Animal Planet dares rank the top 20 puppies; prepare your torches and pitchforks
Here’s what’s up in the world of TV for Friday, August 23, and Saturday, August 24. All times are Eastern.
TOP PICK
Too Cute! (Animal Planet, 8 p.m., Saturday): You know What’s On Tonight loves a good countdown, and on this long, mostly television-free weekend, Animal Planet has come up with a doozy: It’s going to count down the top 20 puppies. Are these the top 20 puppies of all time? The top 20 puppies of right now? The top 20 kinds of puppies? The top 20 puppies you haven’t heard of yet? We don’t know yet, and we don’t know how Animal Planet would have accomplished any of those well-nigh Herculean tasks. But stick around after the puppy countdown is over. The next episode? “Puffy Beach Kitties.” Yes.
REGULAR COVERAGE
Comedy Bang! Bang! (IFC, 10 p.m., Friday): Andy Richter drops by to have a nice time with everybody on the show, and maybe he’ll offer up some talk show advice to the gang. Like… don’t leave a steady gig to make it in Hollywood, because those things often end poorly. David Sims just loved Quintuplets.
Borgen (LinkTV, 1 a.m., Saturday): When’s Birgitte gonna get this damn bill passed? If she wants to make her mark on the nation of Denmark, she’s gotta reform the welfare system or… something. We don’t entirely understand it. Todd VanDerWerff just knows something’s rotten in the Denmark state.
TV CLUB CLASSIC
Babylon 5 (11 a.m., Friday): One of this week’s episodes is called “Grey 17 Is Missing,” and all Rowan Kaiser wants to know is where it went. Actually, since he’s actually watched this episode, he probably knows where it went. But he’s not telling us, because he’s pretty much just an asshole that way.
Wonderfalls (3 p.m., Friday): With just two episodes left, Jaye has learned why the tchotchkes of the world have chosen her as their mouthpiece, and Les Chappell found the moment appropriately emotional when it arrived. He was so moved he spent several hours crying over a salt shaker afterward.
The Twilight Zone (1 p.m., Saturday): Goddammit, people who live in The Twilight Zone! When will you learn to stop making deals with the devil? Todd VanDerWerff has seen this exact scenario play out so many times, and it never ends well for you. Then again, he’s pretty sure he could outsmart ol’ Scratch.
WHAT ELSE IS ON
The Definitive Guide To Aliens (Science, 8 p.m., Friday): The Science Channel is airing two hours of this, which is good, because we need to be more definitive about our aliens nowadays. After all, if cable television doesn’t expose us to the reptilians David Icke has been warning us about, then who will?
Perfect Score (The CW, 8 p.m., Friday): A pair of 30-year-old friends are in a race to get married, which sounds like an excellent way to meet the person who will make you happy for the rest of your life and not a good way to find someone who might make you happy for a little while before the sadness sets in.