Laurel’s TV Picks

Best Bets

New Bones (FOX, 7pm)
New Gossip Girl (CW, 7pm; also on Sun at 5pm)
New How I Met Your Mother (CBS, 7:30pm)
New Samantha Who? (ABC, 8:32pm - 9:02pm)
New Medium (NBC, 9pm)

Daytime

The winner of Oprah’s Big Give and lots of Big Give stuff, plus yet another follow-up to the puppy mill story on a new Oprah (syndicated, check your local listings).

Primetime Grid

Primetime

Baseball: Mets at Cubs (ESPN, 6pm). My two favorite National League teams face each other. Nifty! Especially since the Twins don’t play today. Followed by Baseball Tonight (ESPN, around 9pm).

NBA hoops: Wizards at Caveliers (TNT, 6pm) and Jazz at Rockets (TNT, 8:30pm).

New Antiques Roadshow (PBS, check your local listings) from Louisville.

Baseball great and humanitarian Robert Clemente is profiled on American Experience (PBS, check your local listings).

Brennan, Booth, and the team investigate the death of a college basketball star on a new episode of Bones (FOX, 7pm).

Gossip Girl (CW, 7pm; also on Sunday at 5pm) returns with the first of five new episodes to round out the show’s first season; the show has been renewed and will be back next season. When we last left this show, Blair was having serious problems and considered leaving the country for a while, but in the end Serena convinced her to stay and tough things out. And Serena was about to get Chuck for a stepbrother. In this new episode, Blair does return to school and Serena ends up living under the same roof as Chuck. Plus Jenny continues to try to fit in with the popular girls. And yes, I’m happy the show is back and that it will be around for another season.

Sheldon becomes a liability as the guys prepare for the Physics Bowl so they kick him off the team and ask Leslie Winkle (guest star Sara Gilbert) to take his place on a new The Big Bang Theory (CBS, 7pm). Gilbert’s played this role before, of course, and she was a series regular on Roseanne along with Johnny Galecki (who plays “Leonard” on this show).

Keith Allen on a new episode of Top Gear (BBC America, 7pm and 10pm). Also an older episode at 8pm and 11pm.

Two new episodes of Little People, Big World (TLC, 7pm and 10pm, 7:30pm and 10:30pm).

Rerun of the episode of Modern Marvels (History, 7pm and 11pm) that covered ’90s tech, including one of my favorite inventions– TiVo.

New Petfinder (Animal Planet, 7pm, 10pm, 2am).

New Greek (ABC Family, 7pm; also Tuesday at 11pm and next Monday at 6pm).

New episodes of these shows on HGTV tonight: Designed to Sell (HGTV, 7pm and 11pm), Curb Appeal (HGTV, 7:30pm and 11:30pm), Hidden Potential (HGTV, 8:30pm and 12:30am), and House Hunters (HGTV, 9pm and 1am).

James Van Der Beek (of Dawson’s Creek) guest stars as one of Robin’s ex-boyfriends on a new How I Met Your Mother (CBS, 7:30pm). Robin ends up rekindling things with this old flame, but the important thing you should know about this episode is that there may be a second “Robin Sparkles” video in it. As Barney would say, “Awesome!”

A new Heavyweights (Food Network, 7:30pm and 2:30am) covers Big Burger Business: McDonalds and Burger King.

Alan worries (so what else is new?) that Charlie’s womanizing is out of control on a new Two and a Half Men (CBS, 8pm). Jane Lynch returns as Charlie’s therapist and Emmanuelle Vaugier returns as Charlie’s former fiance Mia.

Rerun of the most recent new episode of House (FOX, 8pm). I figure it’s worth mentioning in case you missed it or would like a refresher on where things left off; also because I just plain love House. House and the team try to figure out what’s ailing a bride who fell ill at her wedding; and House is preoccupied with Wilson’s new relationship. The show returns with new episodes next Monday.

House: People don’t change. For instance, I’m going to keep repeating “People don’t change.”

A new Dirty Jobs (Discovery, 8pm and midnight) covers a “Floating Fish Factory”. Rerun of an earlier episode at 8pm and 11pm.

