Tonight's TV Hot List: Saturday, Dec. 26, 2009

Doctor Who
9/8c BBC America
The hook made famous by the cheesy, '80s hair-metal band Europe seems appropriate here:

"It's the final countdown!" For David Tennant, that is. John Simm resurfaces as the Doctor's

archnemesis, the Master, who, like the Grinch, picks Christmas Eve to unleash his brand of

mayhem in Part 1 of this two-part drama. (Part 2 airs next Saturday.) Catherine Tate

reprises her role as Donna Noble. — Michael Chant

Suze Orman Show
9/8c CNBC
A collection of previously unheard viewer calls accents this end-of-the-year recap, which

also reviews Suze's year in jackets. (And what jackets!) The "Can I Afford It?" segment

features a query about purchasing a catamaran boat and a question about buying a top-of-the

-line briefcase. — Jeff Gemmill

Revolutionary Road
9/8c HBO
Last seen on-screen together in Titanic, Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio reunite for a

different kind of ill-fated voyage — at least metaphorically — in this adaptation of

Richard Yates' excellent 1961 novel about suburban angst in 1950s Connecticut. Directed by

Sam Mendes, Winslet's husband, the four-star 2008 film also stars Kathy Bates and Michael

Shannon, who received an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor. — Joe Friedrich

U.S. Olympic Trials
2:30/1:30c NBC
Helping to make the holidays merry for some fortunate members of the U.S. freestyle skiing

and Nordic combined teams are wild-card berths on the U.S. teams that go to the winners of

these Olympic Trials in Steamboat Springs, Colo. Top entrants in the Nordic event include

Todd Lodwick and Johnny Spillane. In freestyle moguls, look for Patrick Deneen and Hannah

Kearny; and in freestyle aerials, top names include Jeret "Speedy" Peterson and Ryan St.

Onge. — Dave Roeder

Little Caesars Pizza Bowl
1/Noon c ESPN
Of the 34 games on college football's endless bowl docket, perhaps the tackiest name and

least-appetizing matchup are rolled into one at the Little Caesars Pizza Bowl in Detroit,

where former MAC foes Marshall (6-6) and Ohio (9-4) square off while the rest of the world

hits the post-Christmas sales. A pair of far tastier games follow, featuring three former

NFL head coaches in various stages of college success. Dave Wannstedt's Pitt Panthers (9-3)

and Butch Davis' North Carolina Tar Heels (8-4) are on the upswing as they collide in the

Meineke Car Care Bowl in Charlotte, while Pete Carroll's worst pack of USC Trojans (8-4)

since 2001 trudge up to San Francisco for the Emerald Bowl against Boston College (8-4). —

Roger Leister