The choice of the U.S. version of Being Human stretches the very concept of a "top pick" to its breaking point

By Emily St. James  |  February 20, 2012 | 6:00am
TV Features TV

Here’s what’s up in the world of TV for Monday, Feb. 20. All times are Eastern.

TOP PICK
Being Human (SyFy, 9 p.m.): Look, we get that there’s really no good reason to make this the top pick. We can’t even use the “It sounds like it could be a good episode!” excuse we use for Glee or the “It’s the most popular comedy in America!” excuse we used for Big Bang Theory or the “It’s the 500th episode!” excuse we used for Simpsons. But it’s never been up here, and Monday nights are a television wasteland from which no sane viewer can escape. So, yes. Watch the werewolf and the ghost and the vampire. There are certainly worse options tonight. Or we guess you could read a book. We have a whole section for that, too. Phil Dyess-Nugent thinks you might find it preferable.

REGULAR COVERAGE
House (Fox, 8 p.m.): You know, we edit Zack Handlen’s reviews, and yet we don’t think we remember one mention of a House’s Ukrainian wife He would have mentioned it, so we’re probably just forgetting it. Or this one is really out of order.

How I Met Your Mother (CBS, 8 p.m.): Tonight: We’re not supposed to tell you this, but he meets the mother! It’s incredibly satisfying and meaningful and heartfelt. Donna Bowman cried real tears. Okay, okay. We’re joking. But what if we aren’t?!

The Voice (NBC, 8 p.m.): It seems like there are lots of experiences that would be improved by having people spin around in chairs after judging you without seeing you. Off the top of her head, Emily Yoshida can think of having your oil changed.

2 Broke Girls (CBS, 8:30 p.m.): Todd VanDerWerff has to tap out after reading that tonight’s episode will feature the titular girls visiting a bar mitzvah. Apparently, Jewish stereotypes are one step too far. The ever-brave Margaret Eby steps in.

Alcatraz (Fox, 9 p.m.): The ratings for this one have nose-dived from “surprise midseason hit” to “solid performer” to “bubble show” to “oh, dear God, no.” So we wouldn’t get too attached. Will Harris already is, but he begs you to save yourselves.

RuPaul’s Drag Race (Logo, 9 p.m.): Our wife caught up on all of this over the past couple of weeks, since it’s on Netflix, and she has this to say: “It’s a good time.” Oliver Sava agrees, but we make him say it in a lot more words. What a sucker.

Castle (ABC, 10 p.m.): “Castle and Beckett try to stop a series of events that could lead the U.S. into a war,” reads the episode summary, which makes us wonder when this became the second season of 24. Phil Dyess-Nugent thinks it was the noir episode.

Smash (NBC, 10 p.m.): Tonight, they cast Joe DiMaggio, but where they took a whole bunch of episodes to find Marilyn Monroe, they’re pretty much just going to talk to some dude for Joe. Noel Murray’s going to sadly take his glove and go home.

TV CLUB CLASSIC
Scrubs (11 a.m.): When Scrubs came back for its second season, it came back with a dose of that guy from Men At Work being sort of creepy as he sung directly into the camera. Myles McNutt can offer you no musical interludes for his returning reviews.

Batman: The Animated Series (1 p.m.): Oliver Sava got this gig because he popped by the A.V. Club offices and jumped around saying, “I’m Batman!” in a Batman voice so many times we finally just gave up and let him do it. Now, he won’t stop. Ideas?

WHAT ELSE IS ON?
Finding Bigfoot: Birth Of A Legend: Further Evidence (Animal Planet, 8 p.m.): Two colons seems like an awful lot of punctuation for the title of a show where a bunch of dumbasses will wander in the woods for a while. And two hours!? Please.

Clinton (PBS, 9 p.m.): PBS takes us back to the halcyon days of the 1990s, when Americans elected a soft-spoken Southerner whom political cartoonists loved to draw the nose of. We’ll have our review up later in the day, with extra Al Gore sauce.

Mike & Molly (CBS, 9:30 p.m.): Our attempts to get you to check out the CBS shows America loves continue, as we now ask you to check out this Billy Gardell/Oscar-nominee Melissa McCarthy vehicle. Let us know what you think in comments!

World’s Toughest Trucker (Discovery, 10 p.m.): How do they determine who the world’s toughest trucker is? Well, you’d think they’d have to, like, carry an empty refrigerator across the Sahara, but, no, they mostly just have to drive trucks. Lame!

Blade Runner (AMC, 8 p.m.): We’re getting closer and closer to the year depicted in this film, and even though many elements of it—particularly its visual design—seem to be reflected in our modern world, we’re still waiting for our Sean Young replicant.

The Smiling Lieutenant (TCM, 8 p.m.): There’s never been a day in which a little Ernst Lubitsch wouldn’t have made everything better, and here’s one of his early greats, including a very fine performance from Maurice Chevalier, your favorite.

NBA Basketball: Celtics at Mavericks (TNT, 8 p.m.): On the one hand, it makes sense that the defending champions would appear on primetime television a lot. On the other hand, Jesus Christ, primetime television! Enough with the Mavericks!

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Eastbound & Down (Sunday): We don’t know if you noticed this fact proclaimed by the advertising on any particular websites or anything, but Kenny Powers is back, motherfuckers, and Nathan Rabin is back covering his many wild exploits.

 
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