(ALL TIMES ET)

9PM, SUN | DISCOVERY CHANNEL – 24TH ANNUAL
Shark Week 2011 – It began in 1987, and last year’s Shark Week was the highest-rated Shark Week ever, with more than 30 million viewers. This year’s Shark Week, which kicks off tonight with the new special Great White Invasion, promises to be just as sharktastic, with Saturday Night Live funny guy Andy Samberg as the official Chief Shark Officer/host.

Among the other new Shark Week specials:
– Jaws Comes Home (July 31, 10PM) – Follows the adventures of shark expert Greg Skomal, who spent months chasing five great whites he’s given names like Curly and Ruthless;
– Rogue Sharks (Aug. 1, 9PM) – Do sharks ever just go rogue? This rundown of some of the worst shark attacks in history suggests, yes;
– Killer Sharks (Aug. 2, 9PM) – December, 1957, South Africa … bloody beaches provide still more proof that, yes, rogue sharks are a real possibility;
– Shark City (Aug. 4, 9PM) – Samberg steps in to help us get to know a few sharks “as individuals,” their fears, hopes, dreams, likes and dislikes. Wonder if they prefer “Lazy Sunday” or “Dick in a Box”?

9PM, SAT | TLC
Nick & Vanessa’s Dream Wedding – Nope, he apparently did not learn his lesson about reality TV. But hey, at least this wife knows Chicken of the Sea is not chicken.

10PM, SAT | NAT GEO WILD
The Lady With 700 Cats – The title says it all: it’s life with a woman who lives on a no-cage cat sanctuary – her and 700 (actually, almost 800) cats. Lynea Lattanzio is the titular cat lady, and Glee star Jane Lynch narrates the show, which details Lynea’s ongoing efforts to save homeless kitties … she’s saved more than 19,000 in the last two decades.

NOON, SUN | IFC
Wilfred Marathon – Do you love FX’s Wilfred as much as I do? Then you may want to check out the original, Australian Wilfred, which IFC unspools here (the whole 2007 first season) in marathon form. And no worries, Jason Gunn is the original Wilfred.

10PM, SUN | AMC
Breaking Bad – Jesse, and events at his house, begin to spiral out of control, while Skyler needs help and decides, of course, that she “better call Saul.”

10PM, SUN | HBO
Curb Your Enthusiasm – I know, I know, the season just keeps getting better. Tonight’s ep, “The Smiley Face,” keeps it rolling, as Larry decides society’s rules of dating are not the boss of him.

10PM, SUN | BRAVO
Real Housewives of New Jersey – It’s still Christmas on RH of NJ, and Caroline and Melissa are having happy holidays, but Teresa … not so much.

Worth flipping to during commercials:
– On Cupcake Girls (Sat., 9PM, WE), Lori and Heather aren’t happy to find out that their franchisees are making their own cupcake flavors;
– Gail helps a 23-year-old nanny who’s still living in her parents’ luxury home on Princess (Sat., 10PM, CNBC);
– Potential evictees are announced on Big Brother (Sun., 8PM, CBS);
– Failed spin-off series and live events gone askew are among the 25 Biggest TV Blunders 2 special (Sun., 8PM, TV Guide Channel);
– One bride’s bad dye job leaves her with spotted hair on Bridezillas (Sun., 9PM, WE);
– Michael Lohan‘s ex shows up for family weekend and unloads on the famous father on Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew (Sun., 9PM, VH1);
– On Drop Dead Diva (Sun., 9PM, Lifetime), when Jane works on a pro bono case for the DA’s office, she finds out that old Jane had an affair with the DA;
– Lisa drives through a blizzard on Ice Road Truckers (Sun., 9PM, History);
– Frank Oz directed tonight’s Leverage (Sun., 9PM, TNT), which finds Nate and the gang plotting to swipe a computer chip from a very secure home;
– On The Next Food Network Star (Sun., 9PM, Food Network), the remaining cheftestants get roasted by comedians Louie Anderson, Aubrey Plaza and Gilbert Gottfried;
– The famous Kathy Griffin and a Kathy Griffin of the non-famous variety swap lives on Same Name (Sun., 9PM, CBS);
– Sookie goes off under a full moon to search for Jason on True Blood (Sun., 9PM, HBO);
– Treat Williams stars in the new drama Against the Wall (Sun., 10PM, Lifetime), about a family of cops who are not unhappy when the youngest sister becomes an Internal Affairs detective;
– On Falling Skies (Sun., 10PM, TNT), Anne makes a disturbing discovery while performing an autopsy;
– A man is found dead, in a box of poisonous snakes, inside a church, on The Glades (Sun., 10PM, A&E);
– On In Plain Sight (Sun., 10PM, USA), Mary has to protect a woman from a gangster who also happens to be the woman’s babydaddy;
– The Marriage Ref (Sun., 10PM, NBC): Again, terrible show, but tonight’s features JB Smoove, a.k.a. Curb Your Enthusiasm‘s hilarious Leon;
– Vince asks Billy Walsh to consider his miner movie idea as a starring vehicle for Drama on Entourage (Sun., 10:30PM, HBO).

