Olympics competition starts today
Summer TV has gotten a lot better in recent years, with new cable series and reality shows. So if you don’t want to watch the Olympics, you have a few other choices. But NBC is really hoping you do.
Saturday is the first day of competition for the two-week Olympiad in Athens, Greece, for which NBC is wiping out its entire prime-time schedule. There’s also hour upon hour of coverage on NBC’s corporate siblings, MSNBC, CNBC, USA, Bravo and Telemundo. Detailed schedules for all these nets are at nbcolympics.com.
No matter what your favorite sport, it will be covered, although some more popular events will be taped-delayed instead of live, in order to bring the biggest prime-time audience.
NBC coverage hosted by Bob Costas begins tonight at 8 and includes gymnastics, swimming and cycling. Sunday, they power up at 7, with more gymnastics and swimming plus beach volleyball.
By the way, “Saturday Night Live” is also pre-empted for coverage of men’s volleyball.
The other broadcast networks are mostly conceding this weekend to NBC, but ABC is really going in the tank, with a bad Bruce Willis movie from 2000 — “The Kid” — and repeats of “Whose Line Is It Anyway?” tonight and “America’s Funniest Home Videos” on Sunday. Watch at your own risk.
Highlights
“Big Brother 5,” CBS tonight at 9: More Orwellian soap opera as security cameras watch the antics of a deeply unappealing group of contestants 24/7. But at least it’s a new episode.
“60 Minutes,” CBS Sunday at 7: Hollywood and Internet movie piracy.
“Oliver Beene,” Fox Sunday at 7: Aaaargh! It’s back! The sitcom that wouldn’t die. Tonight, a repeat of the pilot, as young Oliver and his family camp out in a fallout shelter during the Cuban missile crisis.
“Swordfish” (2001), CBS Sunday at 9: Underwhelming cyber-thriller despite the cast — John Travolta, Hugh Jackman, Halle Berry, Don Cheadle and more. And the movie’s main selling point — Berry’s topless scene — will no doubt be snipped for broadcast.
“The Casino,” Fox Sunday at 9: A visit from Barenaked Ladies is not as much fun as it sounds. New episode.
Cable Cast
Little League Baseball, ESPN today at 5: New England regional final.
“A Fish Called Wanda” (1988), WE tonight at 8: Inspired caper silliness in London with John Cleese, Jamie Lee Curtis, Kevin Kline and Michael Palin.
“Designer Finals,” HGTV tonight at 9: Time-slot premiere of the latest home-makeover reality show, in which rookie designers fresh out of the classroom face their first real clients and execute their first-ever professional design jobs in two days on a budget of $2,000.
“Reservoir Dogs” (1992), SpikeTV tonight at 9: Among Quentin Tarantino’s movies, “Pulp Fiction” (1994) gets all the attention, but it looks a bit overblown compared to this small, perfect and perfectly nasty little thriller. Harvey Keitel and Tim Roth lead a great cast in the tale of the brutal aftermath of a jewelry heist. Not for the kids.
Baseball, ESPN Sunday at 8: St. Louis Cardinals at Atlanta Braves.
“Six Feet Under,” HBO Sunday at 9: Claire’s back to guys, and Nate’s waffling about Brenda.
“Entourage,” HBO Sunday at 10: Vince’s date has unexpected results and Eric’s got a project. Followed by “Da Ali G Show.”
“The Dead Zone,” USA Sunday at 10: Animals gone bad. Sounds like a Fox reality show, but it’s what Johnny’s looking into in tonight’s disturbing episode.