Happy birthday, Betty White!
I've had the good fortune to meet this living treasure a couple of times, and I wish I had half the energy she does at age 93.
White's birthday is Saturday and she's celebrating by sharing her lifelong passion for animals on cable's Great American Country channel (it styles itself GAC these days). Betty White's Smartest Animals in America premieres at 7 p.m. Saturday and features a twist on the usual animal special starring cute puppies and kittens.
In her quest to meet the sharpest animals around, White meets elephants, boasting the biggest animal brains on land; the fearless YouTube star, the honey badger ("Honey badger don't care. Honey badger don't give a $#!*."); and playful dolphins, regarded by scientists as the world's smartest animal.
White also introduces viewers to the kea bird, indigenous to New Zealand and renowned for its curiosity, and pixie pigs that out rank dogs as the smartest domesticated animals.
"With all the smart animals we've met, the more we take time to learn about them, the more we realize how amazing they really are," White tells GAC. "Any excuse to be around animals, I'll take it!"
But the highlight of the show is White's emotional reunion with her friend Koko the gorilla who, using sign language, became the first animal to ever speak with humans.
"By communicating in a human language to express her needs or being able to respond to a sad film just like we do, Koko forces us to realize that a gorilla is so much more than just an animal," White says. "To look into the eyes of a 300-pound gorilla and have her tell you what she's thinking is truly humbling."
Check your listings to see if you get GAC. Based in Knoxville, Tenn., the basic cable outfit is distributed in more than 62 million U.S. households and features country music videos and specials, and programs celebrating American culture.
• More dogs. Sticking with the animal theme, The World Dog Awards air at 7 p.m. today on The CW. "Call the paw-parazzi," the network actually says in a news release.
I know. Sorry.
George Lopez hosts this new event that The CW claims will "combine the glitz of the Hollywood award season with America's affection for our lovable canine companions. It honors all sorts -- service dogs, household pets and canine TV and movie stars."
America voted online in such categories as "Top TV Dog," "Happiest Reunion," "America's Top Mutt" and "Most Pawpular."
OK. That last one went too far.
To get serious, the category of "Outstanding Achievement in the Field" honors dogs that have risked their lives for their humans, shown amazing compassion for other animals, or dedicated their lives in service to those with health issues. Their stories will be recounted and the honorees will be presented with special (and edible) awards during the broadcast.
The two-hour event will be broadcast from Santa Monica's Barker Hangar in California.
Seriously. Barker Hangar is a real place.
• Even more dogs. Shark Tank returns at 8 p.m. Friday to ABC and one of the business pitches will be from a former Air Force captain and dog lover from La Pine, Ore., who has created a complete food bar for canines.
• And monkeys. Syfy unrolls a new adventure series Friday. 12 Monkeys debuts at 8 p.m. and is based on the 1995 movie directed by Terry Gilliam that starred Bruce Willis, Brad Pitt and Madeleine Stowe.
In the TV series, Aaron Stanford (Nikita) plays flawed hero and time traveller James Cole, who journeys from the post-apocalyptic future of 2043 to the present day on a mission to locate and eradicate the source of a deadly plague that will eventually decimate 93.6 percent of the human race.
The evildoers are in the mysterious outfit known as the Army of the Twelve Monkeys.
High-toned synopsis from Syfy: "12 Monkeys explores themes of destiny, fate, love and the possibility of second chances."
Helping Cole on his mission will be brilliant virologist Dr. Cassandra Railly (Amanda Schull, Pretty Little Liars) and troubled math genius (she has psychological issues) Jennifer Goines (Emily Hampshire, Cosmopolis).
• Helix. Season 2 (13 episodes) of the series launches at 9 p.m. Friday on Syfy. The future of mankind is still at stake.
• The Musketeers. Season 2 begins at 8 p.m. Saturday on BBC America. It stars Luke Pasqualino as D'Artagnan, Tom Burke as Athos, Santiago Cabrera as Aramis and Howard Charles as Porthos.
• Game of Thrones. HBO says Season 5 kicks off April 12. There will be 10 episodes. April 12 will also bring us new episodes of Silicon Valley and Veep.
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Weekend on 01/15/2015