What will people be watching in the year 2070? Will any programming being produced today hold up after six decades? The question arises because the Hallmark Channel will devote its entire weekend to celebrating Lucille Ball's 100th birthday by airing 96 consecutive episodes of “I Love Lucy” (6 a.m., Saturday, through 6 a.m., Monday).
“Lucy” was the first huge sitcom hit and attracted an astounding 67 percent audience share during the 1952-3 season. It was also the first to be shot with three cameras and among the first to be taped for later showing, virtually inventing the notion of the rerun.
At a time when repeats of “Home Improvement” can seem fairly ancient, these old black-and-white comedies hold up. Much of that has to do with the cast and characters. And it's fortunate that “Lucy” didn't trade in topical humor. Many of its episodes were broadcast when Harry Truman was still president.
– Michael Ian Black has lived his entire life inside quotation marks. OK, make that his professional life. A veteran of TV shows “The State” and “Stella,” he's earned a steady paycheck wrapping the ironic in the obvious. Or is that the other way around? Remember NBC's cheap summer show “Spy TV”? He was the first host back in 2001. He's done more installments of VH1's “I Love the ...” franchise than I've ever watched, and he was a part of pop culture dot.com financial bubble history as the voice of the Pets.com sock puppet!
Fans can catch up on Black's snarky take on things with “Michael Ian Black: Very Famous” (11 p.m., Saturday, Comedy Central).
– Like a wreck on the highway, some things demand attention. I'm referring to “Hillbilly Handfishin'” (10 p.m., Sunday, Animal Planet). It invites viewers to spend 12 one-hour episodes in muddy creeks, rivers and swimmin' holes where Oklahoma natives teach city slickers the lost art of “noodling.” Or is that “noodlin'”?
What's noodling? It's a process of sticking your entire arm or leg in an unseen hole in a river floor or muddy bank to coax giant catfish to bite you so you can catch them by hand. Our hosts attribute this skill to Native American secret lore. But it looks like it dates back to the Stone Age.
Every week, Oklahoma hand fishermen and self-proclaimed hillbillies Skipper Bivins and Trent Jackson invite clients from cities and suburbs to try something “different.” In episode one, two Chicago cops, a Boston barmaid and a personal trainer join a brother-sister team from California to try their hand (and feet) at noodlin'. They can safely say that it's an entirely new experience.
Viewers in search of the least glamorous, most un-Bravo-like vacation setting imaginable should check this out at least once. This dusty corner of Oklahoma makes the environs celebrated on “Truck Stop, Missouri” look like Versailles.
Members of the chambers of commerce in unloved and un-visited locations should study “Hillbilly Handfishin'.” If these guys can attract paying tourists to bleak, brown, snake-invested waters, then what's your excuse?
– The new series “Curiosity” (8 p.m., Sunday, Discovery) employs celebrity names to host one-hour installments that ponder big questions. Director Eli Roth (“Hostel”) will examine the nature of evil. Actress Maggie Gyllenhaal hosts an hour on the evolution of human sexuality. Morgan Freeman will be your guide to the notion of parallel worlds. Morgan Spurlock takes the “raw” diet craze to its extremes and examines the health impact of living like a caveman. Maybe he should go “Hillbilly Handfishin'”!
Things kick off with astrophysicist Stephen Hawking, who asks, “Did God Create the Universe?” The one-hour episode uses computer graphics and scholarly interviews to discuss not only the nature and origins of the Big Bang, but the long and contentious relationship between faith and science.
– After a short life of cruel social climbing, a prom queen dies in a sudden accident, sparking the supernatural plot to “Teen Spirit” (7 p.m., Sunday, ABC Family). Amber (Cassie Scerbo) discovers that priorities are different in the afterlife and sets out to intervene in the fate of a shy and unpopular girl, the kind she used to demean or ignore. The moral of the story: Some popular girls would rather die than be nice.
“Lucy” was the first huge sitcom hit and attracted an astounding 67 percent audience share during the 1952-3 season. It was also the first to be shot with three cameras and among the first to be taped for later showing, virtually inventing the notion of the rerun.
At a time when repeats of “Home Improvement” can seem fairly ancient, these old black-and-white comedies hold up. Much of that has to do with the cast and characters. And it's fortunate that “Lucy” didn't trade in topical humor. Many of its episodes were broadcast when Harry Truman was still president.
– Michael Ian Black has lived his entire life inside quotation marks. OK, make that his professional life. A veteran of TV shows “The State” and “Stella,” he's earned a steady paycheck wrapping the ironic in the obvious. Or is that the other way around? Remember NBC's cheap summer show “Spy TV”? He was the first host back in 2001. He's done more installments of VH1's “I Love the ...” franchise than I've ever watched, and he was a part of pop culture dot.com financial bubble history as the voice of the Pets.com sock puppet!
