The Monday Playlist: A Bones Wedding, Mom Gets Help, Fallon's Pearl Jam Week

Most Bones fans will likely agree with its title character (Emily Deschanel) when Brennan declares to her intended, Booth (David Boreanaz), "We've waited long enough." The wait is over, as the brusque forensic anthropologist and her impetuous FBI baby-daddy finally head to the altar — although for most of this endearing episode (Monday, 8/7c), nearly everyone in the Jeffersonian lab, including a full complement of returning Squints, is laying bets that the wedding will never happen. There's a new case, after all, and the real challenge is to keep Bones from becoming too distracted. Cyndi Lauper (returning as psychic Avalon Harmonia) is on hand to perform at the ceremony, but what she should really be singing is "Get Tempe to the Church on Time." There are additional complications and intimations of cold feet before the lovely finish, but Angela (Michaela Conlin) probably says it best: "You don't want your fingers to smell like death when Booth puts on the ring."

She's right. And: ew.

Want more TV news and reviews? Subscribe to TV Guide Magazine now!

MOM'S NEW FRIEND: Having just been picked up for a full season, CBS's Mom(9:30/8:30c) welcomes Oscar winner Octavia Spencer (The Help) for what we hope isn't her only guest appearance as Regina, a fellow addict who's a little less forthcoming about her problems — for good reason —which when revealed make the trials of Christy (Anna Faris) seem like chump change. The barbs that fly between Regina and Christy's incorrigible mom, Bonnie (Allison Janney), are sensationally funny. "You'll have to forgive my mother," says the ingratiating Christy. "And if you do, please tell me how." Forget forgive. Bonnie is one of the great characters of this new fall season, and Janney nails every joke. (My favorite this week: her opinion about what to do with Regina's illegal stash.)

MUSICAL MONDAY: It won't be long before Jimmy Fallon takes over the Tonight Show throne this winter, but until then, he continues to distinguish his Late Night With Jimmy Fallon franchise (12:35 am/11:35c) with musical theme weeks that I can't imagine he won't keep going when he moves to the earlier time. This week, he pays tribute to Pearl Jam on the occasion of the band's new album Lighting Bolt — with guest artists covering Pearl Jam classics early in the week (starting with Soundgarden frontman Chris Cornell performing Footsteps with The Avett Brothers). Pearl Jam performs Thursday and Friday, their only scheduled TV appearances to promote the new recording.

Among other tuneful diversions: The battle rounds continue on NBC's The Voice (8/7c). ... Another major pop release, Katy Perry's Prism, is the reason Entertainment Tonight Presents: The Katy Perry Experience on TVGN (8/7c). ... The best of gospel music is celebrated on UP's broadcast of the 44th Annual GMA Dove Awards (8/7c), hosted by Amy Grant and Kirk Franklin. ... VH1 dramatizes the career of one of R&B's signature girl groups in CrazySexyCool: The TLC Story (9/8c) starring KeKe Palmer as Chilli, Drew Sidora as T-Boz and Lil Mama as the late Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes.

THE REAL WORLD: Travel Channel's Hotel Impossible begins a two-part Operation Sandy rescue mission (10/9c) as host Anthony Melchiorri visits the devastated Seaside Heights and Seaside Park communities of New Jersey to help restore ruined properties. ... HBO's moving documentary Life According to Sam (9/8c) profiles the unforgettable character of Sam Berns, an irrepressible teenager living with the aging disorder progeria, and his doctor parents who fought for Sam's well-being, establishing a research foundation in the process. ... PBS's Independent Lens goes inside The Waiting Room (check tvguide.com listings) of Oakland's overburdened Highland Hospital — described as "the institution of last resort" for many of the area's uninsured — in a day-in-the-life microcosm of the current health care system's woes.

THE MONDAY GUIDE: The eight couples left on ABC's Dancing With the Stars (8/7c) will participate in the show's first "Switch-Up Challenge," in which teams compete side by side for two rounds without knowing what the musical style and accompaniment will be. Pro Lacey Schwimmer and brother Benji Schwimmer (a So You Think You Can Dance winner) choreograph the opening number. ... One of TV's most reliable baddies, Robert Knepper (Prison Break and TNT's upcoming Mob City), is the latest villain to show up on NBC's The Blacklist (10:01/9:01c), playing "The Courier," who's so mysterious that not even Red knows what he looks like. ... Chuck's Joshua Gomez guests on ABC's Castle (10:01/9:01c) as a murder suspect who insists he's a time traveler trying to stop terrible things from happening. Has he been watching too much Sleepy Hollow? (That Fox hit repeats its pilot episode at 9/8c.) ... When will CBS's How I Met Your Mother let the actual "mother," who we've already met, take her rightful place in the spotlight? Doesn't sound like it will happen this week (8/7c), as Ted (Josh Radnor) "chooses poorly" — CBS's words — in deciding on his date for the wedding weekend. The woman who we hope is the final not-the-mother is played by Anna Camp, who hardly seems like anyone's runner-up. ... Comedy Central adds to its late-night lineup with @midnight (midnight/11c), a mock competition hosted by Chris Hardwick in which a rotating cast of comics throws shade on the day's Internet and pop-culture headlines, each hoping to be named that night's funniest wit. Let us be the judge of that.

Subscribe to TV Guide Magazine now!