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Must See HDTV (August 13th - 19th)

Richard Lawler
Senior News Editor
Updated ·5 min read

With the Olympics finally concluded, it's back to our regular programming. While that includes a number of premieres this week including such highlights as Oh Sit!, a musical chairs game show (really), Stars Earn Stripes and BBC America's first original series Copper, there's also a long list of anticipated Blu-ray releases like Shaft and this weekend, The Hunger Games. Look below for the highlights this week, followed after the break by our weekly listing of what to look out for in TV, Blu-ray and videogames.

Jaws

Just in time for Shark Week, Steven Spielberg's classic Jaws is here on Blu-ray looking and sounding better than ever. There's a bunch of special features included but the main attraction is that massive reason to never, ever go in the water again. Check out a quick clip about the restoration embedded after the break.
($17.99 on Amazon)

The Closer / Major Crimes

Tonight as The Closer ends with star Kyra Sedgwick leaving the show, Major Crimes picks up the baton as Mary McDonnell (of Battlestar Galactica)'s Captain Raydor takes over the unit. We'll see if the changeover happens smoothly enough to keep this police procedural humming, but there seems little reason to believe it won't.
(9 & 10 PM, TNT, August 13th)

The Raid: Redemption

This Indonesian martial arts flick contains some of the hardest hitting action sequences we've seen and definitely counts as a must-see for fans of hand to hand combat, currently rocking an 85 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Following a police unit trapped in a criminal-infested building on an ill-fated attempt to capture a gang leader, it doesn't have the largest budget of 2012 or the most plot development, but who needs those anyway? If you're still unsure about this one, check after the break for a featurette on the film's score as well as a claymation remake of many key scenes.
($19.99 on Amazon)

Blu-ray & Games

  • Jaws

  • The Royal Tenenbaums

  • Dexter (S6)

  • Shaft

  • The Raid: Redemption

  • Glee (S3)

  • The Hunger Games (August 18th)

  • A Man Apart

  • New Jack City

  • Fallen

  • Romeo Must Die

  • Cradle 2 the Grave

  • Bye Bye Birdie (Limited Edition, online only)

  • Darksiders II (PS3, Xbox 360)

  • Sleeping Dogs (PS3, Xbox 360)

Monday

  • Cowboys/Raiders preseason Monday Night Football, ESPN, 8PM

  • Stars Earn Stripes (series premiere), NBC, 8PM

  • Hotel Hell (series premiere), Fox, 8PM

  • The Closer (series finale), TNT, 9PM

  • Major Crimes (series premiere), TNT, 10PM

  • Sharkzilla (special presentation), Discovery, 9PM

  • Mythbusters: Jawsome Shark Special (special presentation), Discovery, 10PM

  • Top Gear (season finale), BBC America, 9PM

  • Grimm (season premiere), NBC, 10PM

  • Teen Wolf (season finale), MTV,10 & 11PM

  • The Secret Life of the American Teenager, ABC Family, 8PM

  • Bachelor Pad, ABC, 8PM

  • WWE Raw, USA, 8PM

  • Bunheads, ABC Family, 9PM

  • Single Ladies, VH1, 9PM

  • Warehouse 13, Syfy, 9PM

  • Alphas, Syfy, 10PM

  • The Glass House, ABC, 10PM

  • Web Therapy, Showtime, 11PM

Tuesday

  • How Jaws Changed The World (special presentation), Discovery, 9PM

  • Adrift: 47 Days With Sharks (special presentation), Discovery, 10PM

  • Top Gear (US) (season premiere), History, 9PM

  • America's Got Talent, NBC, 8PM

  • Pretty Little Liars, ABC Family, 8PM

  • Rizzoli & Isles (summer finale), TNT, 9PM

  • Franklin & Bash (season finale), TNT, 10PM

  • White Collar, USA, 9PM

  • The LA Complex, CW, 9PM

  • NY Med, ABC, 10PM

  • Hard Knocks, HBO, 10PM

  • Covert Affairs, USA, 10PM

  • The Burn (series premiere), Comedy Central, 10:30PM

Wednesday

  • Shark Fight (special presentation), Discovery, 9PM

  • World's Scariest Animal Attacks (special presentation), Discovery, 10PM

  • Oh Sit! (series premiere), CW, 8PM

  • Melissa & Joey, ABC Family, 8PM

  • Baby Daddy, ABC Family, 8:30PM

  • America's Got Talent, NBC, 9PM

  • Royal Pains, USA, 9PM

  • Caught Looking, NBC Sports Network, 9:30PM

  • All Access: Ronda Rousey, Showtime, 9:30PM

  • Damages, DirecTV, 9PM

  • Hit and Miss (season finale), DirecTV, 10PM

  • Necessary Roughness, USA, 10PM

  • The Franchise, Showtime, 10PM

  • Futurama, Comedy Central, 10PM

  • The Real World, MTV, 10PM

Thursday

  • Great White Highway (special presentation), Discovery, 9PM

  • Shark Week's 25 Best Bites (special Presentation), Discovery, 10PM

  • Bengals/Falcons preseason football, Fox, 8PM

  • Impact Wrestling, Spike TV, 8PM

  • Oh Sit, CW, 8PM

  • Wipeout, ABC, 8PM

  • Time Machine Chefs, ABC, 9PM

  • Burn Notice, USA, 9PM

  • Saving Hope, NBC, 9PM

  • Anger Management, FX, 9:30PM

  • Bullet In The Face (series premiere), IFC, 10PM

  • Suits, USA, 10PM

  • Wilfred, FX, 10PM

  • Sullivan & Son, TBS, 10PM

  • Rock Center With Brian Williams, NBC, 10PM

  • Awkward, MTV, 10:30PM

  • Louie, FX, 10:30PM

  • Totally Biased with W. Kamau Bell, FX, 11PM

  • Children's Hospital, Cartoon Network, 11:59PM

Friday

  • Boss (season premiere), Starz, 9PM

  • Strike Back (season premiere), Cinemax, 10PM

  • Lions/Ravens preseason football, Fox, 7:30PM

  • Teachers Rock (special presentation), CBS, 8PM

  • Inocente (special presentation), MTV, 10PM

  • Bullet in the Face (season finale), IFC, 10, 10:30 & 11PM

  • WWE SmackDown, Syfy, 8PM

  • Lost Girl, Syfy, 10PM

  • John Oliver's New York Stand-Up Show, Comedy Central 11PM

Saturday

  • Giants/Jets preseason football, NFL Network, 7PM

  • Cowboys/Chargers preseason football, NFL Network, 10PM

  • Amy Schumer: Mostly Sex Stuff (special presentation), Comedy Central, 11PM

Sunday

  • Colts/Steelers preseason Sunday Night Football, NBC, 8PM

  • Survivorman (season premiere), Discovery, 8PM

  • Falling Skies (season finale), TNT, 9PM

  • Storm Surfers (special presentation), 3Net, 9PM

  • One Car Too Far (series premiere), Discovery, 9PM

  • Copper (series premiere), BBC America, 10PM

  • NASCAR Sprint Cup Series @ Michigan, ESPN, 12PM

  • Leverage, TNT, 8PM

  • True Blood, HBO, 9PM

  • Hell On Wheels, AMC, 9PM

  • The Great Escape, TNT, 10PM

  • The Newsroom, HBO, 10PM

  • Breaking Bad, AMC, 10PM

  • Political Animals (season finale), USA, 10PM

  • Weeds, Showtime, 10PM

  • Episodes, Showtime, 10:30PM

  • Small Town Security, AMC, 11PM