TV Daily

Salon's guide to what to watch on Thursday: Campy wedding high jinks await on ABC's delicious "Ugly Betty."

Published November 8, 2007 11:00AM (EST)

Prime Pick

Photo: ABC

What is it with TV weddings? All it takes to make a splash on the small screen is to stick some leading character in a spectacular bridal gown and hint that everything is going to go very, very wrong. Last season, the soapy wedding disasters belonged to "Grey's Anatomy" and "Desperate Housewives," and this fall we got a big, fat (dumb) wedding finale on "Californication," but none of the above are likely to compare with the campy high jinks in store on tonight's episode of "Ugly Betty" (8 p.m. EST on ABC). Bad boss Wilhelmina is all set to marry bad mogul Bradford Meade, with none other than Posh Spice Victoria Beckham as her maid of honor. The absurd, manic, cartoonish style of "Ugly Betty" is perfectly suited for such a fictional TV event, plus you can bet your last white dove that every tacky-but-trendy wedding "tradition" will be skewered, right before the whole luxurious affair turns ugly. And is there anything we love more than a huge, overpriced wedding that turns catastrophic? OK, maybe a wedding cake made out of fried Twinkies.

Also…

"Survivor: China" (8 p.m. EST on CBS) feels like anybody's game in the wake of the two tribes merging, but we're rooting for James the Gravedigger. Fans of "CSI" and "Without a Trace" should enjoy back-to-back episodes in which the sleuths of both shows have to team up to solve a mystery (starts at 9 p.m. EST on CBS). David Schwimmer appears as a pesky environmentally friendly mascot on "30 Rock" (8:30 p.m. EST on NBC), and Mike Myers and Deepak Chopra are featured on "Iconoclasts" (10 p.m. EST on Sundance).

On the talk shows

Regis and Kelly

ABC, 9 a.m. EST

Vince Vaughn, John Stamos

The View

ABC, 11 a.m. EST

Teri Hatcher, the latest eliminated celebrity from "Dancing With the Stars," guest co-host Tori Spelling

Ellen DeGeneres

Syndicated, check local listings

Rob Lowe, kid inventors

Oprah Winfrey

Syndicated, check local listings

How to Look Great at Every Age

Charlie Rose

PBS, check local listings

Jeffrey Immelt

Larry King

CNN, 9 p.m. EST

UFO Show

Jon Stewart

Comedy Central, 11 p.m. EST

Valerie Plame Wilson (repeat)

Stephen Colbert

Comedy Central, 11:30 p.m. EST

Walter Kirn (repeat)

David Letterman

CBS, 11:30 p.m. EST

Paris Hilton, Emile Hirsch (repeat)

Jay Leno

NBC, 11:35 p.m. EST

Ben Affleck, Jim Norton, the Shins (repeat)

Tavis Smiley

PBS, check local listings

Paul Giamatti, Lawrence Wright

Jimmy Kimmel

ABC, 12:05 a.m. EST

Nicolette Sheridan, Coheed & Cambria

Conan O'Brien

NBC, 12:35 a.m. EST

Adam Sandler, Vera Farmiga, Pegi Young (repeat)

Craig Ferguson

CBS, 12:35 a.m. EST

Michael Caine, Lizzy Cooperman (repeat)

Contributors: Megan Doll, Heather Havrilesky, Eryn Loeb, Amy Reiter


By Salon Staff

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