Program Planner: July 27-Aug. 2
Sunday’s Oklahoman, which includes TV Week, hits the newsstands in the Oklahoma City area on Saturday afternoon. And it arrives at the doorstep (or hopefully nearby) early Sunday morning.
But for those who can’t wait to begin planning the upcoming week around the best TV has to offer, here is a sneak peek at programs worth watching the week of July 27:
SUNDAY JULY 27, 2008
♦“Cold Case” (9 p.m. on CBS): Ellen Albertini Dow, best known as the rappin’ grandma from ‘‘The Wedding Singer,” guest stars in ‘‘Torn.”
♦“Disney Channel Games” (7 p.m. on Disney): The Jonas Brothers, Demi Lovato (”Camp Rock”) and Cole and Dylan Sprouse (”The Suite Life of Zack & Cody”) are among more than 50 Disney Channel stars competing in sports challenges for charity. The first installment features a post-Games concert performance by Miley Cyrus (”Hannah Montana”). The remaining four episodes will air Saturdays at 7 p.m..
♦“Mad Men” (9 p.m. on AMC): The 2008 Golden Globe winner for best drama returns for a second season. In the premiere “For Those Who Think Young,” Don and Duck (Jon Hamm, Mark Moses) have a professional disagreement, and Betty (January Jones) makes a personal connection with an old friend.
♦“MythBusters Shark Week Special 2008″ (8 p.m. on Discovery): Shark Week kicks off its 21st year with a new two-hour ‘‘MythBusters” that takes a bite out of shark folklore. Hosts Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman investigate whether sharks are repelled by magnets or attracted by dogs, and they build a 16-foot robotic shark to see if swimmers can escape an attack.
♦“The Next Food Network Star” (9 p.m. on Food Network): In the season finale, all the finalists return and join a live audience to find out who wins.
MONDAY JULY 28, 2008
♦“The Colbert Report” (10:30 p.m. on Comedy Central): Country singer Toby Keith will make his second appearance on the show, performing songs from his new release “35 Biggest Hits.”
♦“Day of the Shark” (9 p.m. on Discovery): This new special chronicles six recent shark attacks that took place at different times of day. Experts try to determine if day or night is safer for swimming.
♦“History Detectives” (8 p.m. on OETA-13): Objects examined include a bell that may have been ringside at Jack Dempsey’s world heavyweight championship match and a small metal box that could be a souvenir from the ill-fated zeppelin Hindenburg.
♦“Nashville Star” (8 p.m. on NBC): Three Texas natives are among the final four, who return to their hometowns on this next-to-last episode.
♦“Paranormal State” (9 p.m. on A&E): Back for a second season, the series follows Penn State University student Ryan Buell and members of the university’s Paranormal Research Society as they seek to find the truth behind real-life mysteries.
♦“The Recruiter” (8 p.m. on HBO): Sgt. 1st Class Clay Usie, one of the most successful recruiters in the country, is the subject of this new documentary, which follows him and four of his recruits as they make the transition from high school through basic training and beyond.
♦“Saving Grace” (9 p.m. on TNT): In the new episode “A Little Hometown Love,” the squad’s evidence supervisor, Ed Ligardi, is found dead in a restroom stall at the local cop bar … just a few feet away from the stall in which Grace and Ham (Holly Hunter, Kenny Johnson) were fooling around in when the murder happened. Amy Madigan (“Carnivale”) guest stars as Ligardi’s wife.
♦“Surviving Sharks” (8 p.m. on Discovery): Les Stroud of “Survivorman” hosts this look at how best to play it safe in the water by testing popular theories of how to survive shark encounters.
♦“Top Gear” (7 p.m. on BBC America): The Batmobile from “Batman Begins” is featured, along with the classic British sports cars the Weismann MF3 and TVR Tuscan 2.
♦“Wanna Bet?” (8 p.m. on ABC): This week’s celebrity judges include Corbin Bernsen (“Psych”) and Tom Bergeron (“Dancing With the Stars”). One of the stunts features a man guessing people’s weight when they stand on his stomach.
TUESDAY JULY 29, 2008
♦“Celebrity Family Feud” (7 p.m. on NBC): Competing for $50,000 for their charity are the families of Corbin Bernsen (”L.A. Law”), Margaret Cho (“Face/Off”), Christopher Knight (”The Brady Bunch”) and The Teutels (”The American Chopper”).
♦“Dirty Jobs: Shark Special” (8 p.m. on Discovery): Host Mike Rowe travels to a place many wouldn’t associate with sharks — the edge of the Arctic Circle — in search of the mysterious Greenland shark. A slow-moving cold water shark, scientists hope that by learning more about it they can better understand the rapid ecological changes affecting that part of the world.
