Laurel’s TV Picks

Best Bets

Special two-hour season premiere of House (FOX, 7pm – 9:01pm)
Season premiere of How I Met Your Mother (CBS, 7pm)
Special two-hour season premiere of Heroes (NBC, 7pm)
New Gossip Girl (CW, 8pm)
Season premiere of The Big Bang Theory (CBS, 8:30pm)
Season premiere of Castle (ABC, 9:01pm)
President Barack Obama on The Late Show with David Letterman (CBS, 10:35pm)
Marg Helgenberge, Dule Hill, Black Joe Lewis & the Honeybears on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson (CBS, 11:37pm)

Daytime

Oprah’s favorite things from the 1960s, plus the stars of Mad Men and Jersey Boys on Oprah (syndicated, check your local listings).

Primetime Grid

Primetime

Special two-hour season premiere of House (FOX, 7pm – 9:01pm). House begins a detox program at a psychiatric hospital as the new season begins. Andre Braugher (of Homicide: Life on the Street) begins a guest stint on the show as House’s attending physician; Braugher previously starred in Gideon’s Crossing, a show from most of the same folks behind House. Other guest stars: Franka Potente, Lin-Manuel Miranda, and Curtis Armstrong. The show’s regular timeslot is Mondays at 7pm; it will usually be followed by Lie to Me at 8pm (which debuts next week). House remains one of my favorite shows, I can’t wait to see tonight’s two-hour season premiere.

Ted is nervous about teaching his first class, the gang finds out that Barney and Robin are secretly seeing each other in the season premiere of How I Met Your Mother (CBS, 7pm). This show remains my favorite half-hour comedy; I’m looking forward to a new season.

Special two-hour season premiere of Heroes (NBC, 7pm – 9pm). Claire tries to adjust to college life, Hiro and Ando try to help people with abilities, Angela worries that Nathan will find out what’s going on, Matt has an unexpected visitor, and so on and so forth. Robert Knepper joins the cast as the leader of a “mysterious carnival clan”; Knepper most recently played “T-Bag” on Prison Break. Other actors who will appear this season: Ernie Hudson, Deanne Bray, Madeline Zima, Rachel Melvin, Ray Park, and Rick Worthy. Find out more on the official site for the show. The regular timeslot for the show this season is Mondays at 7pm. I’m not a big fan of the show, but I’ve watched it this far so will probably check out this season since the end of last season had some interesting developments and the trailer for this season looks interesting. Plus Bryan Fuller is back to work on the show (you may know him best for his work on Pushing Daisies, Dead Like Me, and the first season of Heroes).

Two-hour season premiere of Dancing with the Stars (ABC, 7pm – 9:01pm). Find out more about the new season on the website for the show. Eight teams perform tonight, eight more perform tomorrow night; two couples will be sent home on Wednesday. Regular timeslot is Mondays from 7pm to 9pm with results shows on Tuesdays at 8pm. Pairings this season are: Aaron Carter & Karina Smirnoff, Natalie Coughlin & Alec Mazo, Mark Dacascos & Lacey Schwimmer, Tom Delay & Cheryl Burke, Macy Gray & Jonathan Roberts, Ashley Hamilton & Edyta Sliwinska, Melissa Joan Hart & Mark Ballas, Kathy Ireland & Tony Dovolani, Michael Irvin & Anna Demidova, Joanna Krupa & Derek Hough, Chuck Liddell & Anna Trebunskaya, Debi Mazar & Maqksim Chmerkovskiy, Mya & Dmitry Chaplin, Kelly Osbourne & Louis Van Amstel, Donny Osmond & Kym Johnson, and Louis Vito & Chelsie Hightower.

Cassie and Charles are targets of police scrutiny, and Tay’s jealousy causes major problems on a new Lincoln Heights (ABC Family, 7pm and 11pm; also next Monday at 6pm).

New episode of Desperate Landscapes (DIY, 7pm and 11pm).

Seventh season finale of Top Gear (BBC America, 7pm, 10pm, midnight).

