The computer strikes back: 'Jeopardy!' hosts first man vs. machine competition

December 13, 2010?|? 9:01 pm

Will robots one day crush our puny human brains? Maybe! And it might happen sooner than we think. On Tuesday, IBM and "Jeopardy!" announced that the quiz show will host its first man vs. machine game, pitting "Jeopardy!" all-star champions Ken Jennings and Brad Rutter against a frighteningly smart computing system named "Watson," built by a team of IBM scientists. ("Jeopardy!" fans, you can learn more about your new robot overlord in the video above.)

During two matches scheduled to air over Feb. 14, 15 and 16, the show will pose a great challenge to Watson: Namely, can a humble collection of ones and zeroes possibly answer questions with the same speed, ear for irony, and knowledge of obscure Lady Gaga trivia as an actual Homo sapien? Considering that Watson has played more than 50 "sparring games" against former "Jeopardy!" Tournament of Champions contestants and passed the same "Jeopardy!" test that humans take to qualify, we'll guess that the answer is yes. Now it's only a matter of time before Watson trumps our people on "Dancing With the Stars." We'll take "Signs of the Impending Techno-Apocalypse" for $400, Alex!

— Melissa Maerz

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Monday's Highlights: 'Marry Me' on Lifetime.

December 12, 2010?|? 8:00 pm

Click here to download TV listings for the week of Dec. 12 - 18 in PDF format

TV listings for the week of Dec. 12 - 18 in PDF format (alternate link)

Weekly TV Listings can also be found at: www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/tv

This week's TV Movies

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WEDDING DAY: Lucy Liu stars in the conclusion of the new TV romance “Marry Me” at 9 p.m. on Lifetime.?

SERIES

How I Met Your Mother: Lily and Marshall (Alyson Hannigan, Jason Segel) receive shocking news that has a profound effect on the gang, forcing all of them to examine their lives in the new episode “False Positive” (8 p.m. CBS).?

The Vampire Diaries: The CW devotes its entire prime-time schedule this week to recapping the second season of this supernatural/teenage romance series (8 p.m. KTLA).?

Two and a Half Men: Jane Lynch reprises her Emmy-nominated role as Charlie's (Charlie Sheen) therapist in this new episode (9 p.m. CBS).?

Mariah Carey: Merry Christmas to You: The singer performs selections from her latest holiday release at the Orpheum Theatre (9 p.m. ABC).?

Intervention: The unscripted series returns for a new season (9 p.m. A&E).?

Mike & Molly: Mike tries to find a gift for for their first Christmas together in this new episode (9:30 p.m. CBS).?

Hawaii Five-0: As Christmas arrives in Hawaii, Victor Hesse (James Marsters) — the man who murdered McGarrett's (Alex O'Loughlin) father — resurfaces and initiates a tense hostage situation when he makes a malevolent yuletide delivery: an explosive he has strapped to Chin Ho's (Daniel Dae Kim) chest. Scott Caan and Grace Park also star in this new episode (10 p.m. CBS).?

Men of a Certain Age: Joe (Ray Romano) tries to stick to a schedule that will allow him time to practice his golf game while Owen (Andre Braugher) tries to assert his authority over the dealership's service department and Terry's (Scott Bakula) co-workers start making fun of him after they discover one of his old commercials online in this new episode (10 p.m. TNT).?

MOVIES?

Christmas Cupid: The ghost of a starlet visits a Hollywood publicist to guide her to true love in this 2010 TV movie starring Christina Milian and Ashley Benson (7 p.m. ABC Family).?

SPORTS

College basketball: UC Davis at UCLA (7:30 p.m. FS Prime).

Photo: Kevin Lyons / Lifetime

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Saturday's Highlights: The Royal Family featured on BBC America

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This week's TV Movies

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WITH THIS RING: BBC America marks Prince William's engagement to Kate Middleton with several programs: “Art of Diana” (9 a.m. and 1 p.m.); “William & Kate: Modern Monarchy” (12:30 and 4:30 p.m.); “All the Queen's Horses” (2 p.m.); and “Memories of a Queen” (3 p.m.).?

SERIES

Pets 101: This new series provides pet owners with advice on the care and feeding of their pets. In the premiere: pigs, hedgehogs, pygmy goats, Capybaras, mini donkeys and skunks. (8 p.m. Animal Planet). A second episode (hamsters, guinea pigs, geckos, rabbits, parrots and ferrets) follows at 9.

