It’s a long weekend, so try something new—Low Winter Sun, perhaps
Here’s what’s up in the world of TV for Sunday, September 1. All times are Eastern.
TOP PICK
Low Winter Sun (AMC, 10 p.m.): Labor Day weekend is the unofficial last blast of summer, so why not mark the occasion by doing something a little out of the ordinary? Have a party on the roof, set up a Slip ’N Slide on a staircase, or maybe, just maybe, do something totally crazy like watch Low Winter Sun! The series critics hail as “The best 30 minutes you can spend waiting for a preview of a show you actually want to watch—after which there’s half an hour of an okay cop show” is running virtually unopposed tonight, so there’s never been a better time to dive right into this competently constructed crime drama. You only live once—why not live for 60 minutes with the series The A.V. Club’s own Dennis Perkins calls “decent”?
REGULAR COVERAGE
Breaking Bad (AMC, 9 p.m.): Tonight’s episode is called “Rabid Dog,” with calls back to season four’s “Problem Dog”—in which Jesse uses that titular term in a euphemism for some particularly dastardly doings. We won’t say which dastardly doings (or advance any theories about connections between the episodes) because we like Donna Bowman too much to expose her to the ire of the Spoiler Police.
TV CLUB CLASSIC
Saturday Night Live (Classic) (1 p.m.): The first-season SNL crew’s desire to rip TV up and start again meets head on with its reverence for the medium’s first Golden Age in an episode hosted by Desi Arnaz. PHIL DYESS-NUGENT! You’ve got some explaining to do!
The Simpsons (Classic) (3 p.m.): Erik Adams arrives at the third part of the “Where do Simpsons come from?” trilogy, “And Maggie Makes Three”—which he dares to argue is the best of these classic-era flashback episodes. How dare he say such preposterous things! Grab the pitchforks and torches and run him out of Internet Town!