friday
Picks for Saturday will be available later (not sure when, yet). Sign up for the mailing list if you want to receive picks by email or be notified when this site is updated.
Featured Pick:
Once and Again has been put on hiatus by ABC, won’t air on ABC tonight as originally scheduled, won’t return to their schedule until March. When it does return, it’s going to air on Monday nights at 9pm. This article by Alan Sepinwall has details about how the show’s number of episodes may be cut back for the season. Things aren’t looking good for the show, many don’t think it will survive ’til next season, some fear they won’t get to make or air as many episodes as originally planned for this season.
Why should you care? Where does my pick come in? Lifetime reruns an episode of Once and Again (Lifetime, 10pm) tonight that aired last week on ABC. The episode is called “Gardenia” and it’s great, I think it’s one of the best episodes of any show I saw in the last couple of weeks. It’s hard for me to put myself in the shoes of a TV viewer who hasn’t seen the show before or who hasn’t seen it in a while, to tell if the episode will work as well for someone who hasn’t been watching the show this season. But if it blew fans of the show away, I should think it’d still look like an intriguing or good bit of TV to the unitiated. Well, I’d like to hope so. I wrote a bit more about the show in a message to the TV Barn mailing list.
It’s a compelling drama about an unusual extended family. The characters have believable strengths and weaknesses, and the relationships are messy and complicated. A great cast and great writing make this show great. I’ll really miss these people if this show goes away. (Here’s a link again to a page about a campaign to try and save the show).
Anyway. Where was I? Give the show a shot tonight if you haven’t seen it or haven’t seen it in a while. If you saw it last week and wish you’d taped it (like me), you get another chance tonight if you’ve got Lifetime.
Other Picks and Possibilities:
Susan Lucci, Jeremy Northam, James (Jamie) King, Soupy Sales on The Rosie O’Donnell Show (syndicated, check your local listings).
Oh-oh, there’s a werewolf in town in the “Phases” episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer (FX, 5pm). FX then skips the episode “Bewitched, Bothered, and Bewildered” because UPN plans to air the show in February, which is less-than-helpful for people seeing the show for the first time. Then they air the episode “Passion” which is awfully dark, to say the least (FX, 6pm).
New episode of Invisible Man (Sci-Fi, 7pm).
If you really want to celebrate the Roots miniseries, your best bet is probably to buy the DVD. But NBC is airing the special Roots: Celebrating 25 Years (NBC, 7pm-8pm), which is hosted by Levar Burton and features some castmembers and a bunch of fans talking about the groundbreaking miniseries.
A package stirs painful memories on Dark Angel (FOX, 7pm).
“A cursed sombrero leads Tucker, Wes and Grace to the brink of catastrophe at a Cinco de Mayo party” on The Chronicle (Sci-Fi, 8pm and 11pm). Hee! I like this show.
New episode of the new series First Monday (CBS, 8pm). I’m not recommending it, just noting it’s on for those trying to catch this new show (I haven’t seen it yet myself). That’s Life has moved to Saturday nights, I guess. Looks to me like CBS and ABC have given up on Friday night.
Dateline NBC (NBC, 8pm) talks to some Golden Globe nominees.
Another airing of this week’s installment of 24 (FOX, 8pm; delayed by basketball in Minneapolis ’til 11pm or so; will air again on FX on Sunday and Monday).
New episode of Maybe It’s Me (WB, 8:30pm) called “The Snow Day Episode,” so you can kinda guess what happens. Fred Willard and Julia Sweeney are funny.
Detectives investigate the murder of an animal rights activist on a new Law & Order: Special Victim’s Unit (NBC, 9pm; will air again in a little over a week on USA).
Jason Gedrick guest stars on The Outer Limits (Sci-Fi, 9pm and midnight).
Battle Pike Conger on Iron Chef (Food Network, 9pm and midnight).
Rerun of last week’s truly fine episode of Once and Again (Lifetime, 10pm).
Yes! If you like Daria, you’re in for a lot of fun. Set those VCRs and Tivos for Daria: Look Back in Annoyance (MTV, 10:30pm); Daria: Is It Fall Yet? (MTV, 11pm); and then a marathon of Daria episodes (MTV, 12:30am-8:30am), followed by another airing of Daria: Look Back in Annoyance (MTV, 8:30am Saturday).
Darrell Hammond, Elayne Boosler, Willie Nelson & Lyle Lovett on The Late Show with David Letterman (CBS, 10:35pm).
Nicole Kidman, Ryan Phillippe, Michelle Branch on The Tonight Show (NBC, 10:35pm).
Ashton Kutcher, Doris Roberts, Jewel on a cool rerun of Late Night with Conan O’Brien (NBC, 11:35pm).
Majandra Delfino (of Roswell), Super Dave Osbourne on Politically Incorrect (ABC, check your local listings).
Jill Hennessy, Colin Hanks on The Late Late Show (CBS, check your local listings).
The late Ted Demme (sigh) directed the “Fits Like A Glove” episode of Homicide: Life on the Street (Court TV, midnight).
