We’re back with some television news for you to fall into.

Only a handful of years since his last retirement from The Tonight Show, it appears that the curtain is closing on Jay Leno once again in 2014. As expected, he will be passing the torch to Saturday Night Live alum and Late Night host Jimmy Fallon. This time around it seems much more likely that Leno will not steal the show back as he did when Conan O’Brien took over the hosting duties in 2009. Speaking of Conan, his own late night show over on TBS has been renewed through November of 2015.

With Fallon moving to The Tonight Show, rumors have begun about who might replace him on Late Night with the frontrunner seemingly being fellow SNLer Seth Meyers. Personally I think Meyers would be a great fit.

USA Network has announced their summer slate premiere dates! Lets start with Burn Notice (pictured left), the spy action series will start its seventh season on Thursday, June 6 at 9pm. It will be followed by the new series Graceland, which stars Daniel Sunjata and Aaron Tveit. Like Burn, the series is an action drama (and I’m sure it will have its share of lighthearted fare).  A week later on Wednesday June 12th, Royal Pains and Necessary Roughness’ new seasons begin. Pains at 9pm and Roughness at 10pm. Then you’ll have to wait almost another week for the return at Covert Affairs and Suits on Tuesday June 16th (also 9pm and 10pm).

The only standout USA Network show missing from the lot is White Collar, which will return with a new season in the fall (hey, they have to save something for their fall schedule).

Spoilers! Turn away if you have not watched the season finale of The Walking Dead. The third season of the zombie survival drama was really strong up until the last couple episodes. It went out without the bang everyone was expecting and that AMC hyped so loudly. It did have its fair share of surprises, including the fact that the season’s villain, the Governor (David Morrissey), survived. Everyone that I know (and myself) included counted on him being killed and we were taking bets on who would/should do it (Maggie and Michonne topped the list of would-be killers). AMC has announced that Morrissey will indeed be back next season as a regular. I honestly have no idea where they could take this character. I guess he can go out and build a new army to attack the prison- but how can they do this and keep things fresh? We shall see when The Walking Dead returns in October.

Bingo. The classic game that mixes puzzle and chance. It has always been one of my favorite forms of gambling (especially when when I was little and it was for prizes). The last time I played was on a cruise and I was lucky enough to win a free drink. This of course led me to want to play every round offered over the course of the vacation, which leads me to the point of this Bingo discussion. The addictive quality of Bingo has been underused in television and movies, but when it is used, it is very effective for laughs.

There are of course many ways besides cruise ships to play Bingo. There are professional tournaments, games held at churches and community centers, fairs, and nowadays you can even play online at websites such as www.partybingo.com. The options for finding your own game to join are endless. In television that is another story. You have to search high and low to find the classic game featured anywhere. Sure, there was the short lived ABC gameshow National Bingo Night in 07, followed by Bingo America on GSN, which lasted until 09. But before reading this article, did you even know these gameshows existed?

What brings about this sudden urge to chat about Bingo? Well, just this past week NBC’s Matthew Perry comedy Go On was smart enough to feature the game in its new episode. It used a church game of Bingo attended by Perry’s character Ryan to set off the chain of events for the rest of the episode and got some laughs along the way.

Of course this pales in comparison to the hysterical use of Bingo back in the sit-com Roseanne. You remember the episode I’m talking about. Barr’s title character reluctantly goes to a game of Bingo on a girl’s night out only to win fifty bucks. From there she goes all out, with the big hair, multiples boards and markers and becomes a “pro” (pictured to the right). She only stops playing when her family literally carries her out of the game.

Any I missing any classic uses of Bingo? What is your favorite television show or movie to use the game?

Dirty Sexy Money will always have a special place in my heart because for all of its spoils. It was both a show about an outsider looking in and a show about an insider wanting out. A sexy soap that didn’t go too over the top- the series died prematurely thanks to the Writer’s Strike. Deception premieres tonight on NBC with a plot very similar to Dirty Sexy Money- however, it’s taking a cue from ABC’s soap Revenge by adding in a central murder mystery.

