We Like to Watch: Feb. 7th-13th, 2011

Sitcoms that are actually funny find their way to network TV, and porn stars do their thing on cable.

Maxim Staff

Feb 7, 2011

There’s a lot of TV options to choose from. Too much for any one person to completely monitor, but that doesn’t mean we’re not going to do our best to sift through all the listings and figure out what you should be watching every week…with all the highlights, lowlights and guilty pleasures you can stand.

Monday, Feb. 7th

9:00 p.m.The Chicago Code (Fox)

Apparently late winter is the new fall when it comes to networks releasing freshman series. Shows like The Chicago Code, which puts one of the most notoriously corrupt U.S. cities on blast (fictionally, of course). Code pits a new police superintendent (welcome back, Jennifer Beals!) against the long-standing corruption in the Windy City. Series creator Shawn Ryan has a pretty strong track record (The Shield, Terriers), and the Blues Brothers hung out in Chicago, so we’re in.

Tuesday, Feb. 8th

9:30 p.m.Traffic Light (Fox)

After canceling the not-as-good-as-it-should-have-been Running Wilde (which seemed like it would have dominated the surprisingly fantastic Raising Hope), Fox has another mate for Hope premiering this week. The plot sounds familiar (three college friends grow older and try to figure out their lives), but the inclusion of The Office‘s David Denman (Roy!) and Nelson Franklin (that I.T. guy!) earns a green for this Light.

Wednesday, Feb. 9th

12:37 a.m. The Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson(CBS)

Hot and funny might be the greatest combination of all time. Tuesday night/Wednesday morning’s Late Late Show has both with Emily Blunt and Patton Oswalt. The gorgeous Blunt will try in vain to sell us on the animated flick Gnomeo and Juliet (for which she provides her voice), and Oswalt will hopefully give us a solid stand-up set before sitting down with Craig Ferguson (but he’ll likely just plug his new book, Zombie Spaceship Wasteland). Regardless, we’ll get the hot and the funny in one sitting…and in this case, we’d prefer to keep them separate.

Also on Wednesday

9:30 p.m. Mr. Sunshine(ABC)

Another new show, Sunshine stars Matthew Perry and Allison Janney, who run an event center in San Diego. Perry plays the arrogant but lovable schlub that he has down to a science, which is fine. Janney gets a bit whackier than we’re used to seeing from the former West Wing star, but we appreciate the “off the deep end” approach when it comes to sitcoms. Greatly helping matters is the inclusion of Portia Doubleday (from Youth in Revolt) and the cute and funny Andrea Anders from Better Off Ted. Sunshine makes this eye candy even brighter.

Thursday, Feb. 10th

9:30 p.m. Parks and Recreation (NBC)

After an uneven first season in 2009, Parks and Rec deserved an award last year for most improved comedy series. When it didn’t come back at the beginning of this fall, we were concerned. But now that it’s made a midseason return, the series has been killing it thanks to great characters and new cast additions Rob Lowe and Adam Scott (the Party Down guy). This week’s ep sees Tom getting revenge on his boss Ron for dating his ex-wife. That involves Tom going on a date with Ron’s psycho ex, played by the cougar-ific Megan Mullaly.

THE SILVER LINING

Thursday, Feb. 10th

10:00 p.m. Ace of Cakes(Food Network)

Yes, it’s a show about desserts, but Ace of Cakes has plenty of entertainment value, especially this installment, which finds Duff Goldman and his crew designing a cake for Michael J. Fox and the other Back to the Future alums to celebrate the film’s 25th anniversary. It better be shaped like a Delorean…or at least a truck full of manure.

FORGET THE GRAMMYS

Sunday, Feb. 13th

10:00 p.m. Adult Entertainment Expo ’11 (G4)

CBS will air the Grammy Awards celebration on Sunday night—so tune in at 8 p.m. if you’re interested in seeing lots of boring, shiny celebs pat themselves on the back and sleepily lip-sync their way through last year’s hit. But the real action that night will be on G4, as they cover the 2011 Adult Entertainment Expo in Las Vegas. Sure, watching relatively clothed porn stars on a cable channel might not be the most fulfilling way to recognize their talents, but it’s gotta be better than watching Lady Gaga freak people out in a meat or Muppets dress.

Mentioned in this article: Entertainment

We Like to Watch: Feb. 7th-13th, 2011

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