This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2015, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Three local college football teams are on national TV this weekend.
On Friday, it's Utah State at Utah (7 p.m., ESPN2). And on Saturday, it's Boise State at BYU (8:15 p.m., ESPN2).
Also this weekend, Vanessa Williams, who was ousted as Miss America three decades ago when some steamy pictures of her surfaces — returns as a judge at the Miss America competition (Sunday, 8 p.m., ABC/Ch. 4). And she's the head judge, leading a panel that includes Zendaya, Chris Harrison and Kevin O'Leary.
These days, Miss America needs Vanessa Williams a whole lot more than Vanessa Williams needs Miss America. Williams has prospered — she's found success as a recording actress and actress, with Emmy, Tony and Grammy nominations — while the Miss America pageant has fallen to historic rating lows.
They've never admitted this inside the Miss America organization, but the Vanessa Williams scandal is widely believed to have influenced the selection of Miss America 1984 — Miss Utah, Sharlene Wells Hawkes. The organizers had to figure there wouldn't be any X-rated pictures of Wells, who was not only Miss BYU but the daughter of an LDS Church general authority.
Friday on TV …
"Think It Up" (7 p.m., Channels, 2, 4, 5, 13): This fundraiser for education includes appearances/performances by Kristen Bell, Stephen Colbert, Scarlett Johansson, Matthew McConaughey, Gwyneth Paltrow, Jeremy Renner, Ryan Seacrest and Jessica Williams.
High school football: Judge Memorial at Logan (7 p.m., Ch. 14); Toole at Stansbury (7 p.m., KMYU)
Women's college volleyball (7 p.m., BYUtv): Oregon State at BYU
"Masters of Illusion" (7 p.m., CW/Ch. 30): Magicians Ed Alonzo, Rick Thomas, Michael Grandinetti, Johnny Ace Palmer, Barry and Stuart, Les Arnold and Dazzle, and Michael Turco perform.
"Z Nation" (11 p.m., Syfy): Nuclear weapons are about to strike. (Season 2 premiere)
"Continuum" (midnight, Syfy): Newly arrived time travelers threaten to destroy Kiera and Brad. (Season 4 premiere)
Saturday on TV ...
U.S. Open tennis (1 p.m., ESPN): Women's final
MLS (6:30 p.m., KMYU): Real Salt Lake at Houston Dynamo
"Cedar Cove" (9 p.m., Hallmark): Olivia gives Paul advice, but she's got problems of her own..
"Ferrell Takes the Field" (11 p.m., HBO): Will Ferrell plays baseball in five spring training games for 10 different teams on one day in March 2015 as a fund-raiser for cancer research. Good for him for the charitable effort … but this is far less entertaining than Ferrell thinks it is.
Sunday on TV …
NFL: Kansas City Chiefs at Houston Texans (11 a.m., CBS/Ch. 2); Seattle Seahawks at St. Louis Rams (11 a.m., Fox/Ch. 13); Baltimore Ravens at Denver Broncos (2:25 p.m., CBS/Ch. 2); New York Giants at Dallas Cowboys (6:20 p.m., NBC/Ch. 5)
U.S. Open tennis (2 p.m., ESPN): Men's final
"Big Brother" (7 p.m., CBS/Ch. 2): Houseguests are nominated for eviction.
"Arthur & George" (7 p.m., PBS/C. 7): Arthur and Woodie order their driver to "follow that carriage," but aren't expecting what they find. (Part 2 of 3)
"Signed, Sealed, Delivered: Truth Be Told" (7 p.m., Hallmark): Oliver gets shocking news from his estranged dad while he and his coworkers look for a bullied teen who's supposed to get a lost letter from a soldier in Afghanistan.
"Sister Wives" (8 and 10 p.m., TLC): There's fallout from Kody divorcing Meri and preparing to make Robyn his legal wife.
"Vicious" (9:30 p.m., PBS/Ch. 7): Violet and Ash consider dating new people.
"Fear the Walking Dead" (10 p.m., AMC): Travis, Liza and Chris seek refuge with the Salazar family after a violent riot.
"Ray Donovan" (10 p.m., Showtime): Ray comes up with a way to help Mickey.
"Project Greenlight" (11 p.m., HBO): Thirteen contestants are chosen from a pool of thousands of aspiring filmmakers and travel to Los Angeles to meet the series' judges. (Season 4 premiere)
"Masters of Sex" (11 p.m., Showtime): Johnson objects to Masters' program.
"The Strain" (11 p.m., FX): Eph tries to assassinate Palmer; Setrakian closes in on the Lumen.
"Doll & Em" (11:40 p.m., HBO): Doll and Em are reunited and embark on a writing project. (Season 2 premiere)