What2Watch: Celebrity Apprentice Brought A Trace More Interest

 
Trace Adkins competes in the 7th season of NBC's 'The Celebrity Apprentice'
NBC

For better or worse, The Apprentice franchise was revitalized by the celebrity edition, which ends tonight. It first seemed as if the new season was little more than a face-saving way for Donald Trump to retire on his own terms, but it's apparently coming back for next winter. And to be fair, it's been a good deal more entertaining than the last two civilian seasons.

Tonight (NBC, 9 PM), it's "villain" Piers Morgan against All-American Trace Adkins in the finale, a charity auction and concert. The weakness in the celebrity format is that there wasn't much in the way of business acumen displayed; it was mostly just a test each week of which team could leverage its various high-profile contacts more effectively. Morgan deserves credit for being the best at stressing that angle, but I'd be very surprised if Trump picked him to win since Trace is the guy America loves. If there's one thing Trump won't put up with, it's being the second most abrasive person on his own show.

NCAA Basketball (CBS, 7 PM): Why, my bracket is doing just peachy, thanks for asking. The early games are Xavier/West Virginia and Washington State/North Carolina, and the late games are Tennessee/Louisville and UCLA/Western Kentucky.

Miss/Guided (ABC, 8 PM and 8:30 PM): The early episodes of this series sure did reflect executive producer Todd Holland's past with Malcolm in the Middle: it has the same sort of visual sensibility. In tonight's leadoff half hour, Becky vandalizes Bruce's office in an attempt to seem cool; at 8:30, Becky is roped into organizing an anniversary party for an unpopular teacher.

Smallville (CW, 8 PM): Kara teaches Clark to fly in order that he might battle Brainiac, but the villain maintains control anyway. Hey, you don't get a name like Brainiac by letting some nighttime soap kids get the better of you.

Myles of Style (HGTV, 8:30 PM): Michelle and Darren need a home office that's dog friendly. I often have a dog nearby when I'm writing these, and for him, "dog friendly" just means having one of my shoes to chew on.

Celebrity Fit Club: Boot Camp (VH1, 9 PM): I don't want to say that Brian Dunkleman is desperate to be on TV again, but he came on this show even though he knew he would be getting married during the filming. The Fit Club staff deals with this disruption with their usual sense of humor.

Don't Forget the Lyrics! (Fox, 9 PM): Kevin Cronin of REO Speedwagon, who hopefully has done something about his hair since the early '80s, tries to win a million dollars for charity.

Reaper (CW, 9 PM): An escaped soul has set out to kill all women more beautiful than she is, and Andi is next on the list; Sam tells the guys they can't be friends with their gay neighbors anymore.

Smoking Gun Presents: World's Dumbest Criminals 3 (TruTV, 9 PM): Winning the war on crime, one moron at a time.

Who Knew? With Marshall Brain (National Geographic, 9 PM): Robots take over on the auto assembly line; we learn how paper money is made and how airbags inflate.

In Treatment (HBO, 9:30 PM): Career underachiever Jake and his ice-queen wife Amy reflect with Paul on what therapy has done for them.

Eli Stone (ABC, 10 PM): Eli gets a case right up his alley: after a girl is expelled from school for playing George Michael's "I Want Your Sex" during a pro-abstinence assembly, the singer seeks out his biggest legal fan to take her case.

I Know My Kid's a Star (VH1, 10 PM): The kids are coached on how to provide the voice of a cartoon fly; Danny Bonaduce gives a tour of Hollywood child star disasters. Bonaduce is the closest thing this show has to a voice of reason. The mind reels.

LA Ink (TLC, 10 PM): Orbi meets Kat's father and talks about the state of the relationship; Hannah's artist-brother collaborates on a tattoo with her.

Make Me a Supermodel (Bravo, 10 PM): A reunion special before next week's finale. The show only began filming in early January so there's not all that much catching up to do, but it will be interesting to see if Ben is still married and if the "fat" Katy has ballooned up to 130 pounds.

Randy Jackson Presents: America's Best Dance Crew (MTV, 10 PM): My nephew told me this show was pretty good, so I'm mentioning it on its final night. The winners will be either Status Quo or the JabbaWockeeZ.

Ace of Cakes (Food Network, 10:30 PM): The staff makes a guitar cake for a bar mitzvah; a cake task for the Baltimore opening of Avenue Q includes a backstage tour.

House Hunters (HGTV, 10:30 PM): A couple moving to New Orleans to help with relief efforts needs a place to live.

Lil' Bush (Comedy Central, 10:30 PM): After a fight splits up the Lil' pals, new friends emerge in the form of Lil' Mitt Romney, Lil' Rudy Giuliani, Lil' Fred Thompson, and Lil' Dennis Kucinich (isn't that last one redundant?)

Pros Vs. Joes: Last Joe Standing (Spike, 11 PM): The final four compete against Allan Houston, Jamal Anderson, and Bob Sapp. You have to be a sap to get involved in something like this. I get beaten up without volunteering for it.

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