RARE TELEVISION ALERT! The 136th Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show

9-9:30PM

Animal Planet, TV-14

"Weird, True & Freaky"

"Did you know some hedgehogs crave nicotine? I'm blaming the stress of having a sex partner who's covered in sharp quills."

 

American Experience

Episode: Roads to Memphis (NEW)

The entwined stories of assassin James Earl Ray and his target, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

* NEW

9:00 - 10:30 PM PBS

 

When they stop thirteen year old girls from voting as much as they want.

 

Tom Cruise's Les Grossman is hilarious. He should portray that role more. It was the best part of Tropic Thunder.

 

Well, that was even more horrible than I expected.

 

I liked the MTV Movie Awards as a kid but I just haven't been able to stand it for the past several years. It's like you bottle every ounce of lack of culture into a room and the MTV Movie Awards is what you'll get.

 

It was enjoyable when they used to do movie spoof skits. Those comedy bits last night were awful. Stunt kids? The Swagger thing? Come on. Those aren't funny.

 

Will the last person to leave MTV please turn out the lights?

 

9-10PM
TBS

Ellen's Somewhat Special Special

"She may already be a judge on American Idol, but it seems Ellen DeGeneres is angling for a spot on America's Got Talent, too. For her fourth TBS variety special, the comedian will serve as ringmaster for a potpourri of acts ranging from country trio Lady Antebellum to Saturday Night Live writer John Mulaney to a ridiculously strong French gymnast nicknamed the Flag Man who can suspend himself parallel to the ground while holding on to a metal pole. ''I thought I was the only one who could do that,'' jokes DeGeneres. ''I was like, 'How is there someone else who does this too? Let's book him.' '' As for the show's title, DeGeneres says it's all about managing expectations: ''There are a million specials. What really is special anymore? I almost called it Ellen's Really S---ty Show.'' ?Dave Karger"

 

Various
ABC, CBS, NBC, PBS
Toby-Keith_150

Fourth of July Celebrations

"July 4th isn't just about gorging on hot dogs and whatever patriotic dessert (usually involving blueberries, strawberries, and some form of whipped cream) your BBQ host has cooked up. It's also the night of competing fireworks and music specials! On NBC, you've got the Macy's 4th of July Fireworks Spectacular (9-10 p.m.) from New York City with a performance by screech-inducing Justin Bieber. Over at CBS' Boston Pops Fireworks Spectacular (10-11 p.m.), Craig Ferguson hosts and Toby Keith sings from ? you guessed it ? Boston. Jimmy Smits and Darius Rucker will rock Independence Day from D.C. with A Capitol Fourth on PBS (8-9:30 p.m.). And ABC wins the huh? award by airing its America Celebrates July 4th at Ford's Theatre (9-10 p.m.) on...July 2? Maybe host Ty Burrell (Modern Family) is playing a joke on performer Kelly Clarkson? Or maybe they just had other Independence Day plans."

 

9-10PM
HBO
Homeless: The Motel Kids of Orange County

''Home? I don't really know what that means,'' says 6-year-old Rudee, who lives in a Southern California pay-by-the-week motel, where homeless families stay because they can't pay rent. Director Alexandra Pelosi (daughter of Nancy) points her lens at this national tragedy (one in 50 American kids experiences homelessness, we're told) without making this already heartbreaking documentary overly melodramatic. As is, the powerful images of a child picking a gun out of a Dumpster as others play in the Disneyland parking lot (because they can't afford to go in) won't leave you anytime soon." A-

 

'Kung Fu Panda Holiday Special'

"Kung Fu Panda" (2008) took martial arts far more seriously than "Shrek" ever did fairy tales or "Madagascar" zookeeping. Likewise, its holiday special feels a lot more sincere than other DreamWorks yuletide tie-ins. With our roly-poly panda torn between spending time with his father and officiating as Dragon Warrior during Winter Feast, "KFP" emphasizes the importance of family and togetherness even if it?s a little more ?Hi-yah!? in tone than ?Ho ho ho!? And thankfully, Po does not appear in a Santa suit, despite possessing the requisite girth."

 

8-9PM | DISCOVERY
How Beer Saved the World

"I'm very much looking forward to watching this documentary. Even if it does address a question I personally didn't need answered."

 

February 13:

Masterpiece Classic

Episode: Any Human Heart (NEW)

"After gaining success as a novelist, Logan Mountstuart finds love and adventure abroad."

* NEW

9:00 - 10:30 PM PBS

 

8-9PM | USA
135th Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show

"It's the time of year when we ask ''Who let the dogs out (but only after they received a thorough grooming)?''

This competition has a malign fascination.

Okay, I own a dog, or as we say in Canada, I am the guardian of a dog.

 

American Masters

Episode: Carole King and James Taylor (NEW)

"Musicians launched careers during the 1960s at the Troubadour in Los Angeles, including Carole King, James Taylor, Randy Newman, and Jackson Browne."

* NEW

8:00 - 9:30 PM PBS

 

8-9PM
HALLMARK

Martha Stewart Presents: Men Who Make Us Laugh

"It should be surprising that a woman who's able to make bird napkin rings also has a sense of humor. But anyone who's seen La Martha play the straight woman on a late-night talk show knows she can hold her own with funny folk, like tonight's subjects, Conan O'Brien and Saturday Night Live's Seth Meyers. ''I get along really well with comedians and kids, for some reason,'' says Stewart, who interviewed Conan on the set of his TBS show and put Meyers to work doing chores on her farm. ''I like to talk to them about real things. I don't care about the crap.'' Yep, Martha Stewart said ''crap.''

 

9-10PM
FOX
Mobbed_175

Mobbed

''This is the biggest production undertaking with no net that has been tried by any network,'' says the painfully immodest exec producer and host Howie Mandel about his flash-mob special. Tonight, a commitment-phobic guy proposes to his girlfriend after performing alongside 1,000 people who all of a sudden break out in a dance routine choreographed by So You Think You Can Dance's Tabitha and Napoleon. ''Flash mobs have been around for decades,'' says Mandel. ''But we're using them as a way to convey a secret message in a public, embarrassing way.'' Should the special become a series, Mandel promises flash mobs dedicated to someone coming out of the closet, finding out she's pregnant, and even getting fired. ''This show is uncomfortable and awkward,'' says Mandel. ''But you can still tap your feet to it.''


Sounds like "Candid Camera" crossed with "Glee"...

 

Dawn of the Nazis
Episode: Becoming Hitler
PREMIERE
NEW

The Great War of 1914 turns Adolf Hitler into a rabid racist obsessed with the mission of saving Germany.

TV-14 (V)

8:00 - 9:00 PM NGC

 

Republican Debate

Episode: Your Voice, Your Vote: Republican Presidential Candidate Debate in Iowa
LIVE

GOP presidential candidates discuss issues in Des Moines, Iowa; moderated by Diane Sawyer and George Stephanopoulos.

CC

9:00 - 11:00 PM ABC

 

8-11PM
USA

The 136th Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show

"The three-hour finale, at the end of which we find out which pooch is Best in Show. Perhaps at 11:01 we should all take a moment to acknowledge the cleaning staff at Madison Square Garden whose lives are not so fun right about now."