Most of television does its civic duty and turns to Washington, D.C. for State of the Union coverage (9/8c), as President Obama presents his first address of his second term. (As a curtain raiser, PBS' Frontline — check tvguide.com listings — relives those fun times when the White House sparred with the opposition over the deficit, taking the nation to the brink of the "fiscal cliff" in an installment appropriately titled "Cliffhanger.")
A different sort of dog-and-pony show — emphasis on dogs as show ponies — unfolds on USA Network...
read more
If I counted right, you can hear Betty White say "I'm the luckiest broad on two feet" at least three times during the course of the "Funny Ladies" retrospective that kicks off a new season of PBS' Pioneers of Television (check tvguide.com listings). Who could or would want to doubt her? The evidence is right there in clips and stills from this living legend's earliest TV appearances in the 1940s and '50s, establishing her as a versatile broadcaster and gung-ho performer even before Lucille Ball made us fall in love with her — and blazing a trail for all who would follow.
read more
Now here's about the nicest Valentine's Day present anyone could hope for: the long-awaited return of Cougar Town, a show that's so much fun to love, you can't help but wonder if ABC kept it off the air so long just to make our hearts grow fonder.
read more
Fasten your recliner belts. With Labor Day behind us, it's time for some heavy TV lifting as new seasons begin and summer seasons continue to wrap things up. TV Guide Magazine's Fall Preview issue is out this week, which means the "regular" TV season is just around the corner. But there's still plenty to watch right now. Here's a quick look at the highlights for the rest of the week in TV.
read more
Lights Out
10/9c FX
The Learys live in a New Jersey mansion that the Sopranos wouldn't find unfamiliar, and paterfamilias Patrick (Holt McCallany) made his money violently. But that's where the similarities end (some of them, anyway): Patrick (aka "Lights") is an ex-heavyweight boxing champ. Alas, retirement hasn't been good to Lights, and his money's running out (so, yes, he'll get mixed up with the mob). But Lights' story isn't all boxing-movie clichés. For starters, he's married to a med student (Catherine McCormack) and he's a responsible father. And when he's diagnosed with "pugilistic dementia" in the series opener, it's only the beginning of the story. — Paul Droesch
Read on for previews of Frontline, Millionaire Matchmaker, NCIS, The Haney Project, Teen Mom and Onion SportsDome.
read more