Here’s what’s up in the world of television for Monday, May 12. All times are Eastern.
TOP PICK
The Blacklist (NBC, 10 p.m.): We wouldn’t hold it against you if you were going to start withholding viewership from NBC because you’re still pissed at them about last week’s cancellation of Community—but just in case you’re not, The Blacklist is finishing its first season tonight. James Spader’s Red has to face a villain from his past tonight—the mysteriously named Berlin. Alan Alda guest-stars in an episode where D.C. is in lockdown, so Liz has to team up with Red again to do Blacklist things. Good luck, Liz! And Red! And the little dog, too!
ALSO NOTED
Star-Crossed (The CW, 8 p.m.): This show is closing out its first season tonight, with even more references to Romeo And Juliet than before! In “Passion Lends Them Power,” Roman is injured and Emery turns to an unexpected friend for help. And we turn to an unexpected channel.
Castle (ABC, 10 p.m.): Beckett and Castle are ending their sixth season with preparations for their wedding. But “an unwelcome surprise may ruin things, so they embark on a zany adventure, encountering masked men and mad bikers along the way.” Sounds like our kind of wedding.
REGULAR COVERAGE
Adventure Time (Cartoon Network, 6 p.m)
Regular Show (Cartoon Network, 6:30 p.m.)
24: Live Another Day (Fox, 9 p.m.)
Louie (FX, 10 p.m.)
The Boondocks (Adult Swim, 10:30 p.m.)
ELSEWHERE IN TV CLUB
For all of you who have asked with some confusion: “Wait, are they married?” The A.V. Club has an inventory of 32 significant others who made guest appearances in their partners’ sitcoms. And over in 100 Episodes, Todd VanDerWerff binge-watched The Flintstones for you, and he lived to tell the tale.
And in TV Reviews, Erik Adams and Phil Dyess-Nugent have a look at two new shows for you: Erik takes a look at Fox’s new improv-comedy competition series, Riot, and Phil Dyess-Nugent reviews PBS’ series Coming Back With Wes Moore, a look at returning military personnel from Iraq and Afghanistan who are attempting to re-integrate into domestic life.
And in case you are watching the recently renewed, casually insane Salem, Will Harris interviewed star Xander Berkeley, who plays Magistrate Hale, for our recurring series Random Roles.
TV CLUB CLASSIC
Justice League Unlimited (noon): Sometimes we try to write jokes about things and then this happens: “Just gimme some ice, ice baby, justice is cold like ice, just ice, ooh ice, all over our face, unlimited ice, ooooh.” Oliver Sava shakes his head sadly and slowly. “Not again,” he whispers: “Not again.”
WHAT ELSE IS ON?
Antiques Road Show (PBS, 8 p.m.): Road Show comes to Richmond. Items appraised include: a late 19th-century Albert Neuhuys watercolor; a 1982 UNC championship basketball signed by teammates Michael Jordan, James Worthy and Sam Perkins; and an early 20th-century Alice R.H. Smith watercolor. And a visit to the Virginia Museum of Fine Art spotlights silver tea and coffee pots. We are very excited about the coffee pots.
Rewrapped (Food Network, 8 p.m.): Lately it’s all we can do to suppress gag reflexes while reading the TV Guide summaries for this show. “The chefs work with three flavors of potato chips: cheddar and sour cream; salt and vinegar; and BBQ.”
Sex Sent Me To The ER (TLC, 9 p.m.): “An adventurous couple are injured in the shower; a young couple spice things up at the grocery store.” We have an admittedly insane theory that TV Guide is inserting grammatical near-errors into the summaries of Sex Sent Me To The ER just to check if anyone is reading them. Then again, we suppose that “couple” could be interpreted as a plural noun, but who does that? UPDATE: Grammar Girl has a whole post on this. We ourselves do not think that a couple “have” sex; instead a couple has sex, suggesting that perhaps TV Guide thinks about couples, and sex, differently than we do.
Independent Lens: Let The Fire Burn (PBS, 10 p.m.): A look at the 1985 confrontation between Philadelphia police and the radical black-power organization MOVE, a violent standoff that ended when the police dropped two bombs on the organization’s fortified and occupied row-house, killing 11 people and destroying 61 homes in the resulting conflagration.
Cadillac Records (Oxygen, 7 p.m.): A “fact-based” account of the rise of Chicago’s Chess Records, which ended up shaping rock-n-roll music for decades to come. Featuring performances by Mos Def, Beyoncé, Jeffrey Wright, and Cedric the Entertainer.
Gosford Park (Flix, 8 p.m.): A class-conscious period murder-mystery from the writer-creator of Downton Abbey, directed by Robert Altman. What’s On Tonight loves loves loves this movie and demands you watch it if you haven’t already.
Stanley Cup Playoffs (NBC Sports, 7:30 p.m. and 10 p.m.): Boston has a chance to win the series against Montreal tonight, as the Bruins face off the Canadiens on the latter team’s home ice. And at 10 p.m., the Anaheim Ducks (Quack! Quack! Quack!) go against the Los Angeles Kings, in the fifth game in a series that is currently tied. There are so many more sports teams in Los Angeles than we thought there were!
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Turn: We’re saying goodbye to Turn coverage for now, as neither the show nor its reviewers has found an audience. But it’s always worth reading Genevieve Valentine’s excellent reviews, so check out her last one from last night.