Here’s what’s up in the world of TV for Friday, March 7, and Saturday, March 9. All times are Eastern.
TOP PICK
Enlisted (Fox, 9 p.m., Friday): This weekend, why not take a chance on Enlisted, one of the season’s handful of fun new comedies? Where it’s been a solid couple of years for new dramas, comedies have had a rougher go of it, with even the occasional promising show collapsing in time. But Enlisted has gotten to such a solid state and such a funny place so very quickly that it would be a shame to see it go away. So: Why not check it out tonight, and see for yourself? Les Chappell will be there, and he’ll be ready to drive a tank over anybody who disagrees with him.
ALSO NOTED
Grimm (NBC, 9 p.m., Friday): What this show needs is its own version of the Two And A Half Men theme song. You know. Grimm, Grimm, Grimm, Grimm, Grimm-ly Grimm. Grimm-ly Grimm, Grimm-ly Grimm, woo-hoo-hoo. We nominate Kevin McFarland to sing it.
Hannibal (NBC, 10 p.m., Friday): What’s up with that guy who woke up in the giant mural of corpses, are we right? Well, we’re going to find out this week, and we’re also going to see what happens when Molly Eichel keeps yelling herself hoarse at everyone that Hannibal is guilty, okay?!
Helix (Syfy, 10 p.m., Friday): Meanwhile, Sonia Saraiya doesn’t know what is going on with this show, but she’s enjoying its incredible lunacy. Is it good? No. Is it highly, highly watchable? Hell yes. Find out why in her latest review.
REGULAR COVERAGE
Raising Hope (Fox, 9:30 p.m., Friday)
Black Sails (Starz, 9 p.m., Saturday)
Saturday Night Live (NBC, 11:30 p.m., Saturday)
TV CLUB CLASSIC
The X-Files (1 p.m., Saturday): Now that we’re over the hump of “Provenance” and “Providence,” season nine won’t be so bad. Right? Right?! Zack Handlen finds out this weekend, as he confronts an episode entirely built to give Agent Reyes something to do.
Doctor Who (Classic) (3 p.m., Saturday): Christopher Bahn is still making his way through perhaps the most epic serial in all of this program’s illustrious history. We, of course, have no idea what’s going on, but we’ll make some vague proclamations about it.
ELSEWHERE IN TV CLUB
Kurtwood Smith is one of the stars of the new ABC series Resurrection. He’s also one of our most requested Random Roles subjects ever. So Will Harris went out and got you that Random Roles interview. It should be a great one.
Did you miss Joshua Alston’s review of Law & Order: SVU’s season to date? You did? Well, you should probably go take a look at it right now, don’t you think?
WHAT ELSE IS ON
Gucci: The Director (Showtime, 8 p.m., Friday): Showtime’s generally solid documentary branch presents this intimate look at the creative director of Gucci and everything that goes into being a creative director of a big fashion house. Could be interesting!
WWE Smackdown (Syfy, 8 p.m., Friday): Our avid wrestling fan wife assures us that Smackdown is “the worst,” especially compared to Raw, but we don’t do What’s On Tonight on Mondays, do we, wife? So you’ll take Smackdown and like it!
100 Most Award-Winning Artists (Fuse, 9 p.m. Friday): Number one: Better Than Ezra!
Banshee (Cinemax, 10 p.m., Friday): This season has hotly divided your TV Club congnoscenti, with some of us thinking the show has completely lost its rocker and some of us loving it more than ever. Les Chappell will issue the final verdict next week for the finale.
Dateline Saturday Night Mystery (NBC, 8 p.m., Saturday): Will this be the various personnel of NBC News hosting a murder mystery night and trying to determine the killer? We’re guessing not, but wouldn’t you watch the shit out of that?
The Trip To Bountiful (Lifetime, 8 p.m., Saturday): Molly Eichel has this review of this new TV movie version of the acclaimed play. That play’s movie version won Geraldine Page an Oscar. Will her review with Molly a Pulitzer? Only time will tell.
Lincoln (Showtime, 7:30 p.m., Friday): A lot of people complained about this one when it seemed like it was going to win 50 Oscars. Then it didn’t. And looking at it now, it still seems like a really good movie and a surprisingly funny one. A little stately? Sure. But Daniel Day-Lewis more than makes up for that.
Holes (ABC Family, 8:30 p.m., Friday): This movie didn’t win 50 Oscars either, but it did give the world its first major starring role from Shia LaBeouf, and isn’t that worth celebrating? Okay, maybe not, but as kids’ movies go, this one is pretty entertaining. The book is better though.
Marty (TCM, 8 p.m., Saturday): This movie actually did win 50 Oscars—or just four, but they were all major prizes—and if you haven’t read A.A. Dowd’s Palme Thursday column on the film, you should definitely take a look at it.
College Basketball: Harvard at Yale (NBC Sports, 7:30 p.m., Friday): It’s a solid weekend for college hoops, with lots of smaller conference championships being bandied about. Or you could just watch Harvard play Yale!
ACC Women’s Basketball Tournament (ESPNU, 7 p.m., Saturday): The Ohio Valley Conference tournament is over on ESPN2, but why not check out some women’s basketball instead? This tournament seems like it might have slightly higher stakes, but what do we know?
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Reign (Thursday): Caroline Framke’s reviews of this whacked-out show are doomed to disappear if you don’t start watching it and/or reading them. Actually, just do the latter, because she describes the chaos about as well as actually watching it would ever indicate.