Must See HDTV (January 21st - 27th)
We'll take a break from football -- true addicts can give the Pro Bowl and Senior Bowl a look -- for one weekend before the big game, but there are other options. That includes hockey now, of course, but also a few premiering and returning shows. 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.
The Following
If you need a few more connections in your next six degrees of Kevin Bacon game, tune in to The Following, which pits Bacon as an FBI agent chasing down serial killer (and leader of other killers) James Purefoy. It's been heavily promoted, but we'll find out tonight if the high profile cast and production add up to a show worth watching -- it didn't work so well for ABC's Last Resort, which is airing its series finale this week.
(Fox, January 21st, 9PM)
Spartacus: War of the Damned
The last season of Starz' hit Spartacus: War of the Damned kicks off Friday night, and should bring along all the associated violence we've come to expect from the series. As Marcus Crassus and Julius Caesar join the fight things are only going to get more interesting, if you've somehow missed out on the show till now you can check out a trailer embedded after the break. The special effects have never surpassed the level of most made-for-Syfy movies, but somehow it manages to become more than the sum of its parts.
(Starz, January 25th, 9PM)
The Cave
The next adventure game from Double Fine, The Cave hits a slew of platforms this week. Available for download on Steam, PSN, Xbox Live and Wii U eShop, it lets player's pick their own squad of adventures and explore -- what else -- a cave. Somehow that area will include an amusement park, castle and even a ready to launch nuke, but we're most interested to see how it integrates the Wii U GamePad for camera and character switching.
($14.99, multiple platforms / dates)
Blu-ray & Games Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday
End of Watch
Death Race 3: Inferno
Searching for Sugar Man
The Paperboy
The Quiet Man
For A Good Time, Call...
Pina
The Cave (PS3, Xbox 360, Wii U, PC)
The Following (series premiere), Fox, 9PM
Spurs/76ers, TNT, 7PM
Lakers/Bulls, TNT, 9:30PM
The Bachelor, ABC, 8PM
Bones, Fox, 8PM
Continuum, Syfy, 8PM
The Carrie Diaries, CW, 8PM
How I Met Your Mother, CBS, 8PM
Switched at Birth, ABC Family, 8PM
WWE Raw, USA, 8PM
2 Broke Girls, CBS, 9PM
90210 (winter premiere), NBC, 9PM
Being Human, Syfy, 9PM
Bunheads, ABC Family, 9PM
Mike & Molly, CBS, 9:30PM
Hawaii Five-0, CBS, 10PM
Lost Girl, Syfy, 10PM
Deception, NBC, 10PM
Castle, ABC, 10PM
Catfish, MTV, 11PM
The Taste (series premiere), ABC, 8PM
The Ultimate Fighter (season premiere), FX, 8PM
White Collar (winter premiere), USA, 10PM
Raising Hope, Fox, 8PM
Betty White's Off Their Rockers, NBC, 8 & 8:30PM
Hart of Dixie, CW, 8PM
Pretty Little Liars, ABC Family, 8PM
Ben & Kate, Fox, 8:30PM
Go On, NBC, 9PM
The Lying Game, CW, 9PM
New Girl, Fox, 9PM
Happy Endings, ABC, 9PM
Emily Owens M.D., CW, 9PM
Dual Survival, Discovery, 9PM
The Mindy Project, Fox, 9:30PM
The New Normal , NBC, 9:30PM
Africa, Discovery, 10PM
Cougar Town, TBS, 10PM
Justified, FX, 10PM
Private Practice (series finale), ABC, 10PM
Parenthood (season finale), NBC, 10PM
The Burn with Jeff Ross, Comedy Central, 10:30PM
Flashpoint (series finale), Ion, 11PM
American Idol, Fox, 8PM
Arrow, CW, 8PM
The Middle, ABC, 8PM
Nuggets/Rockets, NBA TV, 8PM
The Neighbors, ABC, 8:30PM
WWE Main Event, Ion, 8PM
Criminal Minds, CBS, 9PM
Supernatural CW, 9PM
Modern Family, ABC, 9PM
Inside the NFL, Showtime, 9PM
Suburgatory, ABC, 9:30PM
Workaholics, Comedy Central, 10PM
CSI, CBS, 10PM
Necessary Roughness (winter premiere), USA, 10PM
American Horror Story (season finale), FX, 10PM
NFL Turning Point, NBC Sports Network, 10PM
Nashville, ABC, 10PM
Unsung: Isaac Hayes (season premiere), TV One, 10PM
The Kroll Show, Comedy Central, 10:30PM
30 Rock, NBC, 8PM
Impact Wrestling, Spike TV, 8PM
The Vampire Diaries, CW, 8PM
Last Resort (series finale), ABC, 8PM
Knicks/Celtics TNT, 8PM
American Idol, Fox, 8PM
Parks & Recreation, NBC, 8:30PM
Beauty & the Beast (winter premiere), CW, 9PM
Glee (winter premiere), Fox, 9PM
Grey's Anatomy, ABC, 9PM
The Office, NBC, 9PM
1600 Penn, NBC, 9:30PM
Anger Management, FX, 9:30PM
King of the Nerds, TBS, 10PM
Archer, FX, 10PM
Bellator MMA Live, Spike TV, 10PM
Suits, USA, 10PM
Legit, FX, 10:30PM
Clippers/Suns, TNT, 10:30PM
Totally Biased with W Kamau Bell, FX, 11PM
Spartacus: War of the Damned (season premiere), Starz, 9PM
Spurs/Mavericks, ESPN, 8PM
Nikita, CW, 8PM
WWE SmackDown, Syfy, 8PM
Malibu Country, ABC, 8:30PM
CSI: NY, CBS, 9PM
Friday Night Fights, ESPN2, 9PM
Real time with Bill Maher, HBO, 10PM
Banshee, Cinemax, 10PM
Merlin, Syfy, 10PM
Portlandia, IFC, 10PM
Senior Bowl, NFL Network, 4PM
UFC on Fox 6, Fox, 8PM
US Figure Skating Championships, NBC, 8PM
Abominable Snowman, Syfy, 9PM
Saturday Night Live: Adam Levine / Kendrick Lamar, 11:30PM
AFC-NFC Pro Bowl, NBC, 7PM
The Cleveland Show, Fox, 7:30PM
19th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards, TBS/TNT, 8PM
The Simpsons, Fox, 8PM
Bob's Burgers, Fox, 8:30PM
Girls, HBO, 9PM
Family Guy, Fox, 9PM
The Makeover, ABC, 9PM
Shameless, Showtime, 9PM
Downton Abbey, PBS, 9PM
Revenge, ABC, 9PM
Enlightened, HBO, 9:30PM
American Dad, Fox, 9:30PM
House of Lies, Showtime, 10PM
The Mentalist, CBS, 10PM
Californication, Showtime, 10:30PM