Thursday TV: Elvis and Some New Singers
It’s the 35th anniversary of the death of Elvis Presley and the only station to notice on television is Turner Classic Movies, with an all day salute to the King,…
Wednesday TV: Musical Chairs as Reality TV
Musical chairs would not seem to be the kind of show to turn into a series. But here it is: “Oh, Sit!” (The CW, 8 p.m.), a show that seems…
Peace Laureates Want End to ‘Stars Earn Stripes’
Nine Nobel Peace laureates know warmongering when they see it, so they sent a letter to NBC this week, urging it to cancel its new reality series “Stars Earn Stripes,”…
‘Parks and Rec’ Invades ‘Newsroom’
It was surprising enough that Paul Schneider, the former Mark Brendanawicz on “Parks and Recreation,” popped up this week on “Newsroom” as the hand-picked magazine profile writer of Will McAvoy…
Tuesday TV: Ross Enters, Women Leave
One of the more elaborate reality experiments is conducted on the self-explanatory show “The Week the Women Went” (Lifetime, 10 p.m.), in which the women folk of Yemassee, S.C., go…
Military Propaganda via Reality Show
Most reality shows are just dumb but “Stars Earn Stripes” (NBC, 8 p.m.) is almost maliciously bad, built on deceptive premises blown up to a jingoistic, action film level with…
Also on Monday: ‘Closer’ Ends, ‘Major Crimes’ Begin
After seven seasons, more than 100 episodes and Emmy and Golden Awards for the star Kyra Sedgwick, “The Closer” (TNT, 9 p.m.) calls it quits. And while her character Brenda…
NBC’s History of British Rock: No Kinks, No Kate Bush
NBC has already altered Olympic reality enough to make you think beach volleyball is a much greater sport than dozens of others (dominated by foreigners) who never made their prime…
Sunday TV: Closing Ceremonies, Roseanne Roast
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…
Saturday TV: Games Wind Down, ‘Dog Whisperer’ at Playboy Mansion
The last Saturday for the 2012 London Olympics (NBC, 8 p.m.) means finals in the men’s 4 x 100 meter relays, 5,000 meter javelin as well as women’s 4 x…