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• Filed in Breaking Bad, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Real Housewives, TV Marathon, TV Picks, Wilfred
• Tags: Andy Samberg, Breaking Bad, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Nick & Vanessa's Dream Wedding, Real Housewives of New Jersey, Shark Week 2011, The Lady With 700 Cats, Wilfred, Wilfred marathon IFC

Royal Pains
Stars: 3.5 out of 5

Stars: Mark Feuerstein, Paulo Costanzo, Reshma Shetty and Jill Flint

The Big Idea: After the death of a wealthy patron gets Dr. Hank Lawson (Feuerstein) booted from the Manhattan hospital where he works and his insensitive fiancé dumps him, Lawson’s bro Evan (Costanzo, from Joey) convinces him a weekend in the babe-laden Hamptons is just the thing to cure what ails him. While vacaying in the beach playground to the rich and famous, Hank saves a woman’s life at a swanky soiree, prompting the town to claim him as their “concierge doc.”

To Watch or Not to Watch: Absolutely, if for no other reason than because Feuerstein, who’s done more than his fair share of time in lame sitcoms (Good Morning, Miami and Caroline in the City) and good guest-starring gigs (The West Wing and Once and Again), has finally landed in a series worthy of his leading man charms. And he is charming … the 75-minute premiere is a bit bogged down with the obligatory setting up of the series’ premise, but Feuerstein saves it by making you care about Lawson’s chance to redeem his career, maybe spark a new romance with a local hospital administrator who, like him, cares more about patients than money, and, hey, because he is now living in that beach playground to the rich and famous, have some fun in the sun.

The show, a perfect addition to USA’s addictive character-driven dramedy line-up and a fitting companion to Burn Notice‘s third season (which premieres tonight at 9PM ET), also promises to get even better, particularly as Hank interacts with the locals. The best part of the premiere is when he goes all MacGyver to perform impromptu surgery on Tucker, a wealthy haemophiliac teen whose parents are MIA. Hank and the kid bond, and the good doc promises him that he’ll check in on him once he returns from the hospital; Feuerstein has confirmed that’s part of the show’s continuing storyline.

TV Screener Tidbit: Like USA’s other series, Royal Pains will also feature plenty of guest stars, including Campbell Scott and Christine Ebersole in the premiere, and Andrew McCarthy, who’ll play the father of Hank’s teen pal Tucker.

TV Screener Tidbit #2: In addition to his TV and film work, viral video fans may remember Feuerstein from “Lazy Monday,” the “West Coast answer” to Andy Samberg and Chris Parnell‘s classic “Lazy Sunday,” the Chronicles of Narnia rap, clip.

