Tonight's TV Hot List: Saturday, May 15, 2010

The Preakness
4:30/3:30c NBC
Not unlike middle sister Jan Brady, the second jewel in horse racing's Triple Crown is a bit attention-starved as the bridge from historic Churchill Downs to the big-city, big-event feel of the Belmont Stakes. The too-short, two-week turnaround following the Kentucky Derby annually leads to just a handful of Derby horses also entering the Pimlico starting gate in Baltimore, making life that much easier for the Derby winner. Super Saver is this year's Triple Crown candidate, with jockey Calvin Borel gunning for his second straight Preakness win after guiding fabulous filly Rachel Alexandra to victory last year. Paddy O'Prado (third), Lookin at Lucky (sixth) and Dublin (seventh), one of two entries trained by five-time Preakness winner D. Wayne Lukas, headline the Derby holdovers. — Roger Leister
Saturday Night Live
11:29/10:29c NBC
The late-night lampooner, ignited by Golden Girl Betty White's ratings-boosting, slam-bang appearance on May 8, tries to sustain the momentum by turning to a smart Alec to close out its 35th season. Alec Baldwin, so sharp as pesky network bigwig Jack Donaghy on "30 Rock," returns as host for the 15th time, in the process tying his Oscar cohost, Steve Martin, for most hosting appearances. And the mojo's rising on the music stage: Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers deliver their enduring rock and roll in anticipation of the June 15 release of their new CD, Mojo. — Dean Maurer
Doctor Who
9/8c BBC America
With stock villains such as Cybermen and Daleks playing thorns in the Time Lord's side ever since William Hartnell's run as the first Doctor in the '60s, it's nice to know the current series is continuing the bad-guy recycling trend by bringing back newer foes as well.  The Weeping Angels, those spooky statuesque aliens who first tangled with David Tennant's Doctor in the popular "Blink" episode, turn up to give the new doc grief. — Michael Chant
America's Most Wanted
9/8c Fox
In Chicago, some 150 school-age children have been gunshot victims this school year alone. It's an issue that hits home with host John Walsh, whose son Adam was murdered in 1981, and Walsh is in the Windy City tonight, meeting with members for the anticrime organization Pain Over Purpose to see what they're doing to stem the tide. Walsh also checks out the city's extensive network of surveillance cameras to explore the role of Big Brother (as well as cameras in stores and at ATMs) in fighting crime. — Paul Droesch
The Hangover
8/7c HBO
"What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas" is a familiar catchphrase, but what if you can't even remember what happened? That's what unfolds in this R-rated 2009 comedy when a bachelor party in Sin City takes a detour after three hungover groomsmen-to-be (Ed Helms, Zach Galifianakis and Bradley Cooper) wake up to find the groom nowhere in sight. Solving this puzzle is no easy task, especially when the pieces include a missing tooth, a baby and a tiger in a hotel bathroom. Heather Graham costars. — Joe Friedrich
NASCAR Racing
2:30/1:30c ABC
Before the second leg of horse racing's Triple Crown is run in nearby Baltimore, man-made horsepower is on display in the NASCAR season's first stop in Dover, Delaware. The tire-eating "Monster Mile" hosts the Nationwide Series Heluva Good! 200, with defending champ Brad Keselowski continuing to make a name for himself on the Saturday circuit as 2010 points leader. Last week in Darlington, S.C., Keselowski's streak of Top 5 finishes ended at eight in a row as he languished in seventh place, still within sight of the 1-2 finish by Joe Gibbs Racing stars Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch. — Roger Leister
G-Force
9/8c Starz
A secret government program that trains animals to do undercover espionage work turns loose a group of highly intelligent guinea pigs who use their small stature to complete a mission to save the world from an evil billionaire. Team leader Darwin (voice of Sam Rockwell) is a driven rodent for whom failure is not an option, and he's backed by weapons wizard Blaster (Tracy Morgan) and martial-arts expert Juarez (Penélope Cruz). The 2009 rip-roaring adventure is rated PG and directed by Hoyt Yeatman, an Oscar winner for visual effects (The Abyss). — Ray Stackhouse
Penguins of Madagascar
10/9c Nickelodeon
Searching for a new place to live in New York City is never easy, but it's even more difficult if you're an alligator. The penguins help Roger look for a new home, but NYC residents get panicky when they realize they may have a sharp-toothed reptile for a neighbor. Then the penguins appoint themselves bodyguards of the zoo commissioner after learning that he's made an enemy of Frankie the pigeon. — Jennifer Sankowski