Starring Megan Goode, Victor Garber, and Tate Donovan among others, NBC put the pilot for the show on its website about a week ago. I saw it and I have to say, it’s a lot better then I expected. The gist of the show is that a San Francisco detective (Goode) goes undercover after the murder of the daughter of an affluence family, a family her mother use to work for and whom was close to the murdered daughter before drifting out of their lives for years. There is a twist in the investigation because it’s soon revealed that the detective isn’t just investigating the daughter’s murder but all the members of the family for another crime. Though I’m not going to give a full review of the pilot, I will say that there are definitely some stand out moments along with a few head scratchers, in the way of character choices and even acting choices. This is one of those pilots where you’re not missing much if you decide to skip it but it has enough potential to be a decent series going forward. Nothing groundbreaking here.

Offiical Description, “Pilot”: The death of wealthy party girl Vivian Bowers doesn’t add up for FBI agent Will Moreno (Laz Alonso), especially in a family as suspicious as the Bowers. Convinced that the tabloid staple’s death was a homicide, he recruits his former SFPD partner and Vivian’s childhood best friend, Joanna Padget Locasto (Meagan Good) to re-establish ties with the Bowers. Determined to find justice for her estranged best friend, Joanna infiltrates the dynasty she once considered family, and quickly begins to uncover why Vivian’s life was very much in danger.

Check Deception out at 10:00pm on NBC. What else is on tonight?

8PM

USA: WWE Monday Night Raw (wrestling)
ABC: The Bachelor (reality)
NBC: The Biggest Loser (reality)
PBS: Antiques Roadshow (docu)
ABCFAM: Switched at Birth (drama)
CARTOON: Regular Show (comedy)
VH!: Love & Hip Hop (drama)

9PM

ABCFAM: Bunheads (family drama)
FOX: The Mob Doctor (crime drama)
PBS: Market Warriors (docu)
HIST: American Pickers (reality)
HGTV: Love It or List It (docu)
OWN: Shocking Family Secrets (docu)
TLC: Cake Boss: Next Great Baker (competition)

10PM

HIST: Pawn Stars (reality)
ABC: Castle (crime drama)
PBS: POV (news showcase)
A&E: The Haunting of… (docu)
BRAVO: The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills (reality)
FOOD: Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives (docu)
MTV: Teen Mom 2 (reality)

In the last Pit column we talked about some movie news, including Ghostbusters 3, the next Muppets adventure, and FOX’s upcoming reboot of Marvel Comic’s Fantastic Four. Today lets look at some television news bits.

Lets start with a show that has been breaking Cable ratings records left and right, the AMC zombie horror series The Walking Dead. The show had it’s Mid-Season finale and left us with a reunion and a cliffhanger to keep us on our toes until it is back on the air come February 10th. The network will also be giving us something pretty cool to chew on starting on February 14th; an encore presentation of the first and second season of the show broadcast is beautiful black and white- just like the comic the show is based on. AMC previously did this with just the pilot, but it will be pretty awesome to see more episodes in a style that is close to the comic book. Speaking about the comic (spoilers), this past week issue #105 hit stands and sees Carl across enemy lines after confronting Neegan last issue. The official description for the issue is short and to the point, “Sing me a song.” Will Carl live through this?

Cult fan favorite Gillian Anderson will be returning to television after a ten year break. The X-Files star will be joining NBC’s upcoming prequel to the Hannibal series of books for an undetermined amount of episodes. She joins Mads Mikkelsen, who portrays the title character made famous by Anthony Hopkins, and Hugh Dancy who steps in as FBI agent Will Graham, who was expertly portrayed by William Petersen in  Michael Mann’s Manhunter and later by Edward Norton in Brett Ratner’s sub-par Red Dragon. Anderson’s character will get to look into just what makes Hannibal tick as she is described as “Dr. Lecter’s personal psychiatrist” by Bryan Fuller, the creator of the new series. Fuller is the man behind Dead Like Me, Wonderfalls, and Pushing Daisies. Most recently he tried to revive/reboot the Munsters with Mockingbird Lane.

