Apparently there’s a football game on tonight. Baltimore vs. San Francisco (CBS, 6:25 p.m.) represents Super Bowl XLVII. It’s not just the game, though; it’s the other fuss, the overdone commercials, Beyonce’s halftime show.
Everything else is counter-programming, including the Puppy Bowl (Animal Planet, 3 p.m.), whose advances include hedgehog cheering squads.
The most tempting offering should the game be bad is “Downton Abbey” at a particularly tender time, following last week’s tragedy on “Masterpiece Classic” (PBS, 9 p.m., check local listings). And that episode from last week is on at 8.
The slot after the Super Bowl is thought to be a plum, but I think many will be too tired to watch a new episode of “Elementary” (CBS, about 10 p.m.). It’s the only new scripted show on network TV all night.
“The First Five Years of Saturday Night Live” (NBC, 9 p.m.) is a two hour special with highlights from the 1970s.
This week’s episodes of “Girls” (HBO, 10 p.m.) and “Enlightened” (HBO, 10:30 p.m.) aired early just so they wouldn’t compete with the Super Bowl. but they are also on in their regular times. In the former, Shoshanna discovers someting about all the time Ray’s been spending at her place. On the latter, action shifts back to the office, where Amy has recruited an unexpected ally.
Many network mark the day with marathons for “The Walking Dead” (AMC, 3 p.m.) and “Storage Wars: Texas” (A&E, 6 p.m.).
Oscar nominated films from Warner Bros. in the 1960s are on Turner Classic Movies tonight, with “The Music Man” (8 p.m.), “My Fair Lady” (11 p.m.), “Wait Until Dark” (2 a.m.) and “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” (4 a.m.).
There are other sports occurring as well. In the NBA, it’s Clippers at Celtics (NBA, 1 p.m.); in the NHL, Pittsburgh at Washington (NBC, 12:30 p.m.).
Men’s college hoops includes Marquette at Louisville (ESPN, 2 p.m.) and Virginia at Georgia Tech (ESPNU, 3 p.m.). In women’s games, Dayton at Richmond (ESPNU, 11 a.m.) and Duke at North Carolina (ESPNU, 1 p.m.).
Sunday Talk
ABC: Sen. Harry Reid, former Washington D.C. school chancellor Michelle Rhee, Rep. Lou Barletta, Matthew Dowd. CBS: NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell. NBC: Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff. CNN: Panetta, Dempsey, former White House adviser Melody Barnes, former labor secretary Elaine Chao, former Sen. George Allen. Fox News: NRA CEO Wayne LaPierre, retired Capt. Mark Kelly, former Romney adviser Kevin Madden, former Sen. Evan Bayh.