TV: Five shows worth watching tonight: Nov. 28
A select viewing guide for Wednesday, November 28
COMEDY Suburgatory (Citytv, 8:30 p.m.; ABC, 9:30 p.m.) Attitudes have sure taken a quantum shift on this sharp sophomore sitcom. When launched last year, the emphasis was on the growing pains of native New Yorker George (Jeremy Sisto) when relocated to the suburbs with his sulky teen daughter Tessa (Jane Levy). Fast-forward a dozen or so episodes and Georgie-boy loves life in the suburbs, as evidenced in tonight’s new show in which he submits to a fashion makeover from his girlfriend Dallas (Cheryl Hines). Meanwhile, Tessa remains the teen rebel without a cause.
COMEDY Modern Family ABC, Citytv, 9 p.m. Is there a more realistic couple on TV today than the life-partners Mitchell (Jesse Tyler Ferguson) and Cam (Eric Stonestreet)? The precocious pair are the main attraction in tonight’s new episode when Mitch begrudgingly signs on to help out Cam in his campaign to save an old tree in the local park. In other news, Jay (Ed O’Neill) and stepson Manny (Rico Rodriguez) deeply regret their decision to attend a kids’ Olympic-themed birthday party, while Claire (Julie Bowen) makes an even bigger mistake by taking a very pregnant Gloria (Sofia Vergara) to the sprawling retail emporium known as Costco. Still the best half-hour on American television.
COMEDY Saturday Night Live Christmas (NBC, Global, 9 p.m.) ‘Tis the season for sketch comedy. SNL has been cranking out Christmas-themed skits from the beginning and this annual retro-special recalls the most memorable holiday moments culled from throughout the show’s 37-year history. Confirmed sketches include Steve Martin’s heartfelt but hilarious Holiday Wish, the remake of It’s a Wonderful Life (in which Mr. Potter, played by Jon Lovitz, finally gets his comeuppance) and Adam Sandler’s original rendition of The Hanukkah Song. And yes, Virginia, the program will include the saucy music-video classic D–k in a Box, as performed by Justin Timberlake and Andy Samberg.
DRAMA CSI (CBS, CTV, 10 p.m.) Take the spotlight, Captain Jim Brass. As portrayed by the reliable character actor Paul Guilfoyle, the no-nonsense Las Vegas cop has appeared in every single episode of this sturdy crime-procedural series, now in its 13 th season. Brass moves to the forefront in tonight’s new episode when he discovers some disturbing personal information about his own daughter. Meanwhile, CSI team leader D.B. Russell (Ted Danson) and his lab rats scramble to discover the identity of a John Doe found dead in his car right in the middle of the Vegas strip.
MOVIE The Andromeda Strain (TCM, 10 p.m. ET) Big-budget features about extra-terrestrials are a dime a dozen these days, but this alien-invasion story had moviegoers scared witless back in 1971. Based on the novel by Michael Crichton, the film stars the fine Canadian actor Arthur Hill as Dr. Jeremy Stone, a world-renowned scientist called in to investigate the crash of a research satellite that has killed everyone in a small Arizona town, with the exception of an infant and a local drunkard. Dr. Stone quickly assembles a team of scientists, played by Kate Reid, James Olson and David Wayne, who work around the clock to identify the alien microbes capable of eradicating all human life on the planet. The special effects by Douglas Trumbull remain chilling.