News & Notes
Over on cable, Bravo has a The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills special, History has the series premiere of Only in America With Larry the Cable Guy and the second season premiere of Top Shot, Spike TV has the fourth season premiere of 1000 Ways to Die, and truTV has the second season finale of Hardcore Pawn.
In late night, MTV has the second season premiere of My Life as Liz.
Prime Picks
Glee (FOX): New. Finn decides to use his resumed popularity after winning the big game to open a kissing booth and raise money for the glee club. The glee club members are assigned love songs. Runs 61 minutes. This is episode is quite different than the debacle we got after the Super Bowl on Sunday. That was all about being a spectacle and most everything was taken too far and just didn’t work. Tonight, on the other hand is a great episode, so great in fact that I’d put it somewhere in the top tier of episodes of the show thus far. It is 180 degrees from the Super Bowl episode. There is drama, humor, and the song choices tend to fit the situation more often than not. This something I wish we could rely on to happen more consistently with this show, but I have long given up any hope of that now halfway through season two. I don’t want to say much more and spoil something or over-hype it too much, so I will only add one more thing. That being the one thing I didn’t like about the episode, the fact that the Warblers are basically a bunch of background hummers with Darren Criss’ Blaine out front every time. The first performance by them in the episode totally makes sense to have Blaine out front, but the second performance is just another Blaine solo. Yes, he is a great singer, but this is starting to get old, as nobody else even shares time with him when they perform.
Raising Hope (FOX): New. Jimmy meets another single dad at the store and tries to make a new friend. Starts a minute after the hour and runs 29 minutes. This episode is excellent. There is plenty to laugh at throughout, but there are two segments in particular that had me laughing a lot. The first is Jimmy trying to leave a phone message for the other father, which is well executed and cut together. The second is a dual dinner scene that, well to say anything more would ruin it. But, the writing and editing of it were just great. I’ve liked this show from the beginning, but a few episodes into the season everyone from the actors to the writers really seemed to find their groove. Now on the flipside, it is followed by the premiere of Traffic Light, which is another multi-couple comedy like ABC’s Better With You, CBS’ Rules of Engagement and NBC’s Perfect Couples. Would you believe that Traffic Light is the least funny of the bunch and there’s some pretty weak competition there. I’ve seen the first two episodes and it just doesn’t work. Heck, I’d rather flip over to The CW and watch the second half of Hellcats after Raising Hope than watch it.
The Good Wife (CBS): New. Michael J. Fox is back as Louis Canning and Alicia is preparing to go up against him once again, when they find they have an information leak at the firm.
Solid Selections
NCIS (CBS): New. Everyone on the team has to go through a mandatory psych evaluation while investigating a case.
V (ABC): New. Anna is hiding a bunch of breeding vessels. A member of the Fifth Column advocates for Anna’s assassination during a gala event. Runs 61 minutes.
Parenthood (NBC): New. Haddie makes a decision. Crosby and Jasmine hit a rough patch. Drew has some surprising news for his mother.
Other Options
- Dirty Jobs (Discovery Channel): New. Mike goes to the “Jelly Belly Candy Company.” Plays again later. A repeat episode plays right before.
- Lights Out (FX): New. The financial situation for the Learys gets worse and it is putting a strain on their marriage. Runs 61 minutes. Plays twice and again later.
- NCIS: Los Angeles (CBS): New. The team is investigating a shipment of counterfeit computer chips. Callen catches somebody attempting to break into his house.
- No Ordinary Family (ABC): New. Stephanie is attempting to find out who is behind the attack before Jim does. Katie learns something she doesn’t like about Joshua.
- Southland (TNT): New. Lydia has to deal with the press on a celebrity murder case. John and Ben don’t like a security detail. Plays again later.
- What Not to Wear (TLC): New. A woman that works for NASA gets help with an out of this world new wardrobe. Plays again later.
- White Collar (USA Network): New. Neal suspects that an old friend of June’s husband is into something shady. Plays again later. Last week’s episode replays earlier in the day.
Sports Notes
- ESPN has doubleheader college basketball action.
- ESPN2 has a college basketball game.
- NBA TV has the Los Angeles Clippers at the Orlando Magic.
Late Night
- Fairly Legal (USA Network): Repeat. Last Thursday’s episode, “Benched,” replays.
- Royal Pains (USA Network): Repeat. Last Thursday’s episode, “A History of Violins,” replays.
TV Marathons
A&E has six episodes of The First 48.
Bravo has 17 episodes of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.
History has 10 episodes of Pawn Stars tonight.
Oxygen has 12 episodes of America’s Next Top Model.
Spike TV has 14 episodes of 1000 Ways to Die.
Syfy has all eight episodes of Stargate Universe early.
USA has six episodes of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, last week’s White Collar replay, and then another nine episodes of SVU.
