Must See HDTV (November 14th - 20th)
This week is all about going retro. Whether we're taking it back hundreds of years with knights and jousting, a half century or so for classics like West Side Story, My Fair Lady, and Looney Tunes, or just a decade to a classic videogame it's time to take a look back at where we've been. The good news is thanks to technology all are able to look better than ever -- although we'll hold off final judgement on the knights for now. Check below for the highlights this week, followed after the break by our weekly listings of what to look out for in TV, Blu-ray and videogames.
Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary
It's been ten years since Halo set off the storm of console first person shooters, and now the original is back and looking better than ever. This will no doubt thrill those who never got over the loss of its super-powered pistol in the subsequent Halo games, or pretty much anyone with fond memories of CTF runs in Blood Gulch. Our friends at Joystiq found everything intact and upgraded, however the Kinect integration was noted as "perfunctory." We probably won't be yelling "Reload!" at our screens very much but we'll definitely take this chance to rewind the clock in HD & 3D.
(November 15th, $40 on Amazon)
Knights of Mayhem
we've never been in love with this trend of odd reality TV shows taking over networks that were previously devoted to science and exploration, but this one's odd enough that we'll give it a chance. Knights of Mayhem depicts the sport of full-contact professional jousting, all done King Arthur-style on horseback wearing heavy armor. We've seen enough episodes of Game of Thrones to know this can be pretty dangerous, but on the upside, a round might last longer than last weekend's UFC bout on Fox. Check out a trailer embedded after the break.
(November 15th, National Geographic, 9 & 10PM)
MLS Cup Final
The entire MLS season has come down to this weekend's final match between the LA Galaxy and Houston Dynamo. David Beckham has scored Comeback Player of the Year honors for his effort in returning from a torn Achilles to lead LA to the final match, we'll see if he and Coach of the Year Bruce Arena have what it takes to win the cup pictured above. That's about the extent of the soccer analysis we can offer, for the best of America's other pro football, tune in to ESPN Sunday night.
(November 20th, ESPN, 9PM)
Blu-ray & Games
West Side Story (50th Anniversary Edition)
My Fair Lady
Bizet: Carmen 3D
Farscape: The Complete Series
Larry Crowne
Looney Tunes: Volume One
Infernal Affairs
Need for Speed: The Run (Xbox 360 & PS3)
Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary (Xbox 360)
Saints Row: The Third (Xbox 360 & PS3)
Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 (Xbox 360 & PS3)
Assassin's creed: Revelations (Xbox 360 & PS3)
Monday
Vikings/Packers Monday Night Football, ESPN, 8:30PM
How I Met Your Mother, CBS, 8PM
Terra Nova, Fox, 8PM
Dancing With The Stars, ABC, 8PM
The Sing-Off, NBC, 8PM
2 Broke Girls, CBS, 8:30PM
House, Fox, 9PM
Two And A Half Men, CBS, 9PM
WWE Raw, USA, 8PM
American Chopper: Senior vs. Junior, Discovery, 9PM
Scare Tactics, Syfy, 9PM
Bored To Death, HBO, 9PM
Mike & Molly, CBS, 9:30PM
Enlightened, HBO, 9:30PM
Hawaii Five-0, CBS, 10PM
Rock Center with Brian Williams, NBC, 10PM
