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A look at this week’s top TV draws |
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WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 15 |
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Time |
Network |
Program |
Description |
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7 a.m. |
NBC |
“Today” (N) |
Random fact: “Today” has placed first for 569 straight weeks in a.m. news. |
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8 p.m. |
ABC |
“Dancing with the Stars” (R) |
Season finale, part two. Could be record ratings as people tune in to see who won, the ex-running back or the ex-best friend of Zach. (You know, “Saved by the Bell!”) |
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9 p.m. |
ABC |
“Day Break” (D) |
Series premiere. Whew, now that the show is finally on, maybe ABC will cool it with the every-commercial-break promos. Though there are worse things than looking at Taye Diggs. |
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9 p.m. |
BET |
“BET Hip-Hop Awards” (A) |
Comic Katt Williams hosts. People tune in to see if Kanye West will lose it again if he loses. |
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10 p.m. |
MTV |
“Laguna Beach” (R) |
Season finale. The big question: Which season had the most interesting kids, one, two or three? |
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10 p.m. |
TV Land |
“I Pity the Fool” (R) |
Season finale. If you haven’t sent a Mr. T-mail yet from TV Land’s site, better do it soon. |
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10 p.m. |
NBC |
“Medium” (D) |
Season premiere. The drama returns for its third year, taking the place of new drama flop “Kidnapped.” |
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THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 16 |
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Time |
Network |
Program |
Description |
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3 p.m. |
ABC |
“General Hospital” (DD) |
Twenty-five years ago, 30 million people watched Laura marry Luke. Today they celebrate two and a half rocky decades by getting remarried. |
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8 p.m. |
NBC |
“My Name is Earl” (C) |
Supersized episode 1: After Randy eats an herbal ointment, he begins seeing Earl and the gang as claymation figures. But will the California Raisins show up? |
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8:36 p.m. |
NBC |
“The Office” (C) |
Reunited and viewers feel so good: Pam and Jim are back in the same episode after Dunder-Mifflin continues with its consolidation plans in supersized episode 2. |
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9 p.m. |
CBS |
“CSI” (D) |
Freaky: Twin sisters who were unaware of each other’s existence, a la “The Parent Trap,” are murdered the same night in a decidedly un-Hayley Mills-like twist. |
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9:20 p.m. |
NBC |
“30 Rock” (C) |
Supersized episode 3: “30 Rock” joins the Thursday lineup with Jack taking Tracy to a celebrity golf tournament. But can its awful ratings improve opposite “CSI” and “Grey’s Anatomy?” |
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10 p.m. |
ABC |
“Barbara Walters: 30 Mistakes in 30 Years” (A) |
“The View” matriarch dishes on celebrity interviews and their bloopers in this sweeps special. |
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11:35 p.m. |
CBS |
“Late Show with David Letterman” (T) |
The always-classy, and always funny, Ellen DeGeneres stops by. |
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FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 17 |
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Time |
Network |
Program |
Description |
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7:30 p.m. |
Speed |
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series (S) |
The season finale of the series is held in Homestead, Fla. |
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9 p.m. |
CMT |
“Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders: Making the Team” (R) |
Season finale. Presumably, we find out who made the team. |
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9 p.m. |
7:30 p.m. |
College Hoops Classic (S) |
Championship game, teams TBD. |
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10 p.m. |
USA |
“Monk” (D) |
This should explain a lot: Monk’s absentee father shows up for the holidays in a special episode. |
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11 p.m. |
HBO |
“Real Time with Bill Maher” (C) |
Season finale. The elections are over, the Democrats won … so Bill signs off, too. |
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11:35 p.m. |
CBS |
“Late Show with David Letterman” (T) |
Because the 2008 election is just around the corner, John Edwards stops by. |
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SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 18 |
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Time |
Network |
Program |
Description |
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Noon |
ESPN |
College Football: Michigan State at Penn State (S) |
Will Joe Paterno’s broken bone keep him off the field for a second straight week? |
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3:30 p.m. |
CBS |
College Football: Auburn at Alabama (S) |
Always a fierce SEC showdown. |
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8 p.m. |
CMT |
“Giants” (T) |
Series premiere. Each week, a country music great is feted. This week it’s Reba McEntire, whose sitcom is also returning to the CW on Sunday starting tomorrow. |
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9 p.m. |
TBS and HBO |
“Comic Relief 2006” (A) |
The long-running special returns. |
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11:30 p.m. |
NBC |
“Saturday Night Live” (T) |
Ludacris hosts and performs. |
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SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 19 |
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Time |
Network |
Program |
Description |
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Noon |
NBC |
Women’s Golf: ADT Championship |
Final round of the ADT, which took 32 players, cut that in half after round two, and now has just eight players left in this final round. |
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1 p.m. |
CBS |
NFL: Colts at Cowboys (S) |
Which Cowboys squad will show up, the one that beat the Panthers or the one that lost to the Redskins? |
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7 p.m. |
CW |
“Reba” (C) |
Season premiere. Yep, it is back. |
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8 p.m. |
History Channel |
“Desperate Crossing: The Untold Story of the Mayflower” (N) |
Impress your family with some obscure Pilgrim trivia on Thursday. |
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8:15 p.m. |
NBC |
“Sunday Night Football” (S) |
In NBC’s second flexible scheduling game, the Broncos face the Chargers. |
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9 p.m. |
Discovery |
“Koppel on Discovery” (N) |
Ted Koppel’s second Discovery special focuses on “Iran—The Most Dangerous Nation.” |
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9 p.m. |
PBS |
“Prime Suspect: The Final Act” (D) |
The conclusion of Helen Mirren’s last appearance as Jane Tennison. |
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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. |
