1) “The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins,” 8:30 p.m., NBC. Reggie’s ex-wife (played by Erika Alexander, 56, shown here) reluctantly re-enters the dating world … which, alas, has changed in the smart-phone era. Add another plot (a frantic search for a cat) and you have a sharp, funny episode. Read more…
1) “Marshals,” 8 p.m., CBS. For a furious stretch, this is in full military mode — rifles, grenade, trucks, horses and explosions. Surrounding that is lots of macho dialog, some of it sharp and some just repetitive. There’s also a cliche boss, some family warmth (shown here) and a country song. This sort of fits together, but it’s not clear if it can work from week to week. Read more…
For fans of PBS mysteries, this will be a double-farewell year.
“Miss Scarlet” has announced that it will have one final season, its seventh. That will apparently air a few months after “Grantchester” has its 11th and final seasons. Read more…
1) Academy Awards, 7 p.m. ET Sunday, ABC. Conan O’Brien hosts a night led by “Sinners” and (shown here) “One Battle After Another.” They have 16 and 13 nominations; for best-picture, they face “Marty Supreme,” “Frankenstein” and “Sentimental Value” (9 apiece), “Hamnet” (8) and “F1,” “Train Dreams,” “Secret Agent” and “Bugonia” (4 each). Read more…
1) “Saturday Night Live,” 11:29 p.m., NBC. Ryan Gosling is a great guest anywhere, including the Oscars and (shown here) “SNL.” Now he’s the host, three weeks before his “Project Hail Mary” movie opens. It’s his fourth time as host and the first for Gorillaz as the music guest. A week later, Harry Styles will have his second turn in both jobs. Read more…
1) “Outlander” (shown here in a previous season) opener, 8 p.m. Starz, rerunning at 9:05 and 10:08. A huge journey — eight seasons, sprawled over 12 years, telling a 225-year time-travel tale — starts its final round. Previous episodes rerun at 6 and 6:59, with Claire guiding Denzell through surgery. Then Jamie finds a disturbing truth and returns Claire to the Ridge, for a surprise. Read more…
NBC’s post-Olympic push hits a peak Wednesday (March 4).
That’s when all three Chicago shows mold into one high-stakes, high-octane night (shown here). The result — even with some scattered flaws — is compelling.
Fresh from high ratings for the Winter Olympics, the network wanted to keep the momentum. The first week, that meant launching “The Voice” on a Monday, with a quick rerun on Wednesday. The Chicago shows would have to wait a week. Read more…
1) “Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette,” 9 p.m., FX., rerunning at 10:30. This was the wedding the masses speculated about … performed far from their view. In a tiny island chapel, Kennedy and Bissette (shown here in a previous episode) married. In an excellent episode, we see the bride have warm moments with Ethel Kennedy and cold ones with her own mother. Read more…
There’s no equality at the dinner table, it seems.
Some people have splendid palettes, sniffing out subtle differences in flavor. Others just try to figure out how much ketchup to put on a hot dog.
Why the difference? Is it a myth? A mystery? A birthright? We asked Padma Lakshmi (shown here), who should know.
“She has one of the most refined palettes I’ve ever cooked for,” Sol Han, an acclaimed chef, says on the debut of “America’s Culinary Cup,” at 9:30 p.m. Wednesday (March 4) on CBS.
And that might be a real, scientific thing. She’s been told by a scientist at the Seattle Science Museum that there are biological differences. Read more…
1) “America’s Culinary Cup” debut (shown here), 9:30-11 p.m., CBS. After 18 seasons on “Top Chef,” Padma Lakshmi knows a lot about food. Now she aims high — sleek kitchen, million-dollar prize and acclaimed chefs. One won the top international prize, another was his coach, five others have Michelin stars. The result is slick and entertaining. Read more…
Best-bets for March 9: the joys (?) of mid-life dating 
Best-bets for March 8: tough dramas in cowboy country and beyond 
Best-bets for March 7: Gosling’s back on “SNL” 