America's Most Wanted: America Fights Back: This new episode provides details of the anonymous viewer's tip that helped Beverly Hills police in the Ronni Chasen murder investigation (9 p.m. Fox).?

SPECIALS

Spike TV's Video Game Awards 2010: This new special honors accomplishments of the last year in video games (5, 7 and 9 p.m. Spike).?

Lombardi: This new documentary traces the life of Vince Lombardi, from his early college football career to his NFL years, featuring interviews with his family, former Packers Jerry Kramer, Bart Starr and others (8:30 p.m. HBO).?

MOVIES

The Queen: The tribute to the royal family continues with Helen Mirren in the 2006 drama (5 and 8 p.m. BBC America).?

White Christmas: Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Rosemary Clooney and Vera-Ellen star in this 1954 classic (8 p.m. AMC).?

An Old-Fashioned Christmas: A follow-up to 2008's “An Old Fashioned Thanksgiving,” this new drama returns Jacqueline Bisset to the role of wealthy grandmother of a budding author (Catherine Steadman) (8 and 10 p.m. Hallmark).?

SPORTS

College basketball: Northern Arizona at USC (1 p.m. FSN); Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo at UCLA (5 p.m. FS Prime).?

College football: Villanova at Appalachian State (9 a.m. ESPN); Army vs. Navy (11:30 a.m. CBS).?

Pro basketball: The Memphis Grizzlies visit the Clippers (12:30 p.m. FS Prime); the Minnesota Timberwolves visit the Chicago Bulls (5 p.m. WGN A).?

Hockey: The Minnesota Wild visit the Kings (7:30 p.m. FSN).

?Photo: EPA

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'Glee': Tonsillitis brings production to a halt

December 10, 2010?|?10:59 pm

It's the holiday season, which can only mean one thing: Sickness! Several “Glee” cast members have come down with tonsillitis, forcing the show to shut down production today, a rep for the show confirms.

The cast was scheduled to shoot a big musical number on location this Friday evening for February's post-Super Bowl episode, EW.com first reported. They'll have to get healthy fast because production is expected to resume on Monday. The musical number, however, will be rescheduled for January.

20th Century Fox Television, the studio behind the show, isn't commenting on which cast members are sick, but earlier today “Glee” star Dianna Agron posted the following message on her Tumblr along with a picture of the cutest sick teddy bear ever: “Note to self…should have gotten a flu shot. In bed, hoping that medicine, soup, my computer and a marathon of movies will be the cure.”

Get healthy and enjoy your day of respite, Gleeks!

— Vlada Gelman (follow my TV musings on Twitter at @stayingin)

RELATED:
Complete 'Glee' coverage on Show Tracker

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Weekend Talk Shows

Click here to download TV listings for the week of Dec. 12 - 18 in PDF format

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This week's TV Movies

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SATURDAY

Good Morning America (N) 7 a.m. KABC?

McLaughlin Group (N) 6:30 p.m. KCET?

The Chris Matthews Show President Obama's compromise with Republicans; political gaffes: Andrea Mitchell, NBC; Michael Duffy, Time; Helene Cooper, the New York Times; David Ignatius, the Washington Post. (N) 5:30 a.m. KNBC?

SUNDAY

CBS News Sunday Morning Leon Russell. (N) 6 a.m. KCBS?

Today Michael J. Fox; the Radio City Rockettes perform; holiday parties. (N) 6 a.m. KNBC?

Good Morning America (N) 6 a.m. KABC?

State of the Union With Candy Crowley Tax compromise; lame duck agenda: Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill). Tax compromise: Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.); Rep. Jim McDermott (D-Wash.). (N) 6 and 9 a.m. CNN?

Fareed Zakaria GPS (N) 7 and 10 a.m. CNN?

Face the Nation Tax cuts and divided democrats: White House Advisor David Axelrod; Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.); former Gov. Howard Dean (D-Vt.) (N) 7:30 a.m. KCBS?

Meet the Press Politics and the economy: Austan Goolsbee, White House Council of Economic Advisers. The Economy and taxes; the deficit; unemployment: Mayor Michael Bloomberg (I-NYC). Politics, partisanship and the Obama White House: Former Rep. Harold Ford Jr. (D-Tenn.); Paul Gigot, the Wall Street Journal; Savannah Guthrie, NBC; Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y.). (N) 8 a.m. KNBC?

