What2Watch: Murder Club Comes Back, Under The Gun

My initial impression of Women's Murder Club was that it was unremarkable, but well suited for the Friday time slot where it originally appeared. Friday has been the home to any number of long-running shows with nothing much going for them other than a small but predictable level of support (Nash Bridges, Providence), and this female-centered show based on the popular James Patterson novels typically won its time slot or came close last fall. But ABC seemed unimpressed, and the series barely got approval to do three post-strike episodes.

The series is moving into the old Boston Legal slot on Tuesdays at 10:00, in an attempt to see if it shows enough strength to merit a second year. I still think ABC ought to move it back to Fridays and forget about it for the next five years, but who am I to argue with the people who gave us Cavemen? Tonight, Gerald McRaney drops in as the father of Lindsay (Angie Harmon). She is trying to catch a cop killer and is willing to bend the rules to get it done, and gets help from guest star Wendell Pierce, who was known to cut the occasional corner as a cop on The Wire. It won't be easy for Women's Murder Club to build an audience against the crime competition on the other networks, but none of those shows have Harmon. Tough choice.

According to Jim (ABC, 8 PM): In his attempt to assist Andy with his new girlfriend, Jim offers to take the girlfriend's daughter to a concert with his own daughters.

American Idol (Fox, 8 PM): Cracklin' Rosie, get on board: Neil Diamond is the musical mentor this week. Too bad all our immigrant singers are gone, but someone will probably take a stab at "America" anyway.

Beauty and the Geek (CW, 8 PM): The teams go to Big Bear Mountain and build sleds; a geek gets a crush on his partner and is crushed in the process.

NCIS (CBS, 8 PM): What appears to be a case of an officer killed by an enemy mortar attack in Iraq becomes an investigation into possible murder, prompting two members of the NCIS team to head to Baghdad.

Raw Nature (Animal Planet, 8 PM): This new series deals with endangered animals that aren't exactly cuddly, such as way-creepy Komodo dragons.

Carrier (PBS, 9 PM): The Nimitz arrives at its Gulf destination and begins to announce its presence both in the air and the water; the crew settles into its routine, but finds diversions along the way.

Dancing With the Stars (ABC, 9 PM): Has Cristian de la Fuente built up enough goodwill with voters who had no idea who he was two months ago? He'll have to hope so as someone else goes home tonight. Also, onetime darlings of MTV, Def Leppard, complete their journey into lameness by performing live.

Deadliest Catch (Discovery, 9 PM): Men and their competitiveness: on board the Northwestern, Edgar and Sig have a contest to see who can go the longest without sleep. Also, there's a close call aboard the Time Bandit.

Hell's Kitchen (Fox, 9 PM): A pizza-making challenge ends with the losing team having to take and deliver pizza orders; someone else gets hurt in the line of duty.

Last Restaurant Standing (BBC America, 9 PM): Raymond Blanc pays personal visits to the last three restaurants to see how things are going, and gives one of the restaurant teams a free pass to the final week, forcing the other two into one last challenge.

Reaper (CW, 9 PM): Sam has to make another deal with the devil when Andi sees him beheading a demon and assumes he's a murderer; Ben faces the prospect of marriage.

Shark (CBS, 9 PM): This series is still on the bubble for next season, so it's probably not a good sign that Paula Marshall, a likable enough actress who has unfortunately been involved with more failed shows than just about anybody, has joined the cast. She plays a prosecutor who we see tonight working with Sebastian to take down an underworld figure, as Sebastian finds he must help the state to keep from possible disbarment.

The Universe (History, 9 PM): A look at the various ways things might come to a halt in the universe, whether through a "mere" dying off of all life, or the actual obliteration of everything, even including Larry King.

A Shot at Love With Tila Tequila (MTV, 10 PM): The remaining would-be Mr. and Ms. Tequilas end up creating such a ruckus that they end up meeting the police in their underwear. Where I went to college, you actually received course credit for this.

College Hill: Atlanta (BET, 10 PM): Drew's over-the-top sexual banter, which includes having phone sex in public, leads to a confrontation.

Law & Order: SVU (NBC, 10 PM): The 200th episode of SVU guest stars Robin Williams as an engineer who goes off the rails and induces others to commit crimes in the name of questioning authority, which leads to him becoming a cult figure.

Secret Lives of Women (WE, 10 PM): Ripped from the headlines: a look at life inside a polygamist compound.

The Alaska Experiment (Discovery, 10 PM): The teams scramble to get their food before the weather turns, but since this is a reality show, they spend plenty of time on useless, futile interpersonal squabbling as well.

The Bad Girls Club (Oxygen, 10 PM): The tussle over the MySpace diary leads to a departure; a night on the town leads to an arrest. The people on this show are basically insane.

The Riches (FX, 10 PM): The season ends with the Bayou Hills deal in jeopardy after a problem at the construction site. Also, Dahlia worries about her kids and the state of her marriage, and Quinn makes his presence felt.

Work Out (Bravo, 10 PM): While Jackie and the women continue with the lesbian cruise, the guys get involved in an obstacle course in the mud.

Deion & Pilar: Prime Time Love (Oxygen, 10:30 PM): Deion challenges Pilar to a cooking contest after criticizing her meals, and goes the extra mile in helping the kids sell candy for their school.

Gene Simmons Family Jewels (A&E, 10:30 PM): The intern Gene has agreed to mentor proves to be surprisingly useful. Does being Simmons's intern involve a lot of tongue management?

Recommend (0)

|  Comments (0)

|  Email

|  Share

Share  Facebook Digg del.icio.us