A dozen TV treats for a holiday weekend
Published: July 02, 2009, 7:56 am
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The July Fourth weekend isn’t exactly the best time for television viewers because the networks realize that –weather permitting –most potential viewers are outside at a barbecue, traveling or involved in some family project.
There isn’t much new on this weekend, but the tube never sleeps. Viewers just have to be creative to feed their TV fix.
Here’s one critic’s list of a dozen things to check out on television this weekend:
1.Prime Time on Demand: If you’re a Time Warner cable subscriber who gets this feature, it’s a good time to discover it –now that it is easier to find on Channel 705, right between Fox and CBS. It also remains on Channel 1005.
The channel allows viewers to watch certain episodes of CBS, NBC, FX and USA Network programs with little or no commercials at their own convenience.
I highly recommend Denis Leary’s “Rescue Me” for mature audiences after watching four recent episodes in three hours on Monday. Though I do miss Michael J. Fox’s earlier guest star appearances, the series remains sexy, funny and outrageous. But be warned: FX carries more commercials and promos than the other channels. However, you can fast forward through them.
I also recommend “Royal Pains,” the light new USA Network series that stars the charming Mark Feuerstein as a wise-cracking, caring doctor, Hank Lawson, who takes care of rich clients in the Hamptons who want to avoid the local hospital. The medical cases aren’t as important as the banter between Dr. Hank and his childish brother, Evan (Paulo Costanzo). It certainly has improved since the pilot, which I only gave 2 stars.
2. “Breakfast at Wimbledon”: NBC has made the Saturday and Sunday coverage of the women’s and men’s finale as American as apple pie even when Americans don’t qualify. And this year, there shouldn’t be any long, annoying rain delays because of the new Centre Court retractable roof. ESPN 2 (7 a. m.) and NBC (noon) also carry the women’s semifinals today and the men’s semifinals Friday.
3. Marathons. They are everywhere on cable. They include: A “Burn Notice” marathon of the sexiest episodes of the popular USA Network series set in Miami, starting at 6 a. m. today; a “M*A*S*H” marathon running from 8 a. m. to 7 p. m. Friday on Hallmark; a “Twilight Zone” marathon on Sci-Fi that starts at 8 a. m. today; and a marathon of the hit Discovery Channel series “Deadliest Catch” from Batavia native Thom Beers, from 9 a. m. Saturday to 3 a. m. Sunday.
4. Bond, James Bond: USA Network is running a mini-007 marathon starting at 9 a. m. Saturday with “Dr. No,” the Sean Connery original (with Ursula Andress’ entrance in a bikini as Honey Ryder a highlight) that started it all. “Thunderball,” “The World Is Not Enough,” “Tomorrow Never Dies” and “Casino Royale” follow.
5. “Yankee Doodle Dandy”: When I was a kid growing up on Long Island, I remember a New York channel, WOR-TV, carried the 1942 Jimmy Cagney classic about entertainer George M. Cohan so often that I memorized the lyrics of the title song. The spirited film airs at 6:30 p. m. Saturday on TCM.
6. Live Football: All right, it is “only” the Canadian Football League, but that means the Buffalo Bills season and the Terrell Owens drama can’t be far behind. Time Warner 13 is carrying the Winnipeg at Edmonton game at 9 tonight. And that’s the only place you can get it here since CBC no longer has the league rights.
7. Taped Football: If you get the NFL Network, it is replaying 48 episodes of the Em-my- award winning series, “America’s Game.” Set your DVRs to 3 a. m. Monday for the “Missing Rings” episode involving the 1990 Buffalo Bills.
8.YNN: Now is as good a time as any to see if Time Warner’s new 24-hour news channel has improved since its March launch and its decision to go to a two-anchor format. It could be difficult to impress, however, since the holiday weekend is usually an extremely slow news time.
9. Baseball: What could be more American than watching a Major League game? They’re everywhere on cable and Fox’s 4 p. m. Saturday game features the New York Mets at Philadelphia.
10. CNN’s “Reliable Sources”: Check out the thought-provoking show anchored by University at Buffalo graduate Howard Kurtz that examines the media’s handling and mishandling of the big news stories. It airs at 10 a. m. Sunday. If you care about the news and watch it once, it could become a regular habit.
11. Discover BBC America: Just because it is our Independence Day weekend doesn’t mean we should totally ignore the country that used to rule the 13 colonies. After all, England’s cable channel (on Channel 109 on Time Warner) is a quality cable import. The 8 p. m. talk show “Friday Night with Jonathan Ross” should especially appeal to fans of ABC’s “Lost.” Matthew Fox, who plays Jack Shephard, is a guest. A press release said Ross “pumps him for any and all information the final season. Fox knows what the final image of the series will be but he’s not saying a word.”
12. “Born on the Fourth of July”: One of Tom Cruise’s best performances. He plays Ron Kovic, a Marine who returned from Vietnam a paraplegic and later became an antiwar activist. It airs at 9 a. m. Sunday on TV Land, which is better known for giving life lessons on “Leave It to Beaver” and “The Andy Griffith Show.”
apergament@buffnews.com
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