You hate the Olympics. You don’t know the difference between a discus and a high beam. You think Michael Phelps is the leader of a group of highly specialized government agents.
If this sounds even vaguely familiar, it’s safe to say you won’t be watching much of the eye-popping 1,210 hours of Olympic Games coverage on NBC, MSNBC, CNBC, USA Network, Bravo and Telemundo during the next two weeks.
Believe it or not, other shows will air during the Games.
A sampling of some alternative programs you’ll find on TV:
ABC
The network will run what it calls “irreverent” promotional spots during daytime. Starting Monday, Bob “The Bachelor” Guiney serves as a soap commentator on “The Wide World of Soaps,” a playful campaign that ABC says will mentor, inform and entertain ABC daytime fans while also targeting die-hard soap fans jonesing for their pre-empted NBC soaps.
The spots, which will air at the end of “The View” and twice an hour during “All My Children,” “One Life to Live” and “General Hospital,” will feature Olympic-style reporting from laugh-happy Guiney as well as ABC soap stars talking about their characters.
E!
If you haven’t already, catch up with
“Dr. 90210” (9 p.m. Sundays) and see the elite world of cosmetic surgery in Beverly Hills, where having the right plastic surgeon is just as important as hiring the right power broker agent.
LIFETIME
The Chick Channel will feature “TV Movie Gold,” seven movie premieres starring actresses such as Goldie Hawn, Alison Lohman, Diane Ladd and Jennifer Jason Leigh. “TV Movie Gold,” running nightly from 6 to 10 p.m. until Aug. 30, also will showcase Lifetime original flicks.
FOX
Look for reality specials, mini-marathons and–in a shrewd counter-programming move for men–bone-crunching football, including the Washington Redskins and the St. Louis Rams on Aug. 27.
THE HISTORY CHANNEL
You have no interest in the Olympics but are curious about ancient Greece. Well, Greek Week (7 p.m. Monday to Thursday) takes viewers back in time more than two millennia to the year of the original games. The series is hosted by Nia Vardalos (“My Big Fat Greek Wedding”).
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Edited by Cara DiPasquale (cdipasquale@tribune.com) and Michael Morgan (mnmorgan@tribune.com)
