(ALL TIMES ET)

9PM | NBC
The Office – Rumors persist that Will Ferrell might be considered as Steve Carell‘s permanent replacement on The Office, and as the funny guy begins his guest stint tonight, fans will get the chance to evaluate whether or not he’s a good fit. Ferrell’s character? Deangelo Vickers, the new office manager who is subject to Michael’s training, and the staff’s attempts to kiss up.

8PM | FOX
American Idol – I wanna say it’s definitely Stefano who will get the boot tonight, but it’s not like there weren’t equally bad (Haley) performances (Lauren) last night (Casey).

8PM | NBC
Community – Abed takes a TV course, studying the classic sitcom … Who’s the Boss????

8:30PM | NBC – SERIES PREMIERE
The Paul Reiser Show – The Mad About You star tries to pull a Larry David by playing himself (or rather, a somewhat fictionalized version of himself) as he tries to restart his career years after his hit sitcom left the airwaves.

9PM | FOX
Bones – Jo Anne Worley guest stars as a pet psychic. Hello, welcome to 1975, Bones staff, and thanks for one of the most random guest stars ever.

9:30PM | NBC
Parks & Recreation – April and Andy host a dinner party for their friends. Can’t wait to see what’s on that menu.

10PM | NBC
30 Rock – TGS is on the chopping block, which prompts Liz to team up with the only she knows who can possibly located Tracy: Kenneth.

10PM | FX
Archer – Archer heads off to Russia to try and confirm who’s his daddy, but a lot of broken glass and his old nemesis Barry stand in his way.

10PM | FOOD NETWORK – 1ST SEASON FINALE
Ice Brigade – The team fashions a giant chessboard out of ice.

10PM | BRAVO
Real Housewives of New York City – I think we’re going to get the backstory on that “thug in a cocktail dress” comment that’s inspired a line of t-shirts when Alex and Sonja tussle tonight, though, unsurprisingly, Ramona gets into  a little war of her own when she makes a comment about Cindy, to someone else, who relates it back to Cindy.

Worth flipping to during commercials:
– When Elena and Stefan attend a school dance, Klaus plots to nab Elena and sacrifice her to end the vampire curse on Vampire Diaries (8PM, The CW);
– A new Bowled Over obstacle is described as “full body bowling” on Wipeout (8PM, ABC);
– Percy sends Michael off to London with orders to kill Nikita, while Amanda forces Alex to submit to a lie detector test on Nikita (9PM, The CW);
– In the sixth season premiere of Randy Jackson Presents: America’s Best Dance Crew (10PM, MTV), the first five crews dance Ke$ha-inspired numbers;
– NYC bike messengers are the subject of the new reality series Triple Rush (10PM, Travel);
– “Dating Game Killer” Rodney Alcala is the topic on True Crime with Aphrodite Jones (10PM, ID);
– Chris looks for an old friend and uncovers a secret along the way on Eagleheart (11:59PM, Cartoon Network).

And the late-night line-up:
– Conan (11PM, TBS): Matthew Morrison, Alexis Bledel and Queens of the Stone Age;
– The Daily Show with Jon Stewart (11PM, Comedy Central): Ricky Gervais;
– The Colbert Report (11:30PM, Comedy Central): Caroline Kennedy;
– The Late Show with David Letterman (11:35PM, CBS): Seth Myers and Carmelo Anthony;
– The Tonight Show with Jay Leno (11:35PM, NBC): Tyler Perry and Bright Eyes;
– Lopez Tonight (Midnight, TBS): Anne Hathaway, Anthony Anderson and Sum 41;
– Jimmy Kimmel Live (12:05AM, ABC): Tom Arnold and Alison Brie;
– Late Night with Jimmy Fallon (12:35AM, NBC): Chris Pratt and Kathy Bates (REPEAT);
– The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson (12:37AM, CBS): Kristen Bell and Jason Aldean;
– Last Call with Carson Daly (1:35AM, NBC): Florence & the Machine (REPEAT).

