Seven Days of Television: December 29 to January 4
A select viewing guide to the next seven days of television
MONDAY DECEMBER 29 American Masters: Plimpton! Starring George Plimpton as Himself (PBS, 9 p.m.) It truly was a wonderful life for George Plimpton. The late bon vivant spent most of his life trying out unique vocations and then writing about them for The Paris Review and other publications. This portrait rewinds several of his most famous life experiences, which included playing quarterback for the Detroit Lions, performing with the New York Philharmonic, boxing a few rounds against light-heavyweight champ Archie Moore and playing goalie for the Boston Bruins. The profile is heightened hugely by the revealing interviews with several of Plimpton’s cultural contemporaries, including filmmaker Ken Burns, author Gay Talese and Playboy founder and publisher Hugh Hefner.
TUESDAY DECEMBER 30 The 37th Annual Kennedy Center Honors (CBS, 9 p.m.) Every American celebrity who sticks around the entertainment business long enough – and keeps out of trouble – is eventually awarded this lofty performing-arts honour. Taped two weeks ago at the Kennedy Center, this year’s show pays glowing homage to the careers of actor Tom Hanks, musician Sting, comedienne Lily Tomlin, singer Al Green and prima ballerina Patricia McBride. As in years past, all manner of well-attired celebs show up to read the pre-written tributes, which this year will include Steven Spielberg feting Hanks, David Letterman rhapsodizing about Tomlin and Lady Gaga gushing about Green. In preparation for his upcoming takeover of CBS’s The Late Show, former Colbert Report mainstay Stephen Colbert hosts.
WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 31 Ron James: The Big Picture (CBC, 9 p.m.) Ron James may not have his own sketch-comedy series on CBS anymore, but he’ll always have his rambling road show. In this performance taped at the Fallsview Casino, the pride of Glace Bay, N.S., expounds on the usual scattered array run of topics skewering random life minutiae. In his trademark rat-a-tat manner, James ponders why people stock up for the “end times” at stores like Costco, the rise and fall of Canadian senator Mike Duffy and the newest super-villain threatening human existence – sugar. As always, James speaks his mind, and then some.RIchard Beland
THURSDAY JANUARY 1 Garfunkel and Oates (MuchMusic, 9 p.m.) If you’re a fan of the hipster humour behind Portlandia, have we got a show for you. Launched on the IFC channel last summer, this offbeat series focuses on the personal and professional lives of the comedy-folk duo known as Garfunkel and Oates, who are really the YouTube musical satirists Riki Lindhome (Garfunkel) and Kate Micucci (Oates). In the best alt-comedy fashion, the show really isn’t about anything and the storylines simply plod along without intent or structure; the opener is all about the ladies trying to jettison their shameless Hollywood agent known as “Boomer” (Michelle Zamera). Like Portlandia, it’s a hipster in-joke that never goes anywhere, but it’s still watchable.
FRIDAY JANUARY 2 Undercover Boss (CBS, 8 p.m.) The sneaky bosses are back on Friday night. Now in its sixth season, this reality series in which the people atop the corporate ladder don disguises and false identities to mingle for the minions beneath them finally returns to its Friday timeslot. Tonight’s new episode follows the undercover mission by Jose Costa, the Venezuelan-born president of the U.S. body-repair franchise Maaco, who poses as a lowly auto-body worker. This time, however, the executive has the tables turned on him: Costa is steamed at an employee discovered to be cutting corners, but he also gets chewed out himself for shoddy detailing work.
SATURDAY JANUARY 3 Mean Girls (YTV, 8 p.m.) It’s hard to believe now, but it was only a decade ago that Lindsay Lohan was one of Hollywood’s hottest young ingénues. In this 2004 comedy written by Tina Fey, Ms. Lindsay has the central role of Cady, a down-to-earth teen who has spent most of her life in the wilds of Africa, where she was home-schooled by her zoologist parents. When her family abruptly relocates to suburban Illinois, poor Cady is shocked by the reality of the high-school class system – the jocks, the stoners, the cheerleaders, et al – and is particularly aghast at the nasty attitude of an all-girl clique known as “The Plastics” (played by Amanda Seyfriend, Lacey Chabert and Canada’s own Rachel McAdams). Ms. Fey herself gets a few solid laughs in as nerdy math teacher Ms. Norbury.
SUNDAY JANUARY 4 The Celebrity Apprentice (NBC, 9 p.m.) The man with the helmet-hair is back: Donald Trump returns to helm the 14th season of this reality series in which formerly famous people are put into groups and forced to compete in absurd entrepreneurial challenges. Taking part in the 14th season: comedian Gilbert Gottfried, reality star Kate Gosselin, oleaginous newsman Geraldo Rivera and actors Ian Ziering and Vivica A. Fox, both seen most recently in Sharknado 2. In the two-hour opener, the celebs are split into a men’s team and women’s team and tasked to create a world-class campaign for selling pies. As before, the celebrity Hunger Games comes down to the boardroom sequence where The Donald passes judgment on their efforts with the aid of his completely impartial judging team (comprised of his daughter Ivanka Trump and Donald Trump Jr.).