Program Planner: Sept. 28-Oct. 4
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 Sept. 28:
SUNDAY, SEPT. 28
◊“60 Minutes” (6 p.m. on CBS): The CBS newsmagazine with features focusing on people and events in the news and behind the headlines begins its 41st season.
◊“The Amazing Race” (7 p.m. on CBS): Host Phil Keoghan will welcome 11 new teams to the 13th edition of the six-time Emmy-winning reality show. They will trek around the world and compete in a series of challenges at every destination. The first team to arrive at the final destination wins $1 million.
◊“American Dad” (8:30 p.m. on Fox)(Fox Photo pictured above): Roger celebrates his birthday on the fourth-season premiere.
◊“Brothers & Sisters” (9:01 p.m. on ABC): Tensions run high and secrets are revealed when the Walker family takes a disastrous weekend getaway together on the third-season premiere.
◊“Californication” (9 p.m. on Showtime): In Season 2, Hank Moody and his wife, Karen, hit the highway to love. But Hank’s new job as a biography ghost writer for a music producer might prove to be a major pothole.
◊“Cold Case” (8 p.m. on CBS): In the sixth-season premiere, Det. Lilly Rush and the Philadelphia Homicide Squad re-open the 1973 case of a murdered football player. New evidence surfaces that shows the college quarterback may have been killed earlier than originally thought and that a steriod cover-up might have been involved.
◊“Desperate Housewives” (8 p.m. on ABC): The fifth-season premiere opens five years in the future. Gabrielle is a mom, Lynette’s twins are budding delinquents, Susan has a new guy and Bree has a new career.
◊“Dexter” (8 p.m. on Showtime): Jimmy Smits joins the cast for Season 3. He plays Miguel Prado, a prosecutor who forms an unlikely friendship with Dexter Morgan. They find themselves in pursuit of a murderer who has affected both of their lives.
◊“Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” (6 p.m. on ABC): In the sixth-season premiere, a new home is presented to a single mother in Maryland struggling to keep her 10 nieces and nephews out of the foster care system. Oscar-winning actress Jennifer Hudson (“Dreamgirls”) and Washington Redskins player Chris Cooley make appearances.
◊“Family Guy” (8 p.m. on Fox)(Fox Photo pictured above): Brian and Cleveland compete for love on the seventh-season premiere.
◊“King of the Hill” (7:30 p.m. on Fox)(Fox Photo pictured above): The Emmy Award-winning animated series opens Season 13 with its 250th episode titled “Serves Me Right for Giving General George S. Patton the Bathroom Key.” It takes place a year after the death of Hank’s dad, Cotton Hill, and Hank tries to honor his father’s final wish.
◊“The Life & Times of Tim” (10 p.m. on HBO): This new offbeat animated series chronicles the misadventures of a twentysomething New Yorker whose instincts repeatedly lead him down the wrong path.
◊“Little Britain USA” (9:30 p.m. on HBO): Matt Lucas and David Walliams rocketed to stardom in the United Kingdom and Australia as stars of the BBC comedy series “Little Britain.” Now they’re bringing their unique brand of laughs to the United States.
◊“Masterpiece” (8 p.m. on OETA-13): British pop star-turned-actress Billie Piper (‘‘Doctor Who”) stars in the new mystery ‘‘The Shadow in the North” that is based on a novel by Philip Pullman. She plays sleuth Sally Lockhart, who tries to unravel three seemingly unconnected events that set her on the trail of an evil more awful than she could ever imagine.
◊“New Kids on the Block: A Behind the Music Special Event” (7 p.m. on VH1): This special documents the band’s 2008 reunion through interviews, rare archival images and modern day footage shot by the band members themselves.
◊“The Simpsons” (7 p.m. on Fox)(Fox Photo pictured above): Homer tries his hand at being a bounty hunter on the 20th-season premiere.
◊“The Unit” (9 p.m. on CBS): Jonas and his covert team of special forces operatives must unravel an assassination plot aimed at the Vice President and President Elect in the fourth-season premiere.