This Week With Christiane Amanpour Tax compromise: White House advisor David Axelrod. Peace process: Salam Fayyad, prime minister of the Palestinian Authority; Tzipi Livni, Israeli opposition leader. (N) 8 a.m. KABC?

Fox News Sunday With Chris Wallace Tax comprise debate: Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.). The Supreme Court: Justice Stephen Breyer. Panel: Bill Kristol; Mara Liasson; Chris Stirewalt; Juan Williams. (N) 8 a.m. KTTV?

Reliable Sources Liberals revolt; tax compromise: John Aravosis, AmericaBlog.com; Julie Mason, the Washington Examiner; Matt Lewis, PoliticsDaily.com. (N) 8 a.m. CNN?

60 Minutes John Boehner; Brazil's thriving economy; Jerry Jones. (N) 7 p.m. KCBS?

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Thursday's Highlights: 'Community' on NBC

Click here to download TV listings for the week of Dec. 5 - 11 in PDF format

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This week's TV Movies

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HOLIDAY EPISODE: Abed wakes up in a stop-motion animation starring the members of the study group in a new episode of “Community” at 8 p.m. on NBC.?

SERIES

The Big Bang Theory: Sheldon's (Jim Parsons) “girlfriend” (Mayim Bialik) realizes she has fallen for Penny's (Kaley Cuoco) ex (Brian Thomas Smith) in this new episode (8 p.m. CBS).?

Rocky Mountain Gators: Jay Young lives the wild life, wrangling, raising and wrestling alligators deep in the heart of Colorado's Rocky Mountains in this new series (8 p.m. Animal Planet).?

The Apprentice: One of the two finalists will hear Donald Trump speak the words “Welcome to the Club,” in the season finale of the unscripted series (10 p.m. NBC).?

The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills: Kyle and Mauricio's marriage is put to the test as they argue over whether to take the kids along on what is intended to be a romantic Napa Valley trip for a charity bike ride, and a new twist in Camille's marriage to Kelsey is revealed in this new episode (10 p.m. Bravo).?

SPECIALS

A Barbara Walters Special: Oprah, The Next Chapter: The veteran ABC newswoman interviews Oprah Winfrey in this new special (9 p.m. ABC). “Barbara Walters Presents the 10 Most Fascinating People of 2010” follows at 10, featuring Justin Bieber, Betty White, Gen. David Petraeus, the cast of “Jersey Shore,” Sandra Bullock and former Alaska governor and vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin, the first person to make Walters' list three times.?

MOVIES

Fantastic Mr. Fox: Director Wes Anderson tells the Roald Dahl story about a fox (George Clooney) who tries to overcome the prowling tradition of his species, in this 2009 animation. Meryl Streep, Jason Schwartzman, Bill Murray and Owen Wilson also provide voices (7 p.m. HBO).?

The Santa Incident: A couple (Ione Skye, Greg Germann) help Santa Claus (James Cosmo) after the U.S. government shoots down his sleigh as an unidentified aircraft in this new holiday treat. Michael McElhatton and Sean McConaghy also star (8 and 10 p.m. Hallmark).?

SPORTS

Hockey: The Calgary Flames visit the Kings (7:30 p.m. FSN).?

Photo: NBC

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Thursday's Talk Shows

Chelsea Lately Kathy Griffin. (N) 11 p.m. E!

Conan Sarah Silverman; Michio Kaku; She & Him performs. (N) 11 p.m. TBS?

Charlie Rose Andrew Mason, Groupon; Stacy Schiff. (N) 11:30 p.m. KCET?

Late Show With David Letterman Bill O'Reilly; Phosphorescent performs. (N) 11:35 p.m. KCBS?

The Tonight Show With Jay Leno Halle Berry; Billy Gardell; Natasha Bedingfield. (N) 11:35 p.m. KNBC?

Lopez Tonight Steve Harvey; La Roux performs. (N) midnight TBS?

Jimmy Kimmel Live John Krasinski; Rosemarie DeWitt; Crystal Castles. (N) 12:06 a.m. KABC?

The Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson Lucy Liu; Nobel Peace Prize winner Jody Williams. (N) 12:37 a.m. KCBS?

Late Night With Jimmy Fallon Robert Plant; Nick Cannon; Robert Plant performs. (N) 12:37 a.m. KNBC?

Last Call With Carson Daly Henry Rollins; Andrew Zuckerman; Two Door Cinema Club. (N) 1:36 a.m. KNBC

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