CBS, 6:00 p.m. ET
This year’s tournament delivered plenty of shocking moments and high drama even before Kevin Ware’s stunning, emotional injury in last weekend’s Louisville-Duke game. Now that story, as it continues tonight, is the biggest story of the tournament. Louisville, inspired by Ware’s words of encouragement after breaking his leg during a routine play, went on to beat Duke, and is the only remaining No. 1 seed in the Final Four. Normally, you’d tend to root for the underdog, but it’s hard not to feel, and root, for Louisville. They play tonight’s first game on CBS, against feisty No. 9 seed Wichita State, this year’s Cinderella team. What drama, either way. And at 8:45 p.m. ET, also on CBS, comes the other Final Four contest, pitting two No. 4 seeds: Syracuse vs. Michigan. Michigan made it this far because of a buzzer-beating three-pointer to topple top-seeded Kansas, while Syracuse has made it this far because of its smothering, game-controlling defense. If you’re betting on these games, bet on this: the ratings will be huge. Maybe even unprecedentedly so.
BBC America, 8:00 p.m. ET
Last week’s midseason premiere episode was so smart, so effortlessly clever, that it bodes very well for this series as it gears up for its astounding golden anniversary. Not 50 episodes, mind you – but 50 years since the November 1963 premiere of Doctor Who. Tonight’s episode, the first official adventure with Jenna-Louise Coleman as the Doctor’s new companion, is titled “The Rings of Akhaten,” and concerns a little girl with a problem, with the good Doctor to the rescue.
BBC America, 9:00 p.m. ET
This is the second episode of this series, which establishes what was hinted at, but never made overtly clear, in the show’s impressive pilot. The young woman at the center of this series has been cloned, or is a clone, or both – which allows series star Tatiana Maslany to play more versions of herself than Toni Collette got to play in The United States of Tara. And so far, I like every one of her.
Cinemax, 10:00 p.m. ET
This 2012 Tim Burton version of the classic TV gothic soap opera isn’t as satisfying, or as well-written, as it should have been. But there are enough quirky performances to make it enjoyable, starting with Johnny Depp as a bemused, time-transplanted Barnabas Collins. Eva Green, going blonde after terrorizing Arthur and Merlin as the brunette sorceress in TV’s Camelot, plays another malevolent spell-caster here, and she’s fun to watch. So are Chloe Grace Moretz, Michelle Pfeiffer, Helena Bonham Carter and others, though this movie, as a whole, ends up being less than the sum of its parts.
NBC, 11:29 p.m. ET
Justin Timberlake, whenever he shows up to host SNL, can be counted on to deliver the goods, give 100 percent, and provide an installment not only worth watching, but worth recording and keeping. Someone else who deserves that sort of respect and anticipation, even if only after one turn as guest host, is Melissa McCarthy, who returns for her second stint tonight. Lorne Michaels would be smart to book her annually until she reaches that vaulted “Five-timers” club, and gets the same official jacket as Timberlake, Tom Hanks, Alec Baldwin and others. Musical guest: Lady Antebellum.