Seven Days of Television: April 7 to April 13
A select viewing guide to the next seven days of television
MONDAY APRIL 7 Jacked (Discovery, 10 p.m.) Jeremy Patterson has made it his life’s work to take homeowners to a higher ground. Debuting tonight, this new show follows the contractor and his ragtag team of ex-cons and family members on their treks around the U.S. to raise people’s houses, most of them still devastated by the wrath of hurricanes Katrina, Isaac and Sandy. Not surprisingly, Jeremy spends most of his time in New Orleans, where in tonight’s opener he’s tasked with elevating an off-kilter 160-ton residence in need of his jacking finesse. A sea of mud in the neighbourhood only makes the job more interesting.The Associated Press
TUESDAY APRIL 8 The Dave Clark Five – Glad All Over (PBS, 8 p.m.) Although you’ve probably never heard of The Dave Clark Five, the British quintet actually predate The Beatles in North America. Back in 1964, DC5 became the very first English group to tour America, and went on to release 15 top-twenty singles in the U.S. including Glad All Over, Bits and Pieces and I Like It Like That. The group also appeared 18 times on The Ed Sullivan Show – more than any other rock, pop or R&B artist. This new documentary rewinds the clock to the sixties and interviews several music industry kingpins – including Sir Paul McCartney, Bruce Springsteen, Ozzy Osbourne and others – who reveal how the Dave Clark Five’s music changed their lives.The Associated Press
WEDNESDAY APRIL 9 Women of Homicide (TLC, 9 p.m.) Welcome to Cincinnati, which boasts one of the highest murder rates in America. This new reality series documents the daily routine of three veteran homicide detectives, each with a remarkable track record of catching killers. In tonight’s series opener, Jennifer cleans up the aftermath of a drug deal that left one man dead and another paralyzed; Summer searches for the killer of a businessman gunned down in front of his own home; while Jenny tries to figure out whether a man’s late-night death on a quiet street was a setup or act of random violence.The Associated Press
THURSDAY APRIL 10 Hell’s Kitchen (Fox, Citytv, 8 p.m.) Gordon Ramsay remains the Englishman that American viewers love to hate. Since Hell’s Kitchen returned for its 12 th season two weeks ago, the show has already surged to become one of Thursday night’s most-watched shows – and that’s up against the CBS ratings juggernaut of The Big Bang Theory and Two And a Half Men. In tonight’s new outing, Chef Ramsay challenges the red and blue teams to match side dishes with four different types of protein. The winning ream receives a day outing to Laguna Beach; the losing squad has to prepare taffy from scratch.The Associated Press
FRIDAY APRIL 11 Post Grad (W, 9 p.m.) Where have you gone, Alexis Bledel? The gamin actress was still a teenager when she rose to prominence in the offbeat 1998 film Rushmore, which she followed with a seven-season run on Gilmore Girls, but where is she lately? Bledel is beyond adorable in this 2009 romantic comedy in which she plays the disaffected twentysomething Ryden, who learned absolutely nothing from four years of college and is forced to move back in with her eccentric parents (Michael Keaton, Jane Lynch). And just when everything seems to be going downhill, her platonic childhood friend Adam (Zach Gilford) reveals he has a huge crush on her.The Associated Press
SATURDAY APRIL 12 Patton Oswalt: Tragedy Plus Comedy Equals Time (Comedy Network, 10 p.m.) If you want a real laugh this Saturday night, book time with Patton Oswalt. Long before his supporting role on The King of Queens, the elfin actor made his name as a working comedian and he makes an admirable return in this standup special. Taped before a soldout crowd at Spreckels Theater in San Diego, the hour features Oswalt expounding on the futility of life, which seems to have become even more futile since he’s abandoned his former existence of single-guy/comic-book nerd and morphed fully into new father. His description of feeling “peacefully suicidal” in an empty grocery in the middle of the day, while listening to Muzak and shopping for Lean Cuisine, is both profound and hilarious.The Associated Press
SUNDAY APRIL 13 Mad Men (AMC, 10 p.m.) The ad sharks have finally returned, but what’s changed? For the record, tonight’s new show kicks off the first half of Mad Men’s sendoff season, with seven episodes airing this year and the final seven airing in 2015. When the story closed off last spring, the partners of Sterling, Cooper, Draper, Pryce and Chaough had requested that troubled ad man Don Draper (Jon Hamm) take a leave of absence after he revealed in a pitch meeting that he was raised in a brothel; Don also had to deal with his teen daughter Sally (Kiernan Shipka) catching him in flagrante with a married neighbour. The AMC description for tonight’s season opener reads thusly: “Don makes a friend; Joan [Christina Hendricks] has drinks with a client; Roger [John Slattery] receives a perplexing phone call; Peggy [Elisabeth Moss] hears new work.” And since the new season takes place in 1969, expect some groovy fashions.The Associated Press