TV Club Classic reaches the end of its long Buffy The Vampire Slayer journey; Noel Murray sheds a single tear
TV Features TVHere’s what’s up in the world of TV for Friday, November 11, and Saturday, November 12. All times are Eastern.
TOP PICK
Buffy The Vampire Slayer (1 p.m., Friday): Noel Murray started his journey through Buffy The Vampire Slayer and its spinoff, Angel, back in the summer of 2008, and now, he’s finally reached the end (of Buffy, at least), as he covers that show’s final two episodes, “End Of Days” and “Chosen.” After he sends Buffy away with a fond wave and a Ziploc bag full of sandwiches, he’ll be back sometime (probably next summer) to view the final season of Angel, but even if you don’t like the show, you should plan to be on hand for the end of a TV Club institution.
REGULAR COVERAGE
Late-night round-up (afternoon, Friday): Stop in for the first installment in a new weekly feature, wherein we drop in on one of the late-night talk/comedy shows for a week and see what’s up. We begin this week with David Sims’ take on The Daily Show With Jon Stewart, posting later today.
Chuck (NBC, 8 p.m., Friday): Well, Chuck fans, after a long series of improbable renewals, the show’s failure to catch fire on Fridays pretty much confirms what was already obvious: It’s done after these 13. That doesn’t mean you and Ryan McGee can’t enjoy the final episodes. Together. With hot apple cider.
A Gifted Man (CBS, 8 p.m., Friday): Laura Linney’s fictional brother from The Big C and Meryl Streep’s real-life, guest-starrin’ daughter drop by tonight’s episode for a while, and Todd VanDerWerff thanks them for perking up his interest. Also: The final installment of Frank Fisticuffs IN Pocatello Ransom.
Fringe (Fox, 9 p.m., Friday): So Peter’s back, and now everybody thinks it’s pretty weird that this guy they thought was dead has returned to them, but they still take the time to solve every bizarre mystery that crosses their paths. And Noel Murray (and the rest of us) wouldn’t have it any other way.
Grimm (NBC, 9 p.m., Friday): Tonight, our heroes take on a woman who—from the promotional material—appears to have a face made entirely of teeth. If there’s one thing Kevin McFarland has learned from Guillermo del Toro movies, it’s that faces made of weird things are bad news.
Supernatural (The CW, 9 p.m., Friday): Though we know basically nothing about this episode, we almost made it the top pick, because the episode title—“Season 7, Time For A Wedding!”—is kind of awesome, we think. Perhaps you’ll agree with us and check out Zack Handlen’s review to see who gets married.
Boss (Starz, 10 p.m., Friday): If this show were more of a sensation, we’d like to think that we could come up with a bunch of cool portmanteaus about the nation’s new fascination with Kelsey Grammer, like “Grammernation” or “Grammitron,” but, like Meredith Blake, America seems bored by this.
Saturday Night Live (NBC, 11:30 p.m., Saturday): The last time we had occasion to write about special guest host Emma Stone in these here parts, we called her America’s Sweetheart, and some of you balked. Well, we’re right, dammit! She was on that Real Partridge Family crap! David Sims agrees!
TV CLUB CLASSIC
Veronica Mars (11 a.m., Friday): Veronica’s got a big new mystery to solve, particularly after the daughter of a victim wants the name of her father cleared of all wrongdoing. Also, Wallace goes off to solve some cases on his own, and Rowan Kaiser doth rejoice.
The Adventures Of Pete And Pete (3 p.m., Friday): Yes, folks, Marah Eakin has finally rolled around to the second episode of the second season, perhaps better known as the “Orange Lazarus” season. Relive your memories of watching it in your grandmother’s basement (or wherever) later today.
The Twilight Zone (1 p.m., Saturday): Everybody knows The Twilight Zone was actually about confronting death or whatever because that’s what everything has always been about. This week, Zack Handlen looks at two episodes tackling that subject head-on, including the creepy “Elegy.”
Cowboy Bebop (3 p.m., Saturday): Been looking for some answers to just what’s up with Faye? Well, you won’t get all of them in the episode “My Funny Valentine,” which Simon Abrams looks at this week, but you’ll get some intriguing glimpses of her back-story nonetheless.
WHAT ELSE IS ON
Green Lantern: The Animated Series (Cartoon Network, 7 p.m., Friday): Oliver Sava takes a look at a new computer-animated series that probably seemed like a much better idea back before that Ryan Reynolds/Blake Lively thing came and went from theaters this summer with not much of a peep.
The Pacific (HBO Signature, 8 p.m., Friday): If you haven’t seen this terrific HBO miniseries yet, well, here’s a chance to catch up with the final four chapters, which will still mostly make sense, even if you haven’t seen the first six, due to the mini’s odd and interesting episodic structure.
Extreme Makeover: Home Edition (ABC, 8 p.m., Friday): The reality show stalwart promises a “Veterans Day special,” which almost certainly means that the construction crew will be building homes for veterans, we would hope, but maybe they’ll just put up shitty housing for civilians as per usual.
Bill T. Jones: A Good Man (PBS, 9 p.m., Friday): The PBS American Masters series looks at the, well, masterful American choreographer, tracing his career and his influence on other people in the world of dance as Jones and his company prepare a production in honor of Lincoln’s bicentennial.
The Heart, She Holler (Cartoon Network, 12:30 a.m., Saturday): Steve Heisler takes a look at how this six-part miniseries wraps up and lets you know whether he thinks it was a worthwhile programming experiment from adult swim or just too weird for words.
CBS News: A South Carolina Republican Debate (CBS, 8 p.m., Saturday): What else do you have to do on a Saturday night? Why not spend it with goofy ol’ Herman Cain and the rest of the supporting cast that makes up his TV show? If you’re lucky, he might turn toward the camera and smile at you!
Apocalypse Now Redux (AMC, 5:30 p.m., Friday): This version of Francis Ford Coppola’s Vietnam War classic isn’t “better” than the original cut, but there’s certainly a lot more of it, and it’s fascinating to watch and try to parse out just what Coppola’s mindset was at the time of production.
Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban (ABC Family, 8 p.m., Friday): Is this the best of the Harry Potter films? Some people would beg to differ, but we tend to side with Alfonso Cuaron’s loopy vision for the world of Harry, Ron, and Hermione.
The Bank Dick/Trouble In Paradise (TCM, 8 p.m., Saturday): If you’re staying home on Saturday night—like us!—you could hardly do worse than watching two of the best film comedies of their era, the W.C. Fields-starring Bank Dick and Ernst Lubitsch’s fantastic Trouble In Paradise.
College Basketball: Michigan State vs. North Carolina (ESPN, 8 p.m., Friday): You know, it’s entirely possible that these two teams suck this year, since we haven’t bothered looking at the pre-season polls, but based on name and reputation of programs alone, this could be a helluva game.
College Football: Nebraska at Penn State (ESPN, 12 p.m., Saturday): Here’s the thing: We're just going to tell you when this is on. We figured, if you wanted to know, for reasons of rubber-necking or just wanting to see college football or… whatever, here it is. Go, Big Red. (Saying that makes us shudder, but it must be said.)
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
The Vampire Diaries (Thursday): It’s not a Vampire Diaries midseason finale if you’re not saying, “WTF?” at least once (and all CW viewers are only allowed to speak in acronyms while watching the channel), and this episode had Carrie Raisler “WTF-ing” all over the place. Now we have to wait until 2012? Boo!