Laurel’s TV Picks

Best Bets

Katharine Hepburn movies on TCM (6am - 9pm)
Oscar nominated films from the ’80s (TCM, 7pm - 5am)
NBA 2008 All-Star Skills Competition (TNT, 7:30pm)
New Torchwood (BBC America, 8pm, 11pm, 2am)
New Trading Spaces (TLC, 8pm and 11pm; also on 11am on Sunday)

News & Notes

The CW has announced when their series will return with new episodes. The Game will return in March; One Tree Hill, Smallville, Gossip Girl, Reaper, and Supernatural will all return with new episodes in April. Everybody Hates Chris and Aliens in America have already filmed enough episodes for full seasons, the remainder of their new episodes begin airing in March.

Daytime

Katharine Hepburn was in a lot of movies that were nominated for Oscars of some sort, including: Dragon Seed (TCM, 6am), The Lion in Winter (TCM, 8:30am, letterboxed), Woman Of The Year (TCM, 11am), Pat and Mike (TCM, 1pm), The African Queen (TCM, 2:45pm), The Rainmaker (TCM, 4:45pm, letterboxed), and On Golden Pond (TCM, 7pm, letterboxed). You can read all about these movies on the Turner Classic Movies website.

While in Istanbul, Indy falls for an American teacher and uncovers a Turkish plot to kill all French agents; later while in Transylvania, Indy encounters Vlad on The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones (History Channel, 6am - 8am). Sean Patrick Flanery stars as Indy. You can read about the show and find out more about particular episodes on the History Channel’s website for the show.

A legendary warrior and a mysterious figure lead separate quests for an elusive spy in IFC’s Saturday samurai movie Samurai Spy (IFC, 7am). Directed by Masahiro Shinoda. This movie is available on a Criterion Collection DVD and also as part of a Rebel Samurai DVD set (also from Criterion Collection).

Emeril prepares some of his favorite dishes from his restaurant Emeril’s Delmonico on a new Essence of Emeril (Food Network, 7am; also on Tuesday at 1pm).

Tyler prepares a crispy fish sandwich paired with a bowl of chowder on a new Tyler’s Ultimate (Food Network, 8am).

Pappardelle with slow roasted leeks, concertina squid with grilled leeks, and secrets to storing leeks on a new Jamie at Home (Food Network, 8:30am).

Paula Deen and her son Bobby re-create tropical dishes they tasted while on vacation in St. Lucia on a new Paula’s Home Cooking (Food Network, 9:30am; also on Monday at 4:30pm).

Gina uses recipes like “Get Yo’ Man Chicken” and “Brownie Crunch” to win her husband’s heart on a new Down Home with the Neelys (Food Network, 10am).

Get ready for the day’s college sporting events with College GameDay (ESPN, 10am).

Barbecue spiced chicken, salsa salad, and pumpkin-chipotle polenta on a new 30 Minute Meals (Food Network, 10:30am; also on Monday at 5pm).

College basketball: Georgetown at Syracuse (ESPN, 11am). Want a blast from the past in regards to this rivalry? ESPN Classic airs a game from 1995 (ESPN Classic, 9am).

Michael Palin checks out the National Day celebrations in Tiraspol on Michael Palin’s New Europe (Travel Channel, 11am).

See unique co-joined twins Abby & Brittany at age 11 on Joined for Life (Discovery Health Channel, 11am). Followed by Joined for Life: Abby and Brittany Turn 16 (Discovery Health Channel, Noon).

Quick and easy cooking with only the freshest ingredients on a new Everyday Italian (Food Network, 11am; also on Monday at 3:30pm).

Ina Garten makes greek gazpacho, baked salmon nicoise, and pecan shortbread on a new Barefoot Contessa (Food Network, 11:30am; also on Monday at 4pm).

New episode of The Batman (CW, 11:30am, though you may want to check your local listings).

College basketball: Virginia Tech at North Carolina (CBS, Noon), Louisville at Providence (ESPN, 1pm), and another game to be named later (ABC, 2:30pm).

NBA All-Star Special With Ahmad Rashad (ABC, Noon).

Rebroadcast of the new episode of Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations (Travel Channel, Noon) that debuted earlier this week. Bourdain is in London and Edinburgh.

Beef-stuffed zucchini, tuna noodle casserole, chocolate egg cream, and Cobb salad on a new Healthy Appetite with Ellie Krieger (Food Network, Noon).

Fastest-ever enchiladas and avocado, cilantro tostaditas with corn salsa, and a beautifying Betty martini on a new Simply Delicioso (Food Network, 12:30pm).

Wynton Marsalis and John Besh on Iconoclasts (Sundance, 8am, 1pm; also at 10am on Sunday and 11pm on Monday).

Jennifer Jason Leigh stars as Dorothy Parker in Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle (IFC, 1:15pm, letterboxed). With Campbell Scott as Robert Benchley. The cast also includes Matthew Broderick, Peter Gallagher, Jennifer Beals, Andrew McCarthy, and a ridiculous number of famous people in roles big and small. Directed by Alan Rudolph, released in 1994. The movie is available on DVD of course.

