Here’s what’s up in the world of TV for Sunday, August 26. All times are Eastern.
TOP PICK
True Blood (HBO, 9 p.m.): The fifth season of True Blood turned a corner in its second half, getting out of the boardroom and the torture chamber and back into the business of being premium cable’s most reliably bugnuts hour. With the Authority storyline poised for a wild-and-gory conclusion, can the show maintain its hopped-up-on-fairy-blood momentum? Carrie Raisler certainly hopes so.
REGULAR COVERAGE
Rev. (Hulu, 5 p.m.): Adam’s marriage is in trouble—which means a season finale must be coming around the bend! Before it arrives, however, the other half of this week’s episode gives Todd VanDerWerff a crash course in the politics of the Church of England.
Hell On Wheels (AMC, 9 p.m.): As if years of myth-building hadn’t already proven it, Hell On Wheels sets out to illustrate that the Wild West was a “Slaughterhouse.” Alasdair Wilkins lays down the drop cloths.
Breaking Bad (AMC, 10 p.m.): AMC didn’t release screeners for this week’s episode of Breaking Bad, so Donna Bowman will be just as surprised as you are when the meaning of this cryptic Aaron Paul tweet is revealed. Until then, speculate wildly!
Copper (BBC America, 10 p.m.): Farihah Zaman, meanwhile, has already seen this week’s Copper, and she leaves you this preview: “A good old-fashioned jab of opiates.” Take that as you will (or take it like a good old-fashioned jab of opiates).
The Newsroom (HBO, 10 p.m.): Intrepid correspondent Todd VanDerWerff swoops in to put the first season of The Newsroom to bed, writing about it on the Internet like that coward, Neal. The Internet! Harrumph.
Weeds (Showtime, 10 p.m.): Road trip! Nancy and Silas attend to some business in North Carolina, and Myles McNutt made a sweet mix for the ride: It’s 36 versions of “Little Boxes”! None made of ticky-tacky, none sounding just the same.
Episodes (Showtime, 10:30 p.m.): Various developments in the final episode of the second season suggest that Merc will never work in this town again, Matt will never sleep with an executive’s wife in this town again, and Beverly and Sean will never be married in this town again. And if there’s no third-season renewal waiting in the wings, David Sims will never review Episodes in this town again.
TV CLUB CLASSIC
South Park (Classic) (1 p.m.): Phil Dyess-Nugent plays a game of Truth Or Dare with Matt Parker and Trey Stone circa 1998, and they dare him to review yet another episode seemingly inspired by stoned late-night viewings of Star Trek.
The Simpsons (Classic) (3 p.m.): In an impressive show of restraint, Nathan Rabin digs into “Last Exit To Springfield” and manages to quote the “Dental plan / Lisa needs braces” part only once. Because he’s a professional—and not the corrupt, shiftless, ready-to-be-eaten-alive-by-the-Japanese type.
WHAT ELSE IS ON?
Winx Club (Nickelodeon, 12 p.m.): This “Italian magical girl animated television series” enters its fifth season by raising the following questions:
- Five seasons?
- Is “Italian magical girl animated television series” a subgenre unto itself, or the name of The A.V. Club’s new favorite noise band?
The Great Food Truck Race (Food Network, 9 p.m.): True to the mobile nature of its subjects, The Great Food Truck Race is occupying a different place on Food Network’s schedule this week. In a departure from the nature of its subjects, you won’t miss all the good stuff if you show up 45 minutes late.
The Great Escape (TNT, 10 p.m.): The first-season finale of The Great Escape pulls what shall henceforth be known as a “reverse Die Hard,” as the contestants work there way out of a Los Angeles skyscraper. Rekcuf rehtom, yay ik eippiy.
Aqua Something You Know Whatever (Cartoon Network, midnight): The immortal Adult Swim series ends its latest season by introducing the gang to a metal band whose singular obsession should create a new Urban Dictionary definition for “totem pole.”
Domino (Sundance, 8 p.m.): This cinematic portrait of model-turned-bounty hunter Domino Harvey isn’t the most revered selection in the Tony Scott filmography, but in the wake of the filmmaker’s recent death, it’s a fitting tribute to his flashy style and flair for directing action sequences.
Ball Of Fire (TCM, 8 p.m.): This Howard Hawks picture has everything: Gangsters, romance, comedy, Barbra Stanwyck as a moll with a (overdubbed) golden voice, Gary Cooper as an academic inadvertently mixed up with the mob, and a flaming paradiddle—that’s that thing where Gene Krupa plays a drum solo on a box of matches.
Madden NFL 13 Pigskin Pro-Am (NBC, 7 p.m.): Miss the golden age of celebrities and pro athletes squaring off in meaningless competitions for your amusement? Look no further than this flag football match, which is a few crazy bonus points and a Dan Cortese short of being a full-on MTV Rock N’ Jock revival.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Animaniacs: Genevieve Koski’s summer on the Warner Bros. lot comes to an end with the filthiest joke in the show’s history—which, despite involving Prince, somehow isn’t a direct quote from Prince himself.