Here’s what’s up in the world of TV for Friday, September 6, and Saturday, September 7. All times are Eastern.
TOP PICK
Do No Harm (NBC, 10 p.m., Friday) NBC aired only two episodes of Do No Harm back in February before pulling the plug and sending this medical drama down the drain like the filth from a surgeon’s hands as he scrubs in after a night of debauchery brought on by his evil alter ego who is only conscious from 8:25 p.m. to 8:25 a.m. With such a simple, solid, relatable premise, it’s shocking that the series set a record as the lowest-rated scripted drama on a Big Four network. NBC's summer burn-off of this modern day Jekyll & Hyde adaptation comes to an end with the appropriately titled episode, “This Is How It Ends,” although that title is now tinged with a sense of ironic sadness. Kind of like the ironic sadness a neurosurgeon with an evil, rigidly-scheduled alternate personality might feel.
REGULAR COVERAGE
Comedy Bang! Bang! (IFC, 10 p.m., Friday): Comedy Bang! Bang! is the latest in the Bill Hader whirlwind tour that has seen the comedian bidding farewell to SNL, costarring in The To Do List, podcasting with Marc Maron, and roasting James Franco. David Sims will be watching this episode in his Bill Hader t-shirt, drinking from his Bill Hader souvenir mug, and hugging his plushy Bill Hader as he wonders if Bill Hader is a little overexposed these days.
Strike Back (Cinemax, 10 p.m., Friday): After taking off the Labor Day weekend—presumably for a cookout and a game of horseshoes—Section 20 is back to shoot guns and blow stuff up. Myles McNutt checks in on episodes three and four and reports back on the guns, the explosions, and who won the hot dog eating contest at the Labor Day BBQ.
Borgen (LinkTV, 1 a.m., Saturday) In the first half of Borgen’s first two-part episode, Birgitte must decide whether to intervene in a civil war in an African republic. Intervention in a foreign country has been a hot-button topic in the news lately, but this episode originally aired in Denmark back in 2011. While this coincidence is most likely due to the cyclical nature of the moral and ethical dilemmas of political leaders, Todd VanDerWerff has a theory that the creators of Borgen are actually time travelers who write about events that will take place two years in the future (kind of like a reverse Newsroom).
TV CLUB CLASSIC
Babylon 5 (11 a.m., Friday): Rowan Kaiser’s coverage of Babylon 5’s third season comes to a close as Sheridan’s supposedly-dead wife returns to take him to the Shadow homeworld, Z’ha’dum. On a related note, Rowan is looking to sell his timeshare on Z’ha’dum. The massively destructive dust storms are a tad annoying, but the mountain views are lovely!