♦“Eureka” (8 p.m. on SCI FI): Season three of this quirky series delves deeper into the inner workings of Global Dynamics and the personal relationships of Eureka’s residents. Frances Fisher (‘‘Titanic”) joins the cast as Eva Thorne, a corporate titan assigned to clean up Global Dynamics.
♦“Food Detectives” (8 p.m. on Food Network): Ted Allen (”Queer Eye for the Straight Guy”) hosts this new series that explores the connection between science and food. With the help of experts from Popular Science magazine, they will conduct experiments to find the truth behind food myths.
♦“How Not to Become Shark Bait” (9 p.m. on Discovery): A thrill-seeking team with a purpose — escapologist Jonathan Goodwin, adrenaline junkie Yul Kwon, marine biologist Jeremiah Sullivan and scientist Dr. Marty Jopson — test shark attraction theories with lemon, tiger and reef sharks. They focus on the sensory perception of sharks including colors, vibrations, smells and other attractors. In the process, viewers learn strategies for staying safe when in the water.
♦“It’s Not East Being Green” (8 p.m. on Sundance): The British reality series returns for its second season. It follows the Strawbridge family, who transformed a farm into a self-sufficient entity, as they help other realize their eco goals.
♦“Jurassic Fight Club” (8 p.m. on History): This new series utilizes forensic evidence to gain a better understanding of how dinosaurs battled for supremacy. Featured in the first installment is Majungatholus, whose remains were first found on Madagascar in 1998 bearing bite marks from another member of its species.
♦“Starz Inside: In The Gutter” (9 p.m. on Starz): This new special looks at gross-out comedy in today’s most successful films and the boundary-pushing offensive material that makes us laugh.
♦TCM Birthday Tribute — William Powell: The late actor was born on this day in 1892, and the network celebrates by airing four of his films — 1933’s “Double Harness” (noon), 1934’s “The Thin Man” (1:15 p.m.), 1941’s “Love Crazy” (3 p.m.) and 1936’s “Libeled Lady” (5 p.m.).
WEDNESDAY JULY 30, 2008
♦“The Baby Borrowers” (8 p.m. on NBC): In the season finale, the teenage couples take on one final responsibility that many will have in middle age: caring for elderly folks.
♦“Criss Angel Mindfreak” (9 p.m. on A&E): In the live episode “Building Implosion Escape,” the world-renowned mystifer will be shackled inside a 6-story building loaded with explosive and try to escape before it is detonated.
♦“Lewis Black’s Root of All Evil” (9:30 p.m. on Comedy Central): Comedian Lewis Black returns as the show’s judge and jury for a second season. Each week, two comedians debate which of two people, places or things is more evil, and Black hands down the final verdict.
♦“Made In China: The People’s Republic of Profits” (8 p.m. on CNBC): This special takes an inside look at China to see how the land of more than 1 billion people — and home to more than 400,000 millionaires — is embracing capitalism in the 21st century.
♦“NOVA ScienceNow” (8 p.m. on OETA-13): Host and astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson looks at the hidden toll of common brain insjuries like concussions.
♦“The Real Housewives of Atlanta” (11 p.m. on Bravo): This is a 30-minute preview special of the upcoming series that follows five women from Atlanta’s social elite – from NBA and NFL wives to sassy single moms — as they juggle their careers and home lives with social engagements.
♦“Shear Genius” (9 p.m. on Bravo): Actress Kate Jackson joins host Jaclyn Smith for a mini “Charlie’s Angels” reunion. For the elimination challenge, the stylists are asked to create modern versions of the signature “Charlie’s Angels” hairstyles.
♦“TapouT” (9 p.m. on Versus): Season two of the reality series follows the crew of TapouT, the premier mixed martial arts clothing and gear line, as they travel cross country in search of the next mixed martial arts superstar.
THURSDAY JULY 31, 2008
♦“Dragons’ Den” (8 p.m. on BBC America): Five multi-millionaires are ready to back the best new ideas and innovations in this reality series. Items being pitched this episode include an odor eating mat for dogs and a tattoo removal system.
♦“Fear Itself” (9 p.m. on NBC): The installment titled “Skin and Bones” stars Doug Jones (”Hellboy”) as a cattle herder who returns home a changed man after being lost in the woods for days.
♦“Last Comic Standing” (7 p.m. on NBC): The final five finalists will perform, and three will go home. The episode will also feature The Dan Band performing a song specially written for the show.
