Week In Sloth: “Neanderthal Apocalypse,” “The Muppets” And The “Streamy” Awards,

\ Sep 17, 2015

4 min read

Thursday 17

“Jeff Dunham: Unhinged in Hollywood” (KOB-4 7pm) If you’re the kind of person who thinks ventriloquists are funny, here’s a Jeff Dunham special. Country singer Brad Paisley and former UFC champion Chuck Liddell stop by. For some reason.

“Mat Franco’s Got Magic” (KOB-4 8pm) Famous Rhode Island magician (um, OK) and “America’s Got Talent” season 9 winner (sure, why not?) Mat Franco scores a TV special.

“The 5th Annual Streamy Awards” (VH1 8pm) The year’s best online videos are honored in a ceremony that should probably have been aired on YouTube.

Friday 18

“ABC Fall Preview Special” (KOAT-7 7:30pm) Ken Jeong hosts this look at the new ABC fall shows, including “Dr. Ken” starring Ken Jeong.

“We Have Issues” (E! 11:30pm) If there’s one thing E! needs, it’s more “comedy infotainment.” Here, comedians discuss the biggest pop culture news of the week. Like every other show on E!

Saturday 19

“Neanderthal Apocalypse” (History 2pm) Trust me, Syfy is very jealous of that title.

“Doctor Who” (BBC America 7pm) I’m still waiting to love Peter Capaldi—which I will as soon as he gets a well-written episode. And, much as I like Jenna Coleman, I’m pretty much over Clara as a companion. Discuss.

Sunday 20

“The 67th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards” (KASA-2 7pm) This year’s last-chance nominees include “Parks and Recreation,” “Mad Men,” “The Colbert Report” and “The Daily Show With Jon Stewart.”

Monday 21

“Life in Pieces” (KRQE-13 7:30pm) From the looks of this multigenerational dramedy, Dianne Wiest and James Brolin have replaced Bonnie Bedelia and Craig T. Nelson in “Parenthood.”

“Minority Report” (KASA-2 8pm) This spin-off of the Steven Spielberg future cop thriller follows a police detective and a precognitive psychic as they solve crimes before they happen. I’m pretty confident this sci-fi variation on the straight cop/brilliant crimesolver formula (see for reference: “Elementary,” “Monk” “The Mentalist,” et al.) has missed the entire message of the film.

“Blindspot” (KOB-4 9pm) In NBC’s heavily hyped crime series, a woman wakes up in Times Square with no memory and her body entirely tattooed with clues. How does this mysterious woman connect to an international FBI case, and why has someone gone to such cartoonishly elaborate lengths to create a mystery?

Tuesday 22

“The Muppets” (KOAT-7 7pm) The Muppets return in a mockumentary-style series à la “The Office.”

“Scream Queens” (KASA-2 7pm) A university is stalked by a serial killer in this Scream-esque horror series starring Jamie Lee Curtis, Emma Roberts, Lea Michele and Oliver Hudson. In case you couldn’t tell, it’s produced by Ryan Murphy (“Glee,” “American Horror Story”).

“Limitless” (KRQE-13 9pm) This sci-fi series is a spin-off of Bradley Cooper’s mildly successful 2011 sci-fi film about a struggling writer who becomes a financial wizard after taking an experimental pill that allows him to use “100 percent of his brain.” (That old trope!) It starts by having Cooper hand off his powers to a less expensive actor. Also, since this is TV, it’s now a crime-solving series.