Here’s what’s up in the world of TV for Friday, January 31, and Saturday, February 1. All times are Eastern.
TOP PICK
The X-Files (1 p.m., Saturday): Way back when TV Club Classic launched its first ever full lineup, The X-Files was one of the programs covered, handled by then-editor Keith Phipps. Keith handed it off to Zack Handlen after a few weeks, and then the show went away for a long time, because so few of you were reading about it. An uproar in comments resurrected it a while later, with Zack and Todd VanDerWerff trading off every other week to talk about both this show and—eventually—Millennium. It’s taken several years, but they’ve finally reached the end of the line, with just 10 weeks left to cover the final season (and, okay, an extra week if they decide to do the final movie). Todd kicks things off with the season premiere this weekend. God help him. God help us all.
ALSO NOTED
Enlisted (Fox, 9 p.m., Friday): After getting some refreshing ratings news last week—thanks to having its timeslot swapped with Raising Hope—Les Chappell is hoping the show’s choice to move an episode from later in the show’s order to earlier won’t affect viewers’ newfound appreciation for the show too much.
Black Sails (Starz, 9 p.m., Saturday): For the maximum effect, Rowan Kaiser recommends you sing this pirate show’s title to the tune of Jenny Lewis’ “Black Sand.” It will make everything all better.
Girls/Looking (HBO, 10 p.m., Saturday): Don’t forget that both of HBO’s low-rated but critically loved comedies are airing on Saturday this week, making way for the Super Bowl. If you’d rather watch them Sunday night, well, they’ll be on then, too. Todd VanDerWerff and Brandon Nowalk will have their thoughts for you on Saturday.
Saturday Night Live (NBC, 11:30 p.m., Saturday): An episode hosted by Melissa McCarthy with musical guest Imagine Dragons actually sorta feels like it already aired back in February of 2013, but both TV Guide and David Sims assure us that it’s new, so.
REGULAR COVERAGE
Raising Hope (Fox, 9:30 p.m., Friday)
Helix (Syfy, 10 p.m., Friday)
ELSEWHERE IN TV CLUB
Hey, do you have a favorite Super Bowl commercial? Well, some of our staff members do, and they thought they would let you know all about it in this week’s A.V. Q&A. Somehow, nobody thought to mention the one about herding cats from all those years ago, which is an absolute travesty.
Meanwhile, over in the TV Reviews section, David Sims steps up for this season of New Girl in advance of its big Super Bowl episode on Sunday. David says that the show has been unfairly tarred with the Moonlighting curse, when its problem was never that Nick and Jess are now sex buddies.
WHAT ELSE IS ON
The Carrie Diaries (The CW, 8 p.m., Friday): Will this be the final episode of the Sex And The City prequel to ever air, given the low ratings and The CW’s increasing shift toward a focus on genre programming? And will we trick somebody into staying home on a Friday and reviewing it? Both excellent questions.
Last Man Standing (ABC, 8 p.m., Friday): This episode is entitled “Tasers.” Now aren’t you just dying to know what Tim Allen thinks about that? Probably that anyone should be able to tase anyone at any given time, are we right?
Billy Joel: A Matter Of Trust—The Bridge To Russia (Showtime, 9 p.m. Friday): True stories that we hope The Americans gets into someday: The only reason the Cold War ended was because Billy Joel traveled to Russia and performed some of his weakest material there. It’s true!
10 Million Dollar Bigfoot Bounty (Spike, 10 p.m., Friday): Spike thinks it’s hilarious to have teams go into the wild and compete to catch the mighty Sasquatch. Hope it’s still funny when, as Billy Joel knows from having visited Soviet Russia, mighty Sasquatch catches you.
And The Oscar Goes To… (TCM, 8 p.m., Saturday): Turner Classic Movies kicks off its “31 Days Of Oscar” month—aka, the one where it plays a bunch of stuff you’ve never heard of that got nominated for cinematography in the ‘30s—with this special about the history of the Academy Awards.
Swamp Pawn (CMT, 9 p.m., Saturday): Need a gift for the wife? Come on down to Swamp Pawn, where we’ve got all the greatest gifts you can think of, only with the word “swamp” stuck in front of ‘em! Buy her a swamp ring or a swamp necklace or, heck, splurge a little and get her that swamp fridge!
First Men In The Moon/The Time Machine (TCM, 8 p.m., Friday): Before TCM goes all Oscar-crazy, though, the network lines up a couple of sci-fi classics, both based on novels by the famed H.G. Wells, both featuring some kick-ass mid-20th century special effects at their very finest.
Silver Linings Playbook (Showtime 2, 8 p.m., Friday): Jennifer Lawrence won her Oscar for this movie and further endeared herself to all of America, despite the fact that she, while really great in the role, was at least five years too young for the part. But that’s okay! She’s Jennifer Lawrence!
The Sting (Encore, 8 p.m., Saturday): For the most fun, come up with an elaborate con to pull one over on your friends and/or empty their bank accounts while you watch this George Roy Hill classic, starring Robert Redford and Paul Newman at their most charming.
NBA Basketball: Thunder at Nets (ESPN, 8 p.m., Friday): The Nets were supposed to be one of the fresh, exciting new teams this season, but then the actual basketball season began, and… not so much. They’ve made their way to a “respectable” 20-23, but that seems unlikely to rattle the surging Thunder.
NFL Honors (Fox, 8 p.m., Saturday): If you, like our own Todd VanDerWerff, have been looking for a Venn diagram intersection between the Super Bowl and the Oscars your whole life, this might just be the thing to tide you over until the ESPY Awards.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Elementary (Thursday): Not only did Myles McNutt wing his way across time zones yesterday, but he also touched down back in the Midwest to review this episode of television for you. Wasn’t that nice of him? And to think we basically forgot the show was back tonight! We’re awful.