Here’s what’s up in the world of television for Monday, April 21. All times are Eastern.
TOP PICK
Archer (FX, 10 p.m.): “Arrivals/Departures” is an apt name for tonight’s television schedule—‘tis the season for both series debuts and season finales. Both arrivals and departures are the subject of tonight’s Archer, which welcomes Lana’s baby to the world as it bids goodbye to a chemical weapon heading for, I wanna say, the Upper East Side? Todd VanDerWerff and Sonia Saraiya will crosstalk tonight’s finale and say goodbye to Archer Vice, the little television experiment that could (get high on cocaine).
ALSO NOTED
Adventure Time (Cartoon Network, 6 p.m): Well, that was fast: The sixth season of Adventure Time debuts tonight, just a few weeks after the fifth season ended. Oliver Sava is here to guide you through the double-header featuring “Wake Up” and “Escape From The Citadel.”
The Boondocks (Adult Swim, 10:30 p.m.): Meanwhile, this animated show starts its fourth season tonight—a season without the show’s creator, Aaron McGruder. Phil Dyess-Nugent took a look at the fourth season and found it lacked the freshness of the past three seasons. (Then he makes an inspired comparison to teleported steak in The Fly. Ew.)
Independent Lens: Muscle Shoals (PBS, 9 p.m.): And PBS’ recurring docuseries looks at Muscle Shoals, Alabama, an unexpected breeding ground for music production that crossed racial lines during the ’60s. The film focuses on FAME studios founder Rick Hall.
REGULAR COVERAGE
Regular Show (Cartoon Network, 6:30 p.m.)
The Following (Fox, 9 p.m.)
Bates Motel (A&E, 10 p.m.)
RuPaul’s Drag Race (LOGO, 10 p.m.)
ELSEWHERE IN TV CLUB
Hey, did you see that Game Of Thrones episode last night? Because if you did, maybe you’ll want to check out Sonia Saraiya’s For Our Consideration on that episode, which is charmingly titled “Rape Of Thrones.”
In addition to Phil’s TV Review of The Boondocks, Molly Eichel takes a look at MTV’s latest offering, Faking It, where lesbians are the new cheerleaders. Except our heroines are neither lesbians nor cheerleaders—they’re just pretending for popularity’s sake. High school: sort of different… sort of the same.
And in One-Season Wonders, Weirdos, and Wannabes, Stephen Bowie takes us back to 1963 with a look at NBC’s The Richard Boone Show, which suffered both from network interference and sudden death to be a weird little footnote in television history.
TV CLUB CLASSIC
Justice League Unlimited (noon): The League Of Unjustified Text Alignments registered a formal complaint against Justice League Unlimited earlier this week, citing irreconcilable differences. The plaintiff has asked that Right League Unlimited and Left League Unlimited both be made immediately. The defendant argued that Center League Unlimited sounded dumb. Oliver Sava deleted all his text, immediately.
WHAT ELSE IS ON?
Metal Hurlant Chronicles (Syfy, 8 p.m.): This new show is still occurring, and it still has a name we do not quite know how to parse. Two new episodes tonight—one of which promises “Turtle Sapiens.” A species of sapient turtles. INSTA-DVR.
Rewrapped (Food Network, 8 p.m.): Food Network’s latest competition show has corporate sponsorship baked into the premise: The contestants have to recreate a product, like Pepperidge Farm’s Goldfish crackers. The most accurate recreation wins the challenge. At some point, they also have to use the product in a cool way!
Sex Sent Me To The ER (TLC, 9 p.m.): “A tryst at a pool party turns into a fiasco.”
16 And Pregnant (MTV, 11 p.m): “A stoner boyfriend must straighten up before becoming a father.”
Fargo (FXM, 8 p.m.): In either atonement or anticipation for Tuesday night’s Fargo (TV series), FXM is airing Fargo (film). On Wednesday, everyone on the planet will be saying “doncha know” and “oh yah” like a Minnesotan.
Who Framed Roger Rabbit (ABC Family, 9 p.m.): Patty cake, patty cake… baker’s… man… bake me a cake… as fast… as you can… pat it, roll it, mark it with a “B”… BACK UP FLIP IT AND REVERSE IT
NBA Playoffs, Game 2: Western Conference (TNT, 8 p.m.): The western half of America advances to game two tonight: The Grizzlies take on the Thunder, while the Clippers take on the Warriors. In Game 1 on Saturday, the Thunder handily defeated the Grizzlies, 100-86; the Warriors and Clippers had a much closer game. Also yeah, the Warriors and the Clippers are both California teams. California is greedy for sports teams, man.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Silicon Valley: In the midst of both Thrones and Mad Men’s seasons, this little show is quietly puffing along. Les Chappell really enjoyed last night’s “Articles Of Incorporation,” and maybe you did, too!