Tonight's TV Hot List: Sunday, Feb. 28, 2010

Winter Olympics
7/6c NBC
With the Opening Ceremony 17 days full of winter sports ago, the athletes, 55,000 spectators and billions of TV viewers return to BC Place to close out the Games with all the traditional trappings. Those hoping for more frenetic fiddling, swimming whales or k.d. lang may be disappointed; but if the Feb. 12 festivities were any indication, tonight's event will be chock-full of Canadian culture and bonhomie. Of course, it will also include a last look at the athletes as they parade into the venue and the handoff of the Olympic flag to the representatives of Sochi, Russia, the site of the 2014 Winter Games. Competition concludes in the afternoon with the highly anticipated men's hockey final between the United States and Canada; and the 50-km race in men's cross country, in which many of the favorites are in their upper 30s. "People who know the sport know it takes years and years to become world class," says 29-year-old U.S. hopeful Kris Freeman. — Dave Roeder
Big Love
9/8c HBO
With the myriad story lines this season (perhaps too many?), including Bill's campaign, problems at the casino and the recent escape from Mexico, it's easy to forget the prefatory revelation that Amanda Seyfried would be leaving the series. So when her character, Sarah, acts as if she wants nothing to do with the election's aftermath, that departure could come tonight. And considering all that could happen in next week's Season 4 finale, she's probably getting out while the getting's good. — Joe Friedrich
Desperate Housewives
9/8c ABC
Katherine's smile at the end of last week's outing implied that she might just be interested in Robin (Julie Benz), and ABC's blurb for this episode does include "Katherine makes a surprising discovery." We'll see what it means. In other romantic news, there's...Susan and Roy (Orson Bean)? Huh? On the Bolen front, Danny's gone (presumably he followed Ana to New York), and Angie's worried about him. And not only the producers have forgotten Penny Scavo this season — so have Lynette and Tom. — Paul Droesch
Cold Case
10/9c CBS
How do you kill time at a boring wedding reception? How about nonchalantly trying to find out whether the bride murdered her previous fiancé two years earlier just hours after he called off their nuptials? That's what Jeffries impishly persuades his team to do at a colleague's wedding. Sure beats chitchatting with strangers. — Tim Holland
Masterpiece Classic
9/8c PBS
Based on the John Buchan novel, The 39 Steps is a thrill-a-minute yarn about a former British intelligence officer (Rupert Penry-Jones) in pre-WWI England who finds himself on the run from both the police — who believe he's a murderer — and German agents after the coded notebook he has in his possession. Lydia Leonard shines as the feisty suffragette who joins him on the lam following a funny mix-up in Scotland has him mistaken for a visiting politician. — Jeff Gemmill