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A select viewing guide to the next seven days of television

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MONDAY APRIL 14 Love in the City (OWN, 10 p.m.) When you have your own network - like Oprah Winfrey - you can put anything you darn well please on there. Debuting tonight, this new docu-series introduces viewers to four feisty African-American women – Kiyah, Bershan, Chenoa and Tiffany – living the sweet life in New York City. In between navigating their respective relationships and careers, the four gals come together on a regular basis for lunches and cocktails, which is when the entire concept turns into Sex and the City.The Associated Press

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TUESDAY APRIL 15 Pioneers of Television (PBS, 8 p.m.) Back tonight for a fourth season, this retro-series recalls the era (okay, a few years ago) before everybody watched their favourite TV show on a tablet. Tonight’s season opener explores the eighties phenomenon that resulted in popular standup comedians making the transition to sitcoms, which gave the world such classic comedies as Home Improvement, Seinfeld, Everybody Loves Raymond and Roseanne. Those were good times, my friends.The Associated Press

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WEDNESDAY APRIL 16 Unusually Thicke (Slice, 10 p.m.) Are you old enough to remember Alan Thicke? In another lifetime, the father of Robin was a popular talk-show host and TV dad on the sitcom Growing Pains. Now 67 and more or less unemployable, he’s submitted to the reality-TV format with this new series that follows his life in Los Angeles with trophy wife Tanya and their teen son, Carter. In tonight’s series opener, Alan begrudgingly agrees to hold a garage sale and then gets testy when Carter invites Bob Saget to lure in prospective buyers. Hang on, wasn’t this an episode of Growing Pains?The Associated Press

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THURSDAY APRIL 17 Vegas Rat Rods (Discovery, 10 p.m.) One man’s junker is another man’s hot rod. Debuting tonight, this new reality series is like one long commercial for Steve Darnell, a Vegas-based mechanic whose specialty is creating outrageous hot rods out of bits and pieces from other automobiles. In the opener, Darnell accepts a challenge from a fellow hot-rod aficionado to transform a vintage 1931 Ford Model A into a mean street machine. The catch: He only has 10 days to pull it off.The Associated Press

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FRIDAY APRIL 18 Blue Bloods (CBS, CTV, 10 p.m.) Now in its fourth season, this no-frills crime drama has turned into CBS’s sturdiest Friday-night show. Although most viewers began watching the show for Tom Selleck’s portrayal of the patriarch of a New York family of cops, more people watch now for Donnie Wahlberg’s performance as the tightly-wound NYPD detective Danny Reagan. In tonight’s episode, Danny is forced to accept a Hollywood star (Marc Blucas) riding along with him in order to research a movie role. The plan goes awry when the movie star becomes a stabbing victim.The Associated Press

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SATURDAY APRIL 19 The Ugly Truth (Slice, 7 p.m.) Where have you gone, Katherine Heigl? The former Grey’s Anatomy regular delivers a commendable big-screen turn in this romantic comedy that came and went from theatres quickly in 2009. Heigl is a natural as the beautiful but single Abby, the driven producer of a struggling morning TV show. To boost ratings, the station hires a cable TV personality named Mike, played by Gerard Butler, to host a segment delivering relationship advice from the male viewpoint. Of course he’s a boor and of course the segment is a hit, much to Abby’s chagrin. Their relationship takes a weird turn when Mike is tasked with finding Abby the perfect partner.The Associated Press

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SUNDAY APRIL 20 Salem (Space, 10 p.m.) Loosely based on the real Salem witch trials that took place in the 17 th century, the first scripted series from WGN America is a good alternative to those viewers too cheap to spring for Mad Men. Blocked out in soap-opera fashion, the story focuses primarily on Mary Sibley (Janet Montgomery), Salem’s most powerful witch, who isn’t apt to agree to being burned at the stake for her beliefs. Also in the mix is John Alden (Shane West), a former war hero and Mary’s former love interest. The one to watch: Cotton Mather (Seth Gabel), the fanatical leader of the witch hunts, who preaches the good book by day and sleeps with prostitutes by night. Repent, you sinner!The Associated Press

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