TV Daily

Prime Pick

Photo: Animal Planet

In the old days, whenever someone brought up Animal Planet's hit show "Meerkat Manor," we cringed a little. After all, what kind of creepy, emotionally stunted shut-ins could get into a reality series about a bunch of long-legged, scrappy-looking weasels living in the Kalahari Desert? Now that we're hooked, though, we feel like creepy, emotionally stunted shut-ins, particularly since crying our eyes out over the devastating death of the star of the show, dominant female Flower, who was felled by a cobra in an episode that aired a few weeks ago. Has the death of any character on TV caused this kind of groundswell of raw emotion before? Even the soothing tones of our Hobbit narrator, Sean Astin, didn't make us feel any better. What tragic turn could possibly befall the beleaguered Whiskers family next? We'll find out when the third-season finale of "Meerkat Manor" airs Friday at 8:30 p.m. EDT on Animal Planet.

-- H.H.

Also…

On Friday, hoping to piggyback on the popularity of the meerkats, there are the simian citizens of "Orangutan Island" (9 p.m. EDT on Animal Planet). Coach Taylor returns to a broken, dejected team on "Friday Night Lights" (9 p.m. EDT on NBC), and Nicolas Cage stars in comedy classic "Raising Arizona" (8 p.m. EDT on CMT). On Saturday, Mark Wahlberg spills the wine and proclaims himself a "big, bright, shining star" (porn star, that is) in "Boogie Nights" (9 p.m. EDT on IFC). Sunday ushers forth MTV's "The Shot" (premieres 8 p.m. EST), a new reality competition for snap-happy amateurs vying to become fashion photographers. "The Simpsons" annual "Treehouse of Horror" Halloween episodes begin at 8 p.m. EST on Fox, and lovable serial killer "Dexter" encounters a copycat at 9 p.m. EST on Showtime.

On the talk shows -- Friday

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

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