The Week Ahead – Lots of goodbyes, 25 years of Wrestlemania

by Jason Hughes

Highlights of the Week

There was a time when I was a huge fan of the WWF/E. It was Andre the Giant and George “The Animal” Steele back then, though I kept up through the early days of Steve Austin and the Undertaker. I still keep some awareness of the soap opera there. And considering I watched the first several, it makes me feel old that we’re celebrating The 25th Anniversary of WrestleMania. (Sat. 9pm, NBC)
It’s always sad when the boys say goodbye to another season of Penn & Teller: Bullshit! It’s the best combination of entertainment and information that you’ll see. And I’m sure there’ll be absolutely nothing controversial about the magicians tackling the Vatican in this finale. (Thu. 10pm, Showtime)
I’m glad to see that Royal Pains will be back, as it turned into a great summer getaway to the Hamptons. Sadly, it’s back to the real world for the rest of us as it wraps its first season. (Thu. 10pm, USA)
Some of the best television of the summer has been coming to us from the UK. This week wraps the too short first season of Being Human; the story of a ghost, vampire and werewolf trying to live like normal people. (Sat. 9pm, BBC America)
The movies brought the show back. Futurama: Into the Wild GreenYonder is the last of those movies, making it’s debut on Comedy Central. Sit back, enjoy and think about the beautiful Futurama to come. (Sun. 9pm)

Premieres & Specials

Orlando Jones and Dan Cortese join forces to host ABC’s Crash Course, the reality show that puts you in the driver’s seat. No, really. The show puts pairs of people with a pre-existing relationship onto an “extreme” course and they race to the finish line. What could go wrong, aside from exploding cars, death and dismemberment? (Wed. 9pm)
The Discovery Channel is promising a whole new perspective on one of the most studied civilizations of the ancient world in Out of Egypt, airing two installments back-to-back. (Mon. 9pm)
I’m not sure how they managed to pull a whole series out of this, but if you’re fascinated with tattoos, their history and significance then you’ll not want to miss the premiere of Marked. (Thu. 9pm, History)
MTV tackles the world of viral videos with Pranked, looking at the best pranks by regular people caught on film. (Thu. 10:30pm)
Sunday’s a big night for The CW. Things kick off with The Tyra Show’s Top Ten Moments. Then check out The CW Fall 2009 Preview Special before you settle in for The 36th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards red carpet show, an then the show itself. (Sun. 6pm)
Spinning out of Keyshia Cole: The Way It Is, is Frankie & Neffe. The new series chronicles their lives as they move away from Cole to find their own path. (Tue. 10:30pm, BET)
Football this week: Monday Night Football is Jets at Ravens (8pm, ESPN). We’ve also got Dolphins at Buccaneers (Thu. 8pm, FOX), Patriots at Redskins (Fri. 8pm, CBS) and Chargers at Atlanta (Sat. 8pm, CBS). We’ll wrap the week with Sunday Night Football on NBC with the Bears at the Broncos (8pm).
But the new doesn’t stop there — we’ve also got The Rachel Zoe Project (Mon. 10pm, Bravo), Rob Drydek’s Fantasy Factory (Thu. 9pm, MTV), Bully Beatdown (Thu. 9:30pm, MTV), Nitro Circus (Thu. 10pm, MTV), and 24/7 Mayweather/Marquez (Sat. 10:15pm, HBO).

Finales

I enjoyed the ABC experiment Dating in the Dark. It wasn’t the most amazing show ever, but it was interesting to see how much looks did and didn’t impact the connections people might make. It wraps its first, and possibly last, season tonight. (Mon. 9pm)
Nurse Jackie has generated a lot of buzz for star Edie Falco and Showtime. But it’s also generated some controversy, and vocal detractors. This week, it gives us its first season finale so we can all step back and take a breather. (Mon. 10:30pm)
So, um, The Great American Road Trip is ending tonight. What a trainwreck this show turned out to be. But it’s NBC, so it might be back next summer anyway. (Mon. 8pm)
What’s the deal with “finales” in the middle of a season these days? Why the long hiatus in the middle of a run? Summer finales are on tap for The Closer (Mon. 9pm, TNT), Make It or Break It (Mon. 9pm, ABC Family) and Raising the Bar (Mon. 10pm, TNT).
You’re gonna wanna grab your hankie if you’re fans of these shows as they say goodbye: Cake Boss (Mon. 10pm, TLC), Tiny & Toya (Tue. 10pm, BET), Monsterquest (Wed. 9pm, History), Michael & Michael Have Issues (Wed, 10:30pm, Comedy Central), and I Survived… (Sun. 9pm, Biography).