Royal Pains premieres June 4, at 10PM ET on USA Network

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• Filed in Drama, Dramedy, Review - TV
• Tags: Andrew McCarthy, Andy Samberg, Burn Notice, Campbell Scott, Caroline in the City, Chris Parnell, Christine Ebersole, Drama, Dramedy, Good Morning Miami, Hamptons, Hank Lawson, Jill Flint, Joey, Lazy Monday, Lazy Sunday, Mark Feuerstein, medical drama, medical dramedy, medical series, Once and Again, Paulo Costanzo, Reshma Shetty, Royal Pains, The West Wing, USA, USA Network

All the tube news that’s fit to surf …

– The Eminem/Bruno (Sacha Baron Cohen) brouhaha from the MTV Movie Awards got all the press, but how deliciously campy was it when Kristin Cavallari showed up at Spencer and Heidi‘s wedding wearing the exact same color dress as her old Laguna Beach enemy Lauren Conrad on last night’s ep of The Hills?

– More Hills news: The stars of the show are upset that Paris Hilton called their show fake. Insert your own joke here about the pot calling the kettle fake.

– BTW, the winners at last night’s Andy Samberg-hosted MTV Movie Awards included Heath Ledger for Best Villain and waaaaaay too many popcorn statues for the Twilight cast.

– Wanna guarantee yourself a reality TV deal? Apparently fertility drugs, and a heaping side dish of crazy, are the answer. As creepy as she is, Octomom Nadya Suleman has signed a deal to film a series starring her brood, though no American network has agreed to air it. Yet. Meanwhile, did you know that she actually likes the Octomom nickname, so much so that she’s trying to trademark it?

– Bob Saget‘s Surviving Suburbia couldn’t survive the summer TV line-up. Better Off Ted, meanwhile, will get some summer lovin’ from ABC, as the quirky comedy rejoins the line-up on June 23.

– Susan Boyle losing Britain’s Got Talent … as shocking as Adam Lambert losing American Idol?

– Ray Romano talks about his upcoming dramedy, how he thinks Jay Leno‘s new show will do and about what he watches on TV. Hint: Lots of reality stuff and 24.

– And speaking of 24, Freddie Prinze Jr. as a wannabe Jack Bauer and now Forrest Gump‘s Mykelti Williamson as the new Bill Buchanan on the next season of 24 … it’s almost sounding like a whole new show, isn’t it?

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• Filed in 24, American Idol, Celebreality, Comedy, Drama, Reality, TV News
• Tags: 24, Adam Lambert, American Idol, Andy Samberg, Better Off Ted, Bob Saget, Britain's Got Talent, Bruno, Eminem, Freddie Prinze Jr., Jack Bauer, Jay Leno, Kristin Cavallari, Laguna Beach, Lauren Conrad, MTV, MTV Movie Awards, Mykelti Williamson, Nadya Suleman, Octomom, Paris Hilton, Ray Romano, Sacha Baron Cohen, Spencer and Heidi, Spencer and Heidi wedding, Spencer Pratt, Surviving Suburbia, Susan Boyle, The Hills

41. Psych
How cool is Psych? So cool that among its many very diverse pop culture references has been Al B. Sure!, The Peanuts Christmas pageant dance, Drew Lachey and The Mentalist, a show that, as any Psych devotee will point out, came after our beloved Psych.

42. Best Week Ever – Best Pop Culture Wrap-Up Show Ever. Almost makes me forget how much I miss the Greg Kinnear and John “Skunk Boy” Henson days of Talk Soup.

43. The Sopranos reruns on A&E
The show’s still so good and so layered that you’ll find new things you didn’t catch the first time around, and I find I’m not missing the naughtier words at all.

44. Desperate Housewives
Was good, sucked there for a season or two, then bounced back. Despite the skepticism about the jumping-five-years-ahead storyline this season, I think it works, and has managed to freshen up a show that could have jumped into jumping the shark territory quite easily.

