‘Sinbad’ returns for 21st century audience
Syfy dusts off the “Sinbad” (8 p.m. Saturday) story for a whole new generation. The special effects- driven fantasy also asks audiences to identify with heroes of a non-Western culture and complexion.
Elliot Knight stars in the title role, and he’s first seen in a fight club in Basra, in modern-day Iraq. The period is not determined, but emphatically preindustrial. As in many fantasy stories, we’re told that age magic is slowly giving way to belief in science. (Exactly the opposite of the philosophy of today’s cable TV executives.)
At first, Sinbad is getting badly beaten by a cruel opponent, but unbeknown to his adversary, he’s taking a dive just long enough for an accomplice to place a long-shot bet on him. Then they can all clean up when the fighting is over.
Sinbad projects a brash confidence. He swaggers when he walks and winks at children like characters in Mickey Rourke movies of old. He’s going to need that moxie, because fate is not on his side for these 12 action-packed episodes.
According to my crystal ball, viewers will have to settle for these dozen “Sinbad” adventures. This series originally ran on Sky TV in the U.K. and was canceled after one season.
Poor Vancouver. The setting for time-traveling terrorists on “Continuum” is also the site of a dinosaur invasion on “Primeval: New World” (9 p.m. Saturday, Syfy). This is a spinoff of “Primeval,” originally seen here on BBC America, which was set in the U.K. The premise is much the same. Tear a hole in a cosmic time portal and those prehistoric reptiles just can’t help themselves.
Speaking of spinoffs, regulars from “iCarly” and “Victorious” join forces to star in “Sam & Cat” (7 p. m. Saturday, Nickelodeon). Living in Seattle, Sam Puckett (Jennette McCurdy) and Cat Valentine (Ariana Grande) form a baby-sitting service to pay the rent and subsidize their G-rated shenanigans.
After the death of her best friend, a teen discovers that her mother caused the fatal illness in the 2013 drama “The Good Mother” (7 p.m. Saturday, Lifetime).
Neil Patrick Harris returns to host the 67th Annual Tony Awards (7 p.m. Sunday, WREG-TV Channel 3). Live from New York’s Radio City Music Hall, the Tonys honor the best on Broadway over the past year.
Harris was recently chosen to host the forthcoming Emmy Awards as well, so when will he get a chance to host the Oscars? He’s quick, witty and good with the song-and-dance number. Given the number of times he’s hosted the Tonys and even the TV Land Awards, I’d say Harris has more than passed his audition.
“Falling Skies” (8 p.m. and 9 p.m. Sunday, TNT) returns for a third season. The action has moved to Charleston, S.C., and Tom Mason (Noah Wylie) has been elected president, making him the George Washington of the ragtag anti-alien rebellion. Just as the Continental Army allied itself with the French, and used Hessian fighters to combat the redcoats, Mason makes common cause with various disaffected alien factions, much to the consternation of some of the human patriots.
Season three opens with combat scenes featuring digitalized nasty critters. But I’ve always admired this series’ low-budget, B-movie vibe and the set designers’ ability to turn a burned-out strip mall into a base of operations.
“Falling Skies” has thrived despite newer shows borrowing from its dystopian story, like NBC’s “Revolution” and Syfy’s “Defiance.” It outlasted the much more expensive Fox series “Terra Nova,” also produced by Steven Spielberg. From Moses in the book of Exodus to “Red Dawn,” we love to root for the underdog insurgent.
A summer cable staple at least as old as Shark Week, the Travel Channel shows off the ultimate in amusement park adventures in “Xtreme Waterparks” (7 p.m. Sunday) and “Insane Coaster Wars: World Domination” (7:30 p.m. Sunday,).
Testosterone alert: “Mountain Men” (8 p.m. Sunday, History) and “Ice Road Truckers” (9 p.m. Sunday, History) enter new seasons.
SATURDAY’S OTHER HIGHLIGHTS
On two helpings of “My Cat from Hell” (Animal Planet): a Persian avoids the litter box (7 p.m.); gluttony (8 p.m.).
An actress (Ellen Burstyn) can’t understand what’s bedeviling her daughter (Linda Blair) in the 1973 shocker “The Exorcist” (6:30 p.m., BBC America).
IndyCar Racing is featured in the Firestone 500 (7:30 p.m., WPTY-TV Channel 24), live from Fort Worth, Texas.
Two hours of homicide investigations on “48 Hours” (8 p.m. and 9 p.m., WREG-TV Channel 3).
A bike messenger’s delivery becomes a matter of life and death in the 2012 thriller “Premium Rush” (8 p.m., Starz).
Kieren recalls a moment of mercy from Jem on “In the Flesh” (9 p.m., BBC America).
SUNDAY’S OTHER HIGHLIGHTS
Scheduled on “60 Minutes” (6 p.m., WREGTV Channel 3): the high cost of hospitals; a profile of Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor and a look at Barcelona’s Gaudi masterpiece, a massive church under construction for more than 130 years.
The San Antonio Spurs and Miami Heat vie in Game 2 of the NBA Finals (7 p.m., WPTY-TV Channel 24).
Joffrey faces off with Tywin on “Game of Thrones” (8 p.m., HBO).
Sarah has her own motivations for joining the search on “The Killing” (8 p.m., AMC).
“Anthony Bourdain Parts Unknown” (8 p.m., CNN) visits the Congo.
Betty has plans for Sally on “Mad Men” (9 p.m., AMC).
A softball interview turns into a grilling on “Veep” (9 p.m., HBO). Allison Janney guest-stars.
Cesare drops everything to save Lucrezia on “The Borgias” (9 p.m., Showtime).
A new job beckons, as do distant cousins, on “Family Tree” (9:40 p.m., HBO).