MONDAY

AUGUST 13

2012

BIANCULLI’S BEST BETS

Fox, 8:00 p.m. ET

SERIES PREMIERE: Part 1 of 2. Gordon Ramsay has become the most ubiquitous face on Fox, and here comes his latest series – in which he visits small hotel and bed-and-breakfast establishments and point out room (if not rooms) for improvement. In this two-part opener, he visits an inn in Vermont, and determines that it stinks. Literally. And though Ramsay’s blunt and bullying attitude can make him an unwelcome visitor, he’s one pest who checks in, and does check out. For a full review, read Ed Bark’s account in Uncle Barky’s Bytes.

THE CLOSER

TNT, 9:00 p.m. ET

SERIES FINALE: Kyra Sedgwick says goodbye to her starring role as Brenda, in a plot that pits her, yet again, against her hated adversary. But this is the last time, so expect a little finality – though not regarding the setting or supporting characters, because they’re sticking around. For a fond farewell to Kyra Sedgwick and Brenda, read Diane Werts’ appreciation in For Better or Werts.

GRIMM

NBC, 10:00 p.m. ET

SEASON PREMIERE: NBC promoted this series heavily during the Olympics, and is hoping that launching its second season the night after the Olympics end will result in a much larger audience for this genre show. In the opener, the series borrows a page from True Blood, and features an animalistic shape-shifter. It also borrows from Once Upon a Time, and has one of its main characters (Juliette, played by Bitsie Tulloch) stuck in a spell-induced, memory-erasing deep sleep.

MYTHBUSTERS JAWSOME SHARK SPECIAL

Discovery, 10:00 p.m. ET

There was so much good TV going on last night that I didn’t have room in Best Bets to note the 25h anniversary arrival of Shark Week. But I get to correct that tonight, by noting that the finny festivities begin tonight with Air Jaws Apocalypse Reloaded, a ridiculous name for its latest special about the great whites that like to hunt while launching themselves out of the water. Whether that, and two dozen other familiar stories about sharks, can be believed, is the subject of the 10 p.m. ET MythBusters special. In my opinion, it’s not to be mythed, buster.

MAJOR CRIMES

TNT, 10:06 p.m. ET

SERIES PREMIERE: The spinoff to The Closer gets to begin by premiering right after the final episode of the series that launched it – an absolute rarity on television. For a full review, see this column from Ed Bark’s Uncle Barky’s Bytes.

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David Bianculli

Founder / Editor

David Bianculli has been a TV critic since 1975, including a 14-year stint at the New York Daily News, and sees no reason to stop now. Currently, he's TV critic for NPR's Fresh Air with Terry Gross, and is an occasional substitute host for that show. He's also an author and teaches TV and film history at New Jersey's Rowan University. His 2009 Dangerously Funny: The Uncensored Story of 'The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour', has been purchased for film rights. His latest, The Platinum Age of Television: From I Love Lucy to the Walking Dead, How TV Became Terrific, is an effusive guidebook that plots the path from the 1950s’ Golden Age to today’s era of quality TV.

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BIANCULLI’S BEST BETS

Fox, 8:00 p.m. ET

TNT, 9:00 p.m. ET

NBC, 10:00 p.m. ET

Discovery, 10:00 p.m. ET

TNT, 10:06 p.m. ET

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