By RODNEY HO/ rho@ajc.com, originally Sunday, April 26, 2015
In the summer of 2005, ABC created a reality competition program as a summer fill-in series that I openly mocked as insanely dumb: "Dancing With the Stars."
The stars the first season included John O'Hurley, Atlanta's Evander Holyfield and soap star Kelly Monaco. About 13 million watched the first week and the show became a glorious hit. Credit the glitz, the glam and quippy host Tom Bergeron. It quickly moved to the regular season and has been a staple on ABC ever since, although the show skews rather old (average age of viewer is about 60) and has lost its results show.
We are on season 20 and to celebrate the 10th anniversary, ABC pre-taped a special that airs Tuesday at 8 p.m. featuring many former winners and participants including Monaco, Atlanta's Hines Ward, Kristi Yamaguchi, Melissa Rycroft and season 19 winner Alfonso Ribeiro.
Fox's "Family Guy" celebrates its 250th episode in a lower-key fashion Sunday while a few shows finish up their seasons: CBS's "Madam Secretary"on Sunday (renewed), Fox's "Backstrom" Thursday (on the bubble), CBS's "Mom" Thursday (renewed), CBS's "Blue Bloods" Friday (renewed), ABC's "Secrets & Lies" Sunday (on the bubble) and Fox's "Last Man on Earth" Sunday (renewed).
NBC is also doing a triple cross-over with "Chicago Fire," "Chicago P.D." and (a bit of a stretch) "Law & Order: SVU" on Wednesday.
And ABC is doing a spin-off "Shark Tank" series on Friday following the original show featuring entrepreneurs working on their businesses after their appearances on the show.
MONDAY
"Dancing With the Stars" 8 p.m. ABC — Derek Hough is injured, which would be a major blow for the show if he can't return.
"Gotham " 8 p.m. Fox — Gordon and Bullock track the Ogre.
"Love & Hip Hop Atlanta " 8 p.m. VH1 — Joseline returns just in time for Stevie's dramatic exit to rehab.
"The Voice " 8 p.m. NBC — The top 8 perform.
"Mike & Molly " 8:30 p.m. CBS — Mike finally meets his Aunt Rosemary and is bowled over by her sweet, good-natured disposition, which is entirely different from his mother's.
"The Following " 9 p.m. Fox — A hostage situation develops on the day of Joe Carroll's execution and Ryan is forced to enter the facility alone.
"Stalker " 9 p.m. CBS — Beth battles for her life when she's held captive in a remote cabin by her unhinged stalker.
"Bates Motel " 9 p.m. A&E — Romero confronts Norma about new information that has recently come to light.
"Swab Stories " 9:30 p.m. VH1 (new series) — Stories stemming from a mobile DNA-testing service. And no, Maury Povich isn't the driver.
"Turn " 10 p.m. AMC — Abe tries to recruit a new agent in New York.
" Castle " 10:01 p.m. ABC — Castle flies to London with Alexis.
" The Night Shift " 10:01 p.m. NBC — A building collapse at a rodeo injures a cowboy.
TUESDAY
"Hell's Kitchen" 8 p.m. Fox — A challenge involving exotic proteins, including alligator, ostrich and wild boar.
"Dancing in the Stars" 8 p.m. ABC (special night) — A 10th anniversary special.
"The Voice" 8 p.m. NBC — Eight become six.
"NCIS" 8 p.m. CBS — Special Agent Ned Dorneget from NCIS cyber operations assists the team.
"iZombie " 9 p.m. the CW — A pregnant woman is murdered but her baby survives.
"Deadliest Catch " 9 p.m. Discovery — A fire threatens the Cornelia Marie.
"20/20 " 10 p.m. ABC — Robin Roberts interviews Cleveland kidnapping survivors Amanda Berry and Gina DeJesus about the decade they were held captive by Ariel Castro.
"Younger " 10 p.m. TV Land — Diana tasks Liza with staging a book-launch party for a difficult author.
"Person of Interest " 10 p.m. CBS — Reese and Fusco are caught in the war between crime lords Elias and Dominic.
"Chicago Fire " 10 p.m. NBC — Sgt. Benson from "SVU" comes to Chicago to help with the CPD's investigation when an apartment fire is linked to a case of rape and attempted murder, a scenario that echoes an unsolved SVU case.
"The Runner Up " 10 p.m. Esquire (finale) — Clay agrees to go negative in his campaign after a heated discussion with his staff, but the move backfires.
WEDNESDAY
"Survivor " 8 p.m. CBS — Shirin and Mike are going to have to do some fancy tap work to survive.
"American Idol " 8 p.m. Fox — The top 5 will sing songs from the judges and their own picks.
"Criminal Minds " 9 p.m. CBS — The BAU search for a vigilante in Los Angeles when shooting victims in the area are linked to possible criminal activity.
"Chicago PD " 9 p.m. NBC (special time) — SVU's Benson, Fin and Amaro help with the investigation of a rape-murder that's similar to a decade-old case in New York as part of a cross-over episode.
