This year is the 35th anniversary of Patty Hearst's kidnapping by the Symbionese Liberation Army (as if you didn't already have an SLA-themed party this spring), and no one has embraced it more than the news media. In a year full of national and international strife, there's nothing like a great celebrity kidnapping story to take our minds off the real problems in the world. And remember: 2012 is the 80th anniversary of the Lindbergh kidnapping -- better send out the save-the-date cards now.
Dateline NBC [9 PM, NBC]
Promising new details into the kidnapping of Hearst, NBC attempts to grab the handful of people watching news programming on a Friday night with revelations about what really went down in Berkeley in the summer of 1974. If you are staying at home tonight because of a recent bout of depression, count your lucky stars that you aren't being forced to rob banks.
16 and Pregnant: Life After Labor [7:30 PM, MTV]
After a season of gut-wrenching stories of teenage mothers, MTV lightens up and brings the girls back to face Dr. Drew and a live audience. While most of the girls kept their babies, the couple who opted for the really big A (Adoption) has a surprise reunion with their child. This originally aired last night, and will probably re-air as part of various 16 and Pregnant marathons. This would be after MTV gets tired of showing various Rob Dyrdek marathons.
Chopping Block [8 PM, NBC]
In tonight's (probably series) finale, the remaining contestants redesign their "spaces," pick a menu and prepare great meals for opening night. That smell in the air is the food programming craze coming to an end in the next 18 months. The vicarious desire to cook the perfect soufflé has already been replaced by the actual hope of making love to a vampire.
GoldenEye [8 PM, Bravo]
One of the best James Bond films ever, and definitely the best of the modern era, GoldenEye gave Pierce Brosnan a much-needed brooding edge after all of that breezy Remington Steele nonsense. One of the underlooked aspects of the film is Robbie Coltrane's performance, which introduced him to the American audience as a talented British character actor who was really, really good at a Russian accent.