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Best tube bets
this weekend

Top draws on broadcast and cable and in sports

By Louisa Ada Seltzer
Oct 23, 2009

FRIDAY

Best bet on broadcast: NBC, “The Jay Leno Show,” 10 p.m. First Lady Michelle Obama makes an appearance.

Best bet on cable: Disney Channel, “Suite Life on Deck,” 8:30 p.m. Zack, Cody and Marcus try to write a song for Jordin Sparks.

Top sporting event: MyNetworkTV, “Friday Night Smackdown,” 8 p.m. CM Punk takes on the Undertaker in WWE’s first-ever World Heavyweight Championship submission match.

SATURDAY

Best bet on broadcast: CBS, “48 Hours Mystery,” 10 p.m. Investigating a 2002 murder in Topeka, Kan.

Best bet on cable: HBO, “Milk,” 8 p.m. Sean Penn’s Oscar-winning performance as politician Harvey Milk.

Top sporting event: ABC, “College Football,” 3:30 p.m. An important Big Ten game between Penn State and Michigan.

SUNDAY

Best bet on broadcast: CBS, “The Amazing Race,” 8 p.m. The teams head to Dubai, United Arab Emirates, for the next leg of the race.

Best bet on cable: MTV, “P. Diddy’s StarMaker,” 10 p.m. Season finale. The final three have a last rehearsal before Diddy picks the winner.

Top sporting event: NBC, “Sunday Night Football,” 8:15 p.m. The Giants try to bounce back from last week's first loss of the season against the Cardinals.

A look at this week’s top TV draws
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 23
Time	Network	Program	Description
7 a.m.	NBC	“Today” (N)	Country star Tim McGraw performs.
8 p.m.	CBS	“Ghost Whisperer” (D)	Melinda helps a man who thinks his sister is haunting him.
8 p.m.	CW	“Smallville” (D)	Oliver is kidnapped and later he’s jailed for murder.
8 p.m.	Disney Channel	“Wizards of Waverly Place” (K)	Justin tries to complete wizard training by becoming a monster hunter.
9 p.m.	CBS	“Medium” (D)	Joe thinks Allison is overly concerned with a kidnapped boy.
10 p.m.	USA	“White Collar” (D)	Series premiere. A con man helps solve white collar crimes in order to avoid jail time.
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 24
Time	Network	Program	Description
3:30 p.m.	NBC	“College Football” (S)	Notre Dame tries to beat Boston College for the first time since 2000.
7:30 p.m.	ESPN	“College Football” (S)	SEC game between Florida and Mississippi State.
7:30 p.m.	Versus	“College Football” (S)	A game between two good-but-overlooked teams: BYU and TCU.
8 p.m.	Fox	“Cops” (R)	Cops in Vegas try to chase down a stolen car.
9 p.m.	CBS	“48 Hours Mystery” (N)	The first of back-to-back episodes.
10:15 p.m.	HBO	“Pacquiao/Cotto 24/7” (S)	First episode in the buildup to the big Pacquiao/Cotto fight.
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 25
Time	Network	Program	Description
1:30 p.m.	ABC	“NASCAR Racing” (S)	A Sprint Cup race from Martinsville, Va.
8:15 p.m.	NBC	“Sunday Night Football” (S)	The Cardinals travel to the Big Apple to take on the Giants.
9 p.m.	ABC	“Desperate Housewives” (D)	Gaby does whatever she can do to prove that she’s a good mother.
9 p.m.	HBO	“Curb Your Enthusiasm” (C)	Larry and Jerry kick around ideas for the “Seinfeld” reunion.
9 p.m.	Showtime	“Dexter” (D)	Dexter tries to solve the Trinity Killer case by himself.
10 p.m.	AMC	“Mad Men” (D)	A key client returns to Sterling Cooper.
10 p.m.	VH1	“My Antonio” (R)	Season (and hopefully series) finale. Antonio selects his winner.
A = awards show or special, C = comedy, D = drama, DD = daytime drama, G = game show, K = kids, M = movie, N = news/documentary, R = reality, S = sports, T = talk/variety show.