Slings and Arrows (Sundance, 2pm; also on Sunday at 1pm). Slings & Arrows: The Complete Collectionis now available, it contains all three seasons of the show, plus a bonus disc with extras not previously available in the single season sets.

Baseball: Nolan Ryan’s Fifth No-Hitter (Dodgers at Astros) (ESPN Classic, 2pm).

Rebroadcast of the second episode of Lipstick Jungle (Oxygen, 3pm). Brooke Shields and Kim Raver star.

More college basketball: Arkansas at Mississippi State (ESPN, 3pm), Texas at Baylor ((ESPN, 5pm), Yale at Pennsylvania (ESPN Classic, 5pm), Holy Cross at Bucknell (ESPN2, 5pm).

Rebroadcast of the season finale of Psych (USA, 5pm) that debuted on Friday night.

Martha Jones and The Doctor experience some serious “Gridlock” in that episode of Doctor Who (BBC America, 5pm).

Eddie and Pippin uncover a bizarre love triangle while investigating a jewel heist on Keen Eddie (Sleuth, 5pm and midnight; also on Sunday at 1pm). Mark Valley stars.

Rerun of part one of the two-part season finale of Monk (USA, 6pm). I’ve heard from one person who thought this episode was surprisingly awful– what do you think of this episode?

NBA’s Greatest Slam Dunk Contest: Airborne (TNT, 6pm).

The TARDIS winds up in Manhattan in the 1930s on Doctor Who (BBC America, 6pm; also Sunday at Noon).

A.O. Scott is the guest critic on a new At The Movies with Ebert & Roeper (syndicated, check your local listings).

Primetime Grid

Primetime

Norah Jones on Austin City Limits (PBS, check your local listings).

Rebroadcast of the season premiere of Jericho (CBS, 7pm). Whether you saw last season or not, you can still jump into this show about the citizens of a small town and what happens to them after nuclear bombs explode in cities all over the U.S.

Turner Classic Movies airs movies tonight from the ’80s that include Oscar-nominated work: On Golden Pond (TCM, 7pm, letterboxed), Steel Magnolias (TCM, 9pm, letterboxed), The Big Chill (TCM, 11:15pm, letterboxed), Absence of Malice (TCM, 1:15am, letterboxed), and My Favorite Year (TCM, 3:15am, letterboxed). You can read about these movies on the TCM website. I could enthuse about them here myself, but they do such a good job I don’t feel the need.

NBA Tip-Off (TNT, 7pm).

More college basketball: Old Dominion at Virginia Commonwealth (ESPN2, 7pm), Michigan State at Indiana (ESPN, 8pm).

Shooting Stars, Skills Challenge, 3-Point Shootout, and Slam Dunk contest are all part of the NBA 2008 All-Star Skills Competition (TNT, 7:30pm). These things often run long.

The owner of an anti-social Doberman puppy seeks help on a new It’s Me or the Dog (Animal Planet, 7:30pm, 10:30pm, 2:30am).

Meat may be from an alien in this new episode of Torchwood (BBC America, 8pm, 11pm, 2am). And Rhys may finally find out what Gwen’s job really is. You also have another chance to catch the episode that debuted on BBC America last week, in case you missed it (BBC America, 7pm, 10pm, 1am). That’s the one where a soldier from 1918 may be the key to keeping 1918 from melting into the present day.

Charles S. Dutton stars as an officer at a teenage correctional facility who breaks down racial divisions by organizing a track team in the new Lifetime movie Racing for Time (Lifetime, 8pm; also on Sunday at 8pm and Monday at 8pm). With Elizabeth Pena, Yaya DaCosta, Zulay Henao, and Saige Thompson.

A wardrobe assistant and her supervisor swap rooms on a new Trading Spaces (TLC, 8pm and 11pm; also on 11am on Sunday).

The Bissell family, who already own a variety of pets, searches for an addition to their family on a new Petfinder (Animal Planet, 8pm, 11pm, 3am).

A 1980s dining room gets an art-deco update on a new Color Splash (HGTV, 8pm and midnight).

Two new episodes of My First Home (TLC, 9pm and midnight, 9:30pm and 12:30am). First one’s in Minneapolis, second one’s in Memphis.

Tonight’s new episode of 48 Hours Mystery (CBS, 9pm) promises “an incredible story of steroids, stolen identity, and murder.”

A guest room gets an update on a new Find Your Style (HGTV, 9:30pm and 1:30am).

Late Night

New episode of Mad TV (FOX, 10pm).

New episode of the anime series Death Note (Cartoon Network, 10:30pm and 1:30am).

LeBron James hosts Saturday Night Live (NBC, check your local listings) with musical guest Kanye West in this rerun.

Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim are the guests on a new Talkshow with Spike Feresten (FOX, 11pm).