SATURDAY
OCTOBER 4
2014

BIANCULLI’S BEST BETS

 

Fox Sports 1, 5:30 p.m. ET

Two National League playoff games are played today, but you have to go to two rather remote sports networks to watch them. The action begins at 5:30 pm. ET on Fox Sports 1, where the San Francisco Giants play the Washington Nationals in Game 2 of their series. The Giants won Game 1, despite Washington’s home-field advantage. Then, at 9:30 p.m. ET, the MLB Network presents Game 2 of the St. Louis Cardinals vs. Los Angeles Dodgers game. The Cardinals won Game 1.

 
  
 
 

BBC America, 9:00 p.m. ET

The Doctor Who gang has spent almost as much time running down corridors this season as the West Wing folks used to spend walking down them – except that, on Doctor Who, they’re usually being chased by deadly invaders. This week, it’s deadly spiders. In a remote mining camp. On the moon. As always, what fun…

 
  
 
 

NBC, 10:00 p.m. ET

Here’s another SNL Vintage rerun: This one is Season 3, episode 18, from April 22, 1978, and it’s one of the all-time best episodes of Saturday Night Live. Steve Martin was the host, and the musical guests were the home-grown breakout act The Blues Brothers, namely SNL regulars John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd. Martin unveiled his instantly classic “King Tut” musical number in this show – and in addition to showcasing the Blues Brothers, other super-standout bits include Martin and Aykroyd as “two wild and crazy guys,” and Martin as “Theodoric of York: Medieval Barber,” a Swan Lake filmed ballet parody, and “Dancing in the Dark,” a beautiful salute to old movie musicals starring Martin and Gilda Radner. If every one of these makes the cut for this one-hour prime-time compilation, it’ll be proof positive that the original run of SNL did indeed boast some of its most inventive bits and gifted cast members.

 
  
 
 

BBC America, 11:00 p.m. ET

SEASON PREMIERE: Welcome back, Graham! On tonight’s Season 16 opener, he’s got Denzel Washington, actress Gemma Arterton, and the current Doctor Who, Peter Capaldi. Wait until you hear the band names for old groups fronted by Arterton and Capaldi, respectively.

 
  
 
 

NBC, 11:30 p.m. ET

On this new Season 40 edition of Saturday Night Live, Maroon 5 appears as musical guest – which means more TV time for Adam Levine – and Sarah Silverman is this week’s host.

 
  
 
 
 
 
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David Bianculli

Founder / Editor

David Bianculli has been a TV critic since 1975, including a 14-year stint at the New York Daily News, and sees no reason to stop now. Currently, he's TV critic for NPR's Fresh Air with Terry Gross, and is an occasional substitute host for that show. He's also an author and teaches TV and film history at New Jersey's Rowan University. His 2009 Dangerously Funny: The Uncensored Story of 'The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour', has been purchased for film rights. His latest, The Platinum Age of Television: From I Love Lucy to the Walking Dead, How TV Became Terrific, is an effusive guidebook that plots the path from the 1950s’ Golden Age to today’s era of quality TV.