Sherlock returns for one night only! Galavant is back for season two! And all Hell is finally unleashed in the season finale of Ash vs Evil Dead! There’s also a ton of New Year’s marathons. And just what the heck is Yokai Watch, anyway? All this, and more, on This Week’s TV!
Tonight
Yo-Kai Watch (5PM, DISNEY XD)
Catch the series that’s outselling Star Wars in Japan! It’s about a boy with a “ghost watch” that alerts him to the presence of Yokai: ghosts responsible for life’s little setbacks and your own inexplicable behaviors (mood swings, cancelling plans, buying things you don’t need, etc.).
Today’s episode is all about the anxiety of ordering food at a restaurant! It introduces the yokai Chatalie: a ghost whose presence will turn you into one of those “all talk, no action” people. Recommended for fans of Digimon and 70’s-era Woody Allen movies.
Little Darlings (11:45PM, TCM)
A rare screening of this film’s theatrical cut! Though not explicitly science fiction, Little Darlings is a cute, ultimately sex positive coming of age film where the young girls are our horny leads. There’s never been anything like it!
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Tuesday
Ray Harryhausen Movie Marathon (6:30AM, TCM)
Kicking off with It Came from Beneath the Sea, witness twelve full hours of stop-motion monster mastery! Includes 20 Million Miles to Earth, The Valley of Gwangi, One Million Years BC, Mysterious Island, 7th Voyage of Sinbad and Jason and the Argonauts!
Yo-Kai Watch (5PM, DISNEY XD)
Today’s episode introduces Dazzabel, the Yokai who loves gaudy clothing. If she inspirits you, you’ll start dressing like an asshole, too!
The Expanse (10PM, SYFY)
“Holden and crew are caught in the middle of a desperate battle as mysterious war ships attack and board the Donnager. As Miller continues to investigate Julie Mao, his partner Havelock continues to go missing.”
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Wednesday
Yo-Kai Watch, (5PM, DISNEY XD)
Introduces Babblong. He’ll make you tell boring stories about your uncle, or that time you went towel shopping.
Twilight Zone Marathon (7PM, SYFY)
SYFY’s annual New Year’s marathon of classic Twilight Zone episodes! However, they’ll be facing some competition this year...scroll down to “Thursday” to see what I mean.
Team Ninja Warrior (11PM, ESQUIRE)
A special presentation of the new US Ninja Warrior series, airing on the venerable Esquire Network— the chimera risen from the ashes of G4 and Style (Do not expect reruns of Thunderbirds or Ab Fab, I take it.)
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Thursday
Yo-Kai Watch (5PM, DISNEY XD)
Dueling Yokai work their magic at a beach party.
The New Twilight Zone Marathon (6AM, El REY)
Not to be outdone, El Rey is airing a marathon of the 80’s, 90’s and 00’s incarnations of The Twilight Zone! Don’t underestimate these followup series, whose writers included George R.R. Martin: excellent episodes are all over The New Twilight Zone, and I suggest you keep your eyes peeled for Something in the Walls.
Thin Man Marathon (8PM, TCM)
The entire saga of Nick and Nora Charles enfolds on New Year’s Eve!
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Friday
Science-Fiction Movie Marathon (6:45AM, TCM)
Things to Come, Soylent Green, The Fly (1958), Them!, Time After Time, The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951) & Close Encounters of the Third Kind!
Not a bad way to start the New Year.
Sherlock: The Abominable Bride (9PM, PBS)
The one you’re waiting for! A Victorian-Gothic period piece NOT based on an Arthur Conan-Doyle story! Suicide, surely? Perhaps not…
If you enjoy this episode, I recommend tracking down August Derleth’s Sherlock Holmes pastiche story collections, starring his character “Solar Pons”. They’re a bit stranger than the real thing.
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Saturday
Ash vs. Evil Dead (9PM, STARZ)
Season finale! And yes, there WILL BE a season two!
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Sunday
The Simpsons (8PM, FOX)
Lisa accidentally creates sentient artificial intelligence when her new app that allows users to predict the impact of whatever they post online becomes self-aware. In the “B” story, Homer gets a job washing dishes.
Galavant (8PM, ABC)
Season premiere! It’s called “A New Season…Suck it, Cancellation Bear!” A reference that was more timely eleven months ago.
Downton Abbey (9PM, PBS)
The final season premieres—if you haven’t downloaded it already!
Robot Chicken (12AM, CARTOON)
“The Purge gets under way, and the unbreakable laws are broken. Plus, the Predator and the Bachelor seek to emerge victorious in the battle of the Ex X’s.”
Cartoon Network has done excellent work making fun of The Purge lately, and I expect Robot Chicken will retain that hot streak.
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