Wednesday TV: End of ‘The Mentalist’
"The Mentalist" (CBS, 8 p.m.) calls it quits a two hour episode that ends with his wedding to Robin Tunney's Reresa Libson. But not before yet another serial killer, this…
Getting Italian Americans to Open Up
For a series that hopes to dispel stereotypes,” The Italian Americans” (PBS, 9 p.m., check local listings) begins with shots from “The Godfather.” The mob permeates stories of the Italian…
Also on Tuesday: Ellen’s Hidden Camera
It sounds like a gag first used by David Letterman: people have to say whatever he tells them to say, even though it's often weird or absurd or ultimately amusing.…
‘Book of Negroes’ By Any Other Name
A big six-part miniseries said to be in the tradition of “Roots” begins tonight on BET. The epic “The Book of Negroes” (BET, 8 p.m.), from a best seller by…
Also on Monday: Singing Stevie’s Songs
The latest Grammy practice seems to be: Once you have all those stars gathered for your overlong annual event, why not make them stick around another night for a second…
Sunday TV: ‘SNL’s 40th Anniversary
Jumping the gun on the anniversary date for the sake of February sweeps (or the schedule of its guests) the “SNL 40th Anniversary Special” (NBC, 8 p.m.) promises all manner…
Saturday TV: Carlin, O’Donnell Both Back
Tonight's "Saturday Night Live" (NBC, 11:30 p.m.) is about as old a rerun as they could give you -- a replay of the first show from October 1975 (which means the show's…
Friday TV: Titus Welliver as ‘Bosch’ Online
It’s been more than a year since Titus Welliver shot the taut pilot for the new crime series “Bosch” (Amazon Prime, starting today) that has just unleashed its entire 10-episode…
Also on Friday: Charlie Brown’s Valentines
A lesser known holiday gets a couple of lesser known "Peanuts" specials. In the 40-year-old "Be My Valentine, Charlie Brown" (ABC, 8 p.m.), Linus has a crush on his teacher and Charlie…
Thursday TV: Getting ‘The Slap’
There's a lot going for "The Slap" (NBC, 8 p.m.), something different for network TV. It's a remake of an Australian television series about the rift that happens when somebody…