◊“World’s Toughest Fixes” (8 p.m. on National Geographic): In this new series, host Sean Riley takes on such tasks as installing an engine in a cruise ship, repairing live power lines in midair and replacing a turbine at a nuclear power plant.
MONDAY, SEPT. 29
◊“100 Greatest Hip Hop Songs” (9 p.m. on VH1): This five-part series airing today through Friday pays tribute to rap royalty, reveals the story behind each hit and provides updates on what the hit-makers of hip hop’s past are doing today.
◊“Chuck” (7 p.m. on NBC): In the second-season premiere, Michael Clarke Duncan (”The Green Mile”) guest stars as Colt, a menacing operative. Chuck must prevent Colt from obtaining the Cipher.
◊“How I Met Your Mother” (7:30 p.m. on CBS): Talk show host Regis Philbin guest stars as himself. He meets a burger-mad Marshall while on his quest to find the restaurant where he had his very first New York burger.
◊“Life” (9 p.m. on NBC): In the Season 2 premiere, detectives Charlie Crews and Dani Reese are on the hunt for a serial killer when three numbered trucks containing suffocated bodies are found scattered across Los Angeles.
◊“Private Screenings: Walter Mirisch” (7 p.m. on TCM): Turner Classic Movies host Robert Osborne sits down with the Oscar-winning producer (1960’s “The Apartment,” 1961’s “West Side Story” and 1967’s “In the Heat of the Night”). Mirisch went from producing low-budget features for Monogram to serving as head of production for Allied Artists.
◊“Taxi to the Dark Side” (8 p.m. on HBO): This Oscar-winning documentary investigates the Bush Administration’s crusade against terrorists after 9/11.
TUESDAY, SEPT. 30
◊“Costas Now With Aaron & Mays” (8 p.m. on HBO): Hall of Fame baseball players Hank “Hammerin’ Hank” Aaron and Willie “The Say Hey Kid” Mays revisit memorable moments from their extraordinary lives and express their enduring admiration for each other.
◊“Greek” (8 p.m. on ABC Family): Hollywood Records’ Plain White T’s return to the series to perform their new single “Natural Disaster.”
◊“Half Their Size: The People Magazine Weight Loss Challenge” (9 p.m. on ABC): This new special focuses on eight people from Mississippi, the nation’s most overweight state, during a nine-month commitment to change their lifestyles.
◊“Hell Girl” (7 p.m. on IFC): This popular anime supernatural thriller centers around young Ai Emma, also known as Hell Girl, who takes requests from her website. Those who meet her make the choice of divine retribution and pay a price for her services.
◊“Highway 18″ (9 p.m. on Golf Channel): The final two teams embark on a scavenger hunt before teeing it up at Key West Golf Club in their final match before sprinting to the finish line.
◊“The IT Crowd” (9 p.m. on IFC): United Kingdom’s popular sitcom makes its U.S. debut. It focuses on the shenanigans of a technical support staff set in the underbelly of a fictitious British corporation.
◊“Paris Hilton’s My New BFF” (9 p.m. on MTV): Paris Hilton handpicked 16 girls and guys for this new series. They will compete in tests of loyalty, endurance and compatibility to become Paris’ new best friend.
◊“P.O.V.” (8 p.m. on OETA-13): The new documentary “Critical Condition” tells the stories of ordinary Americans without medical insurance. For many, they can’t work until they get treatment, but they can’t afford treatment without a job.
◊“Sesame Street” (9 a.m. on OETA-13): Chandra Wilson (“Grey’s Anatomy”) and LL Cool J (“In the House”) make guest appearances on today’s show.
◊“TCM Birthday Tribute”: Deborah Kerr was born on this day in 1921, and TCM celebrates by airing two of her films — 1956’s “Tea and Sympathy” (12:45 p.m.) and 1959’s “Count Your Blessings” (3 p.m.).
◊“Will Work for Food” (8 p.m. on Food Network): Adam Gertler, runner-up on “The Next Food Network Star,” pairs his comic timing with an adventurous spirit in this new series.
