If they handed out Emmys for inspired titles and demented and contrived plots, I’d bestow a statue or two to “Psycho Storm Chaser” (7 p.m. Saturday, Lifetime). Abby (Tara Erickson) is a dedicated nurse who is determined to ride out a Category 3 hurricane in order to care for her comatose patient. Only she doesn’t know that a serial killer (Rib Hillis) is on the prowl, a sicko who uses extreme weather calamities to camouflage his carnage.
Viewers might recall Tara Erickson from such films as “The Twisted Nanny,” “Perfidious” and “American Satan.” Hillis’ previous roles include “Mommy’s Deadly Con Artist,” “Deceived by My Mother-in-Law” and “Running With the Devil.” He also has appeared in a whole franchise of “Wrong” movies, including “The Wrong Mr. Right,” “The Wrong Real-Estate Agent,” “The Wrong Cheerleader Coach” and “The Wrong Boy Next-Door.” If loving his resume is “Wrong,” I don’t wanna be right.
— Lifetime offers inspired and lurid camp, and HBO airs the 2020 tearjerker “All My Life” (7 p.m. Saturday, HBO), leaning heavily on the familiar crutches of young love and early demise. Hey, it worked for “Love Story.” Jessica Rothe and Harry Shum Jr. star as Jenn and Sol, madly in love and knee-deep in wedding plans when Sol receives word of a terminal liver cancer prognosis. Some critics admired the chemistry between the leads, and others found the sentimentality obvious, overwhelming and presented in a “paint-by-numbers” fashion.
In other words, it’s no “Psycho Storm Chaser.”
— After the closing ceremony of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics (7 p.m. Sunday), NBC introduces “Family Game Fight” (9:30 p.m., approximately), hosted by real-life married couple and parents Kristen Bell and Dax Shepard. On “Fight,” they will be “adopted” by other families to participate in contrived games. “Fight” was inspired by the couple’s habit of bickering on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show.” Help yourself.
As they conclude, the Olympics reminded us of television at its best and worst. NBC and its many corporate cousins offered thousands of hours of competition and a chance for fans to watch their favorite sports, both popular and obscure. At the same time, all that coverage was accompanied by a Niagara of chatter, not all of it original, insightful or interesting.
Olympic coverage is hardly unique. Three-hour baseball games frequently inspire the most banal chit-chat, inspiring many to turn down the sound or use a radio feed to accompany the picture. Too many TV sports commentators forget it is a visual medium.
Speaking of chatter, Showtime introduces the first episode of the four-hour docuseries “UFO” (8 p.m., Sunday, TV-14), a meditation on unidentified objects seen in the sky and what they might be and mean and why the government might know more about them than it has been letting on. The very word “unidentified” implies mystery, but many of the “experts” here speak with a certainty that borders on the comical.
Speaking of filling up time, “In Their Own Words” (7 p.m., Sunday, PBS, TV-PG, check local listings) recalls Princess Diana, arguably one of the most documented figures of the 20th century. While we hear from the usual gaggle of royal hangers-on, toadies and biographers, there’s scarcely any audio from the Princess of Wales herself. Odd, considering the series is called “In Their Own Words.”
“UFO” deals in the speculative and unknown, and this Diana profile rehashes the very known and over-reported, but both subjects share a huge tabloid popularity. It was hardly a publishing secret why, in both life and death, Diana graced so many magazine covers — they always sold. A commentator seen on “UFO” opines a New York Times article on the recent government report on the subject of unidentified objects was among the most popular “liked” and shared articles in that paper’s history.
But just because something is popular doesn’t make it interesting. At least that’s what I keep telling myself.
— OK, that was weird. The least expected story of the week was the scandal involving Felicity Huffman (“Desperate Housewives”) and Lori Loughlin, star of “When Calls the Heart” (7 p.m. Sunday, Hallmark, TV-G), in a bribery/cheating plot to get their respective daughters into elite universities.
This is obviously an ongoing case, and all sides must have their say, or day, in court. But the motivation at the center of this story is worth discussing. It involves some overwhelming need to do anything to get children into elite schools. As if anything “lesser” were unthinkable.
Television plays no small role in this insecurity. I can’t remember how many times I’ve had to describe an ABC legal drama where every single character hails from only the most exclusive Ivy and spends most of the pilot bragging about it.
