Here’s what’s up in the world of TV for Tuesday, Dec. 6. All times are Eastern.
TOP PICK
Sons Of Anarchy (FX, 10 p.m.): This has been one hell of a comeback season for Sons Of Anarchy, but it’s also been a season that’s shown a frustrating tendency to set up certain plot points that seem almost certain to happen, then back away from them because it would mess with the status quo too much. Then again, the time to mess with the status quo is often in the season finale, so here’s hoping this one works it all out. If not, Zack Handlen will form his own biker gang.
REGULAR COVERAGE
Glee (Fox, 8 p.m.): The last episode was one of the worst ones this show has ever produced, but this episode features sectionals, the event that always forces the show to come up with a semblance of a plot. Todd VanDerWerff gets third place.
New Girl (Fox, 9 p.m.): We’ve all been waiting for Justin Long and Zooey Deschanel to have sex on this show, and… wait. You haven’t been waiting for that? Well, what are you watching this show for? The jokes? Erik Adams is shocked and appalled.
Raising Hope (Fox, 9:30 p.m.): Jimmy and Frank decide it’s time to get revenge on a guy who bullied them as children. Sounds like somebody’s been watching (deep breath) REVEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEENGE! Phil Nugent loves him some revenge.
Covert Affairs (USA, 10 p.m.): It’s also season finale time on this show, and we’re trying to act like we care about that fact. Simon Abrams hopes the show figures out a way to stop being so boring, and we wonder why we cover it in the first place.
TV CLUB CLASSIC
Avatar: The Last Airbender (11 a.m.): Hayden Childs closes out the second season of this show—generally considered the best season—with the final two episodes. He also might have a super-exciting announcement about the future of this feature.
The Muppet Show (1 p.m.): Have you ever visited the Wikipedia episode list for this show? It’s kind of insane, actually, with lots of weird detail on every episode, making Erik Adams almost superfluous. (But don’t tell him we told you that!)
The Larry Sanders Show (3 p.m.): David Letterman drops by to crow about how it’s the early ‘90s, and he’s king shit. Actually, since he beat Leno in the ratings last week for the first time in 17 years, Kyle Ryan believes he’s still king shit.
TV CLUB ADVENT CALENDAR
A Muppet Family Christmas (Monday): Watch the last clip on this article. Pay close attention to Sprocket in the scene where Santa arrives. Then watch the cut to Jim Henson. Myles McNutt thinks there’s only one answer: Sprocket is a Time Lord.
WHAT ELSE IS ON?
A Michael Buble Christmas (NBC, 8 p.m.): “What will save us this holiday season?” asked the executives of NBC. “It surely won’t be episodes of our critically acclaimed comedies!” “No!” said the other executives. “It will be Buble!”
Eureka/Warehouse 13/Haven (SyFy, 8 p.m.): Been missing these three shows since they left after their summer seasons? Well, here are Christmas episodes of all of them. Including Eureka, which has returned from the dead to bring holiday cheer.
A Night At The Movies: Merry Christmas (TCM, 8 p.m.): Sure, this one will hit all of the expected high points, we’ll bet, but will it hit some of our more obscure Christmas favorites? Remember The Night? The Holly And The Ivy? Jurassic Park?
Hidden City (Travel, 10 p.m.): Rowan Kaiser takes a look at a new Travel Channel series that infiltrates the places in cities where tourists aren’t supposed to go, the places that keep these metropolises running. Seems counter-intuitive to us.
Moonshiners (Discovery, 10 p.m.): Margaret Eby takes a trip down to Appalachia—of course it’s down to Appalachia—to hang out with some bona fide, genuine moonshiners. Or so the title would have us believe, at least.
Storage Wars: Texas (A&E, 10:30 p.m.): We kind of love how brazen this show is about the fact that it’s the same damn show as Storage Wars, only set in Texas, amidst people with goofy Southern drawls. Don’t work for that money, producers!
The Nightmare Before Christmas (Disney, 8:30 p.m.): Hey, have you ever noticed that this movie is a good premise, and then a bunch of stuff that just sort of dawdles along for 75 minutes before coming to a close? But, hey, it sure looks great.
The Town (HBO, 9 p.m.): This movie is also beloved for weird reasons. You remember when everyone was, like, “Oh, Blake Lively will be nominated for an Oscar!” and then the movie came out, and she was terrible? We do, too.
NHL Hockey: Red Wings at Blues (Versus, 7:30 p.m.): When’s the last time you thought about the St. Louis Blues? Be honest here. If you’re from St. Louis, maybe recently. If not, you probably forgot they existed, right? You can tell us the truth.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Castle (Monday): We’re big fans of episodes where characters wind up in unusual locations and they’re handcuffed to each other, so, naturally, we were primed to really enjoy this one. Phil Nugent believes handcuffs are the solution to all problems.