SATURDAY, MAY 14
Alien Planet (Discovery, 8 p.m. ET) Premiere. Physicist Stephen W. Hawking, string field theorist Michio Kaku, NASA chief scientist James Garvin and "Star Wars" creator George Lucas are among the experts, authorities and creative folks who share their thoughts about life on other planets in this special from John Copeland, the Emmy Award-winning producer of the Discovery hit "When Dinosaurs Roamed America." The latest scientific research into this area is presented in detail, along with a simulated journey to a fictional planet named Darwin IV that supports numerous life forms. Scientists and others apply various theories of evolution and the laws of physics and chemistry to the creatures and habitats found on Darwin IV.
Astronaut Diaries: Remembering the Columbia Shuttle Crew (Science Channel, 9 p.m. ET) Premiere. Former Navy pilot and doctor Dave Brown, one of the seven astronauts who died on February 1, 2003 when the space shuttle Columbia broke apart during re-entry into the Earth's atmosphere, shot home video footage of the team in training for that voyage. His footage is seen in this program, along with interviews with family members of the lost Columbia crew. Science Channel is premiering this documentary on the eve of NASA's scheduled launch of the space shuttle Discovery.
Tracey Ullman: Live & Exposed (HBO, 9:30 p.m. ET) Premiere. Taped before a live audience at the Henry Ford Theatre in Los Angeles, actress, comedienne and long-time HBO regular Tracey Ullman presents a new autobiographical routine based on her own life history. Do people remember that Ullman's sketch series on Fox, way back in the late '90s, was the birthplace of "The Simpsons," which marked its 350th episode on May 1st?
SUNDAY, MAY 15
Survivor: Palau (CBS, 8 p.m. ET) Season Finale. Three Hours. According to CBS, the unprecedented twists, turns and overall surprises that have characterized this season of "Survivor" will continue right through to the end with "a shocking development during the final immunity challenge" that "promises to go down in 'Survivor' history." The network is also promising an especially intense session between the jury and the final two survivors, complete with angry words and lots of tears. As always, Jeff Probst will host a live reunion show immediately following the finale at 10 p.m. ET. He'll also announce the location for the next edition of the show. The reunion will be telecast from the Ed Sullivan Theater in New York City.
King Tut's Final Secrets (National Geographic Channel, 9 p.m. ET) Premiere. Photos of a new graphic rendition of King Tut have been all over television this week, with a few talk show hosts and news anchors remarking that he looked something like Barbra Streisand! On that note, check out this documentary about the research that led to that picture, featuring details and results of a high-tech forensic investigation that yielded new findings about the death of the "boy king" and the first-ever reconstruction of his head and face using 3-D CT-scan imaging, which showed what he looked like on the day he died. The CT scans seen in this program will be included in the upcoming King Tut exhibition, the first in the United States in 26 years. It opens June 16 at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and will travel to Fort Lauderdale, Chicago and Philadelphia during the next two years.
DL Hughley: Shocked & Appalled (Comedy Central, 10 p.m. ET) Premiere. Comedy Central last week announced three new late night series set to debut later this year. The first will be "Weekends at the DL," a talk show starring actor and comedian DL Hughley that will be telecast Friday, Saturday and Sunday at 11 p.m. ET beginning July 29. Here's a chance to sample Hughley's humor in an hour-long stand-up special taped in front of a live audience at New York City's John Jay College of Criminal Justice.
MONDAY, MAY 16
Everybody Loves Raymond (CBS, 8 p.m. ET) Series Finale. 90 Minutes. The ninth and final season of "Everybody Loves Raymond" draws to a close, and it really may be the end of an era, because given the creative crisis that has compromised the genre in recent years, "Raymond" looks to be the last great "traditional" situation comedy. CBS brings the show to a close with a one-hour retrospective, followed by the last-ever original episode, which series creator and executive producer Phil Rosenthal has promised will simply be another day in the lives of its characters, rather than one of those annoying final episode stories in which everything viewers have enjoyed about a series for many years is suddenly torn apart. Bravo! And speaking of "Raymond," last week's episode, which included a lengthy and hilarious sequence with Brad Garrett, Monica Horan, Doris Roberts, Peter Boyle, Georgia Engel and Fred Willard, with Ray Romano and Patricia Heaton noticeably missing but not really missed, has fueled renewed speculation that a spin-off may be in the works. That would be most welcome, as long as it's nothing like the "Friends" spin-off "Joey!"