There was a time, not that long ago, when John Grisham wrote best-selling books about young, barely accredited lawyers from no-name institutions who took on impossible cases against massive corporations and eventually won. And got the girl, to boot.
So, our current era’s neurotic obsession with elitism and inequality is hardly hard-wired.
If anything comes of this sordid affair, it’s an appreciation that shoddy efforts at snobbery are always essentially pathetic. Or on classic TV, comedic. Watching “Gilligan’s Island,” we identified with Mary Ann and the Skipper, and pitied the millionaire and his wife.
— CNN launches the four-hour documentary “Tricky Dick” (8 p.m., Sunday), profiling the life and times of Richard Nixon’s public career, which spanned the decades from the dawn of the Cold War to the Clinton years.
SATURDAY’S HIGHLIGHTS
— An anxious new mother joins a group for solidarity and support, only to discover that it has darker plans on its agenda in the 2019 shocker “Mommy Group Murder” (7 p.m., Lifetime, TV-14).
— The Thunder and Warriors meet in NBA action (7:30 p.m., ABC).
— An old kidnapper returns to form on “Ransom” (8 p.m., CBS, TV-14).
SUNDAY’S HIGHLIGHTS
— Scheduled on “60 Minutes” (6 p.m., CBS): Embassy workers in China and Cuba complain of mysterious ailments; AOL founder Steve Case and his plans to invest in the future of overlooked American small towns and cities; a visit to Monaco.
— The duels begin on “World of Dance” (7 p.m., NBC, TV-PG).
— Auditions continue on “American Idol” (7 p.m., ABC, TV-PG).
— Lex Luthor is on the loose on “Supergirl” (7 p.m., CW, TV-PG).
— Mr. Wednesday prepares for battle on “American Gods” (7 p.m., Starz, TV-MA).
— After learning about her royal lineage, an adopted 10-year-old becomes a little tyrant in the 2019 shocker “Mommy’s Little Princess” (7 p.m., Lifetime, TV-14).
— A secret room holds dangers on “Charmed” (8 p.m., CW, TV-14).
— Hidden secrets revealed on “The Walking Dead” (8 p.m., AMC, TV-MA).
— A new trial is pursued on “The Case Against Adnan Syed” (8 p.m., HBO, TV-14).
— Axe is determined to destroy Taylor on the fourth season premiere of “Billions” (8 p.m., Showtime, TV-MA).
— Ulysses pursues a conspiracy theory on “Now Apocalypse” (8 p.m., Starz, TV-MA).
— “Unsung” (8 p.m., TVONE) profiles the Jets.
— Pacific overtures on “Madam Secretary” (9 p.m., CBS, TV-PG).
— Tensions rise on “Good Girls” (9 p.m., NBC, TV-14).
— Mo’s past is revealed on “Black Monday” (9 p.m., Showtime, TV-MA).
CULT CHOICE
— St. Patrick’s Day inspires many traditions. Syfy offers a marathon of “Leprechaun” movies, from “Leprechaun 5: In the Hood” (4 p.m. Saturday, TV-14) to “Leprechaun 2” (8 p.m.). TCM takes the traditional approach, ladling out the Technicolor blarney of director John Ford’s 1952 romance “The Quiet Man” (7 p.m. Sunday, TV-PG).
SATURDAY SERIES
“Dateline” (7 p.m., NBC, TV-PG) … “NBA Countdown” (7 p.m., ABC) … The kids are all right on “MasterChef” (8 p.m., Fox, r, TV-PG) … “48 Hours” (9 p.m., CBS) … A vintage helping of “Saturday Night Live” (9 p.m., NBC, r, TV-14).
SUNDAY SERIES
A visit from an old friend inspires Miles on “God Friended Me” (7 p.m., CBS, TV-PG) … Homer can’t leave Bart’s virtual realm on “The Simpsons” (7 p.m., Fox, TV-14) … Empathy for all things on “Bob’s Burgers” (7:30 p.m., Fox, TV-14).
A walk down the aisle on “NCIS: Los Angeles” (8 p.m., CBS, TV-14) … On two episodes of “Family Guy” (Fox, TV-14), Meg’s winter Olympics (8 p.m.), fighting over a dowager (8:30 p.m., r) … Aches and pains on “Shark Tank” (9 p.m., ABC, TV-PG).
