HBO, 8:00 p.m. ET
This 2019 movie entry in the Marvel X-Men universe was a relative disappointment, creatively as well as at the box office. The original comic-book arc on which it’s based, Chris Claremont’s “Dark Phoenix Saga” in which powerful mental mutant Jean Grey turns evil, is one of the most famous narratives in Marvel history. So getting it right should have been more of a priority, but Dark Phoenix, to succeed, might have required being darker than the Marvel movie universe would permit. In this film version, Sophie Turner plays Jean Grey, with James McAvoy as Prof. Xavier, Tye Sheridan as Cyclops, and Jessica Chastain as the film’s new, mysterious antagonist. It’s not a great movie – but Saturday night isn’t a great TV night, either.
TCM, 10:00 p.m. ET
Alan Arkin has an actor’s field day in this 1967 film adaptation of the Frederick Knott play, but I can’t tell you why without ruining one of this drama’s many surprises. So just tune in and watch – and turn off as many lights in your house as possible. Audrey Hepburn plays a blind woman who eventually becomes the target of a group of thieves and a home invasion. Suspense? Absolutely. Clever, intense, intimate direction? Absolutely – and it’s by Terence Young, whose work in this small-scale thriller must have been quite a change after directing, by that point, Dr. No, From Russia with Love, and Thunderball.
Vice, 10:00 p.m. ET
Chris Columbus wrote this 1984 horror comedy, and Joe Dante directed it, and both of them had a blast. Gizmo and his cuddly friends are very cute, but only if you obey the rules – which are largely ignored. Stars include Phoebe Cates, Zach Galligan, Corey Feldman, and some noteworthy supporting players. The character named “Mr. Jones” is played by Chuck Jones, animator extraordinare – and Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul fans can watch for a younger Jonathan Banks, who plays “Deputy Brent.”
getTV, 11:00 p.m. ET
Tonight’s repeat of a classic Comedy Hour episode is from Season 3, when Tom and Dick Smothers were experimenting with thinking almost exclusively of the new generation. Gone, basically, were the days of cross-generational guest stars, with Bette Davis and The Who on the same bill. Instead, this 1968 installment features a young comic named George Carlin, a young improv group called The Committee (with Howard Hesseman, later of WKRP in Cincinnati), and a young rock group called The Doors. Well, there is one cross-generational treat on this particular telecast: Nelson Riddle and his orchestra, most prominently the horn and string sections, appear with Jim Morrison and The Doors as he sings “Touch Me.” And this was a full month before that song appeared on the pop charts. I’m telling you, at that point in time, The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour was squarely, or roundly, in the pop-culture bullseye.