On Friday, TV Asahi devotes almost three full hours to the variety special "Kekkon Dekinai Shikaisha to Nijusan-nin Yomeiru Geinintachi" (7 p.m.), whose entire premise is described in the title: "Presenters Who Can't Get Married and 23 Comedians With Brides."
What we have is two single comedians, Atsushi Tamura of London Boots and Chihara Junior, acting as presenters and talking "profoundly" about their unmarried status with 23 married comedians. The latter explain the joys of conjugal life, but also the drawbacks, such as "how to make excuses when you're caught in an extramarital affair" and what to do when the excuse doesn't work and divorce looms. To give the two presenters a taste of what they're missing, they're dropped off at a couple's home for some hands-on child-rearing.
Kaoru Takada's historical novel series, "Mi wo Tsukushi Ryoricho" ("The Apply Yourself Cookbook"; TV Asahi, Saturday, 9 p.m.), is one of the few with a female protagonist, a cook who is recognized as a trailblazing genius.