Monday: Men of a Certain Age
When it comes to original programming, TNT hasn’t fared nearly as well as fellow cable netlet USA. That’s because whereas the latter channel has succeeded by matching high concept fluffiness (Burn Notice, Royal Pains, White Collar) with up and coming actors (Jeffrey Donovan, Mark Feuerstein and Matthew Bomer), TNT relies on worn out genre templates and formerly big names. So we get shows like this summer’s D.O.A. HawthoRNe with Jada Pinkett-Smith and the already-forgotten Dark Blue with Dylan McDermott. On the face of it, Men of a Certain Age fits in perfectly with the rest of that TNT aesthetic, but don’t write it off just yet. Despite a tired premise (three middle-aged best friends navigating the waters of various relationship distress) and a cast that would have seemed A-list ten years ago (Ray Romano, Scott Bakula and Andre Braugher), Men of a Certain Age looks like it could be worth your while, if for no other reason that to watch the charm ooze out of its three veteran stars. [TNT, 10 p.m.]
Tuesday: Three Amigos
Our favorite comeback story of 2009? Try Chevy Chase. Having spent the last twenty years starring in projects with titles like The Karate Dog, Bad Meat and, well, not a whole lot else, the prickly star returned with a bang thanks to NBC. After a successful guest stint on Chuck, Mr. Chase has been knocking it out of the park on Community (are you still not watching that show?), where he has recaptured that perfect blend of snarky know-it-all and bemused dullard that made him famous. The bemused dullard is on full display in Three Amigos, where, among other things, Mr. Chase’s Dusty Bottoms mistakenly kills the “invisible swordsman” out of sheer laziness. Fun fact: this is the only feature film that Lorne Michaels has a writing credit on! [HBO Comedy, 12:50 p.m.]
Wednesday: Gran Torino
With Clint Eastwood’s yearly December offering hitting theaters on Friday (this time in the form of Invictus), it seems like the perfect time to revisit Gran Torino. Released last December, the film is a typical Eastwood directorial affair: economical, brisk, gruff and obvious. But what separates it out from his recent spate of awards-bait is that he’s also the star. As a cross between Harry Callahan, Shane and Archie Bunker, Mr. Eastwood owns the screen to such a degree, that we’re still kind of shocked he didn’t get an Oscar nomination for his work. [Cinemax, 10 p.m.]
Thursday: Fringe
File this under: duh! Last Thursday’s perfectly adequate episode of Fringe was the highest rated of the season… on a night when both Grey’s Anatomy and CSI were in reruns. One of the more boneheaded decisions we’ve seen in quite some time was Fox’s choice to put its sophomore science-fiction serial on Thursday nights at 9; Fringe has consistently run fourth, meaning its been stuck on the bubble of cancelation. The series still isn’t quite there just yet—Fringe needs to focus more on the mythology and the characters and less on the stand alone whodunits—but it’s always consistently entertaining and, at times, downright scary. One complaint: not enough Joshua Jackson (Pacey for life!), whose character could become a cocky jerk on the level of Matthew Fox if given the chance. [Fox, 9 p.m.]
Friday: Obsessed
Why you should watch Obsessed—a surprise B-movie hit last spring—can be summed up in just three words: Beyonce kicks ass. Any other reasons seem totally extraneous. [Starz, 8:10 p.m.]
