What would happen if the power went out, and all you had to watch was the Revolution pilot?
Here’s what’s up in the world of TV for Monday, September 17. All times are Eastern.
TOP PICK
Revolution (NBC, 10 p.m.): What if the power went out? Well, we probably wouldn’t be arguing about how improbable the scenario alleged in Revolution would be in comments if there wasn’t any electricity, huh? Also, we’d probably all be dead, because every single one of us would die without instant, free shipping of anything we could possibly need and/or Twitter. Okay, so maybe that just describes the writers of The A.V. Club. But c’mon. You know you’d miss Twitter too. How else would you know when Todd VanDerWerff and Les Chappell’s review of the pilot goes up?
REGULAR COVERAGE
Adventure Time (Cartoon Network, 7:30 p.m.): Finn and Jake sneak into the Fire Kingdom and get involved in a family squabble while there. Oliver Sava thinks that if you’re going to get involved in the squabble of some other family, it probably shouldn’t be a family that can control fire. Just sayin’.
Alphas (Syfy, 8 p.m.): Now that Rosen knows who the mole is, how’s he going to proceed? It’s not like he can just let that person get away with it, even if he really might want to. Todd VanDerWerff’s guessing he’ll give them a talking to, and when they apologize, he’ll just nod and say, “Fine. Whatever.”
The L.A. Complex (The CW, 8 p.m.): Rather than spread this one out into the TV season proper, The CW is blazing through the final four episodes tonight and next Monday, so Phil Dyess-Nugent doesn’t have to worry about whether he’ll cover this or Castle first most weeks. Farewell, sweet The L.A. Complex.
Switched At Birth (ABC Family, 8 p.m.): “Bay manipulates a situation with her two dads to get what she wants,” reads the TV Guide summary. Carrie Raisler is hoping that one of those two dads is Paul Reiser, if only because then her My Two Dads/Switched At Birth crossover fan-fic would become canonical.
The Inbetweeners (MTV, 10:30 p.m.): The guy’s play golf with Will’s dad, but as you might expect, things don’t end particularly well. Margaret Eby would say that’s a spoiler, but if you’ve seen this show, then you know that “things don’t end particularly well” describes essentially everything that happens here.
TV CLUB CLASSIC
The West Wing (11 a.m.): Round abouts the fourth season Rob Lowe is on a TV show, he starts to getting’ the wandering eyes, and he needs to go do something else. Which means that Steve Heisler is well into the “Sam Seaborn leaves the White House” arc on this show. To the California 47th!
Justice League (1 p.m.): Solomon Grundy joins the show for these two episodes, which are intended as an homage to H.P. Lovecraft’s Cthulu mythos. Like… can you imagine a better combination of elements than this? Oliver Sava would like to see Solomon Grundy fight an unspeakable tentacle monster for sure.
WHAT ELSE IS ON
Bones (Fox, 8 p.m.): Brennan’s on the run? She was framed for murder by a diabolical criminal genius? What show is this? We watched last season’s finale, and mostly forgot all of this. We’re hoping everybody gets back to bantering and solving crimes right away. Molly Eichel checks out the premiére.
CMA Music Festival: Country’s Night To Rock (ABC, 8 p.m.): Country’s night to rock? Oh, we see what you did there, ABC. Don’t think we didn’t notice your attempt at a clever joke! We’ll hope for a riveting performance of Alan Jackson’s “Chattahoochee” by a collection of current country all-stars. Rockin’!
The Voice (NBC, 8 p.m.): Fear not, fans of The Voice, which includes precisely no one who regularly reads this feature! We’re going to continue covering the show, just on a once a week basis. Caroline Framke will have her thoughts on this week’s auditions after Tuesday night’s episode airs.
The Mob Doctor (Fox, 9 p.m.): Even though the official start of the TV season is a week from tonight, the networks are trying to make tonight a big deal as well, hence the debut of the Fox lineup and ABC’s big concert. Erik Adams and Ryan McGee take a look at this new show with a hilariously literal title.
Apollo 13 (AMC, 8 p.m.): Tom Hanks heads into space, and he fucks everything up, just like you’d expect the crazy, crazy star of Bachelor Party, Splash, and Turner & Hooch to do. He really should have brought that bulldog with him. That dog knew how to make things happen. Like fixing an errant spacecraft.
Extremely Loud And Incredibly Close (HBO Signature, 9 p.m.): Here’s another one starring that wacky, crazy guy Tom Hanks, though it also stars Sandra Bullock, well known for her hilarious antics in romantic comedies. Plus, our own Scott Tobias gave it an F, so you know you’re curious about seeing it. Admit it.
Classic Cricket: 2010: Australia vs. Pakistan (ESPN Classic, 8 p.m.): While parent channel ESPN has Peyton Manning’s second official outing in a Denver Broncos uniform opposite this, the other ESPNs are scrambling to get out of the way. But if you’re a fan of cricket matches from 2010, well, you’re in luck!
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Boardwalk Empire (Sunday): Noel Murray returns to the world of Atlantic City, New Jersey, for the third season of stately paced, handsomely constructed mobster drama. It’s certainly an acquired taste, but if you’re into that sort of thing, well, the third season premiére was probably just what you needed.