On the last Saturday night before Valentine’s Day, there are a number of hearts and flowers in the programming, particularly with an original TV movie, “Be My Valentine” (Hallmark, 9 p.m.).
Billy Baldwin stars as a Boston firefighter and widower who begins dating a florist. It’s painful to watch he and his son trying to navigate their dating worlds. The love interest has some low wattage appeal, but Natalie Brown is upstaged somewhat by her friend Lisa Berry.
Lightweight stuff, but it’s hard to get past that constant sub-Baldwin smirk.
It’s preceded by a 2011 effort from the greeting card channel, “The Lost Valentine” (Hallmark, 7 p.m.).
Of the other romantic comedies on tonight, “Love Actually” (HBO Signature, 6:40 p.m.) is actually more about Christmastime.
Likewise “Red” (Showtime, 7 p.m.) isn’t about Valentine’s Day; neither is “Red Riding Hood” (HBO Signature, 9 p.m.).
But there is a mashup of the two “Peanuts” specials on the holiday, the 1975 “Be My Valentine, Charlie Brown” (ABC, 8 p.m.) and the 2002 “A Charlie Brown Valentine” (ABC, 8:30 p.m.). It was a holiday that never produced its own Great Pumpkin or Charlie Brown tree for the cartoon, but there was that universal yearning for the Little Red Haired Girl.
They precede a network showcase for the 2010 animated hit “Despicable Me” (ABC, 9 p.m.) to show perhaps how far the form advanced over the years.
In the night’s other original movie, “Twist of Faith” (Lifetime, 8 p.m.), David Julian Hirsh plays an Orthodox cantor travels from Brooklyn to Alabama for a new life after a big tragedy and finds himself immersed in the gospel music world there. Toni Braxton and Mykelti Williamson also star and she gets to sing quite a bit more than she does on the reality show on the same network.
To set the stage for tomorrow’s Grammys, CBS recalls the tragedy and the adjustments that had to be made at last year’s event after the death of Whitney Houston in “The Grammys Will Go On: A Death in the Family” (CBS, 9 p.m.). Among the interviewees are host L.L. Cool J, Bonnie Raitt, Bruno Mars, Taylor Swift, Katy Perry, Jennifer Hudson, Dave Grohl and Bruce Springsteen.
Season four highlights of “America Ninja Warrior” (NBC, 8 p.m.) makes for a one-time special; season five is set for this summer.
New films on premium cable tonight are by and large terrible: the board game adaptation “Battleship” (Fox, 8 p.m.) with Rihanna and Taylor Kitsch; the crass “That’s My Boy” (Starz, 9 p.m.) with Adam Sandler and Andy Samberg; and the martial arts film “Dragon Eyes” (Cinemax, 10 p.m.) with Jean-Claude Van Damme and Cung Le.
Those awaiting the return of “Veep” in April may like seeing Armando Iannucci’s full-length political satire from 2009, “In the Loop” (Sundance, 8 p.m.).
The 20th Century Fox Oscar winners and nominees continue their showcase on Turner Classic Movies; tonight, from the 1950s: “Viva Zapata!” (8 p.m.), “The Robe” (10 p.m.), “Three Coins in the Fountain” (12:30 a.m.), “The Three Faces of Eve” (2:30 a.m.) and “The Snake Pit” (4:15 a.m.).
Hockey includes Pittsburgh at New Jersey (NHL, 1 p.m.), Phoenix at San Jose (NHL, 4 p.m.) and Toronto at Montreal (NHL, 7 p.m.).
Men’s college hoops includes Temple at Dayton (ESPNU, 11 a.m.), Michigan at Wisconsin (ESPN, noon), Florida State at Wake Forest (ESPN2, noon), Mississippi at Missouri (CBS, 1 p.m.), Akron at Miami, Ohio (ESPNU, 1 p.m.), Delaware at George Mason (CBS Sports, 2 p.m.), North Carolina at Miami (ESPN, 2 p.m.), St. Joseph’s at Massachusetts (ESPN2, 2 p.m.), South Florida at Villanova (ESPNU, 3 p.m.), Kansas at Oklahoma (ESPN, 4 p.m.), Valparaiso at Cleveland State (ESPN2, 4 p.m.), Memphis at Southern Mississippi (CBS Sports, 4 p.m.), Texas A&M at Georgia (ESPNU, 5 p.m.), Pittsburgh at Cincinnati (ESPN, 6 p.m.), Iowa State at Kansas State (CBS Sports, 6 p.m.), Fresno State at San Diego State (CBS Sports, 6 p.m.), Stanford at Arizona State (ESPNU, 7 p.m.), LSU at Alabama (ESPN2, 8 p.m.), Louisville at Notre Dame (ESPN, 9 p.m.), New Meico at UNLV (NBC Sports, 9 p.m.), Penn State at Nebraska (ESPNU, 9 p.m.), Illinois State at Creighton (ESPN2, 10 p.m.) and St. Mary’s, Calif. at San Diego (ESPNU, 11 p.m.).
In women’s games, it’s San Diego State at Fresno State (CBS Sports, 8 p.m.).
Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros play a new “Austin City Limits” (PBS, 9 p.m., check local listings).
Justin Bieber is host and musical guest on a new “Saturday Night Live” (NBC, 11:30 p.m.).