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• Filed in 30 Rock, American Idol, Late Night, Real Housewives, The Office, TV Picks
• Tags: 30 Rock, American Idol, Archer, Bones, Community, Ice Brigade, Parks & Recreation, Real Housewives of New York City, The Office Will Ferrell, The Paul Reiser Show

(ALL TIMES ET)

8PM | FOX
American Idol – Adam Lambert returns to perform, as the first of the 13 finalists gets the boot in the results show. A few thoughts on last night’s performance episode: It’s great to see Randy finally stepping up and giving real critiques; while Steven Tyler was entertaining in the audition rounds, so far, he’s proven himself to be almost as useless as an incoherent Paula Abdul when it comes to constructive comments in the performance shows; and, though Jennifer Lopez has been my favorite of the judges this season, it was off-putting that she didn’t know who Ryan Adams is. Overall, I’m finding the season to be more pleasant than seasons past, but I’m also less compelled by any one contestant. They’re still, on the whole, picking bad songs, the females aren’t distinguishing themselves at all (except for the fact that they’re apparently raiding the old Dynasty wardrobe – those dated dresses!) and while lots of people seem to be impressed with Cowboy Scotty, am I the only one who thinks he’s just been doing an okay impersonation of Garth Brooks, in both his behavior and his performances?

8PM | CBS
The Big Bang Theory – All of a sudden, Leonard has too many women in his life: Priya, and Penny, who Priya wants out of his life.

9PM | FOX
Bones – Booth calls on his military training to help him track Jacob Broadsky, the guy who killed the Grave Digger and has now moved on to new targets. Elsewhere, ZZ Top-er Billy F. Gibbons returns as Angela’s daddy, who thinks it should be up to him to name her baby.

9PM | CBS
CSI – The CSIs investigate the murder of a former cop, who was convicted of killing his wife and was killed while serving his prison sentence. He also left behind a list of people he suspected in his wife’s murder, leading the team to reconsider his conviction in the process.

10PM | FX
Archer – Malory orders Lana to help actress Rona Thorne prepare to play a spy in her new movie, and takes the opportunity to pen a little role for herself in the thriller.

10PM | FOOD NETWORK
Ice Brigade – On the heels of last week’s working ice pool table, tonight the team builds an icy DJ booth, with working ice turntable, speakers and headphones.

10PM | MTV
Jersey Shore – The Situation, whose role on the show this season has been greatly diminished, tries to stir up trouble by poking Ronnie to find out who Sammi‘s been texting. Meanwhile, Vinny and Pauly road trip to Staten Island.

10PM | NGC
Ultimate Factories – This week’s episode goes inside the Jack Daniel’s factory in Tennessee, while next week’s installment revolves around a visit to a Coca-Cola factory in Baton Rouge. Clever scheduling.

Worth flipping to during commercials:
– CNBC has a new installment of How I Made My Millions (9PM);
– On Man vs. Wild (9PM, Discovery), snakes, leeches and a torrential downpour greet Bear in Borneo;
– My Big Redneck Intervention (9PM, CMT) finds a country girl who got used to life in the big city returning home;
– Kate is hired by a singer who wants to convince his bandmates to allow their song to be used in a commercial on Fairly Legal (10PM, USA);
– A doctor is found murdered on a golf course on The Mentalist (10PM, CBS);
– Twins from his past visit Chris on Eagleheart (11:59PM, Adult Swim).

And the late-night line-up:
– Conan (11PM, TBS): Seth Rogen;
– The Daily Show with Jon Stewart (11PM, Comedy Central): Trey Parker and Matt Stone;
– The Colbert Report (11:30PM, Comedy Central): Jeff Greenfield;
– The Late Show with David Letterman (11:35PM, CBS): Adam Sandler and Chris Colfer (REPEAT);
– The Tonight Show with Jay Leno (11:35PM, NBC): Aubrey Plaza and Ashton Kutcher (REPEAT);
– Lopez Tonight (Midnight, TBS): Pee-wee Herman and the cast of Sister Wives;
– Jimmy Kimmel Live (12:05AM, ABC): Henry Winkler and Cameron Diaz (REPEAT);
– Late Night with Jimmy Fallon (12:35AM, NBC): Snooki and Martin Bashir (REPEAT);
– The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson (12:37AM, CBS): Kevin McKidd and Wanda Sykes;
– Last Call with Carson Daly (1:35AM, NBC): Brooklyn Decker (REPEAT).

