me (and my Mom and other longtime ATWT fans).
Other possibilities:
Brad Dourif guest stars on Babylon 5 (Sci-Fi, 6pm, letterboxed).
Speaking of soaps, I first became enamored of Melina Kanakaredes when she was on Guiding Light. I was happy when she finally got acclaim for a primetime series with Providence (NBC, 7pm), but the show certainly has been struggling of late. Tonight is the season finale and I hope it doesn’t leave Syd with two ghostly parents.
Eden’s Crush guest stars on the season finale of Sabrina, the Teenage Witch (WB, 7pm).
Encounters With The Unexplained (PAX, 7pm) takes a look at the Bermuda Triangle. Jerry Orbach hosts.
Series finale of Popular (WB, 8pm). The WB didn’t renew the show. RuPaul guest stars.
The cast of The Sopranos on Larry King Live (CNN, 8pm).
Val Kilmer stars in Top Secret! (Comedy Central, 9pm). It’s a spoof of Elvis movies and spy movies and yeah, I love it.
Charles Durning guest stars on Homicide: Life on the Street (Court TV, 10pm).
Kelsey Grammer, the Smothers Brothers on The Late Show w/ David Letterman (CBS, 10:35pm).
Billy Idol on The Tonight Show (NBC, 10:35pm).
Will Farrell on Late Night w/ Conan O’Brien (NBC, 11:35pm).
Cuba Gooding Jr., Kate Mulgrew, Stone Temple Pilots on The Late Late Show (CBS, check your local listings).
Linux inventor Linus Torvalds is scheduled to appear on Charlie Rose (PBS, check your local listings).
With nothin’ but reruns facing us pretty soon, it’s a good time to start watching an older series in daily reruns. Millennium (FX, midnight) reruns have cycled back to the beginning, the pilot episode airs tonight. Lance Henrickson and Megan Gallagher star in this haunting (and sometimes truly scary) series. It’s an underrated show.
