1) “Saturday Night Live,” 11:29 p.m., NBC. For the next three weekends, the Olympic will gobble up NBC. So we might as well savor tonight, wrapping up a string of three new “SNL” episodes. The host, Willem Dafoe, has rarely been thought of as a funny guy; he’s 66 and had never done the show until last week’s brief visit. The starpower comes from Katy Perry (shown here), with her fourth turn as music guest. Perry, who also hosted once, has a new “American Idol” season starting Feb. 27.
2) “Janet Jackson,” 6-10:02 p.m., Lifetime and A&E. If you missed the first half of this documentary, you can catch it at 6 p.m.; the conclusion debuts at 8. Afterward, the two channels vary: At 10:02, A&E repeats all four hours; Lifetime simply repeats the second half at 10:02, midnight and 2:03 a.m.
3) “The Great Chocolate Showdown” debut, 8 p.m., CW. Like chocolate itself, this show is fun and festive and totally devoid of any higher purpose. It’s a Canadian production, but one contestant is a Virginia guy who says his cake is just like him – sporting a bow tie and full of whiskey. Others include teachers, a bartender, a circus performer, a casino consultant, an immigration lawyer and an oncology pharmacist. It’s kind of fun, in a forgettable way.
4) “Gandhi” (1982), 8 p.m., Turner Classic Movies. Now for the opposite of chocolate fluff. Here’s a richly crafted portrait of the man who guided India to independence. The result won eight Academy Awards, including best picture, director (Richard Attenborough) and actor (Ben Kingsley).
5) More movies. This is a good night to see actors tackle serious roles. At 6:45 p.m., Showtime has Tom Hanks’ Oscar-winning work as a lawyer who has AIDS in “Philadelphia” (1993). At 8, HBO has “The Eyes of Tammy Fae”; Jessica Chastain has Screen Actors Guild and Golden Globe nominations, as Tammy Faye Bakker. And at 10, Ben Affleck is excellent in “The Way Back” (2020) as a basketball coach, trying to redeem an alcohol-damaged life.