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A select viewing guide for Tuesday, February 12

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REALITY My House, Your Money (W, 7:30 p.m.) Timely TV in these turbulent real-estate times, this Canadian-made series profiles young people who want to buy their first house but are short on funds. In most instances they reach out to their immediate family members, but that also means those handing out the cash want a say in the deal. Unavoidably, this means family conflict, as in tonight’s new episode in which a young woman named Stacy and her boyfriend, Cameron, want to put down roots and move out of her parents’ house. The tricky part: Stacy’s parents don’t want their little girl to wander far from their rambling country home, but Cameron’s mom can’t wait to party with the kids downtown! Don’t expect common sense to prevail.

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REALITY The Taste (ABC, CTV, 8 p.m.) Much like a secret restaurant, this new cooking-competition series is steadily growing in popularity from the old word-of-mouth method (which today involves something called “Facebook” and “Twitter”). The show launched late January to strong U.S. ratings and those numbers have held up in recent weeks. The format pits amateur and professional chefs against each other with their culinary efforts presented to four food-celebrity judges–namely, Anthony Bourdain, Ludo Lefebvre, Brian Malarkey and Nigella Lawson. In tonight’s third episode, two contestants have already been sent packing and the remaining 14 competitors must prepare a dish that pairs perfectly with a selection of very expensive wines.

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NEWS State of the Union 2013 (NBC, CBS, ABC, Fox, CNN, PBS, 9 p.m.) So what’s the gameplan, Barack Obama? The returning American president’s fifth State of the Union pep talk to Congress virtually takes over American television tonight. The address arrives amid a steady if agonizingly slow economic rebound and weeks before significant cuts to federal spending due to begin on March 1. The pundits predict that Obama will simply pick up on his recurring cautionary theme about growing economic disparity squeezing the American middle class and will ask Congress to increase spending on education, manufacturing, infrastructure and renewable energy. Then again, the commander-in-chief could simply voice his displeasure at Beyonce lip-syncing the national anthem at his inauguration ceremony.

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REALITY Starter Wives Confidential (TLC, 10 p.m.) It’s true: Hell really hath no fury like a woman scorned (and dumped for a younger trophy wife). Launched two weeks ago, this series focuses on seven women who supported their former husbands and boyfriends before fame and wealth prompted the rotters to move on to new mates. The bitter ladies include Zakia Baum, ex-girlfriend of rapper Jermaine “Maino” Coleman; Cheryl Caruso, ex-wife of mobster Phillip Caruso; Josie Harris, ex-girlfriend of boxer Floyd Mayweather; Tashera Simmons, ex-wife of rapper Earl “DMX” Simmons; Shaniqua Tompkins, ex-girlfriend of rapper Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson; and, most notably, Liza Morales, ex-girlfriend of NBA star Lamar Odom, more recently hooked up with Khloe Kardashian. In tonight’s new episode, the unholy group of seven come together to heal emotional scars and in the process deal with dark personal secrets recently exposed by Hurricane Sandy.

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MOVIE The Green Hornet (Global, 8 p.m.) Directed by French filmmaker Michel Gondry, this 2011 comedy was scorned by critics and ignored at the box-office–but don’t let that spoil your enjoyment of a rollicking comic-book adventure. A slimmed-down Rogen tackles the part of Britt Reid, an irresponsible slacker rudely awakened by the unexpected death of his media-magnate father (Tom Wilkinson). Upon inheriting the family business, Britt dedicates himself to ridding Los Angeles of crime in his guise as The Green Hornet, with a little help, of course, from his family retainer Kato (Jay Chou). Oscar-winning support character player Christoph Waltz acquits himself nicely as a mob kingpin.

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