A&E Set for Year-End Top 10 Shows
Let’s count the year-end countdown shows on A&E this week! Each airing at 8 p.m. EST, these “Biography” hours have “Will & Grace” star Megan Mullally serving as host. And, of course, they count down to another countdown special: next week’s “Biography of the Year.”
Monday: “Top 10 Hitched and Ditched.” No surprise who claims the top spot here: J.Lo and Ben. But this show doesn’t forget losers in love like Liza (Minnelli) and David (Gest) ó or the United States and France.
Tuesday: “Top 10 To Watch.” Take a look at this special, which lists people to keep an eye on next year ó like California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Michelle Wie, the 13-year-old golfer.
Wednesday: “Top 10 Most Notorious.” Here’s a list that Michael Jackson can still be sure of landing on. Plus Robert Blake, Kobe Bryant and Martha Stewart.
Thursday: “Top 10 Survivors.” This show chronicles the year’s most intrepid, including kidnap victim Elizabeth Smart, blackout-beset New Yorkers, and even that elusive Saddam Hussein.
Other shows to look out for:
– What’s tougher than spending Christmas with the family? Doing it while also trying to do your job as an FBI agent. That’s the challenge for Jake Cunningham, who’s forced to bring home to the parents a free-spirited cocktail waitress he is assigned to protect for the holidays. While there, he must pass her off to his straight-laced family as his girlfriend. “Undercover Christmas” stars Jami Gertz (“Still Standing”) as the waitress, Tyne Daly (“Judging Amy) as the snooty mom, and Shawn Christian (“Crossing Jordan”) as the badge-carrying son who’s hard-pressed to maintain his ruse. This TV film airs 9 p.m. Sunday on CBS.
– Which lovesick frog will Melana’s kiss turn into her Prince Charming? Expect an obligatory fairy-tale ending for “Average Joe” in its two-hour finale 9 p.m. Monday on NBC. After weeding out 14 other ordinary-looking suitors, Melana will declare which of the two remaining Joes (that is, Adam or Zach) will win her love. As part of her decision-making process, she will go on overnight dates with each of these two hopefuls, and visit their hometowns to learn more about each candidate.
– “UFO Invasion at Rendlesham,” a two-hour documentary on the Sci Fi Channel, investigates a series of bizarre events, and a resulting cover-up, near two American military bases in Rendlesham Forest, England. It was in 1980 that U.S. servicemen observed a variety of unearthly phenomena that none of them could explain, including an airborne object obscured by its own blinding light. Later, the eyewitnesses were forced to change their stories and the case was officially swept under the rug. What does it all mean? Airing 9 p.m. Friday, this film brings to light declassified materials, new physical evidence and firsthand accounts of the mystery. Bryant Gumbel is host.
– The modestly titled “Price Is Right Million-Dollar Spectacular” marks the 80th birthday of host Bob Barker. During the hourlong special, which airs 8 p.m. Saturday on CBS, contestants will vie for prizes that include boats and luxury vacations, as well as spin the wheel for a possible $1 million. Barker, whose actual birthday is Friday, has been host of “The Price is Right” on CBS since 1972, and is marking his 47th year on network television.
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