After failing hard last year with H8R and more recently having mediocre results with the musical chairs inspired game show Oh Sit! (which was renewed for a second season), The CW is getting back into the reality game with two new shows; The Hunt and Perfect Score. The Hunt is the CW’s attempt at building their own version of Survivor meets The Hunger Games. They describe the show as an “intense wilderness competition” that sees twelve teams of two players facing off in games to test their survival skills and endurance.  The second new show, Perfect Score,is a dating game show that gives players the chance to win cash prizes if they are able to identify their “perfect match”. Neither show has a premiere date. On the narrative side, The CW also has a young Wonder Woman series tentatively titled Amazon in the works as a complement to Arrow. In the very least you need to give props to the Network for keeping their slate fresh and with a lot of variety.

This is it folks, we’ve finally reached the midseason finale of Revolution and I have to say, I never expected the show to be so bland. Everything about the show has felt wrong up to this point. The show, which has been trying to capture a Lost meets The Walking Dead vibe, has not been sitting well with me. It features standout actors from other big shows such as Giancarlo Esposito (Breaking Bad) and Elizabeth Mitchell (Lost), but has never lived up to its potential set from that wicked first trailer that was released back in May.

I have a few theories about this. First, I think it has something to do with the fact that the series features leads that are way too cleaned up for a show that’s set in a post-apocalyptic (or should I say “power”) world. Everybody looks so clean, especially the group that’s been trekking for the better part of eight or nine episodes. These people just look like they keep hitting showers left and right when we know damn well in the story that they have not. Second, and this is the series’ big problem, who’ll gain the power of the pendants hasn’t been utilized enough and are only teased at a level that reminds me of a teaser from FlashForward and/or The Event. These were two event series that only lasted a season. Finally, the big bad Monroe Republic has been thwarted at every turn by the main group led by Miles Matheson and just cannot get a win. When the British girl died, I felt like the show was willing to take risks, until you realize she died by a non-Monroe army adversary. And that also reminds me, the show is not willing to take any risks. (SPOILERS FOLLOW FOR THE WALKING DEAD) The reason people love The Walking Dead is because it does not give a damn about who it takes the life of — in the comics a baby is killed — and I’m pretty sure that same baby won’t last two seasons of the show.

Now, for all of its downfalls, Revolution is still an entertaining series that is only in its first season, and it is my belief that for this show to succeed it’s going to need a kickass fall finale, or else it’ll lose a ton of viewers. They’ve teased a clash between the two groups and if they don’t meet up until the end of the episode, I’ll be pissed… The downside of this finale is that it’s the last episode of the series to air until late February/Early March so now I have to ask… will that hiatus kill this still promising series? My feeling is it’s going to wound the hell of it.

Episode Description, “Nobody’s Fault But Mine”: In the gang’s quest to rescue Danny, the time has come for Miles and Monroe to meet face to face. Meanwhile, on the verge of reuniting with her brother, Charlie is conflicted by a shocking discovery and Rachel tests Monroe’s patience.

8PM

ABC: Dancing with the Stars: All-Stars (reality competition)
CBS: How I Met Your Mother/The Big Bang Theory (comedies)
FOX: Bones (crime drama)
NBC: The Voice (reality competition)
CW: 90210 (drama)
USA: WWE Monday Night Raw (wrestling)
VH1: Basketball Wives LA (reality)

9PM

ABC: Extreme Makeover: Home Edition (reality)
CBS: 2 Broke Girls/Mike & Molly (comedies)
FOX: The Mob Doctor (drama)
CW: Gossip Girl (drama)
A&E: Intervention (reality)
DSC: American Chopper (reality)
TLC: Cake Boss: Next Great Baker (reality competition)

10PM

HIST: Pawn Stars (reality)
ABC: Extreme Makeover: Home Edition (reality)
CBS: Hawaii Five-0 (crime drama)
OWN: Dateline on OWN (news showcase)
MTV: Teen Mom 2 (reality)
ID: Disappeared (docu)
Tru: Vegas Strip (reality)

