Program Planner: Jan. 4-10
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 Jan. 4:
SUNDAY, JAN. 4
◊“Golden Globe Awards Preview With Joey Fatone” (7 p.m. on TV Guide Network): Arrive fashionably early to the most glamorous award shows in 2009 with Joey Fatone (”Dancing With the Stars”). He will be joined by Lisa Rinna (”Days of Our Lives”) for upcomning coverage, including “Countdown to the Golden Globe Awards” (3 p.m. Jan. 11), ◊“Live at the Golden Globe Awards” (5 p.m. Jan. 11) and “Golden Globe Awards Fashion Wrap With Lisa Rinna” (7 p.m. Jan. 12).
◊“Masterpiece Classic” (8 p.m. on OETA-13): Gemma Arterton (”Quantum of Solace”) stars in the new adaptation of Thomas Hardy’s novel “Tess of the D’Urbervilles” about a woman violated by one mand and forsaken by another. Hosting the new season of “Masterpiece Classic” is Emmy winner Laura Linney (”John Adams”).
◊“Running the Sahara” (8 p.m. on Showtime): Matt Damon (“The Bourne Ultimatum”) narrates and executive produces this documentary that chronicles three men’s historial quest across the Saraha Desert. It took them 111 days to trek 4,300 miles through six countries.
◊“Superstars of Dance” (8 p.m. on NBC): Michael Flatley (”Lord of the Dance”) and Susie Castillo (”House of Payne”) co-host this new competitive reality series that pits teams of dancers from eight countries — India, Argentina, Australia, Russia, Ireland, China, South Africa and the U.S. — against one another in a variety of dance styles. Each country’s team is made up of two solo dancers, a duo and a larger group.
◊“Ultimate Recipe Showdown” (8 p.m. on Food Network): Guy Fieri (”The Next Food Network Star”) is back for Season 2 of the series in which a new batch of home cooks put their prized personal recipes to the test. Each week’s winner will receive $25,000 and the chance to have his or her recipe featured nationwide at TGI Friday’s restaurants.
MONDAY, JAN. 5
◊“Antiques Roadshow” (7 p.m. on OETA-13): Season 13 opens with one of the most valuable object ever appraised on the show. It is a 1937 oil painting by noted abstract expressionist Clyfford Still worth $500,000. It was received as a housewarming gift.
◊“The Bachelor” (7 p.m. on ABC): Jason Mesnick, the first single dad in “Bachelor” history, gets a second chance at love when the 13th edition of the romance reality series begins. In last season’s finale of “The Bachelorette,” DeAnna Pappas rejected his proposal.
◊“Daddy’s Girls: From Run’s House to Our House” (9:30 p.m. on MTV): Over the course of five seasons, viewers have watched Vanessa and Angela Simmons grow up on “Run’s House.” This new series focuses on the Simmons Sisters as they take a major step toward independence by moving to Los Angeles and working on their already successful apparel line, Pastry.
◊“Diet Tribe” (9 p.m. on Lifetime): This new five-episode series follows five best friends who have made a commitment to lose weight together. Fitness trainer Jessie Pavelka and psycholotherapist Stacy Kaiser lend their expertise.
◊“Masters of Illusion” (8 p.m. on My Network TV): This new series will feature non-stop magic from the world’s greatest illusionists. All acts were filmed in front of an audience without camera or computer tricks.
◊“The Secret Life of the American Teenager” (8 p.m. on ABC Family): The show’s second season opens with the wedding of Amy and Ben,
while Anne tells George she wants a divorce.
◊“The Story of India” (8 p.m. on OETA-13): In this new miniseries, historian Michael Wood introduces viewers to India’s sights, sounds, people, places and history.
◊“True Beauty” (9 p.m. on ABC): This new competitive reality series features six women and four men competing for the title of most beautiful. What they don’t know is that they’re being judged on their inner beauty as much as their looks. Vanessa Minnillo (The Bold and the Beaituful”) is host and serves on the judges panel with Cheryl Tiegs (”Just Shoot Me!”) and Nole Marin (”America’s Next Top Model”).
