News & Notes
Looking forward to the new Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, but just can’t wait for the premiere that is a week away? Well, now you don’t have to, as of last night, you can head over to Yahoo TV and watch the first episode online. It will be available until 9:00 p.m. PT tonight.
Tonight, Hallmark Channel has the TV movie premiere of Charlie & Me, Sci Fi has the TV movie premiere of Beyond Loch Ness and WE has the series premiere of Alien Abductions. Tomorrow night, there are a whole bunch of premieres, like The L Word on Showtime and the final season of The Wire begins on HBO.
This evening leading up to primetime, USA is replaying of the “Pilot” episode of Psych followed by the first episode of Monk, “Mr. Monk Meets the Candidate.” New episodes of each return next Friday.
Prime Picks
Wild Card Saturday (NBC): First up is the Washington Redskins at my Seattle Seahawks. The broadcast begins at 4:30 p.m. ET with a pre-game show preceding it. The second game, the Jacksonville Jaguars at the Pittsburgh Steelers, follows and is schedule to begin at 8:00 p.m. ET. Many prognosticators seeming to be picking the road teams in both match-ups, but I don’t think that is such a wise decision. Especially, when the 12th-man gets going up here, it’s gonna be loud.
Solid Selections
New Hampshire Presidential Debates (ABC): If you are a political junky, or have been waiting to start getting to know the candidates, then this night is for you. ABC will be holding back-to-back debates tonight. First up will be the Republicans, which will include Rudy Giuliani, Mike Huckabee, John McCain, Ron Paul, Mitt Romney and Fred Thompson. After they leave the stage and the pundits pontificate, the Democrats will take their turn. The participants will be Hillary Clinton, John Edwards, Barack Obama and Bill Richardson. A total of four hours of political debate and punditry leading up to your local new broadcast.
Cable Choices
All Star Healthy Makeover (Food Network): New. Food Network personalities share some tips and recipes to help you with those New Year’s resolutions to take off those holiday pounds. Plays again later.
All Star Live: South Beach (Food Network): Repeat. Fan questions are answered by Food Network personalities. Plays again later.
All Star Grill-Fest: South Beach (Food Network): Repeat. Food Network personalities share some grilling tips and favorite recipes. Plays again later.
Other Options
- Beyond Loch Ness (Sci Fi): Premiere. A scientist traces the fabled monster to a lake in the United States. Stars Brian Krause (Charmed). This is most likely pretty bad, but if you are not into football or politics, at least it is new. Runs two hours. Plays again later.
- Charlie & Me (Hallmark Channel): Premiere. Tom Bosley (Happy Days) plays a grandpa that has a heart attack and decides that he needs to make some changes in his life and those around him before his limited remaining time is up. An attempt at heart warming could be just the thing for those not into football, politics or crappy made-for-TV creature flicks. Runs two hours.
Sports Notes
- ESPN has college basketball early and late.
- ESPN2 has the International Bowl with Ball State vs. Rutgers early.
- NBA TV has the Utah Jazz at the Portland Trail Blazers.
- NBC has Wild Card Saturday, see Prime Picks above for more info.
Late Night
- MADtv (FOX): Repeat. Carlos Mencia joins the gang for some sketch comedy fun.
- Saturday Night Live (NBC): Repeat. The Peyton Manning hosted show with musical guest Carrie Underwood replays.
TV Marathons
FOX Reality has 12 episodes of The Restaurant.
G4 has 16 episodes of Totally Outrageous Behavior early.
History Channel has six episodes of MonsterQuest.
Logo has 14 episodes of Bad Girls.
MTV has seven episodes of True Life.
Sci Fi has creature features all day leading up to the Beyond Loch Ness premiere.
The N has 22 episodes of Degrassi: The Next Generation.
TruTV has 12 episodes of Body of Evidence: From the Case Files of Dayle Hinman.
TV Land has 12 episodes of M*A*S*H tonight.
VH1 has 12 episodes of America’s Next Top Model.