"Modern Family " 9 p.m. ABC — Jay and Phil pick up Lily's hand-me-down princess castle for Joe.
" CSI Cyber" 10 p.m. CBS — Nine planes that departed from the same airport face a coordinated Wi-Fi attack while in flight.
" Hot in Cleveland" 10 p.m. TV Land — The gang buys Stormi's, but Melanie has her hands full with a temperamental chef.
" Through the Wormhole with Morgan Freeman" 10 p.m. Science (sixth season debut) — Are we all bigots?
" Law & Order: SVU" 10 p.m. NBC (special time) — A Chicago crime resembles a decade-old New York City case, so police from Chicago arrive and team up with the squad to track down a suspect they had to release earlier.
THURSDAY
"Bones" 8 p.m. Fox — The death of a celebrity chef is investigated by the team members.
"The Big Bang Theory" 8 p.m. CBS — Leonard's and Sheldon's mothers visit to watch the boys present their award-winning paper.
"Grey's Anatomy" 8 p.m. ABC — April makes a surprising decision, and it leaves Jackson baffled.
"The Blacklist" 9 p.m. NBC — After decoding the information that is embedded in The Fulcrum, Red is determined to stop the imminent threat.
"Backstrom" 9 p.m. Fox (first season finale) — Red fights for his life while the task force races to track down a mysterious figure from his past.
"Mom" 9 p.m. CBS (second season finale) — Christy puts blame squarely on Bonnie when Roscoe announces that he wants to go live with his father.
"American Crime " 10 p.m. ABC — A turn in public opinion after Aliyah's march ends in violence.
"The Comedians " 10 p.m. FX — The guys try to fix the show when the network pushes the premiere date of "The Billy & Josh Show," but they're not on the same page.
"Elementary " 10 p.m. CBS — Holmes and Watson embark on an interstate search for an escaped convict who may have murdered a judge.
"Lip Sync Battle " 10 p.m. Spike — Michael Strahan and Hoda Kotb face off.
FRIDAY
"The Amazing Race " 8 p.m. CBS — The race continues in Trujillo and Otuzco, Peru.
"Shark Tank" 8 p.m. ABC — CSinger Pat Boone appears to help pitch an eco-friendly car.
"Whose Line Is It Anyway? " 8:30 p.m. the CW — Keegan Michael Key.
"Beyond the Tank " 9 p.m. ABC (new series) — A "Shark Tank" companion series follows the show's entrepreneurs as they try to grow their businesses.
"Bitten " 9 p.m. Syfy — Elena finds herself the subject of painful tests in an off-the-grid compound.
"Hawaii Five-O " 9 p.m. CBS — Kono fights for her life when she encounters rough weather on a solo catamaran trip.
"Blue Bloods " 10 p.m. CBS (fifth season finale) — One of the Reagans is shot by a gang member.
"Psychic Matchmaker " 10:30 p.m. TLC (new series) — Sounds like Patti Stanger meets the Long Island Medium.
WEEKEND
"Cleveland Abduction" 8 tonight Lifetime — The true story of Michelle Knight, a 21-year-old single mom who was abducted by Ariel Castro in Cleveland and held captive in his home for more than 11 years, along with two other young women.
"Outlander" 8 tonight Starz — Problems arise with the return of a redcoat deserter from Jamie's past, and Jamie and Ian join The Watch, while Claire tends to Jenny.
"Saturday Night Live" 11:29 tonight NBC — Scarlett Johnansson hosts
"Madam Secretary" 8 p.m. Sunday CBS (first season finale) — Elizabeth flashes back to when she turned down a job offer by then-CIA Director Dalton that would have changed the course of her life.
"A.D. The Bible Continues" 9 p.m. Sunday NBC — Pilate closes in on an assassin.
"Game of Thrones" 9 p.m. Sunday HBO — Jaime and Bronn sneak into Dorne by sea, but their arrival isn't the secret they'd hoped it would be.
"Family Guy" 9 p.m. Sunday Fox (250th episode) — Peter boasts that he could beat Liam Neeson in a fight.
"Secrets & Lies" 9 p.m. Sunday ABC (first season finale) — Ben tries to relax and enjoy the Christmas he missed with his family when he's certain he didn't cause Tom's death.
"The Good Wife" 9 p.m. Sunday CBS — Alicia recalls her earlier days as a lawyer when a former client calls her after being charged with a murder that is tied to a case from 2009.
"The Last Man on Earth" 9 p.m. Sunday Fox (first season finale) — Phil and Carol make peace.
"The Royals" 10 p.m. Sunday E! —A n assassination attempt puts the royal family on lockdown inside the palace safe room.
"Mad Men" 10 p.m. Sunday AMC — Don receives a reward for his work.
"Penny Dreadful" 10 p.m. Sunday Showtime (second season debut)— Vanessa is barraged by an onslaught of disturbing occult images.
"Happyish" 11 p.m. Sunday Showtime — Thom loses his couch and gets a lesson in corporate America from Jonathan that involves German pornography.
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