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• Filed in American Idol, Late Night, TV Picks
• Tags: American Idol, Archer, Bones, CSI, Ice Brigade, Jersey Shore, The Big Bang Theory, The Mentalist, Ultimate Factories NGC

(ALL TIMES ET)

8PM | FOX
American Idol – It’s a two-hour results show. Painful, yes, but that’s what we have to sit through to go from 24 finalists to the top 10 contenders.

9PM | CNBC
How I Made My Millions – Another new installment of the series that unfolds the backstories of entrepreneurs like the inventors of Pillow Pets, Tate’s Cookies and the HeadBlade.

9PM | CNN
Piers Morgan Tonight – Piers chats with the cast of the new movie Adjustment Bureau, including Matt Damon, Emily Blunt and John Slattery.

9PM | TLC – 5TH SEASON FINALE
Police Women of Cincinnati – Colleen buys crack from an informant, but the rest of the sting doesn’t go so smoothly.

10PM | FX
Archer – Cyril wants to be a hero, so he injects a virus into the ISIS computer system, planning to spot it and reap accolades from his co-workers. That, of course, is not how his plan unfolds.

10PM | A&E – 1ST SEASON FINALE
Beyond Scared Straight – Five teen girls visit a Maryland women’s prison to get a peek at their futures if they continue their wicked ways.

10PM | FOOD NETWORK – SERIES PREMIERE
Ice Brigade – The show follows a team of Michigan event ice sculptors, who, in the opener, build a whole ice lounge, with a fully operational ice bar and a playable ice pool table.

10PM | SCIENCE CHANNEL
Ingenious Minds – Back-to-back new episodes profile Alonzo Clemons, a sculptor who can look at an animal once and, within minutes, create an accurate replica sculpture of the animal, and Temple Grandin, the HBO biopic darling and autistic professor who revolutionized the beef industry with her cattle feedlot system invention.

10PM | MTV
Jersey Shore – The Ronnie and Sammi saga continues when she returns to the Shore, while Snooki lays it out, um, so to speak, for Vinny regarding her feelings for him.

Worth flipping to during commercials:
– It’s a three-hour block of repeats of The Office on NBC (8PM);
– Timmy and Russell go on a double date on Rules of Engagement (8:30PM, CBS);
– Madison wigs when he finds out his assistant had a date with Josh on Million Dollar Listing (9PM, Bravo).

And the late-night line-up:
– Conan (11PM, TBS): Martha Stewart and Emily Blunt;
– The Daily Show with Jon Stewart (11PM, Comedy Central): Diane Ravitch;
– The Colbert Report (11:30PM, Comedy Central): Mark W. Moffett;
– The Late Show with David Letterman (11:35PM, CBS): Robin Williams and Judy Greer;
– The Tonight Show with Jay Leno (11:35PM, NBC): Jerry Seinfeld and Darlene Love;
– Lopez Tonight (Midnight, TBS): Topher Grace;
– Jimmy Kimmel Live (12:05AM, ABC): Howard Stern;
– Late Night with Jimmy Fallon (12:35AM, NBC): Michael Stipe and Miley Cyrus;
– The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson (12:37AM, CBS): Neil Patrick Harris;
– Last Call with Carson Daly (1:35AM, NBC): Emmy Rossum.

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• Filed in American Idol, Late Night, The Office, TV Picks
• Tags: American Idol, Archer, Beyond Scared Straight, How I Made My Millions, Ice Brigade, Ingenious Minds, Jersey Shore, Piers Morgan Tonight, Police Women of Cincinnati