Laurel’s TV Picks

Best Bets

Season finale of Monk (USA, 8pm and 11pm; also on Saturday at 6pm)
New In Treatment (HBO, 8:30pm)
New Stargate Atlantis (Sci-Fi, 9pm and 11pm)
Fred Willard, Rachel Bilson, Steve Mazan on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson (CBS, 11:37pm)

News & Notes

Just a reminder that I seem to be back to doing picks on the weekends. So stop by the website on Saturday and Sunday (or check your email box or favorite newsreader on those days). Will try to keep this up, though only a few people have expressed interest in picks for the weekend. As always, if you like what I do here, please show your support of this site.

The new season of Battlestar Galactica is scheduled to start on Friday, April 4th (at 9pm) on the Sci-Fi Channel. A couple of specials about the show will air on Friday, March 28th.

BBC series (and Doctor Who spin-off) The Sarah Jane Adventures will debut on the Sci-Fi Channel on Friday, April 11th (at 7pm).

Season four of Doctor Who will debut on the Sci-Fi Channel on Friday, April 18th (at 7:30pm).

Once all the specials and premieres are out of the way, the Sci-Fi Channel Friday night schedule will be The Sarah Jane Adventures (Sci-Fi, 7pm, 7:30pm), Doctor Who (Sci-Fi, 8pm), and Battlestar Galactica (Sci-Fi, 9pm). Now that’s an excellent Spring Sci-Fi Channel lineup for Fridays. Presumably will include additional airings of the episodes in late night.

Daytime

Raising sextuplets and twins, Sean Combs, Phylicia Rashad on Oprah (syndicated, check your local listings).

Primetime Grid

Primetime

College basketball: Davidson at Winthrop (ESPN2, 6pm).

NBA hoops: Wizards at Cavaliers (ESPN, 7pm), Celtics at Suns (ESPN, 9:30pm).

Oscar-nominated films from the ’70s: Heaven Can Wait (TCM, 7pm, letterboxed), The Goodbye Girl (TCM, 8:45pm, letterboxed), Manhattan (TCM, 10:45pm, letterboxed), Love Story (TCM, 12:30am, letterboxed), and Equus (TCM, 2:15am, letterboxed). Read about them on the TCM website.

Cedric the Entertainer hosts The BET Honors (BET, 7pm; airs again on Sat at 8pm and Sunday at 8pm). Honorees are: Alicia Keys, Tyra Banks, professor Cornel West, Time Warner Chairman Richard Parsons, U.S. Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.), and entrepreneur Janice Bryant Howroyd.

New episode of Gone Country (CMT, 7pm).

Drew Carey hosts The Price Is Right Million Dollar Spectacular (CBS, 7pm). It’s a gussied up version of the daytime show, with bigger prizes. This is the first of six scheduled episodes for Friday nights.

Nicole Eggart (of Baywatch) appears on 1 vs. 100 (NBC, 7pm). Hosted by Bob Saget.

Chuck, Casey, Sarah, and a DEA agent (played by Mini Anden) are part of a jewel heist in this rerun of the “Chuck Versus the Wookie” episode of Chuck (Sci-Fi, 7pm).

Morgan: “If Chuck is Solo, Larkin is his Fett!”
  from Chuck

Rerun of “The Girl in the Fridge” episode of Bones (FOX, 7pm) from season one. Guest stars include Alicia Coppola (“Mimi” on Jericho), Josh Hopkins (of Pepper Dennis, Ally McBeal, many other things), Rachel Miner (“Dani” on Californication), and Leonard Roberts (who is “D.L.” on Heroes, “Forrest” on Buffy the Vampire Slayer).

(Zack holds his fist up to Dr. Brennan)
Zack: “You’re supposed to bump my fist with yours.”
Dr. Brennan: “Why?”
Zack: “I’ve been told it’s a widely acknowledged gesture of mutual success.”
Angela: “I love it when you two impersonate Earthlings.”
  from Bones

Grey’s Anatomy (ABC, 7pm – 8:02pm). DVR Alert: Runs two minutes long. It’s the “Physical Attraction . . . Chemical Reaction” episode, which seems like it’s aired a zillion times this season. But perhaps not on Friday night. Guest stars include Jeff Perry (of Nash Bridges), Rockmond Dunbar (of Heartland, Prison Break), Stephanie March (of Law & Order: SVU), Vicki Lewis (of NewsRadio), and Kurt Fuller (of many many things).

Rebroadcast of latest new episode of The Wire (HBO, 7pm).

Bill Engvall hosts a new episode of Country Fried Home Videos (CMT, 7:30pm).

