What was on TV? Sat, May 14, 2005

20 years ago, Starbucks refused to carry Bruce Springsteen's latest album because it mentioned anal sex. Let's see what was on TV.

Earlier: Agatha Christie's Marple: A Murder is Announced

From PBS's Mystery!

I like British mystery shows because so many of them are basically TV movies. At a luxurious 90 minutes per episode, you get to introduce a full roster of suspects and tease out a complex puzzle. But in bad British mystery shows, they just keep on killing new people. Three in this episode! It always feels like they're stalling for time or trying to inject more drama in the proceedings. It has the opposite effect.

11:30 Saturday Night Live! on NBC

30x19 host Will Ferrell with musical guest Queens of the Stone Age

Yeah, season 30 is not a good season of SNL. Because this is supposed to be the good episode, the return of the king! And it's more idiosyncratic, probably more appealing to diehard fans. But none of the sketches stood out to me. Nothing stood out to me, other than a couple of weekend update jokes. You can see why the Lazy Sunday and the arrival of The Lonely Island was such a big deal. They were a breath of fresh air for a show in a creative slump.

What Else Was On

• This Saturday's Sci-Fi Channel movie was The Fallen Ones. Casper van Diem is an archaeologist who stumbles upon the remains of angels who bred with humans and gave birth to giants. I think????
• Ryan Reynolds was this week's MadTV guest.

Music, 20 years ago

You can tell this isn't a good season of SNL because the Ashlee Simpson incident is its most enduring legacy. Anyway, here's my favorite song from her very good debut album.