For decades the pinnacle of the week’s TV programming, Saturday is such a poor night for watching, that even on premiere week, when new shows and fresh episodes of returning favorites suddenly brighten the schedule every other night of the week, there still isn’t a thing of interest on prime time network TV. Unless you’re into college football. (Because, astoundingly, there are no new shows planned for the night, there is also no Fall TV lineup for Saturdays on the blog today).
The one big of non-sports programming is the 26th season premiere of “48 Hours” (CBS, 10 p.m.) concentrating on the murder of two California teens (pictured here) that happened even before the show was on the air, 32 years ago and DNA evidence that took a decade to investigate.
The prime time network football is Wisconsin at Ohio State (ABC, 8 p.m.) and Arizona at Washington (Fox, 7 p.m.). The returns are same week replays of shows that premiered earlier this week: “The Crazy Ones” (CBS, 8 p.m.), “Chicago Fire” (NBC, 8 p.m.), “Mom” (CBS, 8:30 p.m.), “Hostages” (CBS, 9 p.m.), “The Blacklist” (NBC, 9 p.m.) and a replay of the Melissa McCarthy hosted “Saturday Night Live” (NBC, 10 p.m.) with Phoenix to get you ready for the evening’s main event:
A fresh episode of “Saturday Night Live” (NBC, 11:30 p.m.) kicks off its 39th (!) season with Tina Fey hosting, reminding you of the good old days earlier in the century and obscure the fact that six new cast members are spilling in, helping to replace the hole left by Bill Hader, Fred Armisen and Jason Sudeikis. New hires include Noel Wells, John Milhiser, Kyle Mooney, Mike O’Brien and Brooks Wheelan and Beck Bennett, who you know as the guy who talks to kids on the AT&T “It’s Not Complicated” ads.
A newcomer from last year Cicely Strong graduates from The Girl You Wish You Hadn’t Started a Conversation With at a Party to the co-anchor of Weekend Update with Seth Meyers who will likely split mid-season (or have a greatly reduced role) when he takes over the “Late Night” slot from Jimmy Fallon in January.
And making optimal use of season opening “SNL” musical guest Arcade Fire, the band will also play a live 30 minute concert after the show with the unimaginatively named “Arcade Fire Special” (NBC, 1 a.m.). Why did it take nearly four decades for them to come up with that idea?
The sequel of “Knocked Up,” “This is 40” (HBO, 8 p.m.) makes its premium cable premiere, with Paul Rudd, Leslie Mann and relatives of director Judd Apatow. Other big movies of note tonight include last year’s “Lincoln” (Showtime, 8 p.m.) and Robert Altman’s 1993 adaptation of Raymond Carver stories, “Short Cuts” (Sundance, 8 p.m.).
You may be disappointed to find that tonight’s new Lifetime movie “The Cheating Pact” (Lifetime, 8 p.m.) is about a ring of teenagers who conspire to cheat on their college entrance exam. When the one who agrees to take the test for three others and gets a low score, she’s found dead making the other three kids suspects. Among the cast is Jamie Luner of “All My Children” as a school counselor.
Saturday afternoon seems an odd day to get dropouts back to school but “American Graduate Day” (PBS, noon, check local listings) is a seven hour live event bent on tackling the high school dropout problems. Along the way, it involves Colin Powell, Chelsea Clinton, Bryant Gumble, Brian Williams, Mo Rocca and Mike Rowe, the guy from “Dirty Jobs.”
When it comes to Saturday afternoons and schools it’s all about college football (which may be part of the problem). At any rate, there’s a lot of it today with, at noon: Oklahoma State at West Virginia (ESPN), South Carolina at Central Florida (ABC), Miami at South Florida (ESPNU), Southern Methodist at Texas Christian (Fox Sports 1) and Northern Illinois at Purdue (ESPN2, noon).
At 3:30 p.m., the games include Oklahoma at Notre Dame (NBC), LSU at Georgia (CBS), Florida State at Boston College (ABC), Wake Forest at Clemson (ESPNU), UTEP at Colorado State (CBS Sports) and Iowa at Minnesota (ESPN2).
Then there is Army vs. Louisiana Tech (Fox Sports 1, 4 p.m.), Ole Miss at Alabama (ESPN, 6:30 p.m.), Texas A&M at Arkansas (ESPN2, 7 p.m.), Florida at Kentucky (ESPNU, 7 p.m.), Florida Atlantic at Rice (Fox College Sports, 7 p.m.), Brown at Harvard (NBC Sports Network, 7:30 p.m.), San Diego State at New Mexico State (Fox College Sports, 8 p.m.), Air Force at Nevada (CBS Sports, 8 p.m.), Stanford at Washington State (ESPN, 10 p.m.), Southern Mississippi at Boise State (ESPNU, 10:15 p.m.) and Southern California at Arizona State (ESPN2, 10:30 p.m.).
A big fan of “The Wizard of Oz” movie considers making his 5,000 piece collection into a museum on the series about superfans of movie memorabilia, “FanAddicts!” (Reelz, 11 p.m.). Adam West narrates.
A surprise party is planned on “Welcome to Sweetie Pie’s” (OWN, 9 p.m.).
The little known actress Peggy Cummins is celebrated on Turner Classic Movies with “Gun Crazy” (8 p.m.), the B-movie elebated to “essential” status by the network tonight, followed by “Hell Drivers” (9:45 p.m.) and “Curse of the Demon” (TCM, 11:45 p.m.).
The Jack White episode of “Austin City Limits” (PBS, 9 p.m., check local listings) is rerun again.