OnTV: Saturday Movie Night
Five Picks for the Housebound
Got Premium Cable?
Longford: In this based-on-fact film, Oscar winner Jim Broadbent (Iris)) portrays England’s Lord Frank Pakenham, the 7th Earl of Longford, a crusading proponent of prison reform famous for befriending female inmate Myra Hindley (Oscar nominee Samantha Morton of In America and Sweet and Lowdown)—also known as one of the Moors Murderers—herself notorious for participating in the serial sex killings of five children with her lover Ian Brady (Andy Serkis of King Kong and Gollum in the The Lord of the Rings trilogy) in the 1960s. Despite vehement public, professional, and familial disapproval, Pakenham continues communicating with Hindley and championing her cause while she serves a life sentence, even after the prisoner admits deliberately deceiving him about her crimes. [HBO/8:00]
- The State Within: A conspiracy thriller for action-adventure fans who like American shows such as 24, this three-part mini-series stars Englishman Jason Isaacs (Brotherhood, the forthcoming Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix) as Sir Mark Brydon, the British Ambassador to Washington. Set primarily in Washington, D.C., the action kicks off when a planted bomb causes an England-bound plane from Dulles Airport to explode midair. The Ambassador then must seek to clarify the convoluted details and significance of the crime while dealing with American officials like United States Secretary of Defense Lynne Warner (Sharon Gless of Cagney and Lacey and Queer as Folk). Lennie James from the CBS rookie hit Jericho also appears as Luke Gardner, a prisoner on Death Row for murder. [BBC America/9:00/Part One]
Got Basic Cable?
- Hollow Man 2: In this 2006 direct-to-video science-fiction thriller, the sequel to 2000′s feature film Hollow Man starring Kevin Bacon and Elisabeth Shue, Christian Slater (Interview with the Vampire, True Romance) plays a military assassin named Michael Griffin who, after being made invisible in a botched experiment for which he volunteered, becomes determined to get revenge on the scientists responsible for his predicament. In the course of his manhunt, he kills the partner of police officer Frank Turner (Peter Facinelli), who in turn seeks revenge on Griffin after taking the serum capable of making humans invisible. [Sci Fi/9:00]
- Independence Day: This super successful 1996 science-fiction follow-up to Will Smith‘s first breakout theatrical hit Bad Boys can be summed up in two words: Aliens attack. And then, of course, earthlings respond to save their precious planet from invasion and utter destruction. [ABC Family/7:00 & 10:00]
Got Regular Broadcast TV?
- Cast Away: Five-time Oscar winner/nominee Tom Hanks (Philadelphia, Forrest Gump) gets swept away with delusion after he is stranded alone on a tropical island for four years following a plane crash. [ABC/8:00]
Other New Stuff on TV Tonight
- The 22nd Annual Stellar Gospel Music Awards—: Legendary Patti LaBelle performs at this annual celebration of gospel music’s best. [WGN/8:00]
- Sports Illustrated Swimsuit 2007: Highlights of the 2007 photo shoot for one of the most popular yearly magazine issues. [TNT/11:00]
- Food Icons Unwrapped: It’s nostalgia time as host Marc Summers provides a few pop culture lessons on food icons, such as the Pillsbury Doughboy and the Jolly Green Giant. [Food Network/9:00]
- CBS: 48 Hours Mystery (10:00)
- CNBC: The Suze Orman Show (9:00)
- CNN: CNN: Special Investigations Unit (8:00)
- Cartoon Network: Bobobo-bo Bo-Bobo (8:30); Naruto (9:00); One Piece (9:30); The Prince of Tennis (10:00); Mar (10:30)
- Disney: Kim Possible (8:00/8:30/9:00/9:30)
- ESPN: College Basketball—North Carolina at Boston College (9:00)
- Fox: Cops (8:00); America’s Most Wanted: America Fights Back (9:00)
- HGTV: Design on a Dime (10:00)
- NBC: Dateline NBC (8:00)
- Nickelodeon: Ned’s Declassified School Survival Guide (8:00); The Naked Brothers Band (8:30)
- TLC: Moving Up (8:00); Trading Spaces (10:00)
- TNT: NBA Basketball—2007 All-Star Skills Competition (8:30)
- Travel: Not Your Average Travel Guide (10:00)
All times are PM and EST/Eastern Standard Time
Longford photo courtesy of HBO
