News & Notes
Over on cable, E! has the fifth season finale of The Girls Next Door, HBO has the series premieres of Eastbound & Down, and TLC has a World’s Heaviest Man Gets Married special.
Prime Picks
The Simpsons (FOX): New. Homer ponders what his life would have been like if he had been elected class president.
King of the Hill (FOX): New. Hank accompanies his boss to the National Propane Gas Convention.
Desperate Housewives (ABC): New. Susan takes on her new job. Orson is unhappy to find that Andrew has gotten a raise. Gaby learns that Carlos’ boss has a secret of the dirty variety. Runs 61 minutes.
Brothers & Sisters (ABC): New. Nora thinks it is time to meet Ryan in person. Rebecca is in New York with her father. Tommy’s plan hits a snag. Starts a minute after the hour and runs 59 minutes.
Solid Selection
The Amazing Race (CBS): Season Premiere. The 11 teams head out on the first leg of their journey from California to Switzerland. Bungee jumping and cheese are in involved.
Cold Case (CBS): New. A man has been murdered and his son is missing, but they were both in witness protection. The team tries to unravel what happened and find the son before it’s too late.
The Unit (CBS): New. The team is ordered by the president to capture a Nazi war criminal. Tom gets offered a promotion, which gets him thinking about his past.
Cable Choices
Food Network Challenge (Food Network): New. Four cake decorators compete to make a cake for Miley Cyrus’ sweet 16. Plays again later.
Ultimate Recipe Showdown (Food Network): New. Four home cooks battle it out for a $25,000 prize. Guy Fieri hosts. Plays again later.
United States of Tara (Showtime): New. Max and Charmaine are trying to find T after she steals Tara’s car. Marshall decides to throw a party. Plays again later. Showtime has picked the series up for a second season.
Secret Diary of a Call Girl (Showtime): New. Hannah is going back and forth on whether to tell Alex about her real job. Plays again later.
Other Option
- Eastbound & Down (HBO): Series Premiere. A former pitcher that blew his shot has returned home and now teaches physical education at his old middle school. He tries to get his act together and win back his old girlfriend.
- Flight of the Conchords (HBO): New. Bret doesn’t know what to do when Jemaine starts dating an Australian.
- Iron Chef America (Food Network): New. Chef Fabio Trabocchi from New York takes on Iron Chef Michael Symon. Plays again later.
- XIII (NBC): New. This is part two of a two part miniseries that stars Val Kilmer (The Doors), Stephen Dorff (World Trade Center), Stephen McHattie (Watchmen), and Jessalyn Gilsig (Heroes). The story begins with the first female U.S. president being assassinated by a sniper. Three months have passed and a wounded amnesiac man is found in a forest. He has a “XIII” tattooed on his neck, the only clue to who he may be. He has lightning-fast reflexes and killer instincts, could he be the presidential assassin that is still being searched for? Unraveling the true identity of XIII may be the only way to take down a far-reaching conspiracy. Runs two hours.
Sports Notes
- CBS has college basketball action with Illinois at Indiana followed by final round coverage of the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am golf tournament.
- ESPN2 has women’s college basketball action.
- FOX has NASCAR racing with the Sprint Cup: Daytona 500.
- NBC has NHL action.
- TNT has the 2009 NBA All-Star Game.
Late Night
- Damages (FX): Repeat. Last Wednesday’s episode, “A Pretty Girl in a Leotard,” replays.
- nip/tuck (FX): Repeat. Last Tuesday’s episode, “Manny Skerritt,” replays. Runs 61 minutes.
- Psych (USA): Repeat. Last Friday’s episode, “Tuesday the 17th,” replays. This was another absolutely great episode, which had a lot of fun with the Friday the 13th motif.
TV Marathons
A&E has 10 episodes of Parking Wars.
Discovery Channel has eight episodes of Survivorman.
Travel Channel has five episodes of Bizarre Foods With Andrew Zimmern.
truTV has seven episodes of Most Shocking.
USA has six episodes of Monk.
