Laurel’s TV Picks

Best Bets

New Doctor Who (Sci-Fi, 8pm and 10pm)
Series premiere of Flashpoint (CBS, 9pm; also on Sun)
New Stargate Atlantis (Sci-Fi, 9pm and 11pm)
Skidoo (TCM, 1am)

Recommended Reruns

Criminal Minds (A&E, 10pm and 2am)
House (USA, 10pm)
Steve Carell, Lance Armstrong, Dr. John on The Late Show with David Letterman (CBS, 10:35pm)
Whoopi Goldberg, Fred Willard, Cyndi Lauper on Jimmy Kimmel (ABC, check your local listings)

News & Notes

Happy Birthday to my brother Chris, who turns 35 today!

Daytime

Rerun of “The Ultimate Reunion: When Dad Is a Sperm Donor” episode of Oprah (syndicated, check your local listings).

Primetime Grid

Featured Series Premiere

Series premiere of Flashpoint (CBS, 9pm; also airs on Sunday at 9pm).

This new drama, according to the CBS press release, “depicts the emotional journey into the tough, risk-filled lives of a group of cops in the SRU (inspired by Toronto’s Emergency Task Force).” It’s a look at a tactical team that shows team members both on the job and at home.

The first episode of this series is solid, but nothing special at this point, though one can hope the series improves as it goes (‘course even if it does, it’s unlikely anyone will be ordering more episodes of this show). Enrico Colantoni, who was fabulous as “Keith Mars” on Veronica Mars, plays the team leader and he rocks, though we don’t get to see as much of his character as I’d like. Amy Jo Johnson, who was “Julie” on Felicity, is one of the team members and it’s cool to see her on screen again (she’s also been in The Division and Wildfire). Other cast members: Hugh Dillon, David Paetkau, Michael Cram, Sergio Di Zio, Ruth Marshall, and Mark Taylor.

The situation in the first episode reminded me of the hostage situations we saw last season on Standoff and this show is certainly mining some of the same territory. That show focused more on the relationship between two characters, this show focuses on a whole team including their families and significant others outside of the team. I’m assuming we’ll see the team in a more varied selection of situations too.

My husband Kevin, who is pickier than I am when it comes to TV, says he probably won’t bother with any future episodes because the show didn’t really grab him. I’ll probably watch because I’m desperate for scripted summer series and I really like Colantoni and will watch him in anything (heck, I even used to tune in to Just Shoot Me from time to time just to see him). Plus I like shows about people who do tough specialized jobs.

Primetime

The Sci-Fi Channel of all stations begins airing reruns of the excellent series Joan of Arcadia (Sci-Fi, 7pm). The first episode airs tonight.

“Bowl O’ Bayou” episode of Good Eats (Food Network, 7pm and 2am).

Filmmaker Al Pacino and other actors including Kevin Spacey and Alec Baldwin discuss Shakespeare during preparations and dress rehearsals for Richard III in Looking for Richard (FOX Movie Channel, 7:05pm, 9:05pm, 11:05pm). FMC seems to usually air movies uncut and often letterboxed.

The Doctor leaves Donna to go on an excursion on planet Midnight in this episode of Doctor Who (Sci-Fi, 8pm and 10pm). He’s on a shuttle with a bunch of other passengers when things go seriously awry. David Troughton, son of Patrick Troughton, guest stars as a professor on board the shuttle.

Yet another woman with a “sloppy style” that involves oversized sweats gets help on a new What Not to Wear (TLC, 8pm and 11pm; also on Saturday at Noon).

Seven girls arrive in Los Angeles and discover that they must change their mean girl ways in order to win $25,000 on Queen Bees (Nick, 8pm; also airs on The N at 8pm and 11pm with additional airings this week).

“A single, fateful moment connects the high-profile cases of two men accused of murdering their wives” on Dateline NBC (NBC, 8pm – 10pm). Well, they didn’t murder their wives while on Dateline, I’m just telling you what the TV listings and press release say about this episode.

New episode of Meerkat Manor: The Next Generation (Animal Planet, 8pm, 11pm, 3am).

New episode of Shockwave (History Channel, 9pm and 1am).

Dr. G: Medical Examiner (Discovery Health Channel, 8pm and 11pm); followed by a rerun (Discovery Health Channel, 9pm and midnight).

New episode of Best Week Ever (VH1, 8pm, 10pm, 1:30am; also on Saturday at 10am).

Series premiere of Flashpoint (CBS, 9pm; also on Sunday at 9pm). It’s today’s featured pick, see above.

Season premiere of Stargate Atlantis (Sci-Fi, 9pm and 11pm). Last season ended with a cliffhanger, this season picks up where that one left off. Robert Picardo will be joining the cast as a series regular this season, though he doesn’t appear in this episode until the very end.

Part three of Koppel: People’s Republic of Capitalism (Discovery Channel, 9pm and 1am). This is part three of a four-part series about China from Ted Koppel and the Discovery Channel. You can read more about it on their website.

Kevin Hart hosts a new episode of Live at Gotham (Comedy Central, 9pm). With performances by comedians TJ Miller, Joe List, Na’im Lynn, Matt McCarthy, Lucas Molondes, and Vince Averill.

Series premiere of Ashley Paige: Bikini or Bust (TLC, 9pm and midnight, 9:30pm and midnight). Two half-hour episodes debut tonight. TLC says this about the show: “The docu-series goes inside the life of Ashley Paige, a renowned bathing suit designer who had it all magazine covers, A-list celebrities wearing her bikinis, a brand-new store in Los Angeles … in short, a promising career in the fashion world. But, just as quickly as she became an overnight sensation, she hit rock bottom. Currently, Ashley can barely make rent, let alone successfully run her business. But that’s all about to change as she embarks on a journey to take all of her potential and turn it into success.”

Scheduled topics for 20/20 (ABC, 9pm) tonight: A traffic stop turns to murder on a country road; a woman is charged with child abuse after surveillance cameras capture her spraying her toddler with a hose at a car wash; an altercation between a teen and a bus driver caught on tape; fitness shoes.

New episode of The Soup (E!, 9pm and 11:30pm; also at 9am and 10pm on Saturday).

Late Night

Rerun of Criminal Minds (A&E, 10pm and 2am).

Rerun of House (USA, 10pm).

Steve Carell, Lance Armstrong, Dr. John on a rerun of The Late Show with David Letterman (CBS, 10:35pm).

Michael Caine, Elizabeth Banks, Ludo on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno (NBC, 10:35pm).

Sean Hayes, Ed Helms, Tom Papa on Late Night with Conan O’Brien (NBC, 11:37pm).

Holly Hunter on a rerun of The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson (CBS, 11:37pm).

Whoopi Goldberg, Fred Willard, Cyndi Lauper on a rerun of Jimmy Kimmel (ABC, check your local listings).

Josh Gomes, Sheryl Crow on a rerun of Last Call with Carson Daly (NBC, check your local listings).

Tonight’s TCM Underground feature is Skidoo (TCM, 1am) which has to be seen to be believed. I don’t even know where to begin, but a good start would be to read the article on the TCM Underground website. Groucho Marx as a mafia boss! Jackie Gleason as a retired mobster! With Frankie Avalon, Carol Channing, Mickey Rooney, John Phillip Law, Peter Lawford, Burgess Meredith, and Austin Pendleton.