Scott Baio, Samuel Page (of American Dreams), and Taylor Cole (of Summerland) star in the new Spike original movie Finish Line (Spike, 8pm). It’s an action film about “a stock car driver whose desperate need for money leads him to unknowingly work for an arms dealer, putting himself and those close to him in danger.”

“Reminders of former Soviet leader Josef Stalin’s terrifying legacy lie beneath the streets of Moscow in a subterranean web so vast that the Russian capital is in danger of caving in” on a new Cities of the Underworld (History Channel, 8pm and midnight).

A woman is locked up in Thailand for five years after getting caught taking a neighbor up on an offer to smuggle heroin out of the country on a new Locked Up Abroad (National Geographic, 8pm and 11pm).

Unwrapped (Food Network, 8pm and 11pm, 8:30pm and 11:30pm) has a look at lollipops.

One new episode of of Jon & Kate Plus 8 (TLC, 8pm and 11pm, 8:30pm and 11:30pm) followed by a rerun (or three, actually).

Lucas and Peyton discuss the wedding, Brooke gets an important phone call, Haley takes steps toward a new career, and so on and so forth on a new One Tree Hill (CW, 8pm).

Season finale of America’s Prom Queen (ABC Family, 8pm and 11pm).

Sam sets Dena (Melissa McCarthy of Gilmore Girls) up on a date with her boss in an effort to shut down a particular project on a new Samantha Who? (ABC, 8:32pm - 9:02pm). Sam also doesn’t understand why Todd (Barry Watson) is ignoring her since their kiss.

Allison experiences some health problems as she tries to find a connection between accidental deaths on a new Medium (NBC, 9pm). Could someone she know be in danger? This show has been really great again this season, I hope that people give the show a chance because I know the premise and commercials could easily turn people off. Season one was okay, but the show didn’t come into its own until season two. Great stuff.

Series premiere of Verminators (Discovery, 9pm and 1am). This new show “follows Mike Masterson and his elite team of pest-busters to the front lines of their never-ending battle against infestations of all kinds.”

“A ship with a towering crane must be carefully navigated under a bridge, Frank Pisano has $20 million riding on TraPac’s container business expansion being approved, and the Coast Guard and Port Police stop an erratic sailboat at sea” on a new episode of America’s Port (National Geographic, 9pm and midnight).

A vigilante is killing internet predators on a new CSI: Miami (CBS, 9pm). Guest stars include Stephanie Niznik (who you may remember her as “Nina” on Everwood, she also starred on Life is Wild), Jordan Hinson (who plays “Zoe” on Eureka), and George Newbern (who is probably still best known for playing the husband in the “Father of the Bride” movies, but you can click on the link to see his other credits). Before a bunch of you email me, let me just point out that Eureka will be back for a third season this summer.

New episode of The Hills (MTV, 9pm, 10pm, 1am).

New High School Confidential (We, 9pm, 10pm).

New episode of The Paper (MTV, 9:30pm, 10:30pm). This new show (debuted last week) follows the action at a high school newspaper. In this episode, the new editor-in-chief tries to win people over with ice cream. Or something.

Late Night

Sen. Barack Obama on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart (Comedy Central, 10pm and midnight).

Fr. James Martin, Rep. Bernie Sanders on The Colbert Report (Comedy Central, 10:30pm and 12:30am).

Billy Crystal, Maria Sharapova on The Late Show with David Letterman (CBS, 10:35pm).

Dave Salmoni, Norm MacDonald, Ashlee Simpson on The Tonight Show (NBC, 10:35pm).

Kate Beckinsale, Ken Tucker on a rerun of The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson (CBS, 11:37pm).

Rachael Ray, John Cho, Grizzly Bear on Late Night with Conan O’Brien (NBC, 11:37pm).

Don Rickles, Jim Sturgess, Black Tide on a rerun of Jimmy Kimmel Live (ABC, check your local listings).

Daryl Hannah on Last Call with Carson Daly (NBC, check your local listings).