Television has not deserted you. This very week, Doctor Who delivers a crackerjack finale, Being Human comes back, and Wil Wheaton comes to Eureka. And we have clips below! Also, witness the first meeting of Alyson Hannigan and Seth Green!
Today:
It's pretty thin on the ground on Monday, once again, but there are a couple of British programmes (see what I did there?) making their U.S. debuts.
Our pick of the day is The Incredible Human Journey, a science/travel show which aired on BBC 2 last year and is finally making its U.S. debut on the Travel Channel at 8 PM. We totally missed the fact that its first episode (of five) aired last week, but the second episode is tonight. Last week's episode dealt with the human race's evolution and emergence from Africa. And with this second episode, this look at evolution and human history moves to Asia. Here's the blurb:
[T]he journey continues into Asia, the world's greatest land mass, in a quest to discover how early hunter-gatherers managed to survive in one of the most inhospitable places on earth - the Arctic region of Northern Siberia. Alice meets the nomadic Evenki people, whose lives are dictated by reindeer, both wild and domesticated, and discovers that the survival techniques of this very ancient people have been passed down through generations. Alice also explores what may have occurred during human migration to produce Chinese physical characteristics, and considers a controversial claim about Chinese evolution: that the Chinese do not share the same African ancestry as other peoples.
That's such a controversial claim that I've literally never heard it before. Still, it might be good for a laugh if nothing else. Here's some video:
The other British show that's having its first U.S. airing is James May's Toy Stories, on BBC America at 10 PM. Basically, every week he does something daft with toys. This week:
James gets the help of engineering undergrads from Liverpool University to create a bridge made out of a hundred thousand Meccano (aka Erector set) steel bars. The feat takes two months to build, at which point James has it placed over a canal so that he can attempt to cross over it.
Right now — as you read this — the History Channel is having an all-day MonsterQuest marathon. Think of all the monsters you're missing out on!
Tonight's guest on Jimmy Kimmel is Jay Baruchel, trying to drum up some interest in The Sorcerer's Apprentice. And the band N.E.R.D.! Meanwhile, Nic Cage is on George Lopez, trying to do the same dang thing, except without N.E.R.D.
Movies: Today at noon, AMC is showing The Astronaut Farmer with Billy-Bob Farmer. Also, TCM has 2001: A Space Odyssey and its sequel, 2010, back to back starting at 12:30 PM.
Tuesday:
Today's pick of the day, once again, is Warehouse 13, with "Beyond Our Control." In this episode, "The team finds themselves in the middle of a B movie with cowboys, gladiators, robots and beach storming marines." Here's a sneak peek:
Movies: FX has Mission Impossible 2 at 5 PM. AMC is showing Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle Of Life at 5:30 PM. Encore has Signs at 8 PM, in case you want to relive the early stages of M. Night Shyamalan's slide into obscurity. Also at 8 PM, TMC has Twilight, for which this is the blurb: "A teen is caught up in an unorthodox romance with a vampire." And Cinemax has Men In Black II at 8:30 PM.
Wednesday:
Chasing Mummies made for such a great pick of the day last week, how can we ignore it this week? Maybe this week, they'll actually catch up to a mummy — it's not like they can run all that fast. (Try the veal, I'll be here all week.) It's at 10 PM on the History Channel. Here's the breathless blurb for "Trapped" — literally, it's so breathless it has tons of extra commas:
Only a handful of people have ever had the chance to see the Five Chambers high above the Grand Gallery of the Great Pyramid. Now, Zahi decides to go on his final journey to the Five Chambers with the fellows in tow...together they will document the ancient graffiti on the walls of the Chambers, proving Zahi's theory that ancient Egyptians, not slaves, built the Pyramids at Giza. This near-death experience leaves the fellows; Leslie, the executive producer; and, the crew gasping for air. Finally, Zahi will reveal his findings in an exclusive television interview.
And here's a sneak peek:
Movies: Encore is showing the not-to-be-missed My Stepmother Is An Alien, which is great for many, many reasons — but chiefly so you can watch Alyson Hannigan and Seth Green go on a date together, a decade before they met on Buffy The Vampire Slayer. No foolin'. Here's the crucial Aly/Seth moment:
But if that's not enough for you, there's also E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial on HBO at 6 PM. Will they have guns or walkie-talkies? Tune in and find out. Also at 6 PM, Showtime has Superhero Movie. And AMC is once again showing Outbreak and Virus back to back, starting at 8 PM.
Thursday:
Pick of the day: Let's just pause to appreciate the miracle that is new episodes of Futurama appearing regularly on our screens, shall we? And then add to that the fact that this week's ep is apparently Bender-centric. It's called "Lethal Inspection," and here's the blurb: "Bender learns that he suffers from a mortal manufacturing defect." And apparently Fry and Scruffy will be visiting the Civil War or something, judging from this sketch that Comedy Central released a while back:
Movies: During the day, AMC is showing They Live, followed by their usual disease double feature of Virus and Outbreak. It all starts at 1 PM. Also, TMC has Reign of Fire at 2:20 PM, and A Boy And His Dog at 6:25. FX has The Simpsons Movie at 8 PM, and Cinemax has Hellboy II at 10 PM.
Friday:
Pick of the day: Eureka is doing its 28 Days Later episode, or something. One of the scientists at Global Dynamics goes into a rage that threatens everybody in the town. And then, in a related development, a blind rage "infects" everybody at GD, with "catastrophic results." Bad feeling about this. And is that Wil Wheaton? Why, yes, it is! Here's a sneak peek:
And in a case of synergy, there's also a deadly virus attacking the people of Haven, in the third episode of Haven, on Syfy at 10 PM.
Saturday:
There's some tough competition for pick of the day here, but both competitors air back-to-back on BBC America. So really, it's just one two-hour pick.
First of all, there's the Doctor Who season finale, "The Big Bang." Finally, all — well, at least some — of your questions will be answered! If you watched "The Pandorica Opens" and witnessed that cliffhanger, then you shouldn't really need any encouragement to see how it all turns out. The Doctor is trapped, the universe has ended, and our new favorite couple has hit a bit of a rough patch. What will happen? Here's a wee clip:
And then, right afterwards, there's the second season premiere of Being Human. Mitchell (Aidan Turner) worries that vampire society is about to implode following the death of Herrick, while George (Russell Tovey) seems like a changed man... and not just because of the "werewolf" thing. Doctor Who is on 6 PM and 9 PM and Being Human is at 7 PM and 10 PM, at least in my area.
To celebrate, BBC America is having a Doctor Who marathon all day. And the History Channel is also having a wee marathon of The Universe.
Movies: TBS is showing Flubber (the Robin Williams one, not the good one) at 8:35 AM. VH1 is showing the original 1992 Buffy The Vampire Slayer at 7 PM. And the Cartoon network has Son Of The Mask, starring Jamie Kennedy, at 8 PM. It's just as bad as you'd expect, and here's a clip to prove it.
Sunday:
Pick of the day: True Blood keeps racing forward, and here's the blurb: "Bill's fate lies in Lorena's hands; Tara tries to stave off Franklin's advances; Tommy finds it difficult to leave his family; Jessica puts Pam's teachings into practice; Jason and Crystal's romance hits a snag; Russell visits Louisiana."
The Science Channel is having a wee marathon of its show Time Warp, from 9 AM to 4 PM.
Movies: Syfy is showing a ton of movies from 11 AM to 11 PM: The Nightmare Before Christmas, The Descent, Carny, See No Evil, Saw III and The Seamstress. G4 has Predator 2 at 7 PM. And ABC Family has The Goonies at 9:30.