Here’s what’s up in the world of TV for Friday, April 4, and Saturday, April 5. All times are Eastern.
TOP PICK
Raising Hope (Fox, 9 p.m., Friday): After four seasons, this sweetly funny sitcom is throwing in the towel. It made our top 30 shows on TV list that one time, for the back half of its first season and the first half of its second, and we’ve covered it since around that point, too. Phil Dyess-Nugent is sad to see the show go, but glad that it seems to be going out on a high note. Yes, we’ve seen the finale already, and yes, we can tell you that it will make you feel sad to see the show go, but also pleased that it left before it ever got to be truly horrible and/or a shadow of its former self. Godspeed, Garret Dillahunt!
ALSO NOTED
Grimm (NBC, 9 p.m., Friday): Just as you’d expect, this week’s episode of Grimm is full of wedding planning, as Monroe and Rosalee throw themselves into the coming event. Kevin McFarland thinks the couple should rent out their local VFW and save a little cash.
Hannibal (NBC, 10 p.m., Friday): This season just keeps getting better, doesn’t it? This week, Will keeps pushing everybody around him by saying that Hannibal’s an evil killer, and they’re all, “Are you sure? His name’s in the title and all…” Molly Eichel thinks you can always trust a man with his name in the title.
Saturday Night Live (NBC, 11:29 p.m., Saturday): This week’s episode is hosted by Oscar-nominated actress and Twitter folk hero Anna Kendrick, which means that everybody will like it but our wife, who finds her a little overrated. Dennis Perkins shakes his head in disgust.
TV CLUB CLASSIC
Babylon 5 (10 a.m., Friday): Rowan Kaiser’s reviews of the sci-fi favorite return, but they’re… different. Format-wise, they’re different. We don’t mean to suggest they’ve been replaced by some sort of extraterrestrial impostor during all the time they’ve been away—because that sounds more like a Star Trek idea.
The X-Files (1 p.m., Saturday): Guess what, everybody? It’s the series finale! After nearly six long years since this feature debuted, Zack Handlen and Todd VanDerWerff are finally going to find out “The Truth.” Then next week, they’ll Want To Believe all over again!
Doctor Who (Classic) (3 p.m., Saturday): Christopher Bahn gets to part three of “Trial Of A Time Lord,” and there’s still one part on the horizon. This has led us to conclude that the judge presiding over said trial must be the Honorable Lance Ito. *opens curtain to reveal Dancing Itos*
ELSEWHERE IN TV CLUB
It’s time for the end of another season of Shameless, Showtime’s generally underrated dramedy, and in her TV Review of season four, Sonia Saraiya calls it the show’s best season yet. Agree? Disagree? Let her know just how much in comments.
WHAT ELSE IS ON
Unforgettable (CBS, 8 p.m., Friday): Did you know they were still making this show? Because, honestly, we’re betting that the people who are on the show didn’t even know they were still making it. Which sort of is the opposite of the title. Appropriate.
Marriage Boot Camp: Bridezillas (WE, 9 p.m., Friday): Good news, everyone! The We network still exists. Bad news! They’re making all engaged couples go to boot camp to determine if they’re ready to get married. We’re glad we tied the knot already, because we would come off so poorly on reality TV.
Continuum (Syfy, 10 p.m. Friday): Did you know this show was back? It’s a really good show, albeit one of those that’s going to fall outside of our coverage window. Maybe we’ll convince Alasdair Wilkins to check in a few times as the season goes along, just for good measure.
Diggers (National Geographic, 10 p.m., Friday): This show—about people who go digging for things—continues to exist, just as we continue to be sad it’s not a reality show about the family of the dog from the show Avonlea.
Rake (Fox, 8 p.m., Saturday): Look, we already knew this show was canceled, but burning off two episodes at a time on Saturdays is like Kevin Reilly shouting that fact from the rooftops.
Too Cute! (Animal Planet, 8 p.m., Saturday): This week’s episode is called “Musical Kittens.” Do you think the kittens will perform How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying? Or A Little Night Music? We really hope they don’t perform Grease. We’re sick of that one.
Men In Black (Bravo, 8 p.m., Friday): We wish they would make a Men In Black 4, so we could learn that even more celebrities are secretly aliens. Think of what the franchise could do with Justin Bieber! We’re laughing and weeping already!
The Lone Ranger (Starz, 8 p.m., Friday): Some people really loved this movie. Most people really hated it. We haven’t seen it, so we can’t tell you anything about it, except to say that we hope Johnny Depp snaps out of whatever it is that’s up with him soon.
Time Bandits (Sundance, 6:30 p.m., Saturday): Is there a better way to prepare for a Saturday night of revelry than by checking out a Terry Gilliam film? We’re going to submit that the answer is no and point you in this film’s general direction.
College Lacrosse: Albany at Johns Hopkins (ESPNU, 7 p.m., Friday): This channel has been showing more and more college lacrosse, which just confirms something we already knew: College lacrosse is the next big thing and will soon dominate the ratings charts.
NCAA Basketball Tournament: Florida vs. Connecticut, Wisconsin vs. Kentucky (TBS, 6 p.m., Saturday): All four teams in this year’s Final Four have the names of states, which is as it should be. What’s not as it should be is the fact that these games are on TBS, which just feels viscerally wrong to us traditionalists.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
The Big Bang Theory (Thursday): Basketball took TV’s number one comedy off the air for the past couple of weeks, but here it is again, and Oliver Sava is there to tell you what’s up with the Big Bang gang. Also: Big Bang gang sounds a lot dirtier than this show generally is.