Saturday TV is a laughing matter
Saturday Saturday Night Live may be in rerun mode, but that doesn’t mean the small screen lacks laughter this weekend. Comedy Network’s Saturday Night Stand Up series presents Jim Gaffigan: Beyond the Pale (Comedy Network, 9 p.m.), filmed live in Chicago.
Gaffigan is a master of finding unlikely humour in day-today life. Here’s a sampling of his self-deprecating, dry sense of humour:
“Actually, the reason I look like this is because my father was from Sweden and my mother was Elton John.”
“My wife’s gotten really lazy, or as she calls it, ‘pregnant. ’ ”
“Don’t worry, I’ve never heard of me either.”
The laughs continue with backto-back episodes of Comedy Now (CTV, 10 p.m.), featuring Vancouver comedians Sunee Dhaliwal and A.J. McKenzie. I guess any city that roots for the Canucks needs its fair share of laughter to ease the pain.
In a new episode of NYC 22 (CBS, Global, 8 p.m.), Ahmad (Tom Reed) and Kenny (Stark Sands) search for a rape suspect amid the chaos of a block party.
Set sail with 2010’s direct-tovideo The 7 Adventures of Sinbad (Space, 9 p.m.). A 21stcentury Sinbad, played by Patrick Muldoon, must complete seven perilous quests to save the world in this modern take on the legend. He must battle a giant crab, a giant gorilla, flying dinosaurs and other terrors, all while repeatedly saving a sultry island maiden with a French accent. Seven quests? Giant monsters? French maidens? Sounds like my average weekend.
Catch up on The L.A Complex (E!, from 6 p.m.) with a marathon. The show pulls no punches in its tale of young hopefuls trying to get their big break in Hollywood. Guaranteed to be giant crab-free!
Sunday
Season 5 of Breaking Bad (AMC, 10 p.m.) premieres, with Walter White (Bryan Cranston) moving further and further beyond redemption. Not since Michael Corleone has one character’s fall from grace felt so complete. But while Al Pacino’s transformation in The Godfather took around three hours, Cranston has had four seasons to explore the nuances of a one-time high school science teacher turning into a vicious drug kingpin.
On Survivorman 10 Days (OLN, 8 p.m.), Les Stoud is shipwrecked on a desert island. He must contend with a lack of fresh water, searing daytime temperatures, freezing nighttime temperatures, dangerous animals, hunger and loneliness. Could his luck get any worse? Next thing you know, we’ll find out the island is a playground for a pseudogod named Jacob and his smokemonster brother. Tip: If you find a hatch, Les, don’t open it.
Secret Millionaire (ABC, Citytv, 8 p.m.)
follows self-made millionaire Jeff Usner as he travels around the country to impoverished areas. Pretending to be an average Joe, Usner quietly finds people and organizations deserving of cash.
The new series Sinbad (Space, 7 p.m.) presents its second episode, in which Sinbad is captured by a tribe of savage WaterThieves and must seduce their leader in order to survive. Hey, we’ve all been there, right?