Hercules (NBC, 8 p.m. ET) Premiere. Three Hours. Here's another one of those well-intentioned fantasy extravaganzas from Emmy Award-winning producer Robert Halmi Sr. Filmed in New Zealand, it's the latest retelling of the myth about a half-god, half-human of superhuman strength. This is not exactly a feel good story: Herc accidentally kills his three sons and sets out to perform 12 heroic labors as a collective act of redemption. His extraordinary feats of strength ultimately elevate him to a position of immortality in the heavens. Paul Telfer plays the title hero. Sean Astin of the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy, Leelee Sobieski and Timothy Dalton co-star.
TUESDAY, MAY 17
Academy of Country Music Awards (CBS, 8 p.m. ET) Live. Three Hours. Performers and presenters at the 40th annual Academy of Country Music Awards include Kenny Chesney, Alison Kraus, Brooks & Dunn, Toby Keith, Reba McEntire, Alan Jackson, Sara Evans, Brad Paisley, Keith Urban, Martina McBride, Lee Ann Womack, Tim McGraw and Muzik Mafia members Gretchen Wilson and Big & Rich. Telecast live from Las Vegas.
Gilmore Girls (The WB, 8 p.m. ET) Season Finale. Creatively speaking, this series was sucking wind a year ago, but it managed to rebound in spectacular fashion during its entertaining fifth season, which comes to a close tonight. There's breathless dialogue aplenty as Rory and Logan's plans for the future send Lorelai into full panic mode and straight into the arms of Luke. Seems young Rory is growing up fast and her stubbornly youthful mom just can't cope. Lauren Graham, Alexis Bledel, Edward Herrmann and Kelly Bishop star. Here's hoping Bishop scores a Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy nod this season. There's certainly room in the category now that "Sex and the City" is no longer with us.
House (Fox, 9 p.m. ET) Sela Ward joins the show for the final two episodes of the season, and she'll be back in season two on a recurring basis. She plays Stacy, the strong, self-assured ex-girlfriend of Dr. Gregory House and a former lawyer for Princeton Plainsboro Teaching Hospital. Stacy's back at the hospital and back in House's life seeking medical help for her husband. She's also stirring up painful memories for an increasingly bitter House.
Britney and Kevin: Chaotic (UPN, 9 p.m. ET) Series Premiere. Perhaps seeking the kind of career boost that came to Jessica Simpson and Nick Lachey by way of their popular MTV reality series "Newlyweds," pregnant pop princess Britney Spears and her husband Kevin Federline put their lives in front of the camera for this UPN summer series. The big difference is that they do so here through their own home video footage and interviews. The other big difference, of course, is that unlike Simpson and Lachey at the time of their series debut, Spears and Federline are already perilously overexposed in the media.
WEDNESDAY, MAY 18
That '70s Show (Fox, 8 p.m. ET) Season Finale. One Hour. Eric Forman bids farewell to family and friends in Point Place, Wisconsin, and heads off to a job in Africa as the seventh season draws to a close. Topher Grace, the actor who plays Eric, is leaving the show, and co-star Ashton Kutcher has said he will return next year only on a limited basis (if at all), so this is arguably the last episode of this enduring and endearing show as we know it.
American's Next Top Model (UPN, 8 p.m. ET) Season Finale. Will it be Kahlen, Keenyah or Naima? As the fourth season comes to a close the three women are in Cape Town, South Africa, where they perform in a CoverGirl Outlast makeup commercial and participate in a shoot for a CoverGirl magazine ad. The two who do the best with those challenges will then compete in a runway fashion show, and the young woman judged tops at that task will win the grand prize: Management by Ford Models, a CoverGirl contract, a fashion spread in Elle magazine and a possible stint as a house guest on an upcoming edition of VH1's "The Surreal Life." (Just kidding about that last one.)
Revelations (NBC, 9 p.m. ET) Season Finale. The End of Days is at hand, and with it, big questions indeed. If the world ends, how can NBC bring this franchise back for a second run? If Dr. Massey and Sister Jo somehow prevent the birth of the Anti-Christ and stop this Biblical prophecy from reaching its conclusion, what will they face for an encore next season? On the other hand, if this is the end of the series, will NBC let the world come to an end? That's one way to solve its ratings problems.
THURSDAY, MAY 19
CSI (CBS, 8 p.m. ET) Season Finale. Two Hours. The two CSI teams join together after one of their own is kidnapped and buried alive in this expanded episode directed by Quentin Tarantino. Tony Curtis and Frank Gorshin make cameo appearances as themselves. Tarantino also developed the story and selected much of the funky background music, one of his specialties. Tarantino has said in interviews that the experience of directing "CSI" turned him on to the idea of working in television -- so don't be surprised if he ends up creating his own series. Given the excitement surrounding his work on "CSI," it will be surprising if that series isn't on CBS.
