Here’s what’s up in the world of TV for Wednesday, May 2. All times are Eastern.
TOP PICK
Suburgatory (ABC, 8:30 p.m.): Over the course of its first season, this series has gone from promising newcomer to something that didn’t seem to have figured out what it wanted to do to a show that can make an argument to be one of the best comedies on TV. It’s peaking at just the right time, too, as it figures out what it’s really good at heading into its first hiatus, when all involved will get a chance to look back on season one and draw some conclusions on what worked best. Anyway, Alicia Silverstone is still around, so Brandon Nowalk hopes you’ll at least drop by for that.
REGULAR COVERAGE
American Idol (Fox, 8 p.m.): They eliminated our favorite last week—and by “favorite,” we mean, “the one who sounded most appealing to us based solely on Claire Zulkey’s descriptions of her,” so we don’t know whom we’re going to cheer for when we vicariously watch the show through Claire tonight.
The Middle (ABC, 8 p.m.): Eden Sher is often great when playing the many versions of Sue Heck, so we’re quietly anticipating an episode where a guidance counselor convinces her to become somebody new. Will Harris hopes that somebody new is a superhero, because he just thinks that would be fun.
Survivor (CBS, 8 p.m.): “The castaways visit with loved ones,” says the episode summary, and we’re left wondering: Haven’t the castaways visited with loved ones 500 times already this season? Granted, this could just be our faulty memories, but we don’t think Carrie Raisler would steer us wrong here.
America’s Next Top Model (The CW, 9 p.m.): The models get a reading from an astrologer and are asked to recreate their auras through fashion. We’d like to let that sink in for just a moment, if only for poor Margaret Eby’s sake. If we had to recreate our aura though fashion, it would involve wearing a pizza box.
Modern Family (ABC, 9 p.m.): America’s top comedy is back to finish out an uneven season with four straight episodes through the end of the month. Will the show close out the year with some winners? Will Donna Bowman finally get the episode of her dreams? How many car accidents will there be?
Don’t Trust The B—— In Apartment 23 (ABC, 9:30 p.m.): June receives an invitation to a wedding addressed to her and her ex-fiance, and we’re sure this will lead to some wacky sitcom hijinks. Emily Guendelsberger has been to many weddings, and far too few of them were totally wacky.
America’s Best Dance Crew (MTV, 10 p.m.): There was a time when we might have e-mailed MTV’s publicity department to let them know that there are no recent photos for this show, but we think we’ll just keep using the same picture of the judges over and over. Hey, it amuses Rowan Kaiser!
Revenge (ABC, 10 p.m.): The popularity of this show has put us in mind of a new business venture. Let us know if you want to help us out, commenters! It’ll be called e-venge, and it’ll be at evenge.com. It’ll let you have your revenge in e-card form. Yeah, Carrie Raisler’s right. We haven’t thought this out.
TV CLUB CLASSIC
The Sopranos (1 p.m.): While Tony remains in his coma, paying a visit to a certain Inn At The Oaks, the other guys in his crew are squabbling over what might happen if—God forbid—he takes a turn for the worse. Todd VanDerWerff tried to visit the Inn At The Oaks, but nobody there wanted him. Sad.
WHAT ELSE IS ON
Betty White’s Off Their Rockers (NBC, 8 p.m.): What’s better than one episode of the surprisingly popular (for NBC) senior-citizen-based prank show? Why, two episodes of the surprisingly popular senior-citizen-based prank show! Admit it, America: You just like to see old people bein’ sassy!
Ghost Hunters (Syfy, 9 p.m.): We suppose there are worse ways to spend your evening than watching these folks wander around a military craft, hoping to talk over the horrors of warfare with a bunch of disembodied voices that just say the same thing over and over. Like going outside! That would suck!
Million Dollar Listing New York (Bravo, 10 p.m.): If you haven’t watched this show—which is pretty much just Million Dollar Listing set in New York—then you’ll have to catch it tonight, as it’s the season finale, and who knows when Bravo will have another faux-classy “reality” series to take its place?
Whitechapel (BBC America, 10 p.m.): This stylish British cop show wraps up its latest season as well, as Miles and Chandler clash over an investigation and the body count rises. To be fair, that could describe most episodes of this show, couldn’t it? We’re sure that the conclusion will be scintillating.
Sullivan’s Travels/The Palm Beach Story (TCM, 8 p.m.): Turner Classic Movies is playing our song with these two Preston Sturges classics, both great screwball comedies that we love. In fact, Sullivan’s just might be one of our 10 favorite films ever made, but don’t tell Palm Beach, which is also awesome.
Return To Oz (Flix, 9:45 p.m.): You may remember our sneering disregard for many ‘80s films in this very column in previous installments, but we will say nothing bad about this weird little pseudo-sequel to The Wizard Of Oz that’s based much more on the books than that other, more beloved film. We love it!
World’s Strongest Man Competition (ESPN2, 9 p.m.): This might just be your best bet for the evening: two straight hours of the 2011 competition, in which musclemen undertake bizarre feats of strength, including tossing cabers and all sorts of other good things. You won’t go home disappointed, we swear!
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Glee (Tuesday): Once again, Glee attempts to tackle a serious issue. Once again, Glee utterly fails. But does that failure tank the rest of the episode? Todd VanDerWerff thinks so, but we all know he’s wrong about everything, so consider this your perfect chance to go and tell him how stupid he is about things.