Here’s what’s up in the world of TV for Friday, June 20, and Saturday, June 21. All times are Eastern.
TOP PICK
Orphan Black (BBC America, 9 p.m., Saturday): So another season of Clone Crazies Concludes, and we’re left wondering whether this season was better, worse, or about the same when compared to season one. We’ll leave that question for you to debate in comments while just saying that we continue to be grateful for the existence of Tatiana Maslany. Sonia Saraiya has thoughts on the season as a whole over in the TV Reviews section, while Caroline Framke will drop in with her usual thoughts on if the finale managed to pull the season together—or send it splintering apart.
TV CLUB CLASSIC
Blackadder (3 p.m., Friday): Kate Kulzick reaches the end of the show’s first season, but don’t worry! She’ll jump right to season two next week. The characters will jump forward a century in history, but don’t worry. Kate’s used to this sort of thing as a part-time time cop.
The Twilight Zone (1 p.m., Saturday): Zack Handlen got this doll, see? Her name is Tina. Talky Tina. And she looooooooves him. And, no, that love is not creepy at all. Why can’t you accept the love between a man and his tiny, murderous doll? It’s the sort of thing you need to just accept, okay?
ELSEWHERE IN TV CLUB
There are a bunch of new shows debuting this weekend, so that means we’ve got TV Reviews of them. Well, most of them ran over the last few days, but we’re mopping up the last few today, including Todd VanDerWerff’s thoughts on TNT’s new action/sci-fi series The Last Ship.
The Tournament of Episodes reaches the end of its first week with a series of quarterfinals, judged by Carrie Raisler, Myles McNutt, Molly Eichel, and Brandon Nowalk. Along the way, we’ll all learn a lot about ourselves, and we’ll have some laughs over the arbitrary nature of prizes and awards!
WHAT ELSE IS ON
Live From The Red Carpet: Diagon Alley (E! 8 p.m., Friday): We definitely hope that the good people at E! are aware that Diagon Alley is a fictional location and don’t try to cover a red carpet event in an alternate reality. Shhh. Don’t talk to us about theme parks!
Frederick Law Olmsted: Designing America (PBS, 9 p.m., Friday): It’s been far too long since the site’s “Frederick Law Olmsted Fortnight,” so let’s all celebrate the father of landscape architecture down in comments by listing our favorites of his works.
The Pool Master (Animal Planet, 9 p.m. Friday): Finally a show about a man who designs outdoor reflecting pools and water gardens! There’s so much untapped excitement and urgency in that particular premise. We can hardly wait!
Continuum (Syfy, 10 p.m., Friday): Here is your occasional reminder that Continuum airs and is very good. We will probably be reviewing next week’s finale, unless we don’t. We surely hope we do, but sometimes, these things are just out of our hands.
Crisis (NBC, 8 p.m., Saturday): Make the most of this crisitunity by watching the final two episodes—ever!—of NBC’s misbegotten show with the incredibly generic title. Go ahead. Try and tell us what this show was about. We’ll wait.
Almost Royal (BBC America, 10 p.m., Saturday): Stick around after Orphan Black for BBC America’s first stab at original comedy. Caroline Framke reviewed this, too, and she didn’t hate it completely… but also didn’t really like it. There’s a ringing endorsement!
Rocky IV (VH1, 7 p.m., Friday): Oh, shit, you guys. Rocky IV. Not the best of all Rocky sequels, but certainly the most wildly, entertainingly shitty. You really need to watch this one with a bunch of friends and get drunk. At 7 p.m. On a Friday.
The Purge (HBO2, 8:30 p.m., Friday): This movie wasn’t very good either, but it was also entertaining for being so wildly, ambitiously over-the-top in its crazy awfulness.
I Love You, Alice B. Toklas! (TCM, 8 p.m., Saturday): Is there anything that can’t be improved by a little Peter Sellers? The answer is no, and that goes for your Saturday night as well.
Volleyball: Bulgaria at U.S. (NBC Sports, 8 p.m., Friday): Sometimes, this is what becomes of your sports choices on a weekend summer night. Okay, you could watch the College World Series, we suppose, but really? When there’s international volleyball?
2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil: Germany vs. Ghana (ESPN Classic, 8 p.m., Saturday): What’s important about this game is that both of these teams are in GROUP G with those plucky underdogs from the United States, so it could have major bearing on those wacky Americans’ chances going forward.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Dominion (Thursday): Did you watch Dominion? Did you like Dominion? Kate Kulzick didn’t entirely hate the new angels and demons drama, but we doubt we’ll look at it past the first episode. So get your jollies out, all ye fans of apocalyptic thinking.
TALES OF THE FIERI BEAST
Tales Of The Fieri Beast will return in a moment.