‘Popularity’ winner will receive prize
The reality show “Popularity Contest” (10 p.m. tonight, CMT) wraps up its first season.
For the uninitiated, “Contest” flew 10 “city-slickers” to the tiny town of Vega, Texas, and asked them to blend in with the locals.
Every week, the Vega citizens gather and vote for their favorite player. The newcomer with the lowest tally must go home.
On tonight’s finale, a winner emerges and will claim a $100,000 prize that he or she will have to share with their favorite Vega resident. Viewers can catch up with the previous eight episodes on the “Popularity Contest” marathon (2 p.m. today, CMT).
NBC recycles the stylish 1999 art-heist drama remake “The Thomas Crown Affair” (8 p.m. tonight, NBC) starring Pierce Brosnan and Rene Russo.
ABC goes to the Disney cartoon vault with the 1999 animated musical “Tarzan” (8 p.m. tonight, ABC), featuring the voices of Tony Goldwyn, Glenn Close, Minnie Driver and Rosie O’Donnell and a heavy-handed score by Phil Collins.
Looking for something that’s definitely not for the kids? Maggie Gyllenhaal stars in the 2002 black comedy “Secretary” (9 p.m. tonight, Oxygen) as an emotionally fragile woman who finds refuge in her work at a small law firm until her attraction to her boss (James Spader) takes a startling turn.
Al Roker examines America’s pet mania on a one-hour “Dateline” (7 p.m. Sunday, NBC) report, “Pet Nation.”
Roker interviews President George W. Bush and first lady Laura Bush about their relationship with their four-legged friend, Barney. Other devoted owner/companions interviewed here include Sharon Osbourne and Nicollette Sheridan.
On a similar theme, “Jane Goodall’s When Animals Talk” (5 and 8 p.m. Sunday, Animal Planet) explores the ways, both verbal and telepathic, in which pets and humans really communicate. Goodall revolutionized our knowledge and appreciation of higher primates by spending years with African chimps.
Three durable cable dramas open new seasons tonight. Anthony Michael Hall returns for a fourth season of “The Dead Zone” (10 p.m. Sunday, USA). Based on a novel by Stephen King, “Zone” follows up on last season’s cliffhanger with Johnny (Hall) battling fate (and his future self) to keep Rebecca (Sarah Wynter) from killing Stinson (Sean Patrick Flanery).
Speaking of psychics, “Missing” (10 p.m. Sunday, Lifetime), starring Vivica A. Fox and Caterina Scorsone, begins its third season of extrasensory police work. Lori Loughlin guest-stars in a two-episode opener.
Rick Schroder had his moments with Andy Sipowicz on “NYPD Blue.” Now he joins the cast of the medical drama “Strong Medicine” (9 p.m. Sunday, Lifetime) as a woman’s health specialist. This marks the sixth-season premiere for “Strong.”
Omar Sharif narrates “The Search for Eternal Egypt” (7 p.m. Sunday, History), which explores 200 years of efforts to uncover Egypt’s ancient wonders as well as efforts to protect its legacy from plundering treasure hunters and grave robbers. The documentary is nicely integrated with a virtual museum created by the government of Egypt and IBM that can be found at www.eternalegypt.org.
McBride investigates the murky murder of a dreadful shrink in the 2005 whodunit “McBride: The Doctor is Out … Really Out” (7, 9 and 11 p.m., Sunday, Hallmark), directed by series star John Larroquette.
Tonight’s highlights
An assassin (Tom Cruise) takes a reluctant cab driver (Jamie Foxx) on a hair-raising ride in the 2004 drama “Collateral” (8 p.m., HBO).
Scheduled on “48 Hours Mystery” (10 p.m., CBS): a boy’s confession to his sister’s murder doesn’t sit well with the real killer.
Evidence from the past rains on Macy’s parade on “Crossing Jordan” (10 p.m., NBC).
Sunday’s highlights
Scheduled on “60 Minutes” (7 p.m., CBS): “Lottery” scam artists who prey on the elderly; how a donated goat changed an African girl’s life; an interview with Bob Dylan.
Thomas Gibson, Poppy Montgomery and Doris Roberts star in the 2004 “Raising Waylon” (9 p.m., CBS), about a photographer and a restaurant owner drawn together by a common godson.
Game 2 of the NBA Finals (6 p.m., ABC).
Drama develops doubts about his calves on “Entourage” (9 p.m., HBO).
Two homicides appear drug related on “Crossing Jordan” (10 p.m., NBC).