Animal Planet airs new episodes of Lemur Kingdom (Animal Planet, 7:30pm, 10:30pm, 2:30am), Escape to Chimp Eden (Animal Planet, 8pm, 11pm, 3am), and Clinically Wild: Alaska (Animal Planet, 8:30pm, 11:30pm, 3:30am).

Everyone mourns Monk’s “death” in the season finale of Monk (USA, 8pm and 11pm; also on Saturday at 6pm). Part 2 of 2. I was seriously underwhelmed by part one, here’s hoping part two is better.

I’m not sure what the topics are on a new 20/20 (ABC, 8pm) at a special time.

Dennis Miller hosts the series premiere of Amne$ia (NBC, 8pm). In this new primetime game show, competitors are quizzed about their own lives.

A young mother has a seizure while bathing her infant in this rerun of House (FOX, 8pm). The doctors end up treating both mother and child. Toni Lewis, who played “Stivers” on Homicide has a bit part here as a NICU nurse. This is also the first episode after the two-part episode where Foreman had his big health crisis. Guest stars also include Kip Pardue (who played “Ben Parker” on ER) and Hillary Tuck (of Honey, I Shrunk the KidS and Hang Time).

Cameron: “Chase got a case in the ER, and he wants us to take a look.”
House: “Unless Chase broke his neck falling off his polo pony, he had no reason to be in the ER.”
  from House

Orlando Jones, Elisabeth Moss (“Peggy” on Mad Men), Robert Buckley (“Kirby” on Lipstick Jungle), and Mary Margaret Humes (“Gale” on Dawson’s Creek, “Marilyn” on Eerie, Indiana) guest star in this rerun of Ghost Whisperer (CBS, 8pm). It’s another one that will include “production secrets and fun facts” that pop-up on the screen (but without the cool Pop Up Video sound effects, alas). This is a different episode than was originally scheduled, but I think it should still include the pop-up stuff (it’s unclear from the press release).

Award-winning comedians Robert Webb and David Mitchell star in a new episode of sketch comedy show That Mitchell and Webb Look (BBC America, 8:20pm, 11:20pm, 1:20am). The episode has a runtime of 40 minutes. A real estate agent shows an unusual property, a vicar banishes unworthy parishioners, mysterious stranger reveals a magic green clarinet.

Paul sees Gina again on a new In Treatment (HBO, 8:30pm). Preceded by a rerun of last week’s episode (HBO, 8pm).

Teyla continues to search for her people and a mysterious illness sweeps through the galaxy on a new Stargate Atlantis (Sci-Fi, 9pm and 11pm).

In the special 20/20: What Would You Do? (ABC, 9pm), hidden cameras are used to capture people’s reactions when confronted with dilemmas compelling them to either act or mind their own business, to intervene or walk on by.

Dateline NBC (NBC, 9pm) supposedly has new information in the Natalie Holloway case.

Gloria Gaynor joins Paula Deen for a “Disco Party” in this rerun of Paula’s Party (Food Network, 9pm and midnight).

Jimmy and Doug train with the Israeli military and learn the fighting technique krav maga on a new Fight Quest (Discovery Channel, 9pm and 1am; also on Saturday at Noon).

New 10 Years Younger (TLC, 9pm and midnight; also on Saturday at Noon).

Don feels pretty awful when a woman he knows in the witness protection program is killed in this rerun of Numb3rs (CBS, 9pm). Of course he did just see her right before she was killed . . . Somehow I don’t think math will fix this (but it might help them catch the killer). Guest stars include James Morrison (“Bill Buchanan” on 24) and Peter Onorati (of Cival Wars, Cop Rock, all sorts of things).

Charlie: “Are they kicking you out of here [the monastary]?”
Larry: “The calligraphy is on the wall.”
  from Numb3rs

Late Night

New Real Time with Bill Maher (HBO, 10pm). With Rep. Jack Kingston (R-GA), author David Frum, reporter Amy Walter and, via satellite, TV journalist Tom Brokaw. Plus, Real Time correspondent Matt Taibbi.

Sean Combs (a.k.a. Diddy, Puffy, Puff Daddy), Al Lubel on The Late Show with David Letterman (CBS, 10:35pm).

Bill O’Reilly, Patricia Arquette (of Medium), Herbie Hancock on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno (NBC, 10:35pm).

Nathan Lane, Michel Gondry, Secondhand Serenade on Late Night with Conan O’Brien (NBC, 11:37pm).

Fred Willard, Rachel Bilson (of The OC, Jumper), Steve Mazan on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson (CBS, 11:37pm).

Damon Wayans, Sam Champion, Colbie Caillat on Jimmy Kimmel (ABC, check your local listings).

Ivana Milicevic, John Popper, Jon Spencer, Shooter Jennings on Last Call with Carson Daly (NBC, check your local listings).