“Masterpiece Theatre”
Sunday 9pm, PBS
The barometer for classy TV is about to get downright hip, as Agent Scully herself, Gillian Anderson, comes on board as the new host of “Masterpiece Classic.” That’s right; the show will now feature three mini seasons (the other two are devoted to mysteries and contemporary fare), and Anderson will introduce viewers to the period tales. She’s got a killer slate to work with, too, including adaptations of all six Jane Austen novels, a revamped A Room with a View, Cranford with Judi Dench, and My Boy Jack starring Daniel Radcliffe (a.k.a. Harry Potter) and Miss Kim Cattrall. PBS kicks ass!
“Sarah Connor Chronicles”
Sunday 8pm and Monday 9pm, Fox
The Terminator is back, kind of, in this new offshoot of the Arnold Schwarzenegger action franchise. “The Sarah Connor Chronicles” takes place after Terminator 2, and features the titular heroine (now played by Lena Headey—what, Linda Hamilton was busy?) trying to protect her teenage son (Thomas Dekker, Claire’s ambiguously gay friend on “Heroes” Season 1) from even more robots sent from the future to kill the would-be messiah. They’re aided by another helpful droid, this one in the shape of a comely young woman (Summer Glau). The previews look great, and Fox could use a shot of cool now that “24”’s on hold while Kiefer’s in the clink.
“Golden Globe News Conference”
Sunday 9pm, NBC
That’s right: news conference. Hollywood’s booziest night has officially been scrapped due to the ongoing writers strike. The stars were boycotting in solidarity, and the writers themselves planned to picket the red carpet. (That would have been kind of awesome to watch, actually, especially if the angry mob managed to take out elfin carpet host Ryan Seacrest.) So ultimately the Hollywood Foreign Press and NBC really had no choice. Plans initially called for a special "Dateline NBC" featuring interviews with the nominees, but that has now been deep-sixed, as has the post-conference awards coverage, which is toast since most of the parties have been cancelled too. Now can someone please put an end to all of this? Give the writers the damned money already.
