It’s Nickelodeon’s 20th Anniversary; AMC Tells ‘Holiday’ ‘Backstory’

Series

This weekend, two Showtime series return for a new season, Nickelodeon celebrates a birthday and AMC premieres a new documentary series.

Richard Dean Anderson returns for his third season on the Showtime sci-fi series “SG-1,” Friday at 10 p.m.

Nickelodeon celebrates its 20th anniversary on Saturday and Sunday with a big bash. On tap for Saturday at 8 p.m. is the “SNICK Birthday Bash,” a two-hour lineup of “Rugrats,” “All That,” “Kenan & Kel,” “Cousin Skeeter” and cutaways to Nick’s animation studio in Burbank.

Sherilyn Fenn is back as an ex-soap star trying to remain on the wagon in the second-season premiere of the Showtime comedy “Rude Awakenings,” Saturday at 10 p.m.

AMC presents “Backstory,” Sunday at 6:30 p.m. The documentary offers a behind-the-scenes look at the making of the 1953 classic “Roman Holiday.”

E! Entertainment Television’s “The E! True Hollywood Story,” Sunday at 8 p.m., profiles Oscar-winning producer Julia Phillips.

PBS’ “P.O.V.” series profiles the coach and father figure to a group of young boxers who train at his South Bronx gym, Sunday at 11 p.m. on KCET-TV.

“Frontline,” Sunday at midnight on KCET, features photographer Joel Meyerowitz’s profile of his father, who has Alzheimer’s disease.

Specials

Hector Elizondo hosts “Tango Magic,” tonight at 8 on KCET, a history of the sensual dance.

Pianist Rolf Lovland and violinist Finnuala Sherry perform New Age music in a concert film in Norway on “A Night With Secret Garden,” tonight at 9:30 on KCET.

Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan and special guests will discuss the state of public schools on the KTLA special “Public Schools: Working the System,” Saturday at 11:30 a.m.

“A Celebration of Black Music,” Saturday at 8 p.m. on KTLA, features various African American music artists performing to aid the Urban Scholarship Program.

John Mahoney narrates the two-hour documentary “The Hidden History of Chicago,” Saturday at 9 p.m. on the History Channel.

A&E;’s “The Bunny Years,” which is based on the book by Kathryn Leigh Scott, chronicles the cultural phenomenon of the Playboy Bunny, Sunday at 6 and 10 p.m.

E! Entertainment Television takes viewers inside of Hollywood’s most exclusive nightclubs on “Hollywood Nights,” Sunday at 10 p.m.

Movies

“The Phantom Menace” fans might want to check out the Cinemax presentation “Rogue Trader,” Friday at 8 p.m. Ewan McGregor, who plays Obi-Wan Kenobi, stars in this drama as a British stockbroker.

Ben Cooper and Katey Sagal star in “Smart House,” a Disney Channel comedy about a computer whiz who helps his father win a house, Saturday at 7 p.m.

Scott Bakula and Leon star in Showtime’s thriller “Mean Streak,” Sunday at 9 p.m. Bakula plays a New York cop who teams with an FBI agent (Leon) to find a white supremacist who is determined to murder a black baseball player before he can best Joe DiMaggio’s 1941 hitting streak.

Sports

Undefeated WBA bantamweight champ Johnny Tapia defends his title again Paulie Ayala (27-1) in Las Vegas on a pay-per-view boxing match, Saturday at 6 p.m.

ESPN 2 presents the fifth annual “The X Games,” Sunday at 6 p.m. from San Francisco.