“Saturday Night Live” (10:30 p.m. today, NBC) dispenses with much of its human cast to present “Best of Saturday TV Funhouse.” The cartoon characters Ace and Gary of the “Ambiguously Gay Duo” (voiced by Stephen Colbert and Steve Carell) fame will “host” the show, consisting of repeats of animated clips from writer Robert Smigel.

Some of these clips date from 1996 and contain political content that will take some viewers back. The superhero parody “The X-Presidents” recalls the impeachment crisis of 1998. One funny stop-animated bit has the snowman host of “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” getting too depressed by 9-11 to narrate his cartoon.

But while the political references may not be the freshest, these short cartoons have far more bite than the average “SNL” skit. And many are mercifully short. It’s easy to see how these savage little ‘toons anticipated and perhaps inspired Cartoon Network’s “Adult Swim” block of bizarre animation.

Today’s highlights

• Thomas Gibson stars in the 2001 miniseries “The Monkey King” (6 p.m., Sci Fi), produced by special effects masters Robert Halmi and Robert Halmi Jr.
• Ben Affleck stars in the big-budget 2001 melodrama “Pearl Harbor” (7 p.m., ABC).
• Eminem stars in the semi-autobiographical musical “8 Mile” (7 p.m., MTV2).
• A predator targets the young on “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” (8 p.m., NBC).
• Scheduled on “48 Hours Mystery” (9 p.m., CBS): A campus engagement ends in murder.
• Members of the mile-high club take a terrible fall on “Law & Order: Criminal Intent” (9 p.m., NBC).,

Sunday’s highlights

• Chastity Bono hosts “Sell This House!” (5:30 p.m., A&E), a new series that helps owners prepare their homes for a challenging real estate market.
• Santos looks for a new vice president on “The West Wing” (7 p.m., NBC).
• Kindly grandparents get shelter from the storm on a two-hour helping of “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” (6 p.m., ABC).
• A big gambler swims with the fish on “Law & Order: Criminal Intent” (8 p.m., NBC).
• Lily’s father returns and wants custody on “Desperate Housewives” (8 p.m., ABC).
• A.J. seeks new avenues on “The Sopranos” (8 p.m., HBO).
• Macy makes a grim discovery on “Crossing Jordan” (9 p.m., NBC).
• Chris O’Donnell guest stars on “Grey’s Anatomy” (9 p.m., ABC).