♦“Live From Abbey Road” (9 p.m. on Sundance): The music series taped at London’s Abbey Road Studios features performances by Matchbox Twenty and Def Leppard.
♦“Mysteries of the Shark Coast” (8 p.m. Thursday on Discovery): On Australia’s northeastern coast, home to more species of sharks than anywhere else in the world, the sharks are disappearing. A cross-discipline team of marine biologist Richard Fitzpatrick, filmmaker Mike deGruy, lead scientist for the Nature Conservancy, M. Sanjayan, Ph.D, and adventurer Celine Cousteau, band together to find out why.
♦“The Road Hammers” (7:30 p.m. on GAC): In the final installment of the reality series directed by Jason Priestley (”Beverly Hills 90210″), the Canadian country music band records their American album with a new producer and begin a promotional tour. But the band questions their future in the U.S. after their single and album release gets pushed back again.
♦“Soundstage” (10 p.m. on OETA-13): Matchbox Twenty showcases selections from their new album “Exile on Mainstream,” a retrospective collection of 11 hit singles and six new songs.
♦“X Games” (8 p.m. on ESPN): The 14th edition of the summer X Games gets under way live from Los Angeles with coverage of the skateboard big air and Moto X best trick finals. ESPN, ESPN2 and ABC will air 14 hours of live programming through Aug. 3.
FRIDAY, AUG 1
♦“Disorderly Conduct: Video on Patrol” (11 p.m. on SPIKE): The adrenaline-packed series returns with new police footage of fiery car crashes, high-speed chases and roadside drug busts.
♦“Extraordinary Animals” (8:30 p.m. on Animal Planet): The episode “Calculating Canine” showcases Maggie, a 7-year-old Jack Russell terrier, who can do addition, subtraction, multiplication and division.
♦“The Fairly OddParents” (7 p.m. on Nickelodeon): Olympic figure skating gold medalist Scott Hamilton guest stars in the new episode “The Faily Oddlympics.” He lends his voice and likeness to the animated series as an announcer for the Fairy World Games that will determine who the best magical creature in the universe is.
♦“Remember the Titans” (7 p.m. on Encore): This movie begins a 48-hour marathon of hits featuring Hollywood stars before they were famous. In “Titans,” look for Ryan Gosling (“Half Nelson”), Hayden Panettierre (”Heroes”) and Kate Bosworth (“Blue Crush”).
♦“Today” (7 a.m. on NBC): Sheryl Crow performs live from Rockefeller Plaza in New York City.
♦TCM’s Summer Under the Stars — Michael Caine: The network’s 31-day movie festival returns for a sixth year, but this is the event’s first 24-hour tribute to Michael Caine. Among his 11 films in the festival today are 1958’s “The Two-Headed Spy” (5 a.m.), 1977’s “A Bridge Too Far” (4 p.m.) and 1972’s “Pulp (11:30 p.m.).
SATURDAY AUGUST 2
♦“Ask Aida” (11:30 a.m. on Food Network): Cooking expert Aida Mollenkamp prepares dishes while solving viewers’ culinary conundrums in this new interactive cooking show.
♦“Disney Channel Games” (7 p.m. on Disney): In the competition’s second installment, four teams of Disney Channel stars must weave through an obstacle course while linked together. The Jonas Brothers are on different teams, but they will perform together during the post-Games concert.
♦“Fab Five: The Texas Cheerleader Scandal” (8 p.m. on Lifetime): Oscar-winning actress Tatum O’Neal (”Paper Moon”) stars in this new drama based on the true story of a teacher who fights to end the reign of misbehavior by five cheerleaders.
♦“Murder 101: Locked Room Mystery” (8 p.m. on Hallmark Channel): A gunshot victim, a sealed door and four sleeping suspects leads criminology professor Jonathan Maxwell (played by Dick Van Dyke) to his toughest case yet. Van Dyke’s son, Barry, and grandsons, Shane and Carey, join in the hunt for the murderer.
♦“Rolex Grand Prix of Show Jumping” (2 p.m. on Animal Planet): Top athletes and their horses from around the world compete in this event, which is also the last chance for American athletes to qualify for the U.S. Olympic Equestrian Team.
♦TCM’s Summer Under the Stars — Charlie Chaplin: Among his 20 films airing in the festival today are 1914’s “The Knockout” (5 a.m.), 1928’s “The Circus” (2 p.m.) and 1940’s “The Great Dictator” (8:30 p.m.).
–Penny TV
If you enjoyed this post, please consider to leave a comment or subscribe to the feed and get future articles delivered to your feed reader.
Comments
No comments yet.
Leave a comment