Mad Men gets all the attention, and not without good reason. But for my money, the other AMC original series, Breaking Bad, has become television's greatest series in its second season, taking viewers to unbelievably dark places and then making them laugh out loud minutes later. Every episode has contained great set pieces such as the narcocorrido about the bad end that was surely on the way for the upstart dealer "Heisenberg." The season finale (Sunday, 10 p.m.) finds Walter White (Bryan Cranston) aka Heisenberg to the Albuquerque drug community, finally reaching the point where he can no longer paper over his lies to wife Skyler (who has been keeping her own secrets of later. Also, Jesse (Aaron Paul), who has been spiraling down all season long, reaches a new low of despair. These characters have spent all season nearing the ends of their ropes, so much so that one wonders how creator Vince Gilligan and Co. can possibly do this for another year -- but thankfully, they are going to try.

Also this week:

Monday: In Treatment (HBO, 9 p.m.): Another stellar (and too short!) season ends -- and unlike last season, I feel there's still much more to know about all these patients. Paul (Gabriel Byrne) helps Oliver come to terms with his parents' attempts to map out new lives, and tries to get Walter to envision a new role for himself in old age. But his own relationship with Gina (Dianne Wiest) enters a new phase.

Tuesday: Reaper (CW, 8 p.m.): It's the end of the line for a series that never really did recover from being interrupted by the writers' strike, and of course being on the CW didn't help. Sam tries to persuade the Devil to play a game on his own terms, with the goal of winning back his soul. The new Melrose Place is going to have to be much better than expected to be worth the loss of this series.

Wednesday: The Goode Family (ABC, 8:30 p.m.): The latest animated production from Mike Judge pokes fun at liberal suburbanites, though if it's anything like King of the Hill, the humor will be affectionate. In the premiere, teenage daughter Bliss does the rebellious thing and joins a pro-abstinence group.

Thursday: 2009 Scripps National Spelling Bee (ABC, 8 p.m.): It's the Geek Super Bowl! And since I'm a geek myself, I'm allowed to say that. The final round of the annual salute to gud speling is hosted by Tom Bergeron. Note for your pool: when in doubt, go with the homeschooled kids.

Friday: The Tonight Show With Jay Leno (NBC, 11:30 p.m.): Given how long Johnny Carson held down the fort on Tonight, it seems like Leno is still "the new guy" by comparison, but seventeen years is a tremendously long time to do anything on television. Leno's final Tonight features replacement Conan O'Brien, as well as music from James Taylor. His absence from NBC will last just a few months, so don't get too used to not seeing him.

Saturday: Pushing Daisies (ABC, 10 p.m.): The final few unaired episodes of this little-appreciated series are being burned off in ignominious fashion, which is better than not seeing them at all, I suppose. Olive comes into contact with her childhood kidnappers (George Segal, Richard Benjamin) after they bust out of prison, and Ned becomes disenchanted with using his power to solve crimes.

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