Matt's Guide to Thursday TV: Parks By the Book, Grey's Guys Step Up, and More!

Leslie Knope has literally written the book on Pawnee, Indiana. (Actually, the writers of Parks and Recreationhave, and the very amusing mock guidebook — Pawnee: The Greatest Town in America — is available now.) In tonight's Parks episode (NBC, 8:30/7:30c), Leslie's promotional tour for said book lands her on public radio — a satirical spin courtesy of guest Dan Castellaneta (moonlighting from his suddenly contentious Simpsons gig) — and then on Pawnee Today, where the town's chirpiest cheerleader experiences a bit of an identity crisis, courtesy of "Gotcha!" host Joan Calamezzo (the hilarious Mo Gaffney). The episode is just fine, but from what I've skimmed — who has time to read this time of year? — the book is even better. Pay special attention to the advertising supplement in the back, which occasioned several spit takes in my house. Especially the double-truck touting Sweetums' high fructose corn syrup.
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It's boys' night on ABC's Grey's Anatomy (9/8c), as the show switches to the male characters' POV for a change of pace, listening to their voice-overs and various concerns and gripes about the ladies in their lives. But honestly, Derek, lighten up already. The medical metaphor of the week: a stampede at a comic-book convention, which sends all kinds of eccentric characters (men, I presume) to Seattle Grace.So what else is on? ... Some selected highlights: If Raj's new girlfriend on CBS' The Big Bang Theory (8/7c) looks familiar, it's because Katie LeClerc is one of the appealing stars of ABC Family's best summer series Switched at Birth. The twist here being that Raj can't talk to girls, and LeClerc has a hearing disability. ... Michael K. Williams (Boardwalk Empire, The Wire) returns to NBC's Community (8/7c) as the group's intimidating ex-con biology prof, who gives them their first big assignment: a terrarium. The subplot involving security goon Chang, who fancies himself in a noir mystery, sounds even more promising. ... Kelli Williams (most recently of Lie to Me) plays a former client from Patrick Jane's fake-psychic past on CBS' hit The Mentalist (10/9c), who turns to him for help when her son is kidnapped. ... Because 90 minutes each week of Project Runway apparently isn't enough (says who?), Lifetime inaugurates After the Runway (10:30/9:30c), going behind the scenes of the challenges and interviewing the eliminated designer. ... FX's The League (10:30/9:30c) starts its third season with Seth Rogen appearing as porn poseur "Dirty Randy," whose filmmaking antics interfere with the gang's new-season draft. Watch, if you must, for Nick Kroll's "Shiva Bowl Shuffle."

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