TCM, 8:00 p.m. ET
Elvis Presley was 42 years old when he died at Graceland on this date in 1977 – and the date, not the age, is what’s being noted this evening by TCM, which is devoting the day to Elvis movies. The retrospective begins at 6 a.m. ET with 1963’s It Happened at the World’s Fair, which also features future Batman Batgirl Yvonne Craig. But the prime-time action begins with this 1973 documentary account of Presley’s 1972 U.S. tour. Then come two of the rock idol’s most iconic movies: 1957’s Jailhouse Rock at 9:45 p.m. ET, and 1964’s Viva Las Vegas at 11:30 p.m. ET.
USA, 9:00 p.m. ET
It takes a thief: In this new episode, the CIA assigns a mission to its latest asset, Fiona (Gabrielle Anwar). She’s told to use her safecracking skills to extract something from a heavily guarded safe – and soon experiences the “heavily guarded” part.
Discovery, 10:00 p.m. ET
It’s a countdown list of highlights, reducing Shark Week into fittingly digestive tiny chunks: bite-sized helpings of great sights, great bites, and great whites. Open wide…
IFC, 10:00 p.m. ET
MINISERIES PREMIERE: Alan Spencer of Sledge Hammer! fame returns, after a long period of satirical TV dormancy, with another short burst of genre humor poking fun at cop-show conventions and, this time, Tarantino-style action excesses. This one is six half-hour episodes, doled out over two nights, with each night a brisk triple feature. The recognizable stars are the featured villains, opposing crime lords played by Eddie Izzard and Eric Roberts. But the major roles go to Max Williams as the two-faced Gunter Vogler, Jessica Steen as the police commissioner who recruits him against his will, and Kate Kelton (pictured) as a killer who’s just as untrustworthy, and complicated, as Gunter. She seduces, kills and steals – steals this miniseries, anyway. Though I did laugh when Williams, as Gunter, gives props to an adversary by saying, “Using Gilbert and Sullivan for genocide is very creative.” Yes, Alan Spencer, it really is. Concludes tomorrow night.
FX, 10:30 p.m. ET
“Any new stress?” the doctor acts Louie (Louis C.K.) in this week’s episode, trying to get to the root cause of his patient’s sudden ailments. “Well, no,” Louie tells him. “The kids and the work, it’s hard sometimes – but boilerplate misery….” Question of the day: Does this show make me laugh so hard simply because I enjoy it, or because I so strongly relate to it?