Fans can catch up on Black's snarky take on things with “Michael Ian Black: Very Famous” (11 p.m., Saturday, Comedy Central).
– Like a wreck on the highway, some things demand attention. I'm referring to “Hillbilly Handfishin'” (10 p.m., Sunday, Animal Planet). It invites viewers to spend 12 one-hour episodes in muddy creeks, rivers and swimmin' holes where Oklahoma natives teach city slickers the lost art of “noodling.” Or is that “noodlin'”?
What's noodling? It's a process of sticking your entire arm or leg in an unseen hole in a river floor or muddy bank to coax giant catfish to bite you so you can catch them by hand. Our hosts attribute this skill to Native American secret lore. But it looks like it dates back to the Stone Age.
Every week, Oklahoma hand fishermen and self-proclaimed hillbillies Skipper Bivins and Trent Jackson invite clients from cities and suburbs to try something “different.” In episode one, two Chicago cops, a Boston barmaid and a personal trainer join a brother-sister team from California to try their hand (and feet) at noodlin'. They can safely say that it's an entirely new experience.
Viewers in search of the least glamorous, most un-Bravo-like vacation setting imaginable should check this out at least once. This dusty corner of Oklahoma makes the environs celebrated on “Truck Stop, Missouri” look like Versailles.
Members of the chambers of commerce in unloved and un-visited locations should study “Hillbilly Handfishin'.” If these guys can attract paying tourists to bleak, brown, snake-invested waters, then what's your excuse?
– The new series “Curiosity” (8 p.m., Sunday, Discovery) employs celebrity names to host one-hour installments that ponder big questions. Director Eli Roth (“Hostel”) will examine the nature of evil. Actress Maggie Gyllenhaal hosts an hour on the evolution of human sexuality. Morgan Freeman will be your guide to the notion of parallel worlds. Morgan Spurlock takes the “raw” diet craze to its extremes and examines the health impact of living like a caveman. Maybe he should go “Hillbilly Handfishin'”!
Things kick off with astrophysicist Stephen Hawking, who asks, “Did God Create the Universe?” The one-hour episode uses computer graphics and scholarly interviews to discuss not only the nature and origins of the Big Bang, but the long and contentious relationship between faith and science.
– After a short life of cruel social climbing, a prom queen dies in a sudden accident, sparking the supernatural plot to “Teen Spirit” (7 p.m., Sunday, ABC Family). Amber (Cassie Scerbo) discovers that priorities are different in the afterlife and sets out to intervene in the fate of a shy and unpopular girl, the kind she used to demean or ignore. The moral of the story: Some popular girls would rather die than be nice.
SATURDAY'S HIGHLIGHTS
– A boy with glasses makes good the 2005 sequel “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire” (8 p.m., ABC, TV-PG).
– A mom leads her family on a quest to find her missing husband in the 2011 drama “Who is Simon Miller?” (8 p.m., NBC, TV-PG).
– Desert mutants show little mercy in the 2007 sequel “The Hills Have Eyes 2” (9 p.m., Syfy, TV-14).
– Liza Minnelli, Jack Deem and James McAvoy appear on “The Graham Norton Show” (10 p.m., BBC America, TV-MA).
SUNDAY'S HIGHLIGHTS
– Scheduled on “60 Minutes” (7 p.m., CBS): more housing woes; Paul Allen, the bitter billionaire; Eminem.
– Tom Brokaw interviews families of returning servicemen on “The Road Back” on “Dateline” (7 p.m., NBC).
– Kaley Cuoco hosts “Teen Choice 2011” (8 p.m., Fox).
– An over-moussed host crosses the pond on “Ty's Great British Adventure” (8 p.m., ABC).
– Marnie summons dark powers on “True Blood” (9 p.m., HBO, TV-MA).
– The Cartel asserts itself on “Breaking Bad” (10 p.m., AMC, TV-MA).
– The rebels attempt to take the fight to the invaders on “Falling Skies” (10 p.m., TNT, TV-14).
– Wedding plans scuttled on “In Plain Sight” (10 p.m., USA).
– A popular teacher doesn't live to make tenure on “The Glades” (10 p.m., A&E, TV-14).
– Larry draws a line in the sand at a buffet table on “Curb Your Enthusiasm” (10 p.m., HBO, TV-MA).
– “Behind the Music” (10 p.m., VH1) profiles “Idol” sensation Adam Lambert.