◊The University of Oklahoma takes on Maryland Eastern Shore in men’s college basketball action airing live at 7 p.m. on FSOK
TUESDAY, JAN. 6
◊“10 Items or Less” (10 p.m. on TBS): Shot on location in a real, working grocery store in Reseda, Calif., this series combines improvisation with a loose script as it delves into the offbeat lives of Greens & Grains employees. The third-season premiere episode will air commercial free.
◊“The Biggest Loser: Couples” (7 p.m. on NBC): It’s the biggest season ever, as 11 couples begin the seventh edition with a combined weight of more than 3.5 tons. Teams of two – including mother/daughter, father/son, sisters, best friends, grandparents, cousins, an engaged couple and former models – come together hoping to transform their bodies, their health and their lives.
◊“Dirty Jobs” (8 p.m. on Discovery): Host Mike Rowe, who travels the country to showcase jobs that most people would go out of their way to avoid, opens Season 5 with a visit to a bologna factory.
◊“Homeland Security USA” (7 p.m. on ABC): This new series gives viewers an unprecedented look at the agencies and people who protect our country. Each episode covers eight or more locations on the “front lines” where the officers and agents work each day.
◊“Lost Tapes” (9 p.m. on Animal Planet): This new series brings the experience of first-person encounters with bizarre animals to viewers. The premiere episodes feature “Swamp Creature” and “Monster of Monterey.”
◊“Nip/Tuck” (9 p.m. on FX): Earlier this season, plastic surgeons Dr. Sean McNamara and Dr. Christian Troy departed Miami for Los Angeles seeking a fresh start. As Season 5 continues, McNamara/Troy faces an unexpected medical crisis.
◊“Primetime” What Would You Do?” (9 p.m. on ABC): From light-hearted situations like missing out on a supermarket prize to potentially life-threatening scenarios where people are faced with how to handle a baby left alone in a hot car, this new series will look at what people actually do in the face of everyday dilemmas.
◊“Scrubs” (8 p.m. on ABC): The medical comedy moves from NBC to ABC for its eighth season, which opens with bac-to-back episodes. In the premiere, Dr. Kelso’s beautiful but unethical replacement, Dr. Maddox (Courteney Cox, “Friends”), shakes things up at Sacred Heart.
◊“Vice Squad” (8 p.m. on My Network TV): This new series features exclusive ride-along access with local police agencies across the country as they take down real-life criminals involved in the world of narcotics, prostitution and gambling. Viewer are let in on everything from the plan, to the tactic and ultimately, the arrest of hardened criminals.
◊“Without a Trace” (9:01 p.m. on CBS): Cast member Marianne Jan-Baptiste (Vivian Johnson) directs this episode in which the team investigates a kidnapping after a teen, last seen with her mother, vanishes.
◊Mustang takes on Edmond Santa Fe in high school basketball action airing live at 6:30 p.m. (girls) and 8 p.m. (boys) on Cox-3.
◊“Wreckreation Nation” (9 p.m. on Discovery): Host Dave Mordal (“Last Comic Standing” finalist) travels the country to compete in events like fruitcake chucking, lawnmower racing and catfish wrangling.
WEDNESDAY, JAN. 7
◊The 35th Annual People’s Choice Awards (8 p.m. on CBS): Queen Latifah (”Chicago”) hosts the event, but fan votes determine the winners of the awards that cover movies, music and television. Carrie Underwood from Checotah is up for three awards and the musical group Rascal Flatts, featuring guitarist Joe Don Rooney from Picher, has two nominations.
◊“13 — Fear is Real” (7 p.m. on CW): This new horror reality series chronicles 13 people as they compete to “stay alive” while facing their deepest fears.
◊“Barbara Walters Special” (9 p.m. on ABC): Patrick Swayze gives his first interview since his pancreatic cancer diagnosis became public. The 56-year-old actor and his wife, Lisa Niemi, chat with Barbara Walters from their California ranch.
◊“Damages” (9 p.m. on FX): Oscar winners William Hurt (“Kiss of the Spider Woman”) and Marcia Gay Harden (“Pollock”) join the cast of the show for its second season. The series, which also stars Emmy winners Glenn Close and Zeljko Ivanek, follows the lives of high-stales litigator Patty Hewes and her protoge Ellen Parsons.
