Glee honors the life of Cory Monteith
Here’s what’s up in the world of TV for Thursday, October 10. All times are Eastern.
TOP PICK
Glee (Fox, 9 p.m.): After Cory Monteith’s death from alcohol and drug overdose in July, the unavoidable question has been: How is Glee going to handle the death of one of its main characters, Finn Hudson? There’s something very creepy about it all, but it’s really happening tonight: Glee is taking on Monteith’s death, and what it means for his on- and off-screen girlfriend Lea Michele, in “The Quarterback.” Michele is singing a cover of Bob Dylan’s “Make You Feel My Love,” which has already been leaked on YouTube. It’s heartbreaking. The episode is going to be heartbreaking. Brandon Nowalk’s review is going to be heartbreaking. And we haven’t even listened to the cover of Rent’s “Seasons Of Love” that will also be in tonight’s episode.
REGULAR COVERAGE
Once Upon A Time In Wonderland (ABC, 8 p.m.): Let the great spinoff begin! Todd VanDerWerff took a look at this offshoot of Once Upon A Time and pronounced it “okay”; now it’s Zack Handlen’s turn to take this week-to-week. We hope he likes it, if only because then we can make “down the rabbit hole” jokes at least twice a week.
The Big Bang Theory (CBS, 8 p.m.): The boys create online dating profiles, which always goes well. Elsewhere, Leonard learns how he can convince Penny to do whatever he wants, and Sheldon gets angry about something. Oliver Sava thinks this all sounds a little too much like 50 Shades Of Grey for his taste.
Parks And Recreation (NBC, 8 p.m.): After last week’s merger with hated rivals Eagleton, the Pawnee parks staff is forced to contend with its doppelgangers, the Eagleton parks and recreation staff. Alasdair Wilkins doesn’t have a doppelganger, but if he did, it would be named “Sue.”
The Vampire Diaries (The CW, 8 p.m.): This episode is called “True Lies,” which indicates verbal irony, if we learned anything from 9th-grade English class! Carrie Raisler is unimpressed with our literary devices training, but owns that usually, we are very good spellers.
The Michael J. Fox Show (NBC, 9 p.m.): It’s time for Graham to get a new hobby, meaning that Mike and Annie get competitive trying to find something for him to do. Horseback riding? Fly fishing? Stamp collection? Square dancing? Robert David Sullivan has tried all of these things, and would not endorse any of them.
Scandal (ABC, 10 p.m.): Oooh, flashbacks! Now that we know Rowan is Olivia’s father, “Guess Who’s Coming To Dinner” gives us a look at formative scenes from their relationship. Who is Daddy Pope, and how did he and his daughter develop such fantastic monologue skills? Like, were they in theatre? Did they do Shakespeare? Sonia Saraiya is practicing her Juliet.
Elementary (CBS, 10 p.m.): Holmes deals with hacktivists on a case about classified information. And Joan signs up for online-dating, which is worrying, considering that it’s happening the same week as a similar plot over in Big Bang Theory-land. Myles McNutt hopes Raj and Joan don’t find each other on Match.com, because that would be a super-weird crossover.
Parenthood (NBC, 10 p.m.): Tonight’s episode is called “Nipple Confusion”! So, like, who is confused, about what exactly? It better be about breastfeeding. Are there babies involved? Todd VanDerWerff devoutly hopes that there are babies involved.
Childrens Hospital (Adult Swim, 12 a.m.): Tonight’s episode is called “A Lot Of Brouhaha Over Zilch,” which indicates to us that either nothing much happens or that we’re being treated to a more verbose parody of Much Ado About Nothing that clocks in at just 15 minutes long. David Sims is hoping for the latter, but that’s just because he’s really into Shakespeare, bro.
TV CLUB CLASSIC
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (11 a.m.): This week, DS9 takes us to the wacky world of genetically engineered humans and magnificent Ferengi. What are Ferengi? Zack Handlen shakes his head sadly. We just don’t know.
Gilmore Girls (1 p.m.): Rory and Paris get hear back from Harvard’s admissions office, which sends the residents of Stars Hollow into an overachieving tizzy. David Sims is less interested in Harvard and more interested in Alexis Bledel’s haircut, because, yowza!
WHAT ELSE IS ON?
Life Continued: Defeating Depression (MTV, 7 p.m.): Rainn Wilson’s SoulPancake produces this 60-minute special about two teenagers from different sides of the country who both struggle with mental health issues.
Alaska Gold Diggers (Animal Planet, 8 p.m.): Series premiere! Five women from Orange County move to Alaska to start mining for gold. Because it is 1849, and this is the Gold Rush, and also, where do they find these people, and also, there are no animals in this show? What gives?
Welcome To The Family (NBC, 8:30 p.m.): The big twist from last week’s pilot is that now, both teenage Molly and her mother Caroline are both pregnant, which will probably send our hero Mike O’Malley into a tailspin. Erik Adams reviewed the pilot and found it lacking, but on the other hand, plot twists!
Project Runway (Lifetime, 9 p.m.): In part one of the season 12 finale, the designers have to fight to the death! No, just kidding. They have to design stuff for a runway show. But we almost got you.
Pawn Stars (History, 9 p.m.): The eighth season of Pawn Stars debuts with an episode enigmatically titled “Everyday I’m Shufflin’.” Also, sometimes Pawn Stars spells its name with an”$,” like Ke$ha, but we don’t want to encourage that kind of ca$ual $pelling. Lynyrd Skynyrd performs the show’s theme song, “Winning Isn’t Everything.”
Drumline (BET, 9 p.m.): If you haven’t yet caught this college movie about two marching bands going head-to-head at two huge football schools in the South, you should check it out. Or maybe mute it, but then watch the ending, which is riveting. Nick Cannon stars as an ingenue freshman drummer.
Outbreak (MOMAX, 9 p.m.): Dustin Hoffman and Rene Russo have to save the world from a plague caused by a capuchin, a decade before Contagion had us obsessively washing our hands during flu season.
Thursday Night Football: New York Giants at Chicago Bears (NFLN, 7:30 p.m.): Are you ready for some giant bears? This isn’t about the game; we’re just asking. ARE YOU READY FOR SOME GIANT BEARS?!
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
American Horror Story: Coven (Wednesday): Todd VanDerWerff reviewed last night's third-season premiere, "Bitchcraft," and, well, he found it a little problematic.