Jenna Elfman stars in the series premiere of Accidently on Purpose (CBS, 7:30pm); she plays a film critic who has a one-night-stand with a younger man after a break-up with her commitment-phobic boss. She winds up pregnant and then has the younger man move in with her. Other castmembers: Ashley Jensen, Grant Show, Jon Foster, Lennon Parham, and Nicolas Wright. I liked the rough cut of the first pilot; it shows potential and Elfman is as charming as ever; it’s certainly better than some of the half-hour comedies out there, but not (yet?) as good as the other shows in the CBS Monday night comedy block. Find out more on the website for the show.

Blair, Dan, and Vanessa experience their first days at NYU on Gossip Girl (CW, 8pm). Georgina (Michelle Trachtenberg) turns up as Blair’s roommate. As Serena prepares to leave for Brown, she has a major falling out with Chuck. I’m sure there’s a lot more drama, too. I enjoyed the season premiere and am looking forward to future episodes.

Charlie needs to decide between Chelsea and his old flame Mia on the season premiere of Two and a Half Men (CBS, 8pm). Jennifer Taylor, Emmanuelle Vaugier, Kelly Stabler, Will Sasso, Eddie Van Halen, and Jane Lynch guest star.

New Intervention (A&E, 8pm and midnight).

Another airing of the latest episode of Army Wives (Lifetime, 8pm).

New episode of Yard Crashers (DIY, 8pm and midnight).

New Jon & Kate Plus 8 (TLC, 8pm and 11pm).

New Unwrapped (Food Network, 8pm and 11pm).

Sheldon freaks out after learning the other guys tampered with some of his data in the season premiere of The Big Bang Theory (CBS, 8:30pm). I guess it’s time for the gang to return from the arctic. But will Leonard and Penny finally have a romantic date? And is Sheldon justified in freaking out? Laurie Metcalfe returns as Sheldon’s mother. I quite like this show, most of the time; it’s improved as its gone on and I’m looking forward to this season.

Castle is wrestling with how to repair his relationship with Beckett while struggling to finish a new book in the season premiere of Castle (ABC, 9:01pm). Circumstances force Castle and Beckett to work together again. Stephen J. Cannell and Michael Connelly guest star as themselves. I enjoyed season one of this show; it’s fun.

As Delko’s life hangs in the balance, the gang flashes back twelve years to reveal how they first met and became a team in the season premiere of CSI: Miami (CBS, 9pm). Eddie Cibrian (of Third Watch) joins the cast; Khandi Alexander (of NewsRadio) returns.

Jennifer Garner, Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) on The Jay Leno Show (NBC, 9pm).

New Machines of Malice (Discovery Channel, 9pm and midnight).

New Eddie Griffin: Going for Broke (VH1, 9pm and 10:30pm).

New The Rachel Zoe Project (Bravo, 9pm, 10pm).

New Hoarders (A&E, 9pm and 1am).

New Animal Cops Phoenix (Animal Planet, 9pm, midnight, 4am).

New episode of Indoors Out (DIY, 9:30pm and 1:30am).

Late Night

Former President Bill Clinton on a rerun of The Daily Show with Jon Stewart (Comedy Central, 10pm and midnight).

The Flaming Lips on a rerun of The Colbert Report (Comedy Central, 10:30pm and 12:30am).

President Barack Obama on The Late Show with David Letterman (CBS, 10:35pm).

Ricky Gervais, “Chicken” Charlie Boghosian, Lynyrd Skynyrd on The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien (NBC, 10:35pm).

Marg Helgenberger (of CSI), Dule Hill (of Psych), Black Joe Lewis & the Honeybears on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson (CBS, 11:37pm). Now in HD!

Clive Owen, Joanna Garcia (of Gossip Girl, Privileged), Living Colour on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon (NBC, 11:37pm).

Alison Brie, Brian Deegan, Franz Ferdinand on a rerun of Last Call with Carson Daly (NBC, check your local listings).

Robin Williams, Bobcat Goldthwait, Matt & Kim on a rerun of Jimmy Kimmel Live (ABC, check your local listings).