If basketball is king in rural Indiana, then the winless team is the goat. Such is the case for Medora, a tiny town in southern Indiana with a population of less tan 700. Its tam has a losing streak in part because the town insists on having its own high school, rather than being subsumed into big regional conglomerate, which can field much stronger teams.
Filmed over a season on the boards, “Medora” by Andrew Cohen and Davy Rothbert, premiering tonight on “Independent Lens” (PBS, 10 p.m., check local listings) is about much more than basketball as it reflects tough life in small towns when factories close and poverty is rife and dreams diminish. You’ll be rooting for this team.
Also inspirational is “The University of Sing Sing” (HBO, 9:45 p.m.) a documentary about a successful program in New York where college classes sharply reduce recidivism among graduates. Among the program’s supporters are Ice-T and Warren Buffet. It’s preceded by an Oscar nominated documentary short, “Prison Terminal: The Last Days of Private Jack Hall” (HBO, 9 p.m.) about a World War II veteran serving the end of his life sentence.
The new sitcom “Friends with Better Lives” (CBS, 9 p.m.) seems ironically named, as if to indicate that yes, this is another rip-off of “Friends,” with inseparable pals wise-cracking, but much worse. Well, they do envy one another, or their sex lives. Network sitcoms seem obsessed with this area like nobody out of seventh grade.
The most famous name among the cast is James Van Der Beek, though he plays one of the worse characters, which in this group is saying a lot. “Friends With…” may be more insulting than usual coming after a nine-year series that was better by some measure in retreading the same material.
The finale of “How I Met Your Mother” (CBS, 8 p.m.) puts to an end a shaggy story supposedly told to kids who are old enough to be off to college. Like them, I stopped listening a long while ago. The show’s first trick was the fatal one for me — breaking up the show’s most obvious natural couple, Josh Radnor and Colbie Smulders, to throw us off track. The show’s excruciating last trick, stretching out the wedding of the unconvincing couple of Smulders and the off-putting cad played by Neil Patrick Harris, to a full season, was a new way to alienate fringe audiences who might have circled back to hear the rest of the story. Now, we’ll take the role of those long-unseen kids: being glad it’s all over.
A night celebrating Eva Marie Saint includes three of her films, “On the Waterfront” (TCM, 9 p.m.), “Raintree County” (12:30 a.m.) and “North by Northwest” (3:30 a.m.) and two showings of the new on stage Robert Osborne interview “Eva Marie Saint: Live from TCM Classic Film Festival” (TCM, 8 p.m.).
MTV enters the realm of cooking competitions with “House of Food” (MTV, 10 p.m.), a show that mixes in a little bit of “The Real World” (the show not the thing).At any rate, eight untrained cooks live in a house and compete for the chance to apprentice with hot L.A.chefs.
FM DJs think themselves as pretty big personalities, but so far none have made it to TV but Howard Stern and assorted people on “Dish Nation.” Now here’s a whole show based on New York’s hip[hop powerhouse (and site of a lot of feuds)
The first season of the animated “Chozen” (FX, 10:30 p.m.) ends as you’d expect in a rap battle with Method Man’s Phantasm.
“Intelligence” (CBS, 10 p.m.) also ends its first and probably final season. And you think? How did it make it this far?
How’d Billy Dee Williams dodge the double elimination last week on “Dancing with the Stars” (ABC, 8 p.m.)? He has to be considered tonight, as his judges’ scores remain the lowest. Last week, two athletes got the boot: Diana Nyad and Sean Avery.
“The Voice” (NBC, 8 p.m.) replaces its knockout round with a second serving of the battle rounds. It’s a way for judges to each snare another steal. Chris Martin of Coldplay is the sole guest mentor for all singers, after the show has consciously uncoupled with earlier mentors.
Lisa is in the hot seat for the last of the three part finale on “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” (Bravo, 9 p.m.).
Ashes from three different boeies are found in a single urn on a new “Bones” (Fox, 8 p.m.).
A winner is named in the fifth season finale of “The Worst Cooks in America” (Food, 9 p.m.). (Or would he really be the loser?)
Someone tell Andrew Zimmern that items in Vancouver technically don’t quality for his show “Bizarre Foods America” (Travel, 9 p.m.).
Baseball season starts across the country with televised games that include Cubs at Pittsburgh (ESPN, 1 p.m.), St. Louis at Cincinnati (ESPN, 4 p.m.), Colorado at Miami (ESPN2, 7 p.m.) and Seattle at Angels (ESPN2, 10 p.m.).
In the NCAA women’s basketball elite eight,it’s Baylor vs. Notre Dame (ESPN, 7:30 p.m.)and Texas A&M vs. Connecticut (ESPN, 9:30 p.m.).
And in the men’s NIT, it’s Siena at Fresno State (CBS Sports, 10 p.m.) in the championship.
NBA action includes San Antonio at Indiana (NBA, 7 p.m.). In hockey, it’s Florida at New Jersey (ESPN, 7:30 p.m.) and Minnesota at Los Angeles (NBC Sports, 10 p.m.).
Daytime Talk
Kelly & Michael: Seth Meyers, Cedric the Entertainer, Majesty Rose. The View: Tyler Perry, Peter Greenberg, Dan Harris (rerun). The Talk: Drew Carey, Craig Ferguson, Jessica Radloss, Christy Jordan, Marie Osmond, Carnie Wilson. Ellen DeGeneres: Lindsay Lohan, Amy Schumer.
Late Talk
David Letterman: Cobie Smulders, Nick Cannon, Manchester Orchestra. Jimmy Fallon: Chris Evans, Ricky Jay. Jimmy Kimmel: Mindy Kaling, Jim Jeffries. Seth Meyers: Kevin Bacon, Kevin Millar, Sean Casey, Katherine Schwarzenegger. Craig Ferguson: Carl Reiner, Connie Schultz, Joan Jett & the Blackhearts, Drew Carey. Carson Daly: Christopher Meloni, Liquor Store, Protex. Tavis Smiley: Clay Risen. Jon Stewart: Peter Dinklage. Stephen Colbert: Biz Stone. Arsenio Hall: Wiz Khalifa, Glynn Turman, Mary Bartnicki, Josie Cavaluzzi, Teresa Dahlquist. Conan O’Brien: Adam Sandler, Tig Notaro. Chelsea Handler: Bradley Trevor Greive, Jeff Wild, Loni Love, Ross Mathews. Pete Holmes: Harrison Barnes.