Seven Days of Television: October 13 to October 19
A select viewing guide to the next seven days of television
MONDAY OCTOBER 13 Kingdom (Bravo!, 10 p.m.) Settle in for a soap opera with bloodied knuckles. American satellite service provider DirecTV joins the ranks of Netflix, Amazon and Hulu and other neophyte TV players with this glossy family saga set in the grimy subculture of mixed martial arts fighting. Most of the focus falls on brawny character veteran Frank Grillo as the ex-MMA pro Alvey, who runs a gym with his sexy-tough girlfriend Lisa (Kiele Sanchez). But wait, here comes Ryan (Matt Lauria), Alvey’s former protégé – and Lisa’s former boyfriend - just out of prison and looking for his lady. Most of the major Kingdom plot twists appear to be directly lifted from The Young and the Restless, but watch the first show just for the performance by ex-Jonas Brother Nick Jonas as Alvey’s youngest son. The kid can act.
TUESDAY OCTOBER 14 Marry Me (NBC, 9 p.m.) It was only a matter of time before some smart network got into the Casey Wilson business. Following two seasons spent as a standout Saturday Night Live player (remember Dusty Velvet?) and a few more years stealing scenes on Happy Endings, the daffy comic actress takes the spotlight in this new sitcom with potential. The stripped-down premise casts Wilson as Annie, a thirtysomething gal awaiting a proper marriage proposal from her boyfriend Jake (Ken Marino), who somehow keeps screwing up the process. As always, Wilson inhabits the character and this time sells the material with more venom than usual, as when she tells Jake, “Your friends are garbage people!”
WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 15 Dragon’s Den (CBC, 8 p.m.) Make way for the new one-percenters! Dragon’s Den launches its ninth season with a sassed-up attitude and two new, uh, Dragons. Replacing the famously cruel Kevin O’Leary and hopelessly vapid Robert Herjavec are restaurant magnate Vikram Vik and businessman Michael Wekerle, apparently “the reigning rock star of Canadian finance.” Still on the Dragons panel: Arlene Dickinson, David Chilton and that old guy who owns Boston Pizza. As before, the show’s entire format revolves around grasping Canadian entrepreneurs pitching their great big get-rich-quick idea to the dour Dragon panel. Viewers should expect dreams to be dashed and the new guys to go way over the top in hopes of making an impression. Kevin O’Leary, we miss you already.
THURSDAY OCTOBER 16 Bones (Fox, Global, 8 p.m.) In broadcast circles, Fox’s crime-procedural drama is American network television’s most indestructible program. Now in its tenth season, the show has bounced around the primetime schedule on different nights and in various timeslots and the audience faithfully follow it every time; ratings remain virtually the same every year. To the writers’ credit, Bones has never veered far from the screwball-romance vibe between forensics whiz Dr. Temperance Brennan (Emily Deschanel) and FBI guy Booth (David Boreanaz). In a new outing, the pair lead their Jeffersonian Team through the investigation of a video game designer whose remains washed up on a river bank. In other news, Brennan and Booth plan for the future of Christine. Oh, did we forget to mention they have a baby daughter now?
FRIDAY OCTOBER 17 Marketplace (CBC, 8 p.m.) Now here’s a good reason why we need the CBC. A Canadian TV staple since 1991, Marketplace is still out there testing products and exposing scams for consumers. In each outing, hosts Tom Harrington and Erica Johnson alternately get the dirt on scoundrels looking to rob us blind, sometimes through the use of hidden cameras but more often through solid investigative journalism. The hourlong season opener shines a bright light on those insidious hidden charges that threaten to nickel and dime all of us to an early grave. Check your bills. Are you still paying a touch-tone service fee for a non-rotary phone? Here’s what to do about it.
SATURDAY OCTOBER 18 Ellen DeGeneres: Here and Now (Comedy Network, 10 p.m.) How could anyone not love Ellen DeGeneres? Decades before she became a daytime talk icon, the divine Ms. D was a successful standup comedian touring upwards of 40 weeks a year. The experience shows in this HBO special from 2003, not coincidentally the same year she entered the daytime TV landscape with The Ellen DeGeneres Show. The common element is her merge of wryness and impeccable comic timing while expounding on the oddities of our human existence. As per Ellen’s take on headset cell phones: “Chances are if you need both of your hands to do something, your brain should be in on it, too.”
SUNDAY OCTOBER 19 90 Day Fiance (TLC, 8 p.m.) Love is a many-splendored thing, especially when you’re meeting your potential life partner for the first time at the airport. Back for a second season, this oddly compelling reality series profiles single American males taking advantage of the unique K-1 visa that allows unattached women from other countries to travel to the U.S. in order to live with their “fiancé” (who in most instances initiated the love connection through an online catalogue). And if the couple doesn’t click within a 90-day timeframe, back home she goes. In the season-opener we meet Brett, a Washington man seemingly smitten with a young Filipino woman named Daya. Brett’s mother, however, is less than impressed.