– A producer emerges for Vince's miner movie on “Entourage” (10:30 p.m., HBO, TV-MA).
– A boy with glasses makes good the 2005 sequel “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire” (8 p.m., ABC, TV-PG).
– A mom leads her family on a quest to find her missing husband in the 2011 drama “Who is Simon Miller?” (8 p.m., NBC, TV-PG).
– Desert mutants show little mercy in the 2007 sequel “The Hills Have Eyes 2” (9 p.m., Syfy, TV-14).
– Liza Minnelli, Jack Deem and James McAvoy appear on “The Graham Norton Show” (10 p.m., BBC America, TV-MA).
SUNDAY'S HIGHLIGHTS
– Scheduled on “60 Minutes” (7 p.m., CBS): more housing woes; Paul Allen, the bitter billionaire; Eminem.
– Tom Brokaw interviews families of returning servicemen on “The Road Back” on “Dateline” (7 p.m., NBC).
– Kaley Cuoco hosts “Teen Choice 2011” (8 p.m., Fox).
– An over-moussed host crosses the pond on “Ty's Great British Adventure” (8 p.m., ABC).
– Marnie summons dark powers on “True Blood” (9 p.m., HBO, TV-MA).
– The Cartel asserts itself on “Breaking Bad” (10 p.m., AMC, TV-MA).
– The rebels attempt to take the fight to the invaders on “Falling Skies” (10 p.m., TNT, TV-14).
– Wedding plans scuttled on “In Plain Sight” (10 p.m., USA).
– A popular teacher doesn't live to make tenure on “The Glades” (10 p.m., A&E, TV-14).
– Larry draws a line in the sand at a buffet table on “Curb Your Enthusiasm” (10 p.m., HBO, TV-MA).
– “Behind the Music” (10 p.m., VH1) profiles “Idol” sensation Adam Lambert.
– A producer emerges for Vince's miner movie on “Entourage” (10:30 p.m., HBO, TV-MA).
CULT CHOICE
Actresses share a boarding house as well as dreams in the 1937 melodrama “Stage Door” (8 p.m., Saturday, TCM), featuring a who's who of acting greats, including Katharine Hepburn, Ginger Rogers, Eve Arden, Ann Miller and today's birthday girl, Lucille Ball.
Actresses share a boarding house as well as dreams in the 1937 melodrama “Stage Door” (8 p.m., Saturday, TCM), featuring a who's who of acting greats, including Katharine Hepburn, Ginger Rogers, Eve Arden, Ann Miller and today's birthday girl, Lucille Ball.
SATURDAY SERIES
Murder at a sugar plantation on “CSI: Miami” (8 p.m., CBS, r, TV-14) ... On back-to-back episodes of “Cops” (Fox, r, TV-14, D, L): tow truck madness (8 p.m.), rock throwers (8:30 p.m.).
Amnesia strikes on “Hawaii Five-O” (9 p.m., CBS, r, TV-14) ... Halloween on “Family Guy” (9 p.m., Fox, r, TV-14, D, S) ... More Halloween on “The Cleveland Show” (9:30 p.m., Fox, r, TV-14).
Murder at a sugar plantation on “CSI: Miami” (8 p.m., CBS, r, TV-14) ... On back-to-back episodes of “Cops” (Fox, r, TV-14, D, L): tow truck madness (8 p.m.), rock throwers (8:30 p.m.).
Amnesia strikes on “Hawaii Five-O” (9 p.m., CBS, r, TV-14) ... Halloween on “Family Guy” (9 p.m., Fox, r, TV-14, D, S) ... More Halloween on “The Cleveland Show” (9:30 p.m., Fox, r, TV-14).
A woman's tale of a teen intruder falls under scrutiny on “Law & Order: SVU” (10 p.m., NBC, r, TV-14).
SUNDAY SERIES
“Big Brother” (8 p.m., CBS, TV-14) ... “It's Worth What?” (8 p.m., NBC).
“Big Brother” (8 p.m., CBS, TV-14) ... “It's Worth What?” (8 p.m., NBC).
Mike Tyson meets his namesake on “Same Name” (9 p.m., CBS, TV-PG) ... Two hours of “The Marriage Ref” (9 p.m. and 10 p.m., NBC) ... A murder mystery becomes a kidnapping case on “Castle” (9 p.m., ABC, r, TV-14) ... Murder makes a delivery on “CSI: Miami” (10 p.m., CBS, r, TV-14, V) ... Megan puts a funeral on hold on “Body of Proof” (10 p.m., ABC, r, TV-14).
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