Wild is a fairly new channel (it debuted in 2010) and one that focuses exclusively on animals, so moving "The Dog Whisperer" to it made sense for the brand. The show is one of National Geographic's most popular, so why not switch it to the upstart network in hopes of drawing more eyes there?

Unfortunately, at least in our area's case, it's now pulling in fewer eyes. That's because Suddenlink subscribers don't get the channel.

This means Leah and other fans missed season eight, which aired earlier this year, and are now missing the show's ninth and final season. They'll also miss Cesar Milan's new 12-episode series, "Leader of the Pack," debuting next year.

When Leah called Suddenlink about this, she was told the company has no plans to add the network to its lineup and that channel additions are only made by popular demand.

In her email, Leah asked me "to please ask readers to place a call to Suddenlink to request that National Geographic Wild be placed in the lineup if they would be interested in seeing this show and other shows like it."

Surely, we can afford to give up one of five cable news channels or the seven sports-related ones already on the lower dial or one of the six children's channels and seven music ones in the 300s. Won't you think of the animals, folks?

If dogs don't interest you, what about monkeys, polar bears, sharks, killer shrimp or even Henry Rollins (he hosts "Animal Underworld")? And there are enough adorable animals to send you into cute overload.

Also, two words: Penguin Palooza.

•••

Since it's a holiday weekend, there are plenty of marathons to be found around the dial. Note, however, that I did not say plenty of good marathons. My top picks are in italics

A&E: "Hatfields & McCoys," 6 p.m. Saturday; "Longmire," 11 a.m. Sunday (the bulk of season one); "Storage Wars," 6 p.m. Sunday and 8 a.m. Monday.

ABC Family: "Switched at Birth," 7 a.m. Monday (includes midseason premiere at 8 p.m.)

AMC: Clint Eastwood films, 10:15 a.m. Monday (starts with Sergio Leone's "Dollars" trilogy).

Animal Planet: "Tanked: Unfiltered," 10 a.m. Saturday; "Call of the Wildman," 9 a.m. Monday.

BBC America: "Doctor Who," 8 a.m. Friday to 10 p.m. Saturday (includes season premiere at 9 p.m. Saturday).

BET: "The Game," 10 a.m. Saturday; "Sunday Best," 10:30 a.m.; "The Parkers," 8 a.m. Monday.

Bravo: "The Real Housewives of New Jersey," 9 a.m. Sunday; "The Real Housewives of New York City," 7:30 a.m. Monday.

CMT: "Reba," noon Monday.

Discovery: "American Chopper: Senior vs. Junior," noon Monday.

E!: "Keeping Up with the Kardashians," 1 p.m. Monday.

FX: "How I Met Your Mother," 7 a.m. Sunday; "Two and a Half Men," noon Monday.

History: "Swamp People," 8 a.m. and "Pawn Stars," 8 p.m. Saturday; "Mountain Men," 3 p.m. Sunday; "Pawn Stars," 8 a.m. Monday.

Lifetime: "Trading Spouses: Meet Your New Mommy," 1 p.m. Monday.

MTV: "The Hills," 12:45 p.m. Friday to 8:30 p.m. Sunday; "Ridiculousness," 1 p.m. Monday.

National Geographic: sunken-ship documentaries, noon Saturday; "Doomsday Preppers," noon Sunday; "Border Wars," 9 a.m. Monday.

Nickelodeon: "SpongeBob SquarePants," 6 a.m. Monday.

OWN: "Police Women of Broward County," 11 a.m. Friday; "Disappeared," 10 a.m. Saturday; "Our America with Lisa Ling," 2 p.m. Sunday; "Undercover Boss," 2 p.m. Monday.

Oxygen: "America's Next Top Model," 8 a.m. Saturday; "Snapped," noon Sunday; "The Bad Girls Club," 10 a.m. Monday.

Style: "Kimora: Life in the Fab Lane," 7 a.m. Saturday; "Sex and the City," 6 a.m. Sunday; "Gossip Girl," 9 a.m. Monday.

TLC: "Hoarding: Buried Alive," 1 p.m. Monday.

TNT: "Rizzoli & Isles," 11 a.m. Monday.

Travel: "Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations," noon (including final season premiere at 9 p.m.)

TV Land: "The Soul Man," 1 p.m. Sunday (season one to date); "M*A*S*H," 8 a.m. Monday.

USA: "Law & Order: SVU," 10 a.m. Sunday; "NCIS," 6 a.m. Monday.

WE: "My Fair Wedding with David Tutera," 5 p.m. Saturday; "Bridezillas," 10 a.m. Sunday.

•••

Series premiere: "Dragons: Riders of Berk," 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Nickelodeon (animated series based on the movie "How to Train Your Dragon").

Season premieres: "Iron Men," 9 p.m. Thursday, Weather Channel; "Doctor Who," 9 p.m. Saturday, BBC America; "Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations," 9 p.m. Monday, Travel (final season); "T.I. & Tiny: The Family Hustle," 9 p.m. Monday, VH1; "Flipping Out," 9 p.m. Tuesday, Bravo.

Returning: "Switched at Birth," 8 p.m. Monday, ABC Family; "Ghost Hunters," 9 p.m. Wednesday, Syfy.

Miniseries: "Coma," 9 p.m. Monday and Tuesday, A&E. Adaptation of Robin Cook's novel (and Michael Crichton's 1978 film adaptation) about a doctor who suspects foul play when seemingly healthy patients fall into comas while on the operating table. Starring Lauren Ambrose, Steven Pasquale, Geena Davis, James Woods, Ellen Burstyn and Richard Dreyfuss.

Season finales: "Breaking Bad," 10 p.m. Sunday, AMC (midseason finale, won't return until next summer); "Small Town Security," 11:05 p.m. Sunday, AMC; "Stars Earn Stripes," 8 p.m. Monday, NBC; "Hotel Hell," 8 p.m. Monday, Fox; "Beverly Hills Nannies," 9 p.m. Tuesday, ABC Family (followed by reunion show); "Opening Act," 10 p.m. Tuesday, E!; "The Soul Man," 10 p.m. Wednesday, TV Land; "America's Lost Treasures," 10 p.m. Wednesday, National Geographic.

Specials: "One Direction: My First Time," 11 p.m. Thursday, MTV (pre-VMA special); "One Giant Leap: A Neil Armstrong Tribute," 8 p.m. Saturday, Discovery; "MDA Show of Strength," 8 p.m. Sunday, NBC (telethon with appearances by Carrie Underwood, Carole King and more); "Royal Memories: Prince Charles' Tribute to the Queen," 8 p.m. Sunday, PBS; "TV's Most Dynamic Duos," 9 p.m. Sunday, ABC (hosted by Robin Roberts).

2012 Democratic National Convention coverage: 8 to 11 p.m. Tuesday through Sept. 6, PBS; 10 p.m. Tuesday through Sept. 6, ABC and CBS; 10 p.m. Tuesday and 9 p.m. Sept. 6, NBC.

W.Va. alert: Parkersburg native and New York Yankee Nick Swisher appears on "Trip Flip," 9 p.m. Thursday, Travel; the Coal Bowl between WVU and Marshall airs on FX, noon Saturday.

Reach Amy Robinson at flips...@wvgazette.com.