Fringe sends Walter Bishop through the looking glass, because the J.J. Abrams-verse needs more Lewis Carroll references
Here’s what’s up in the world of TV for Friday, November 9, and Saturday, November 10. All times are Eastern.
TOP PICK
Fringe (Fox, 9 p.m., Friday): There’s so little TV on Friday nights nowadays that we’re pretty much reduced to picking this all over again, but with an episode entitled “Through The Looking Glass And What Walter Found There,” we’re hoping that this one is as brilliant and daffy as our fondest dreams of what it could be. The episode summary also promises “a team member assumes a new role,” and Noel Murray hopes this means that from now on, Jasika Nicole will be playing the part of Peter Bishop. He’s not getting his hopes up, though.
REGULAR COVERAGE
Grimm (NBC, 9 p.m., Friday): Hunker down, everybody! There’s an unexpected situation at the spice shop! There’s probably a surplus of star anise pods or something, and Les Chappell, filling in for the absent Kevin McFarland, will have the situation under control soon enough. Step away from the allspice!
Saturday Night Live (NBC, 11:30 p.m., Saturday): Anne Hathaway drops by to host, and if we’re all lucky, she won’t sing “I Dreamed A Dream.” David Sims is going to see Les Miserables and all, but he’s wondering if the advertising campaign couldn’t use one of the other songs, for God’s sake.
WHAT ELSE IS ON
Teenage Bank Heist (Lifetime Movie Network, 8 p.m., Friday): Teenage bank heist?! This sounds like a great title. We hope that the episode ends with anger and bloody recriminations, with the teenagers turning on each other and destroying each other’s lives. Without blood, this is going to be worthless.
The 10 Most Unbelievable Births (Discovery Fitness & Health, 9 p.m., Friday): This is going to have to work pretty hard to beat the unbelievable birth we just made up in our heads. It involves a lion pretending to be a police officer, Frank Fisticuffs in surgical scrubs, and a gumball machine. Wow!
The Mind Of A Chef (PBS, 9 p.m., Friday): PBS hops on the “travel/food show” bandwagon, sending chef David Chang (sadly, not Internet Eating Sensation Dave Chang) around the world to track down the very best ingredients and foods. In tonight’s first two installments, he goes after “noodle” and “pig.”
Brides Of Beverly Hills (TLC, 10 p.m. Friday): TLC thought long and hard about how closely it could come to ripping off Bravo’s Real Housewives franchise without quite doing so, and it came up with this. These women aren’t wives! They’re brides! And we’ll get to see every step of their wedding prep! Hooray!
Chainsaw Gang (CMT, 10 p.m., Saturday): CMT continues its strategy of programming Saturday nights with crazy fucking bullshit by putting on a show about a chainsaw gang. We assume this has something to do with lumberjackery, but it’s entirely possible it’s just about guys chainsawing stuff. Awesome.
Wedding Band (TBS, 10 p.m., Saturday): Todd VanDerWerff checks out this new TBS series about, well, look at the title. He’s sure the network isn’t suggesting anything about its quality by scheduling it for 10 p.m. on a Saturday. That, or the network is just trying to take down CMT before its infection spreads.
A Fistful Of Dollars (TCM, 8 p.m., Friday): Sergio Leone directed this spaghetti Western, which made both him and Clint Eastwood household names—at least to big film fans. If you’ve never seen any of Leone’s films, this is as good a place as any to start, especially if you like your films stripped down.
Star Trek Generations (IFC, 8 p.m., Friday): The first Star Trek movie to transition to the Next Generation cast dares to put Kirk and Picard on screen and have you compare them. Which is better? Only you can answer that question! But know that the answer isn’t Captain Janeway. It is never Captain Janeway.
Wet Hot American Summer (Flix, 8 p.m., Saturday): If you’ve never seen this cult comedy classic, well, you probably just started reading this website, because we talk about it all the goddamn time. So watch it tonight, and the next time we say something about it, you can know what the hell we’re talking about!
College Basketball: Kentucky vs. Maryland (ESPN, 8:30 p.m., Friday): Brooklyn’s Barclays Center, which is a massive behemoth, if you didn’t know, hosts the first meeting between the Wildcats and Terrapins since 2002. We’re going to bet on Maryland, because we’ll always bet on the anthropomorphic turtle.
College Football: Notre Dame at Boston College (ABC, 8:07 p.m., Saturday): The Fighting Irish are undefeated, which makes us think it’s the 1960s or something, but they’ve been insanely lucky, having won five games by a touchdown or less. We doubt Boston College is going to bump them off, though.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Last Resort (Thursday): We’re as surprised as you are that the “submarine personnel start up a new country” drama is somehow hanging on to become one of our new favorites. And even if you don’t like it, you have to be impressed at how it’s burning through story. Scott Von Doviak didn’t need that story!