What’s Worth Watching: ‘Westworld’, ‘Saturday Night Live’, ‘The Lost Tapes: Pearl Harbor’ and more for Friday, Dec. 2 thru Sunday, Dec. 4
Westworld (Sunday, 9/8c, HBO): We expect the fall’s most fascinating and unsettling mind-trip fantasy thriller to end its first season by going out with presumably a few existential bangs in a 90-minute finale. Now that the Man in Black (Ed Harris) has reunited with Dolores (Evan Rachel Wood)—though in what timeline?—what does it mean when HBO promises she will “embrace her identity”? As Ford (Anthony Hopkins) introduces his new narrative, what fresh rabbit holes will the viewer be helplessly plunged into? And when Maeve (the astonishing Thandie Newton) “sets her plan in motion” (HBO’s words), who will pay the price?
Saturday Night Live (Saturday, 11:30/10:30c, NBC): With Emma Stone guest-hosting, those of us dying to see La La Land are hoping for at least a tease from this movie musical—and maybe a “surprise” cameo from co-star Ryan Gosling (who was a pretty terrific guest host in his own right). Shawn Mendes is the musical guest.
The Lost Tapes: Pearl Harbor (Sunday, 9/8c, Smithsonian Channel): Marking the 75th anniversary of the attack by the Japanese that propelled the U.S. into World War II, this new occasional series of archive-rich documentaries presents a you-are-there account of the Pearl Harbor tragedy. The special makes use of original sources—many not seen or heard in more than seven decades—including radio reports, film and audio footage, wire dispatches and first-person interviews.
Inside Weekend TV: Two classic sitcom episodes from the 1950s are colorized for CBS’s I Love Lucy Christmas Special (Friday 8/7c), including a replay of the 1956 “The Christmas Episode” and the newly tinted 1955 “Lucy Gets in Pictures” (the one where Lucille Ball is foiled by a giant headdress). … One of the weirdest episodes—and that’s saying something—of The CW’s Crazy Ex-Girlfriend (Friday, 9/8c) focuses on the notion of forced friendships, as Rebecca (Rachel Bloom) invites a disgruntled Paula (Donna Lynne Champlin) into her new “friend-topia” of a girl group, while Darryl (Pete Gardner) and mousy co-worker Maya (Esther Povitsky) sulk at being left out and scheme to crash the party. … The star of HBO’s upcoming comedy series Crashing (Feb. 19) headlines his first HBO comedy special, Pete Holmes: Faces and Sounds (Saturday, 10/9c). … Jewel returns to her home state in a two-hour episode of Discovery’s Alaska: The Last Frontier (Sunday, 9/8c). … For those with a high camp threshold, E! invites fans into Mariah’s World (Sunday, 9/8c) as ultimate diva Mariah Carey prepares for a world tour and an ill-fated wedding.
