Now you can call it Brooklyn Nine-Nine Thirty
Here’s what’s up in the world of TV for Tuesday, February 4. All times are Eastern.
TOP PICK
Brooklyn Nine-Nine (Fox, 9:30 p.m.): The past few weeks have been very kind to Brooklyn Nine-Nine: First the Golden Globe wins, followed by the show’s series-high ratings following the Super Bowl. And it carries that added momentum as Fox clears the show away from an incompatible lead-in (Dads, which you’re not rid of quite so quickly) and into a protected, post-New Girl spot. To mark the occasion, the show’s throwing a party—though Molly Eichel suspects the true purpose for the party is Captain Holt’s birthday (because she’s read the episode synopsis).
ALSO NOTED
Marvel’s Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. (ABC, 8 p.m.): After a little relaxation in a Tahiti all its own, Agents returns as the presumably improved show ABC promised members of the Television Critics Association. Tonight’s episode contains a “dangerous” train, which is enough to convince Oliver Sava the series is finally on track. (Because of the train. The show might still be a complete mess.)
New Girl (Fox, 9 p.m.): At age 19, all an infinitely stupider Erik Adams ever wanted was for someone like Zooey Deschanel to tell him he reminded her of Adam Brody. Thank goodness that idiot isn’t around to review Brody’s New Girl guest shot, because he’d probably complain about the lack of Shins songs on the soundtrack.
Trophy Wife (ABC, 9:30 p.m.): Why aren’t you reading about Trophy Wife? Analytics suggest that you’re not reading about Trophy Wife often enough. Brandon Nowalk is doing a very good job writing about Trophy Wife—and the people making Trophy Wife are doing a very good job making Trophy Wife. Is the title still getting in the way? Just toss it out. Like Cougar Town, it no longer has any meaning. Or just do what What’s On Tonight does, and call it Modern Family That’s Still Funny.
REGULAR COVERAGE
The Originals (The CW, 8 p.m.)
Supernatural (The CW, 9 p.m.)
Person Of Interest (CBS, 10 p.m.)
Kroll Show (Comedy Central, 10 p.m.)
Justified (FX, 10 p.m.)
Cougar Town (TBS, 10 p.m.)
ELSEWHERE ON TV CLUB
It’s a day for the police in TV Reviews, with Erik Adams’ long view on Brooklyn Nine-Nine and Molly Eichel checking in on the original version version of The Bridge—which Sweden calls Bron, Denmark calls Broen, and The A.V. Club calls The Bridge because we watched the show with English subtitles, so why not, right? Both center on cops, but only one of these shows begins with the discovery of bisected corpses symbolically placed at a border crossing. (Unless Andy Samberg is suddenly catching grisly cases in the Lincoln Tunnel, it’s safe to presume we’re talking about The Bridge above.)
WHAT ELSE IS ON
Winter Gold: NBC’s First Look At The Sochi Olympics (NBC, 8 p.m.): How will NBC enrage you with its coverage of the XXII Olympic Games? Here’s a preview of future #NBCFails.
The Biggest Loser (NBC, 9 p.m.): The evening’s first season finale, in which the winner is actually the person who loses the most. Isn’t that clever?
Ravenswood (ABC Family, 9 p.m.): Contrast that with this finale, in which the winner is the character who escapes this ludicrous Pretty Little Liars spin-off through death. Of course, in the PLL universe, death is a release that merely provides a temporary escape—because there’s always a chance you’ll come back, even if the damn show was predicated on your death.
The Big Lebowski (IFC, 8 p.m.): Part one of a makeshift Philip Seymour Hoffman tribute, demonstrating the actor’s ability to turn even an obsequious little shit like Brandt into a scene-stealing presence.
The Ides Of March (Sundance, 9 p.m.): And here’s a slog of a political thriller that’s made nearly watchable by Hoffman’s performance as the campaign manager in a power struggle with protégé Ryan Gosling.
College Basketball: Kansas at Baylor (ESPN 2, 7 p.m.): Big 12 action from Texas, which lacks a supporting performance by the late Philip Seymour Hoffman, so why bother?
NEW ON DVD
Did you know TV shows are still regularly released on Blu-ray and Digital Versatile Disc? They are! And now What’s On Tonight is going to let you know when any notable shows are coming to home video—or coming back to home video, in the case of Fox’s single-season, live-action version of The Tick. Super affordable, and easily watched within the space of a single afternoon. (Or after-SPOOOON as the case may be.)
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Teen Wolf: There’s only one kind of finger more dangerous to a werewolf than a “Silverfinger,” and it’s a ladyfinger—turns out lycanthropes are seriously sensitive to wheat flour. Learn this and many other secrets of the werewolf lifestyle in The Dark Side Of The Full Moon by Phil Dyess-Nugent.