Here’s what’s up in the world of TV for Friday, December 9, and Saturday, December 10, 2011. All times are Eastern.
TOP PICK
Late-night Round-up (7 p.m., Friday): Been watching The Colbert Report lately? Well, it’s one of Meredith Blake’s favorites, and she’s watched this whole week and is ready to talk about it. Find out all about Stephen Colbert’s attempts to host a Republican debate and his ongoing feuds with corporations that are people too and talk about how you think the show’s been doing in the last year. As always, we expect you to bring your own APPLAUSE signs.
REGULAR COVERAGE
Chuck (NBC, 8 p.m., Friday): Chuck begins the march to the end with a guest spot from Carrie-Anne Moss. How many things began their march to the end with a guest spot from Carrie-Anne Moss? A lot. Ryan McGee’s making a list and checking it twice.
Grimm (NBC, 9 p.m., Friday): It’s the second episode in two nights as NBC attempts to figure out if this weird fairy tale cop show is its next big drama hit. Probably not, but Kevin McFarland always appreciates a network patchin’ holes.
Boss (Starz, 10 p.m., Friday): Season finale! There will be big speeches! There will be plot twists! There will be Shakespearean intrigue! Maybe, if Meredith Blake is lucky, there will be Kelsey Grammer saying, “Rooty toot toot and rummy tum tum.”
Saturday Night Live (NBC, 11:30 p.m., Saturday): Katy Perry hosts, with musical guest Robyn. This could be fun. Right? … Right? Well, if it's not, we certainly wish David Sims well, as this could head trainwreck-y very, very quickly. At least Robyn's awesome.
TV CLUB CLASSIC
Veronica Mars (11 a.m., Friday): The stakes just keep getting higher in season two of Veronica Mars, and Rowan Kaiser has his own theory as to who the school bus killer is: He’s pretty sure it’s Veronica Mars. Wouldn’t that be a crazy show?
The Adventures Of Pete And Pete (3 p.m., Friday): It’s time for a little time traveling with Big Pete, Little Pete, and Daylight Savings Time. Marah Eakin was trying to pitch a “great episodes about Daylight Savings Time” feature but got stuck.
The Twilight Zone (1 p.m., Saturday): Roddy McDowell goes to Mars, and through a curious series of circumstances, he grows hair all over his body and becomes much more simian-like. Todd VanDerWerff damns you. You blew it all to hell!
Cowboy Bebop (3 p.m., Saturday): Faye bets $900 on the fifth horse in the sixth race. Simon Abrams thinks his name was Chips Ahoy. Anywho, the horse came in six lengths ahead, and we spent the whole next week… not using drugs recreationally.
TV CLUB ADVENT CALENDAR
The Twilight Zone, “Night Of The Meek” (Thursday): Margaret Eby checks out what should be a can’t miss proposition: Art Carney as a drunken Santa who longs to help the children of the world. The episode—as it turns out—is pretty damn great.
WHAT ELSE IS ON?
Frosty The Snowman (CBS, 8 p.m., Friday): If you’ve read our Christmas specials primer, then you know that this one is kind of dull, but you can’t avoid it. Plus, you can terrify your kids with the moment when Frosty melts in the greenhouse.
Extreme Makeover: Home Edition (8 p.m., Friday): “The team travels to Maryland to help the family of a teen who lost his hand in an accident, and who is someone who has given to his family and community in many selfless ways.” Well, we’d hate if they were helping assholes.
America’s Most Wanted (Lifetime, 9 p.m., Friday): Fox canceled this show, so Lifetime brought it back, perhaps remembering the glory days when we’d skip out on choir practice in college to watch back-to-back reruns of Unsolved Mysteries.
Invention USA (History, 10 p.m., Friday): People travel around the country to look at amateur inventors and see if their crazy contraptions are any good. It’s really nice to know this channel’s getting back to its roots after that Pearl Harbor film.
Snowmageddon (Syfy, 9 p.m., Saturday): “A tale about a mystical snow globe that can cause bad things in the real world when shaken.” Holy God, we hope the 15 Best Films of 2011 list isn’t anywhere close to completion, because we have a new entry.
Appropriate Adult (Sundance, 10 p.m., Saturday): Serial killers! Court-appointed people assigned to oversee said serial killer’s police questioning! British people! We haven’t seen this made-for-TV movie from the U.K. yet, but we’re already excited.
Bloody Sunday (Flix, 8 p.m., Friday): Paul Greengrass first came to international attention thanks to this powerful docudrama about an incident in which British troops fired upon peaceful protestors in Northern Ireland. A real day brightener.
Rubber (Showtime, 9:30 p.m., Friday): Or you could just watch this sure-to-become-a-cult-classic movie about an evil tire that embarks on a murderous rampage after being unable to get with the object of its affections. Seriously.
The Caine Mutiny (TCM, 8 p.m., Saturday): Based on the Herman Wouk novel, this Humphrey Bogart star vehicle is nowhere near the best movie ever made, but it has some charms of its own, and the supporting cast is fun, too.
College Soccer: NCAA semifinals (ESPNU, 8:30 p.m., Friday): We always end up talking about one of the big four sports, so let’s highlight college soccer out of nowhere. This semifinal comes to you from beautiful Hoover, Alabama!
Boxing: Khan-Peterson (light welterweights) (HBO, 9:45 p.m., Saturday): Lamong Peterson challenges Amir Khan for his title. And probably has to stop himself from yelling, “KHAAAAAAAAAAAN!” You know you were thinking it.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
The X Factor (Thursday): Emily Yoshida takes out her aggression on former Pussycat Doll Nicole Scherzinger, who (unsurprisingly) pulled one of the most boneheaded moves in the history of boneheaded reality judging in last night’s show.