45. Boob tube to big screen adaptations
There’s the good (The Fugitive, The Adaams Family, The Brady Bunch Movie, Starsky & Hutch and most definitely the new Star Trek flick), the bad (Wild Wild West, Bewitched, The Dukes of Hazzard, Lost in Space and Scooby-Doo) and the what the hell were they thinking (The Honeymooners), but I always get excited about a TV show being made into a movie (or vice versa) and the possibilities of how some of my faves might be reimagined.

46. VH1’s Top 20 Countdown
Relying on VH1 videos to find new music? Yep, and I don’t care if that’s unhip. The fact is, I don’t remember the last time I saw a video on MTV, and though I often hear new tunes I like during The Hills or The City or The Real World (already admitted I’m still watching it), VH1’s weekend countdown of the top 20 videos is one of the best places to not only hear, but see new bands. It’s how I first discovered the pop/rock goodness of John Mayer‘s debut CD (after he had the bad luck to release the album on September 11, 2001), and I’d argue that American Idol “loser” Chris Daughtry owes a goodly portion of the success of his debut CD to his videos’ constant presence on the VH1 countdown.

47. Pat Kiernan on NY1
Those of you outside the NYC area may be unaware of the soothing morning goodness of hearing the delightfully smooth-voiced Kiernan tell you what’s in the newspapers every day, but if every city had Kiernan reading what’s In the Papers for them, it would amount to a better start to their day. Those outside NYC may also remember him as host of VH1’s World Series of Pop Culture, and you can also catch him on Twitter.

48. Malcolm in the Middle
Loving the FX repeats, especially of the later seasons, which I’d stopped watching when the show originally aired. But in the latter years, it’s all about Reese and Dewey and Hal (the comedic genius that is Bryan Cranston), as, apparently, the writers figured out what most viewers knew all along – Malcolm was a dud. The rest of the family rocked.

49. Breaking Bad
Bryan Cranston, comedic genius (see above). Turns out he’s a damn fine dramatic actor, too.

50. Saturday Night Live
Yep, still watching it, every episode, every season, even when it’s not the must-see show during an election year. Love the Target Lady, love Kenan Thompson, love Andy Samberg‘s digital shorts, love the Justin Timberlake appearances. Most of all, love the history of the show … one of the coolest things I’ve gotten to do as a TV writer was attending a live show (last season’s Jonah Hill-hosted ep). I was sitting there the whole time thinking about how I used to sneak out of bed to watch Eddie Murphy performing on that very stage. Back when Eddie Murphy was a comedic genius. Sigh.

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• Filed in I Love TV!
• Tags: A&E, American Idol, Andy Samberg, Best Week Ever, Breaking Bad, Bryan Cranston, Chris Daughtry, Desperate Housewives, Eddie Murphy, FX, John Henson, John Mayer, Jonah Hill, Justin Timberlake, Kenan Thompson, Malcolm in the Middle, Pat Kiernan, Psych, Saturday Night Live, Star Trek, Talk Soup, The Hills, The Sopranos, TV shows to movies, VH1

Justin Timberlake, in just two stints as Saturday Night Live host (and several more quick surprise guest appearances), has established himself as one of the show’s all-time best celeb performers, so his return as penultimate host of the 34th season this Saturday night (NBC, 11:30PM ET) makes for must-see (and TiVo)-TV viewing. Need proof? Check out this “Weekend Update” video clip, in which the fantastically talented J.T. hosts the whole show in two minutes:

Meanwhile, Timberlake paired with his “Dick in a Box” pal Andy Samberg to film a series of promos for this week’s episode, which also features Ciara – Timberlake’s “Love Sex Magic” collaborator – as musical guest:

Here’s hoping we might see another “Omeletteville” skit this weekend, or, with a Jimmy Fallon pop-in, another edition of “The Barry Gibb Talk Show.”

What are your favorite moments from Timberlake’s visits to Saturday Night Live?

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• Filed in Comedy, TV News
• Tags: Andy Samberg, Jimmy Fallon, Justin Timberlake, Saturday Night Live