1000 Ways To Die, Spike, 10PM
American Guns, Discovery, 10PM
Death Valley, MTV, 11PM
Tuesday
Tosh.0 (season finale), Comedy Central, 10PM
Knights of Mayhem (series premiere), National Geographic, 9 & 10PM
Engineering Evil (special presentation), History, 9PM
Last Man Standing, ABC, 8PM
Glee, Fox, 8PM
90210, CW, 8PM
NCIS, CBS, 8PM
Man Up!, ABC, 8:30PM
NCIS: LA, CBS, 9PM
Dancing With The Stars, ABC, 9PM
Ringer, CW, 9PM
New Girl, Fox, 9PM
Raising Hope, Fox, 9:30PM
Parenthood, NBC, 10PM
Sons of Anarchy, FX, 10PM
Body of Proof, ABC, 10PM
Unforgettable, CBS, 10PM
Covert Affairs, USA, 10PM
Auction Hunters, Spike TV, 10PM
Bomb Patrol: Afghanistan, G4, 10PM
Flip Men, Spike, 10:30PM
Workaholics, Comedy Central, 10:30PM
Wednesday
South Park (season finale), Comedy Central, 10PM
Nick Swardson's Pretend Time (season finale), 10:30PM
Survivor, CBS, 8PM
Up All Night, NBC, 8PM
The X-Factor, Fox, 8PM
The Middle, ABC, 8PM
Suburgatory, ABC, 8:30PM
Modern Family, ABC, 9PM
Criminal Minds, CBS, 9PM
Inside The NFL, Showtime, 9PM
Harry's Law, NBC, 9PM
Nova, PBS, 9PM
Mythbusters, Discovery, 9PM
Happy Endings, ABC, 9:30PM
Psych, USA, 10PM
American Horror Story, FX, 10PM
The Real World, MTV, 10PM
CSI, CBS, 10PM
Law & Order: SVU, NBC, 10PM
Whitechapel, BBCA, 10PM
The Ultimate Fighter, Spike, 10PM
Inside NASCAR, Showtime, 10PM
Blue Mountain State, Spike, 11PM
Thursday
Big Shrimpin' (series premiere), History, 10PM
Jets/Broncos Thursday Night Football, NFL Network, 8PM
Community, NBC, 8PM
The Big Bang Theory, CBS, 8PM
The X-Factor, Fox, 8PM
Parks & Recreation, NBC, 8:30PM
Rules of Engagement, CBS, 8:30PM
Bones, Fox, 9PM
The Office, NBC, 9PM
Person of Interest, CBS, 9PM
Less Than Kind, DirecTV 101, 9PM
Call Me Fitz, DirecTV 101, 9:30PM
Whitney, NBC, 9:30PM
Burn Notice, USA, 10PM
The Mentalist, CBS, 10PM
Prime Suspect, NBC, 10PM
Private Practice, ABC, 9 & 10PM
It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia, FX, 10PM
Beavis & Butt-head, MTV, 10PM
Good Vibes, MTV, 10:30PM
The League, FX, 10:30PM
Gigolos, Showtime, 11PM
Friday
Fringe (fall finale), Fox, 9PM
Chuck, NBC, 8PM
Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Cartoon Network, 8PM
A Gifted Man, CBS, 8PM
WWE SmackDown, Syfy, 8PM
Nikita, CW, 8PM
Grimm, NBC, 9PM
Meet the Browns, TBS, 8 & 8:30PM
CSI: NY, CBS, 9PM
House of Payne, TBS, 9 & 9:30PM
Supernatural, CW, 9PM
Sanctuary, Syfy, 10PM
Onion News Network, IFC, 10PM
Boss, Starz, 10PM
Blue Bloods, CBS, 10PM
X-Men Anime, G4, 11PM
Viper's Creed, G4, 11:30PM
Saturday
Donald Glover: Weirdo (special presentation), Comedy Central, 11PM
Cops, Fox, 8PM
Primeval, BBCA, 9PM
Saturday Night Live: Jason Segel / Florence + The Machine, NBC, 11:30PM
Sunday
LA Galaxy/Houston Dynamo MLS Cup Final, ESPN, 9PM
How To Make It America (season finale), HBO, 10:30PM
Curiosity (season finale), Discovery, 9PM
American Music Awards, ABC, 8PM
60 Minutes, CBS, 7PM
The Cleveland Show, Fox, 7:30PM
The Simpsons, Fox, 8PM
Once Upon A Time, ABC, 8PM
The Amazing Race, CBS, 8PM
Allen Gregory, Fox, 8:30PM
Eagles/Giants football, NBC, 8:15PM
Family Guy, Fox, 9PM
Dexter, Showtime, 9PM
The Good Wife, CBS, 9PM
Boardwalk Empire, HBO, 9PM
The Walking Dead, AMC, 9PM
American Dad, Fox, 9:30PM
CSI: Miami, CBS, 10PM
Hell on Wheels, AMC, 10PM
Hung, HBO, 10PM
Homeland, Showtime, 10PM
Around The World In 80 Ways, History, 11PM