‘Peter Sellers’ follows common theme
Geoffrey Rush stars in “The Life and Death of Peter Sellers” (9 p.m. Sunday, HBO), offering a remarkable series of impersonations of the famous actor’s many characters and comic incarnations. “Sellers” has one rather sad point, and it makes it forcefully and repeatedly: Peter Sellers gave so much to his brilliant characters that there wasn’t terribly much left over for himself or his loved ones.
Emily Watson stars as his first wife, who stands by him as he flirts rather pathetically with co-star Sophia Loren (Sonya Aquino). Charlize Theron (“Monster” star and no slouch in the mimicry department) plays Sellers’ second wife, Britt Ekland, whom he lusts after and then rebuffs after she give birth to their child.
John Lithgow and Stanley Tucci appear, respectively, as Blake Edwards and Stanley Kubrick, the directors of Sellers’ most celebrated films. A must for movie buffs, “Sellers” artfully re-creates moments from many of the actor’s films, including “Dr. Strangelove.”
Fans of tongue-in-cheek science fiction are in for a weekend of oddball treats.
The original feature “Anonymous Rex” (9 p.m. tonight, Sci Fi) stars Daniel Baldwin and Sam Trammel as two gumshoe detectives operating on the seedy side of town. They also happen to be part of a million-year-old conspiracy to hide the fact that some dinosaurs survived extinction and still walk among us, disguised as regular folk by means of advanced holographic technology.
A genre-bending B-movie, “Rex” combines elements of “Blade Runner,” “Chinatown” and “Men in Black.” In fact, “Chinatown” star Faye Dunaway appears as the shadowy head of a Chinatown-based secret society that calls the shots in the shadowy dinosaur society.
“Shaft” composer Isaac Hayes is also part of the reptile cabal!
Noah Wyle makes the most of his goofball character in the slightly silly occult fantasy “The Librarian: Quest for the Spear” (8 and 10 p.m. and midnight Sunday, TNT). He plays Flynn Carsen, a shy professional student who gets kicked out of university because his impatient professor believes that, with 22 advanced degrees, Carsen has received enough education and needs to face the real world.
In a cartoonlike sequence of events, Carsen applies for a job interview at a palatial library. Jane Curtin hams it up as his cruel and imperious interviewer. Once he is hired, Carsen’s boss (Bob Newhart) informs him that the library is the repository of the most powerful totems and artifacts from human mythology, including Pandora’s box, Excalibur, etc.
And, on his very first day of work, Carsen is called upon to save humanity after an evil secret society (helmed by Kyle MacLachlan) steals a part of “the Spear of Destiny.”
President Jimmy Carter gives Willie Nelson a tour of his Georgia hometown in the holiday special “Homecoming: President Carter in Plains” (9 p.m. tonight, CMT). Carter discusses his youth during the era of segregation, the role of faith in his life and during his presidency, and his love of country music.
“Ben Franklin” (9 p.m. Sunday, History) profiles the most multifaceted Revolutionary War figure, an earthy, brilliant man described by historian H. W. Brands as “the one Founding Father easiest to imagine living in the 21st century.”
Today’s highlights
SEC College Football Championship Game (3 p.m., CBS).
George Clooney and Mark Wahlberg star in the 2000 drama “The Perfect Storm” (8 p.m., NBC).
Big 12 College Football Championship Game (5 p.m., ABC).
Scheduled on “48 Hours Mystery” (10 p.m., CBS): A cop accused of murder has at least 11 witnesses who say it can’t be possible.
“Young, Sexy & Royal 2” (7 and 10 p.m., WE) celebrates the lifestyles and possessions of regal heirs and the merely rich.
Punk rock icon Henry Rollins discusses movies he likes and loathes on “Henry’s Film Corner” (9 p.m., Independent Film Channel).
Jude Law hosts “Saturday Night Live” (11:30 p.m., NBC), featuring musical guest Ashlee Simpson. Watch her musical mishap all over again!
Sunday’s highlights
Scheduled on “60 Minutes” (7 p.m., CBS): an interview with Bob Dylan.
Nicolas Cage and Tea Leoni star in the 2000 fantasy “The Family Man” (8 p.m., NBC).
Jon Voight, Michael Imperioli, Jeff Daniels and Ellen Burstyn star in the 2004 TV fantasy “The Five People You Meet in Heaven” (8 p.m., ABC).
Joe Mantegna, Jean Smart and Charles Durning star in the 2004 TV holiday drama “A Very Married Christmas” (9 p.m., CBS).
The documentary “Rameses: Wrath of God or Man?” (9 p.m., Discovery) kicks off a week of Egyptian-themed programming.