Worth Watching: RIP ‘iZombie,’ TCM’s Summer Under the Stars, Sherlock’s Dad Returns to ‘Elementary’
A selective critical checklist of notable Thursday TV:
iZombie (8/7c, The CW): Mmm, brains. Wow, so many ends of eras lately on The CW. Crazy Ex-Girlfriend signed off this spring, and this week we’re saying fare-thee-well to Jane the Virgin and now this quirky horror comedy. It reaches a climax in the human-vs.-zombie war, as Liv (Rose McIver) reunites with Major (Robert Buckley) once she flies back to Seattle with Ravi (Rahul Kohli) and Clive (Malcolm Goodwin), bearing a possible cure for zombies that could bring all of this mess to a close.
Summer Under the Stars (begins at 6 am/5c, TCM): Forget dog days. Turner Classic Movies makes summer bearable with the annual August extravaganza devoting each 24-hour period to a cinema legend’s body of work. First up: an all-time favorite, Henry Fonda, whose prime time showcase features his work in comedy — Preston Sturges’ uproarious 1941 The Lady Eve (8/7c), in which con woman Barbara Stanwyck sets her sights on a nerdy scientist — and drama, with Sidney Lumet’s indelible 1957 version of 12 Angry Men (10/9c), where Fonda sweats it out trying to convince the other 11 members in a jury room not to rush to judgment. For contrast, he’s on the other side of the law as The Wrong Man (6/5C), asserting his innocence in Alfred Hitchcock’s stark 1956 drama.
Elementary (10/9c, CBS): A father-son reunion sparks this chapter of the crime drama’s final season when Morland Holmes (John Noble) returns, this time to give aid to his son, Sherlock (Jonny Lee Miller). Good old bad old Morland puts his criminal network to good use to help Sherlock and Watson (Lucy Liu, who directs the episode) in their mission to take down billionaire Odin Reichenbach’s (James Frain) crime-prevention system.
Inside Thursday TV: In advance of a revival later this year, Spectrum Originals has made all seven seasons of the beloved sitcom Mad About You available for screening on demand… Another binge opportunity, when TV One celebrates National Girlfriends Day with a 12-hour marathon of the popular sitcom Girlfriends (starting at 6 am/5c), starring a pre-black-ish Tracee Ellis Ross… The NFL preseason kicks off with NBC’s Hall of Fame Game (8/7c) from Canton, Ohio, where the Denver Broncos take on the Atlanta Falcons. Let the games begin… Though divorced, Christina Anstead and Tarek El Moussa are back in business with a new season of HGTV hit Flip or Flop (9/8c), transforming a rundown four-bedroom home in the premiere… True-crime fans may be fascinated by SundanceTV’s No One Saw a Thing (11/10c), recounting a 1981 incident in Skidmore, Missouri, where the town bully is shot and killed on Main Street with 60 people in attendance — and yet no one admits to having any memory of witnessing the actual event.
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O
Yes! Girlfriends is one of those shows I loved watching on UPN as a kid. A much better show than Blackish and a much better role for Tracee who was horribly snubbed by the emmys back then. Also, looking forward to Elementary and Morland's return. I'll admit even though I feel like the show has gotten too procedural and too dry over the last couple years, I will say that I still love to watch this show and it's gonna hurt not being able to watch a new Elementary ever again. I hope the series finale is really satisfying because this show deserves to go out with a bang. The pilot was wonderful, the first three seasons were the best and had the most fun absurd crimes Sherlock and Watson should always be solving while the middle seasons haven't been as strong in the classic complex and absurd murder mystery vain and you can tell the cast has gotten a bit bored with the show in their performances sometimes, overall its had a great legacy and consistent enjoyment to it.
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G
Yes, I also loved Girlfriends!! I don't laugh much when watching Blackish. Although I do love Ross.
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O
The show was actually a really good show the first couple of seasons but they got too into themselves after all the praise and lost the spark they once had. I don't even know who watches it anymore.
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G
Too preachy for me. Not into comedies that try teaching lessons . Just be funny!
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O
I agree. I think adults don't want or need to be taught "lessons" leave that to Sesame Street lol my favorite comedies are just hysterically funny shows with great and interesting characters like Mama's Family, Married with children, The Jeffersons, Sanford and Son, Seinfeld, Spin City, Just Shoot Me, Frasier, Cheers, Everybody Loves Raymond, The Odd Couple, The Parkers, Night Court, Fresh Prince of Bel Air, Amen, The Golden Girls, Girlfriends, Martin, The Middle, Last Man Standing. all hysterically funny shows that did their job and did it well.
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G
Very true.
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R
I'll be watching The Outpost and Elementary. Sad that the latter show is in its final season.
I've seen promos for "No One Saw a Thing," and it looks pretty interesting. Since it airs at 11pm, I don't think I'll be watching, though. Maybe I can catch it via on-demand.
BTW, check local PBS listings. They may be airing some interesting stuff tonight about space & astronomy. Ancient Skies talks about our exploration of Earth, flat-earth theory, etc. And then NOVA is about giant Jupiter. I saw a little of both shows last night, and found them good. I hope to catch up a little more with them tonight.
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C
Tonight it's MasterChef, the series finale of iZombie (sob!), Baskets, and a new season of Million Dollar Listing New York!!!
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G
Did you watch The InBetween yet? I was dozing off toward the end and couldn't figure out who killed the lady and why.
I did fully comprehend the dead musician's story.
Tonight The Outpost and Reef Break.
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C
I saw it, but I really can't remember.
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