Here’s what’s up in the world of TV for Friday, March 27, and Saturday, March 28. All times are Eastern.
Top pick
Saturday Night Live (NBC, 11:30 p.m., Saturday): After three weeks off from a shaky season, SNL invites the burly charisma machine that is Dwayne Johnson to save the day—although he thinks he’s there just to promote that upcoming movie where he punches a series of automobiles in the face, or that movie where he punches an earthquake in the face. Dennis Perkins scoffs that musical guest George Ezra has never punched a natural disaster in his life.
Also noted
Grimm (NBC, 8 p.m., Friday): Sure, it’s not like Community coming back from the dead (and then again), but Grimm’s resurrection into the regular A.V. Club weekly rotation is yet another testament to fans (of the show and A.V. Club reviews) convincing the powers that be that they were being big jerks by dropping them in the first place. New Grimm reviewer—and Portland, Oregon resident—Les Chappell jumped into the breach with this glowing endorsement of last week’s episode:
It’s a show that figured out its strengths in the early going and is able to play to those strengths, and having retained its entire core cast for its entire run it’s retained a striking amount of consistency. True, it’s probably never going to reach the heights of creator David Greenwalt’s last show Angel, but there’s nothing wrong with a show finding a comfortable life as a network utility player.
Yeah! “Network utility player!” Welcome back to the A.V. Club, Grimm!
12 Monkeys (Syfy, 9 p.m., Friday): Cole makes a last-ditch effort to stop the world-killing plague by zapping himself back to 1987. Emily L. Stephens would never, never suggest that, as a time traveler, “last ditch efforts” might have do-overs. Never.
Childrens Hospital (Adult Swim, 11:59 p.m., Friday): The staff gets invited to the White House. No doubt they will all be properly vetted and no one will accidentally kill the President. LaToya Ferguson is almost 100 per cent certain.
Regular coverage
Bloodline (Netflix). Kayla Kumari Upadhyaya’s daily reviews continue at 6 p.m. on Friday and Saturday!
TV Club Classic
Doctor Who (Classic): Christopher Bahn returns with his exhaustive reviews of all things Doctor, this time taking us on a tour of Third Doctor Jon Pertwee’s battle against some cool turtle-guys in ”The Sea Devils.”
Elsewhere in TV Club
Joshua Alston braves the wrath of Xenu (and His legal team) by praising, instead, Alex Gibney’s new documentary Going Clear, which suggests that Scientology might not be on the up-and-up. Meanwhile, Danny Bowes gets you in the mood for some NCAA hoops and corruption with his Watch This about one of the most gleefully disreputable basketball movies of all time, as Gabe Kaplan recruits a ragtag gang of miscreants in 1979’s Fast Break. Then everyone gets in on the (opening) act in this week’s AVQ&A which asks your favorite A.V. Clubbers if they’ve ever gone to a concert just to see the opener, rather than the main attraction.
What else is on
NCAA Men’s Tournament: Brackets! Brackets! Brackets! Brackets!
- UCLA vs. Gonzaga (CBS, 7:15 p.m., Friday)
- NC State vs. Louisville (TBS, 7:37 p.m., Friday)
- Utah vs. Duke (CBS, 9:45 p.m., Friday)
- Michigan State vs. Oklahoma (TBS, 10:07 p.m., Friday)
Hart Of Dixie (The CW, 8 p.m., Friday): With tonight’s finale, Rachel Bilson’s New York doctor has successfully navigated her fourth season in the sassy Southern town of Bluebell. Our own Carrie Raisler checks in for a fond farewell in her series finale review.
Tyler Perry’s For Better Or Worse (OWN, 9 p.m., Friday): Everyone’s favorite Jesus-lovin’, occasionally cross-dressing entertainment mogul’s sitcom returns for it’s fourth season. It’s a good thing that Michael Jai White has work, although if it’s keeping us from getting Black Dynamite 2: Black Dynamiter, then there’s a problem here.
Helix (Syfy, 10 p.m., Friday): The Navy’s decided the CDC group has faffed around on the island long enough and decides to implement ”Plan B,” which might…go a little something…like this:
Sex Box (WE, 10 p.m., Friday): Try singing Sex Box to the tune of “Car Wash”—it’ll brighten your day!
Vice (HBO, 11 p.m., Friday): This week’s stories to angry up the blood: drug trafficking in Africa, and Indian women being used as baby farms by wealthy Westerners. Add to that the breaking news that HBO has ordered a boatload of new Vice content, and you’ll be bummed out for years to come!
The Jack & Triumph Show (Adult Swim, 11:30 p.m., Friday): When Triumph gets kicked out of the house, he tries to burn it down. Which, since he’s a puppet and all, means that Robert Smigel is doing it—which makes sense, really.
Hot Package (Adult Swim, 12:30 a.m., Saturday): Have you ever watched Entertainment Tonight and thought, “This is like entertainment news from a dimension I do not understand or ever want to visit?” Well, has Adult Swim got a show for you.
Bad Blood (Lifetime, 8 p.m., Saturday): In this week’s Lifetime movie, a woman realizes that the person to whom she donated bone marrow is implicating her in a series of grisly crimes. Lifetime reminds you: donating bone marrow is for suckers!
World Figure Skating Championships (NBC, 8 p.m., Saturday): Twirl! Twirl like the wind!
The 2015 Kids’ Choice Awards (Nickelodeon, 8 p.m., Saturday): Kids don’t know anything, but do the Oscars dump green goop on the nominees? (And no, afterparties don’t count.)
Black Sails (Starz, 9 p.m., Saturday): The pirate series sails off into the Caribbean sunset in this second season finale.
Showtime Championship Boxing (Showtime, 10 p.m., Saturday): In these two fights, the four boxers have a combined record of 142-10-1, so you can safely assume they are all quite good at punching other dudes.
In case you missed it
Fortitude: When Libby Hill gives something an ‘A,’ you’d better read about it, mister.