The closing ceremonies for the 2012 London Olympics (NBC, 7 p.m.) will focus on 50 years of British music. So yes, we’re expecting to hear some Beatles and Stones, but there may be more of a pop tinge with promised participation of George Michael, a reunion of the Spice Girls and an appearance by Tinie Tempah.
Organizers have been saying that everything from Elgar to the Kinks will be covered in the ceremony where athletes will also make their final march.
Less high minded will be “The Comedy Central Roast of Roseanne” (Comedy Central, 10 p.m.), the reliably crass parade of insults among invited guests that include Seth Green, Carrie Fisher, Katey Sagal and even her ex husband Tom Arnold. It’s a good indicator of how far humor can go; Jeffrey Ross will be allowed to wear his Joe Paterno getup, but his crack referencing the Aurora shooter will be cut.
Not as many laughs will be forthcoming on “Animal Practice” (NBC, 10:30 p.m.) the second effort of the network to cash in on its huge Olympics audience to sell its fall shows. And while 11 million stuck around to watch “Go On” last week, there aren’t likely to be as many catching the new workplace comedy at an veterinary hospital starring Jason Kirk from “Weeds” and a monkey. It’s dim stuff meant to bring a big “aww” from the audience. More like a yawn.
The show seems a concoction by the know-nothing suits on “Episodes” (Showtime, 10:30 p.m.) who long for a talking dog series.
The 25th anniversary Shark Week begins with the “Air Jaws Apocalypse” (Discovery 10 p.m.).
A second season starts for “Hell on Wheels” (AMC, 9 p.m.), the saga of antebellum building of th transcontinental railroad, that seems to be on a little more solid footing this time around.
The admirable modern Western “Longmire” (A&E, 10 p.m.) sreaches its eason finale.
Will McAvoy gets in trouble when he refuses to utter the phrase “Tot Mom” on “The Newsroom” (HBO, 10 p.m.).
There’s still some key ingredients that have gone missing before full sale cooking can begin on “Breaking Bad” (AMC, 10 p.m.).
Competing reality shows begin to spring to life with new episodes of “Secret Millionaire” (ABC, 8 p.m.) and “Extreme Makeover Weight Loss Edition” (ABC, 9 p.m.) in addition to “Big Brother” (CBS, 8 p.m.). But the failed romantic show “3” has been yanked, replaced by a rerun of “The Mentalist” (CBS, 9 p.m.) is just being burned off.
Ginger Rogers is star all day on Turner Classic Movies, with movies in prime time “42nd Street” (8 p.m.), “Swing Time” (9:45 p.m.), “Stage Door” (11:45 p.m.), “The Barkleys of Broadway” (1:30 a.m.) and “Weekend at the Waldorf” (3:30 a.m.).
Sunday Talk
ABC: Obama strategist David Axelrod, former Gov. Howard Dean, California Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom. CBS: Obama deputy campaign manager Stephanie Cutter, Romney adviser Eric Fehrnstrom. Newt Gingrich. NBC: Axelrod, Republican chairman Reince Priebus, Gov. Scott Walker. CNN: Axelrod, Romney adviser Ed Gillespie and Sen. John Thune. Fox News: Democratic National Committee chair Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Sen. John McCain.
I’ll definitely be setting my DVR for some of these. I’ll record the Olympic Ceremony, just as I have the entire games, as I don’t relish watching the Closing Ceremony on a tiny tablet screen. I got the Hopper HD DVR from Dish, and it completely saved the Olympics for my family and me. I got sick of dealing with the tape delay, and the obnoxious rants of Ryan Seacrest, and since my Hopper has over 2,000 hours recording space I knew I wouldn’t have any trouble recording everything I wanted. A Dish coworker also told me it would record all four major networks simultaneously during Prime Time (Prime Time Anytime), so we get to record everything we want, and can skip through all the junk.