Looking for a stimulating departure from formulaic thrillers? Acclaimed novelist William Boyd has adapted his best-selling novel “Armadillo” (7 p.m., Saturday, A&E) for the small screen. The result is a wonderfully original, and intelligent twist on the usual psychological suspense genre, brightened with sparkling dialogue, unlikely romance and memorable and eccentric characters.

“Armadillo” stars James Frain as a brilliant, if overworked, insurance adjuster named Lorimer Black. At least that’s what he calls himself professionally. A bundle of contradictions, Black keeps his foreign roots from his posh friends. With his fancy suits and expensive London flat, his bosses think he’s the product of the finest schools and good breeding.

His family is actually a group of immigrants crowded into a dank apartment. They call him by his real name, Milo, and borrow money from him every time he visits. Lorimer wears a new mask, or at least pair of fake sideburns, for almost every encounter. And a half-hour into this fascinating drama, everyone he meets appears to be in on an elaborate and baffling insurance scam.

Stephen Rea (“The Crying Game”) makes the very most of his role as Black’s passionate and eccentric boss George Hogg, who begins and ends each sentence with peculiar and not entirely comprehensible aphorisms.

Like a clever James M. Cain novel, “Armadillo” makes the most of insurance intrigue. But it is also a smart and slyly entertaining film about class, money, assimilation and our elusive relationship with the truth.

Director Chazz Palminteri assembled an A-list cast to star in his adult drama, “Women Vs. Men” (7 p.m., Sunday, Showtime), easily one of the most annoying films ever made about the battle between the sexes. The couples here are all in the midst of middle-age malaise. Dana (Christine Lahti) walks out on her husband, Michael (Joe Mantegna), because he buys her a new Cadillac, a car that reminds Dana of her father. Michael and his pal Bruce (Paul Reiser) console themselves by driving to a strip club. Dana follows them, and tells Paul’s wife, Brita (Glenne Headly). The guys spend the rest of the movie in the martial doghouse. This is a monumentally trite movie that affords Reiser too many opportunities to act sheepish and cute, and allows Lahti to moralize about all men becoming Bill Clinton.

After the success of the popular, if frequently pathetic, “Osbournes” reality show, the E! network hopes that viewers will want to watch the day-to-day activities of a dim, hugely untalented extrovert. “The Anna Nicole Show” (9 p.m. Sunday) was not available for review. The show promises to be a depressing train wreck of decadent voyeurism and desperate exhibitionism.

William Shatner hosts “Full Moon Fright Night” (10 p.m., Saturday, Sci Fi), a 13-episode Saturday night monster movie show that recalls days when Z-level actors hosted “Chiller Theater” movie showcases on local TV channels. Shatner will introduce a new B-movie every week, and interview guests and even act out scenes from that week’s film. “Fright Night” begins with the forgotten 1997 thriller “The Vampire Journals” starring David Gunn.

Saturday’s other highlights

Jean-Claude Van Damme, Dennis Rodman and Mickey Rourke star in the 1997 thriller “Double Team” (7 p.m., NBC).

Roger Moore stars in the 1974 James Bond thriller “The Man With the Golden Gun” (7 p.m., ABC).

Four witnesses describe a violent crime from very different perspectives in the 1950 drama “Rashomon” (8 p.m., Sundance), directed by Akira Kurosawa.

Josh Hartnett is the host on this rerun of “Saturday Night Live” (10:30 p.m., NBC), with musical guest Pink.