Revolution is slowly moving away from the Lost comparisons and is quickly finding its own voice as it heads into steampunk territory. The idea that people have to go to war with swords, arrows, and muskets in the future is insanely cool and Eric Kripke, JJ Abrams, and the team seem to be crafting a truly original show. The issues that I have with the show, so far, are that the flashbacks are feeling a little too forced and the big mystery is not being executed as well as it could be. Still though, in terms of Monday broadcast drama programming, it is better then Hawaii Five-0. You can check out my thoughts on the pilot by heading over here and if you enjoy the show you’ll be happy to hear that NBC has given the show a full season order. The series stars Billy Burke, David Lyons, Tracy Spiridakos, Elizabeth Mitchell, Zak Orth, Daniella Alonso, and Breaking Bad baddie Giancarlo Esposito.

Official Episode Description, “The Plague Dogs”: Charlie and Nora rescue Miles from the militia before they set off to reunite with Aaron and Maggie. Meanwhile, Nate shadows Charlie and Miles.

The new episode airs tonight on NBC at 10pm. What else can you catch tonight?

8PM

CBS: How I Met Your Mother/Partners (comedies)
ABC: Dancing with the Stars: All-Stars (reality competition)
FOX: Bones (crime drama)
NBC: The Voice (reality competition)
CW: 90210 (drama)
ABCFAM: Switched at Birth (teen drama)
USA: WWE Monday Night Raw (wrestling)

9PM

A&E: Hoarders (docu)
CBS: 2 Broke Girls/Mike & Molly (comedies)
FOX: The Mob Doctor (crime drama)
CW: Gossip Girl (drama)
TNT: Major Crimes (crime drama)
OXYGN: The Bad Girls Club (reality)
BRAVO: The Real Housewives of NYC (reality)

10PM

ABC: Castle (crime drama)
CBS: Hawaii Five-0 (crime drama)
A&E: Intervention (docu)
HGTV: House Hunters/House Hunters International (docu)
FOOD: Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives/$24 in 24 (food docu)
OWN: Undercover Boss (docu)
MTV: Ridculousness/The Inbetweeners (comedies)

Tonight kicks off the second season of Grimm, NBC’s fairy tale inspired horror/crime drama. The series stars David Giuntoli as Nick Burkhardt, a Portland police detective who discovered that he was one of the last “Grimms”, a long line of guardians who are charged with keeping the balance between the humans and mysthological creatures such as werewolves and reapers. (season one spoilers) As the first season ended, Nick attempted to tell his wife that he was a Grimm, but before he could she was poisoned and fell into a coma. We were left if a few cliffhangers as Nick was saved by a mysterious woman, who revealed herself to be his mother and Nick’s wife’s eyes snapped open revealing them to be black.

Grimm season 2, episode 1 “Bad Teeth”
Official Episode Description: Nick tries to deal with his mother’s unexpected return as the second season begins. Meanwhile, a foreign plot to hunt down Nick comes to light; Rosalee and Monroe attempt to awaken Juliette from her coma; Hank processes some new information; and Capt. Renard works to reconnect with his estranged brother.

Check out the second season premiere of Grimm at 10pm on NBC. The series stars David Giuntoli, Russell Hornsby, Bitsie Tulloch, and Silas Weir Mitchell.

What else is on tonight?

8PM

ABC: Bachelor Pad (reality scum)
CW: Perez Hilton All Access: Lady Gaga (news showcase)
FOX: Hotel Hell (reality)
NBC: Stars Earn Stripes (reality)
ABCFAM: The Secret Life of the American Teenager (drama)
CARTOON: Regular Show (animation)
USA: WWE Monday Night Raw (wrestling)

9PM

FOX: Hell’s Kitchen (reality cooking)
A&E: Intervention (docu)
ABCFAM: Bunheads (drama)
BBC: Top Gear (docu)
BRAVO: The Real Housewives of New York City (reality)
TNT: The Closer (crime drama)
SYFY: Warehouse 13 (supernatural)

10PM

ABC: The Glass House (reality)
A&E: Intervention (docu)
FOOD: Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives (docu)
HGTV: (10:30PM) House Hunters International (docu)
MTV: Teen Wolf (supernatural)
SYFY: Alphas (sci-fi)
TNT: Major Crimes (crime)