◊“Without a Trace” (9 p.m. on CBS): Steven Weber (”Brothers & Sisters”) returns as Clark Medina, the new head of the Missing Persons Squad.
WEDNESDAY, OCT. 1
◊“America’s Got Talent” (8 p.m. on NBC): Host Jerry Springer reveals which contestant leaves with a cash prize and a shot at stardom. Of course, judges Piers Morgan, Sharon Osbourne and David Hasselhoff have something to say, but viewer votes pick the winner.
◊“Criss Angel Mindfreak” (9 p.m. on A&E): In the fourth-season finale, the illusionist revisits the Silverton underwater escape. Last season, he almost met his doom when the escape went wrong.
◊“CSI: NY” (9 p.m. on CBS): Mac and the team search for the cause of several deaths by radiation poisoning. Grammy Award-winning recording artist Maroon 5 guest stars.
◊“Dirty Sexy Money” (9 p.m. on ABC): As Season 2 begins, the wealthy Darling family of New York City continues to mix with the wrong people and become embroiled in untenable situations. Lucy Liu (“Charlie’s Angels”) joins the cast as the mysterious Nola Lyons.
◊“Get Ready for Digital TV” (8 p.m. on OETA-13): Norm Abram and Kevin O’Connor from “This Old House” offer how-to guidance and tips to ensure that viewers are prepared to successfully make the switch to digital television before the analog shutoff on Feb. 17.
◊“K9 Cops” (9 p.m. on Animal Planet): This new series spotlights an elite unit of K9 cops in St. Paul, Minn. Cameras follow the 21 dogs and handlers as they search buildings, track suspects and search for narcotics and explosives.
◊“My Fake Baby” (8 p.m. on BBC America): This new documentary profiles women who own lifelike baby dolls. They treat the dolls like real infants, right down to the diaper changes.
◊“Private Practice” (8 p.m. on ABC): Addison discovers that Naomi is concealing the financial woes of Oceanside Wellness in the third-season premiere.
◊“Pushing Daisies” (7 p.m. on ABC): In the second-season premiere, Chuck goes undercover as a “Bee Girl” at a honey-based cosmetics company after their new spokesmodel (Autumn Reeser, “The O.C.”) is stung to death.
◊“Secrets of the Dead” (7 p.m. on OETA-13): In 1910, prosecutors brought scientific evidence against Hawley Crippen, an American doctor in England who was accused of his wife’s murder. But as this new episode reveals by revisiting the case with 21st-century technology, it may have been wrong.
THURSDAY, OCT. 2
◊“Ask This Old House” (7 p.m. on OETA-13): The crew is back on the road for a seventh season of helping homeowners tackle home maintenance problems. This season includes “House” calls to Chicago, Salt Lake City and San Diego.
◊High School Football: Norman North vs. Moore at 7:30 p.m. on Cox.
◊“TCM Birthday Tribute”: Groucho Marx was born on this day in 1890, and TCM celebrates by airing two of his films — 1946’s “A Night in Casablanca” (9 a.m.) and 1935’s “A Night at the Opera” (10:30 a.m.).
◊“Tim Gunn’s Guide to Style” (10 p.m. on Bravo): Tim Gunn, Chief Creative Director of Liz Claiborne Inc., has a new “fashion accomplice” for Season 2. Gretta Monahan, owner of Grettacole Spas, Salons and Boutiques, will share her fashion knowledge and support Gunn while he focuses on each woman’s transformation.
◊“Vice Presidential Debate” (8 p.m. on ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox and OETA-13): Live from Washington University in St. Louis, Gwen Ifill (”Washington Week”) moderates this showdown between Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, Republican John McCain’s running mate, and U.S. Sen. Joseph Biden, Democrat Barack Obama’s choice for second in command.
◊“WrestleMania XXIV” (8 p.m. on My Network TV): Relive the biggest spectacular in World Wrestling Entertainment history. Featured wrestlers include John Cena, Snoop Dogg, Triple H and The Undertaker.