◊“Great Performances” (7 p.m. on OETA-13): This production of “Cyrano de Bergerac” had a limited run on Broadway about a year ago. It stars Oscar winner Kevin Kline (“A Fish Called Wanda”) as the warrior with the big nose who uses words to woo Roxane (Jennifer Garner, “Alias”).
◊“Meet the Browns” (9 p.m. on TBS): This spin-off is based on characters from Tyler Perry’s popular movie and play. David Mann (”Madea’s Family Reunion”) stars as the fun-loving but sometimes crass “Downtown” Leroy Brown trying to fulfill his father’s last request by opening a retirement home.
◊“The Real World: Brooklyn” (9 p.m. on MTV): Season 21 sets up residence in Brooklyn with eight new roommates. Cameras will track their every move as they descover who they really are and how false first impressions may be.
THURSDAY, JAN. 8
◊The 14th Annual Critics’ Choice Awards (8 p.m. on VH1): The Broadcast Film Critics Association honors the year’s finest achievements in cinema. The films “Milk” and “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” both received eight nominations. The rock band Rooney will serve as this year’s house band for the event.
◊“30 Rock” (8:31 p.m. on NBC): Jack makes a connection with his mother’s nurse, Elisa (Salma Hayek, “Frida”) and helps Tracy and wife Angie (Sherri Shepherd, “The View”) arrange a “post-nup.”
◊TCM Birthday Tribute: Elvis Presley was born on this day in 1935, and TCM celebrates by airing six of his films, including 1958’s “King Creole” (6:30 a.m.) and 1961’s Blue Hawaii” (10:15 a.m.).
◊“Ugly Betty” (7 p.m. on ABC): Betty struggles to impress her idol, Jodie Papadakis (Bernadette Peters, “Living Proof”), the editor running YETI. But things go from bad to worse when she encounters Teri (Nikki Blonsky, “Hairspray”), an assistant an ELLE magazine.
FRIDAY, JAN. 9
◊“Flashpoint” (8 p.m. on CBS):Returning for Season 2 is this drama inspired by the Toronto police’s Emergency Task Force. It centers on a superelite team of police officers who handle the most delicate cases.
◊“Howie Do It” (7 p.m. on NBC): Howie Mandel (”Deal or No Deal”) hosts this new hidden camera series in which he plays hoaxes on unsuspecting citizens.
◊“Lipstick Jungle” (8 p.m. on NBC): Nico asks Dahlia (Rosie Perez, “Pineapple Express”) to help boost her proffesional status and lands her a guest appearance on the “Today” show with Kathie Lee Gifford and Hoda Kotb.
◊“Miss America: Countdown to the Crown” (9 p.m. on TLC): All 52 of the Miss America contestants move into the Queen Mary ocean-liner and compete in a series of team and individual challenges. In the final challenge, viewers will vote four girls into the pageant’s Top 15.
◊“Stargate Atlantis” (8 p.m. on SCI FI): In the final episode of this spinoff from ‘‘Stargate: SG-1,” the Atlantis team races the clock to destroy an advanced wraith hive ship that’s threatening Earth.
SATURDAY, JAN. 10
◊“Animal Planet Sporthorse Cup” (2 p.m. on Lifetime): This all-star event features a three-round show jumping competition designed for television. Competing will be a limited invitational all-star field of international competitors and horses.
◊“Expecting a Miracle” (8 p.m. on Hallmark Channel): Jason Priestley (”Love Monkey”) and Teri Polo (”Meet the Parents”) star as a couple who take an unexpected detour to a small town in Mexico that discover it is exactly where they need to be.
◊The University of Oklahoma takes on Kansas State in men’s college basketball action airing live at 12:30 p.m. on KOCB-34.
◊Oklahoma State University takes on Iowa State in women’s college basketball action airing live at 3 p.m. on FSOK.
◊The University of Oklahoma takes on Nebraska in women’s college basketball action airing live at 7 p.m. on KAUT-43.
◊Oklahoma State University takes on Texas A&M in men’s college basketball action airing live at 8 p.m. on ESPNU.
– Penny TV
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