Tonight on the Tube: House, 24 & Castle

News & Notes

Tonight, ABC has the series premiere of Romantically Challenged.

Over on cable, FX has the third season finale of Damages, National Geo Wild has a Shark Island With Enric Sala special, Planet Green has a The Suzuki Diaries special, and Travel Channel has the sixth season finale of Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations.

In late night, Travel Channel has the second season premiere of Dhani Tackles the Globe.

Prime Picks

House (FOX): New. A man living by the ideals of the High Renaissance is brought into the hospital for the team to diagnose. Wilson begins dating one of his exes.

24 (FOX): New. Jack heads back to CTU after losing Renee. President Taylor doesn’t like that former President Logan has joined in the bargaining.

Castle (ABC): New. A suspect has a connection to Esposito. A new detective played by Michael Trucco (Battlestar Galactica, who seems to be making the rounds at ABC, comes in to help with the case. Beckett really connects with him, which leaves Castle feeling left out.

Solid Selections

How I Met Your Mother (CBS): New. Ted goes to his mother’s wedding, but is weirded out by how affectionate she is with her fiancé.
Rules of Engagement (CBS): New. Jeff was expecting to have some time alone before Audrey’s night out with the girls gets canceled.

Two and a Half Men (CBS): Repeat. Jake doesn’t want to be around Alan and Charlie after they embarrass him in public. Runs 31 minutes.
Romantically Challenged (ABC): Season Premiere. @Alyssa_Milano (Charmed) stars as Rebecca, a recently divorced mother trying to get back into the dating waters. @KellyStables (Two and a Half Men) stars as her always-single sister. Rebecca tries her sister’s advice having not dated in a while. Also stars Kyle Bornheimer (Worst Week). Starts after a 92 minute Dancing With the Stars and runs 28 minutes. This first episode is a solid outing that shows some definite potential. I didn’t particularly care for what the main story revolves around, but it did play well to setup the final scene. I really like when a comedy is funny throughout, while also playing as one long joke and punch line. That is the case here, as there were some good laughs along the way. Even though there isn’t really anything new here, I still mostly enjoyed it. As of now though, I would still go with a new episode of The Big Bang Theory in this timeslot over this, but will be keeping up with this one as well. Update: Apparently, the episode that ABC had out for review, which was originally intended to be the fourth of the series, but was going to be the series premiere, will no longer air tonight. So, note review above pertains to a different episode than you will see if you tune in tonight. This is not a good sign for the show, although airing episodes out of order wasn’t exactly the best way to start things off either. Not sure if this is the episode that was originally intended to introduce this show.

Damages (FX): Season Finale. Ellen and Tom have taken things into their own hands to get at the Tobins. Patty Hewes is haunted by the price of her success. Runs 90 minutes. Plays three times.

Other Options

• 10 Things I Hate About You (ABC Family): New. Kat and a new British student try to get a new meatless menu for school lunches. Bianca sets Cameron up with a classmate in an attempt to repair their friendship. Runs 30 minutes. Last week’s episode replays right before.
• Nurse Jackie (Showtime): New. Coop is selected for a marketing campaign. A Security guard is making things hard for Jackie. O’Hara reveals a secret affair. Runs 30 minutes. Plays again later.
• Trauma (NBC): New. Glenn and others start talking about strange calls. Tyler’s dad has come for a visit.
• United States of Tara (Showtime): New. Tara realizes that she is aware when one of her alters takes over. Kate’s video becomes a big web success. Runs 30 minutes. Plays again later.
• Unwrapped (Food Network): New. Some of your favorite “Movie Snacks” are profiled. A repeat episode plays right before. Both play again later.

Sports Notes

• ESPN has Monday Night Baseball with the Chicago Cubs at the New York Mets.
• TNT has doubleheader NBA Playoffs action with Game 2 of the Chicago Bulls at the Cleveland Cavaliers followed by Game 2 of the Utah Jazz at the Denver Nuggets.
• Versus has doubleheader NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Late Night

• Army Wives (Lifetime): Repeat. Last night’s episode, “Scars & Stripes,” replays.
• In Plain Sight (USA): Repeat. Last Wednesday’s episode, “Coma Chameleon,” replays.
• Law & Order: Criminal Intent (USA): Repeat. Last Tuesday’s episode, “Broad Channel,” replays.

TV Marathons

Discovery Channel has seven episodes of Overhaulin’.
Oxygen has 15 episodes of Tori & Dean: Home Sweet Hollywood.
Spike TV has five episodes of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation.
USA has 12 episodes of Law & Order: Criminal Intent early.
WE has five episodes of Raising Sextuplets early followed by 14 episodes of The Golden Girls.