Worth Watching: A New Killer on ‘Prodigal Son,’ ‘Voice’ Goes Live, Revisiting ‘Battle of Midway’ & More Memorial Day TV
A selective critical checklist of notable Monday TV:
Prodigal Son (9/8c, Fox): With the notorious Martin “The Surgeon” Whitley (Michael Sheen) now in solitary after last week’s outrageous antics, the intensely entertaining psychological thriller focuses on the identity of his supposed protégé, the “Junkyard Killer.” This mystery man is very good at getting under the skin and into the already tormented head of Martin’s son, NYPD profiler Malcolm (Tom Payne). As desperate as he is to stop this fiend, Malcolm is even more eager to learn more about the “girl in the box” who haunts his nightmares, among other fragmented remnants from the suppressed memories of his childhood.
NBC’s The Voice (8/7c) goes live, kicking off its playoff round, with the Top 20 singers performing before coaches Kelly Clarkson, John Legend, Blake Shelton and Gwen Stefani in hopes of making it to the Top 13. In related reality-competition news, ABC’s tainted Dancing with the Stars (8/7c) salutes boy bands and girl groups in the musical selections, but if Sean Spicer isn’t kicked off after this week, it will all feel more like a funeral dirge.
Battle of Midway: The True Story (8/7c, Smithsonian Channel): If the latest big-screen treatment of the Pacific air battle whetted your appetite, this Veterans Day special promises an hour-by-hour recount of the decisive naval engagement, focusing on the three key aircraft: the Devastator, Avenger and Dauntless… Other Veterans Day-themed documentaries include the Epix film Alive (9/8c), which tracks the recovery of injured U.S. soldiers who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, and two on PBS (check local listings at pbs.org): The Warrior Tradition (9/8c), which details the complicated history of Native Americans who serve in the U.S. military; and on Independent Lens, The Interpreters (10/9c), profiling Afghan and Iraqi interpreters who risked their lives to help U.S. troops, and their struggles to come to the U.S. afterward through the Special Immigrant Visa program.
Inside Monday TV: I grew up with Mr. Peabody and Sherman, but a new generation can get more substantial animated history lessons in the new PBS Kids series Xavier Riddle and the Secret Museum (check local listings at pbs.org), in which three inquisitive youngsters — Xavier, sister Yadina and BFF Brad — time-travel to visit such inspirational historical figures as Amelia Earhart and Charles Dickens when they were just kids… Streaming on Acorn TV: the third season of the exotic romantic dramedy The Good Karma Hospital, set in a chaotic and underfunded Southern India facility, which is rocked when one of the overburdened nursing team survives a violent attack… In another fictional hospital, San Jose St. Bonaventure of ABC’s The Good Doctor (10/9c), Dr. Shaun (Freddie Highmore) realizes his autism can help him relate to a patient isolated from others because of an immune deficiency… In the finale of HBO’s Catherine the Great (10/9c), the ruler (Helen Mirren) faces her mortality and tries to block her unworthy son from the line of succession. But it’s her bitter split with Potemkin (Jason Clarke) amid the pressures of war that will haunt her to the end of her days.
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P
I get a break tonight. Just gonna watch Christmas movies.
NCIS LA was surprisingly enjoyable last night. I guess knowing when Hetty will be back helped.
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G
Do you like the contemporary Christmas movies or the classics?
My favorites are:
It's a Wonderful Life
Miracle on 34th Street
Christmas in Connecticut
Christmas Carol
Bishops Wife
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P
I love It's a Wonderful Life!
Mostly just watch Hallmark movies, and a few of Lifetime movies, and (when they start airing them), the ones on ION.
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R
All repeats on tonight. That Midway thing on Smithsonian Channel sounds pretty interesting. Otherwise, there's JAG on WGN.
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P
I'm still on Season 8 of JAG (at the NCIS backdoor pilot!!), just really busy.
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R
I think JAG was a better show, in general. Although some seasons and story arcs were a little awkward.
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C
Looks like Prodigal Son and Good Doctor again!
Memorial Day? Did Matt really write that?
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G
Prodigal Son for me also.
Schools used to be closed today where I live now they are all open. Kind of disrespectful . Although schools are still closed for Memorial Day. I guess the deceased are more revered .
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P
It might not have been Matt but even if it was that kind of thing is ultimately Editorial's responsibility. There's also a random backslash in the first entry: "to learn more \ about". I can't believe typos like that make it through.
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C
Schools were never closed here on Veterans Day. I don't even remember it being a thing until I was an adult. Maybe that's due to it originally being Armistice Day which marked the end of WWI, and by the time we came along, there weren't a lot of people left who remembered it.
Oddly enough...our Catholic schools were closed on Columbus Day! Figure that one out!
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G
They are trying to rename Columbus Day , Indigenous Day or something like that. Not sure why schools close certain holidays and others not. Banks and post offices are all closed here. When That's why I find it odd that schools are open today. I thought they were all aligned.
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C
There are Federal Holidays and Bank Holidays ,(which aren't necessarily the same), and most schools follow what their state observes. Not sure if it's still true, but some holidays were only recognized by some states and not in others...sort of like Daylight Savings Time.
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R
Schools were closed today where I live. I *hope* that at some point, in Civics or Social Studies, the students are taught the difference between Memorial Day & Veterans Day.
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G
I guess it depends upon the district. They used to be closed where I live .
Veterans deserve a lot more respect , they fought and risked their lives for our freedom.
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G
I hope we see more of the Junkyard Killer soon. By far the most frightening antagonist we have seen on this show thus far.
Notice how uninhabited and dark the hospital was? Every hospital I have ever visited was bright and loaded with nurses, doctors , staff and patients.
Halloween II also had a similar eerie hospital as the main setting . Very scary stuff.
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C
Have you ever roamed a hospital in the middle of the night? I have, and they turn all the lights down very low as just a couple of nurses per ward tiptoe from room to room checking on patients.
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