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Game of Thrones
Sunday, March 31 (HBO) Season Premiere: Think you’re having a bad endless winter-spring? Wait till you see the opening scene of Game of Thrones’ Season 3 premiere, that’s all I’m sayin’. George R.R. Martin’s epic fantasy continues to pile on new characters without killing off old ones at a commensurate rate, but at least a massive army of Wildlings are trudging south for the slaughter, and Daenerys Targaryen’s cute dragons are back. If none of this makes sense to you, please begin at Season 1.
Happy Endings
Friday, March 29 (ABC)
New Night: So, yeah … you should probably watch Happy Endings while you can—being banished to Fridays is rarely a sign of longevity, even if your show wasn’t replaced by Celebrity Longboarding or whatever ABC airs on Tuesdays now. You’d think the network would want to keep this cult comedy around, since they’ve launched zero new hits this season (unless you count Neighbors, which no one should) and the replacement bench ain’t deep. Upside: There will be only 50-something hilarious episodes for you to catch up on after it’s gone, at which point you’ll ask me, “Why didn’t you tell us about Happy Endings?!” Sigh.
Doctor Who
Saturday, March 30 (BBC America)
Spring Premiere: The Only TV Column That Matters™ doesn’t claim to know much definitively about the long-long-long-running Doctor Who, other than it’s not Dr. Who (because he was a few credits short of graduating?), he usually has a cute-but-doomed sidekick (recently Karen Gillan, but …) and Alex Kingston occasionally shows up looking absolutely mental (her best look, really). As Season 7 resumes, the Doctor (Matt Smith) picks up a new time-traveling companion (Jenna-Louise Coleman, adequately cute) in present-day London and plunges headlong into battle with … Wi-Fi monsters? I knew the cloud was evil!
The Walking Dead
Sunday, March 31 (AMC)
Season Finale: Everybody’s gonna die! OK, just a couple of characters. And maybe a showrunner. Come to Brewvies Cinema Pub (677 S. 200 West, 21+) at 9 p.m.—after Geek Show Movie Night—and see who bites it.
Mr. Selfridge
Sunday, March 31 (PBS)
Series Debut: After eight seasons as Ari Gold on Entourage and a handful of questionable recent film choices (including a Miley Cyrus action flick—yes, that happened), it’s easy to doubt that Jeremy Piven could pull off much else anymore. Which is why his damned-fantastic portrayal of early-1900s retail magnate Harry Selfridge is so satisfying: Ari’s killing it! On PBS! Suck it, Turtle and Drama! American Selfridge opened Selfridge’s department store in staid 1909 London, attracting women with the then-revolutionary idea of shopping for fun rather than necessity, and by creating an “experience” (admit it: You go to Target to meditate—thank Harry). Mr. Selfridge is livelier and sexier than that other British period piece, and Piven—in every sense—sells the hell out of it. Don’t do the Entourage movie now, Jer, just don’t.
How to Live With Your Parents
Wednesday, April 3 (ABC)
Series Debut: The full title is How to Live With Your Parents (For the Rest of Your Life), but by the time you finish saying it this’ll be canceled. The setup: A single-mom divorcee (Sarah Chalke) falls on hard times and moves back in with her parents (Elizabeth Perkins and Brad Garrett). Funny cast; stale Old People and Young People Sure Are Different! execution; a waste of their and your time. I hear there’s a comedy on Friday nights you could replace this dog with in a second, ABC—tweet me.