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Friday, Jul 10, 2009
Photo: the CW
God is allergic to Jell-O. Most cats show a preference for the color orange. There's a very funny comedy that you're not watching, and it's on the CW. Which one of these statements is true? Amazingly enough, the CW's "Aliens in America" (8:30 p.m. EST Mondays) is not only consistently funny, it's also charming and absurd and addictive, setting it miles apart from the CW's typical herd of superpowered teenage hotties. The story of a Pakistani exchange student named Raja who goes to live with an average family in a small town in Wisconsin could have landed in unreasonably dorky territory. Instead, the show's writers have churned out a steady stream of seriously clever scripts, dense with absurd jokes and memorable moments, making "Aliens in America" feel more like a modern, snappy update on a John Hughes film. The dorky Midwestern Tolchuck family is pitch perfect, but the big star here is Adhir Kalyan, whose spot-on performance as the hopelessly earnest and morally upright Raja is responsible for the show's most hilarious moments. (You can watch one of the best recent episodes, "Rocket Club," here.)
Fans of "Prison Break" can enjoy two solid hours of the show starting at 8 p.m. EST on Fox. The American Masters series continues with "Carol Burnett: A Woman of Character" (9 p.m. EST on PBS, check listings). On "Weeds" (10 p.m. EST on Showtime), Nancy strikes up a deal with a biker gang. And Season 2 of Court TV's true-crime series "Murder by the Book" premieres at 10 p.m. EST.
Regis and KellyABC, 9 a.m. EST | Taye Diggs, James Pickens |
The ViewABC, 11 a.m. EST | Jerry Seinfeld, Brooks & Dunn |
Ellen DeGeneresSyndicated, check local listings | Russell Crowe, Carrie Underwood |
Oprah WinfreySyndicated, check local listings | TBA |
Charlie RosePBS, check local listings | TBA |
Larry KingCNN, 9 p.m. EST | Terri Irwin |
Jon StewartComedy Central, 11 p.m. EST | Karen Greenberg |
Stephen ColbertComedy Central, 11:30 p.m. EST | David Levy |
David LettermanCBS, 11:30 p.m. EST | Meryl Streep, Jack Hanna |
Jay LenoNBC, 11:35 p.m. EST | Tommy Lee Jone, Garth Brooks |
Tavis SmileyPBS, check local listings | Valerie Plame Wilson |
Jimmy KimmelABC, 12:05 a.m. EST | William Shatner, Lisa Ling, Matt Nathanson |
Conan O'BrienNBC, 12:35 a.m. EST | Alec Baldwin, Band of Horses |
Craig FergusonCBS, 12:35 a.m. EST | Jorja Fox, Michael Franti, Spearhead |
Contributors: Megan Doll, Heather Havrilesky, Eryn Loeb, Amy Reiter
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