TV Daily

Weekend Pick

Photo: HBO

Sound the trumpets! Release the hounds! Warm up the shrimp toasts, fluff the sofa cushions, and make sure the remote control is still working! The long-awaited fifth and final season of "The Wire" (premieres 9 p.m. EST Sunday, Jan. 6, on HBO) is finally here, which means that even those who avoid TV at all costs have a reason to dust off their small screens. Just in case you're from Jupiter and haven't read it 50 million times before, "The Wire" may be the single greatest show to ever appear on television. The first few episodes suggest this is going to be a breathtakingly good season, focusing in part on the role reporters and editors at the Baltimore Sun newspaper play in the urban dystopia that show creator David Simon portrays. (Look for more details in this Sunday's I Like to Watch column.) If you've missed this remarkable series thus far, start renting DVDs, because this is a show that people are going to be talking about (and swooning over) for the next few months, if not the next few decades.

-- H.H.

Also…

On Friday, the winter premiere of "Flash Gordon" airs at 8 p.m. EST on Sci Fi, and a tornado hits Dillon, Texas, on "Friday Night Lights" (9 p.m. EST on NBC). And how can a reasonable human not tune in for a show called "How to Look Good Naked" (9 p.m. EST on Lifetime)? After that, Jim Lehrer gathers prominent Americans to discuss the role and responsibilities of citizens and the government in "By the People: Citizenship in the 21st Century" (10 p.m. EST on PBS, check listings), while the winter premiere of "Stargate Atlantis" airs at 10 p.m. EST on Sci Fi. On Saturday, coverage of the New Hampshire presidential debates kicks off at 7 p.m. EST on ABC. Original movie "Beyond Loch Ness" premieres at 9 p.m. EST on Sci Fi. The band Crowded House appears on "Austin City Limits" at 9 p.m. EST on PBS (check listings). On Sunday, "The Amazing Race" continues without Goth favorites Kynt and Vyxen at 8 p.m. EST on CBS, followed by the premiere of the sure-to-be-hopelessly-cheesy "American Gladiators" (9 p.m. EST on NBC).

Last night

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On the talk shows -- Friday

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

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