FRIDAY, OCT. 3
◊“Everybody Hates Chris” (7 p.m. on CW): Chris starts high school in the fourth-season premiere. He is really looking forward to attending a school with some diversity, but he discovers that the principal has placed him in the only all-white homeroom.
◊“The Ex List” (8 p.m. on CBS): This new comedy-drama stars Elizabeth Reaser (‘‘Grey’s Anatomy”) as Bella, a young woman who learns from a psychic that she’s already met and dated the man she’s destined to marry. But she has to reconnect with him within a year or else she’ll remain alone forever.
◊“The Game” (7:30 p.m. on CW): Professional football player Rudy Gay of the Memphis Grizzlys makes a cameo appearance in the third-season premiere episode titled “Baby on Board.”
◊“Ghost Whisperer” (7 p.m. on CBS): On the fourth-season premiere, Melinda befriends a young psychology professor and learns that he shares her same ability. Jamie Kennedy (”The Jamie Kennedy Experiment”) joins the cast as the professor.
◊High School Football: Bishop McGuinness vs. Weatherford at 7:30 p.m. on KSBI-52; Tulsa Cascia Hall vs. Berryhill at 7:30 p.m. on Cox.
◊“NUMB3RS” (9 p.m. on CBS): Season 5 welcomes Sophina Brown (‘‘Shark”) as a new cast member. She will play the team’s newest agent, Nikki Betancourt, a street-smart ex-police officer who got her law degree at night school.
◊“Star Wars: The Clone Wars” (8 p.m. on Cartoon Network): This new weekly series from Lucasfilm Animation chronicles the adventures of Anakin Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Yoda, Ahsoka Tano and other favorite “Star Wars” characters as they struggle against the dark side.
◊“Supernanny” (8 p.m. on ABC): In the fifth-season premiere, Jo Frost travels to Amherst, N.H., to help The Quinns deal with their four out-of-control teens and tweens.
◊“Tommy Hilfiger Presents: Ironic Iconic America” (7 p.m. on Bravo): Supermodel Bar Refeali and poet Rives co-host this special that explores how pop culture has influenced American tastes and styles. It was inspired by Tommy Hilfiger’s book “Iconic America: A Roller-Coaster Ride Through the Eye-Popping Panorama of American Pop Culture.”
◊“Wife Swap” (7 p.m. on ABC): In the fifth-season premiere, a thrill-seeking family devoted to chasing tornados swaps lives with a cautious family who always put safety first.
◊WWE Friday Night SmackDown” (7 p.m. on My Network TV): World Wrestling Entertainment’s Friday showdown moves to a new network to begin its 10th season.
SATURDAY, OCT. 4
◊“Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders: Making the Team” (8:30 p.m. on CMT): Professional cheerleading takes hard work, determination and nerves of steel as the new crop of recruits quickly finds out in the third season.
◊“EliteXC Saturday Night Fights” (8 p.m. on CBS): This live broadcast from Sunrise, Fla., will feature undefeated heavyweight Kimbo Slice squaring off against Hall of Famer Kem Shamrock and EliteXC welterweight champion Jake Shields making his first defense against Cage Rage welterweight champ Paul Daley.
◊“Hannibal Rising” (8 p.m. on Showtime): French actor Gaspar Ulliel stars as young Hannibal, who is determined to kill the men responsible for the murder of his beloved little sister (Helena Lia Tachovska) when they were children.
◊“I Am Legend” (9 p.m. on Cinemax”): This version of Richard Matheson’s plague-survivor story stars Will Smith as the scientist immune to the virus that has turned virtually everyone else into mutants. Playing the scientist in earlier versions were Vincent Price (”The Last Man on Earth”) and Charlton Heston (‘‘The Omega Man”).
◊“My Big Redneck Wedding” (8 p.m. on CMT): Host Tom Arnold cordially invites viewers to a second season of over-the-top, down-home wedding celebrations. The first episode features an Alabama couple who are brother and sister (by law, that is).
◊The University of Oklahoma takes of Baylor in college football action airing live at 11:30 a.m. on FSNSW.
–Penny TV
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