The Apprentice (NBC, 9 p.m. ET) Live. Season Finale. All we know about the outcome of this season is that the winner will be a woman. It's down to street smart Tana versus book smart Kendra.
ER (NBC, 9:59 p.m. ET) Season Finale. Dr. John Carter leaves Chicago's County General Hospital as Noah Wyle, the actor who has portrayed Carter during all 11 seasons of this show, moves on to other things. Wyle's gone but he won't be forgotten: He has agreed to appear in four episodes of "ER" next season. Meanwhile, Danny Glover joins the series for an extended arc as Dr. Pratt's estranged father.
Green Wing (BBC America, 10 p.m. ET) U.S. Premiere. "ER" may be ending its season tonight, but this new medical series on BBC America is just beginning. Actually, "Green Wing" is largely a lunatic comedy about the sex lives of the staff at a major metropolitan hospital. It takes some getting used to, because the action is periodically run either in fast motion or at slow speed -- an irritating flourish. But as each character's quirky personality traits become clear the sense of madcap merriment only escalates. British sitcom sensation Sarah Alexander ("Coupling," "The Worst Week of My Life") stars.
FRIDAY, MAY 20
Muppets' Wizard of Oz (ABC, 8 p.m. ET) Premiere. Ashanti stars as Dorothy Gale, with Queen Latifah as Auntie Em, David Alan Grier as Uncle Henry and Jeffrey Tambor as the Wizard, in a contemporary adaptation of the L. Frank Baum book, not the beloved 1939 movie. Many Muppets are also featured, including Miss Piggy as all four witches from the original story: The Wicked Witch of the North, the Wicked Witch of the West, the Good Witch of the North and the Good Witch of the South. Kermit the Frog plays the Scarecrow, the Great Gonzo is the Tin "Thing," Fozzie Bear plays the Cowardly Lion and Pepe the King Prawn plays Toto. In this version, Dorothy lives in a Kansas trailer park and dreams of a career in show business, and only the Wizard can make that happen.
Daytime Emmy Awards (CBS, 9 p.m. ET) Live. Two Hours. Talk shows, service shows and children's shows are also honored, but the real excitement of the Daytime Emmy Awards centers on the soap opera categories. Here are our preferences: Outstanding Drama Series: "The Young and the Restless." Outstanding Lead Actor: Grant Aleksander, "Guiding Light." Outstanding Lead Actress: Kim Zimmer, "Guiding Light." Outstanding Supporting Actor: Greg Rikaart, "The Young & the Restless." Outstanding Supporting Actress: Jeanne Cooper, "The Young & the Restless." Outstanding Younger Actor: Tom Pelphrey, "Guiding Light." Outstanding Younger Actress: Eden Riegel, "All My Children."
SATURDAY, MAY 21
Our Fathers (Showtime, 8 p.m. ET) Premiere. Ted Danson, Christopher Plummer, Brian Dennehy, Ellen Burstyn and Daniel Baldwin star in an emotionally charged fact-based drama about sexually abusive priests in the Boston Diocese and the men who were victimized by them during their childhoods. Based on the book Our Fathers: The Secret Life of the Catholic Church in an Age of Scandal by Newsweek journalist David France, the film begins with a group of Boston Globe reporters breaking the horrifying story of the sexual abuse of young boys by Father John J. Geoghan and the equally shocking cover up by Cardinal Bernard Law, the archbishop of Boston. Attorney Mitchell Garabedian takes on the church, uncovering scores of men who were abused as boys and prompting thousands of men across the country to reveal their own histories of abuse by priests and expose the unfathomable disgrace of the Catholic church. Several real-life victims of sexual abuse by priests participated in the making of this film and insisted that their real names be used in the production. Dan Curtis ("Dark Shadows," "Winds of War," "War and Remembrance") directed "Our Fathers" and is one of the executive producers.
SUNDAY, MAY 22
Desperate Housewives (ABC, 9 p.m. ET) Season Finale. The biggest television phenomenon of the 2004-05 season concludes its memorable freshman year with the arrival of a new housewife on Wisteria Lane, played by Alfre Woodard. Her character will bring a troubled teenage son with her, and he ought to feel right at home, because Wisteria Lane has almost as many screwed up adolescents as adults among its colorful residents.
Queer as Folk (Showtime, 10 p.m. ET) Season Premiere. As the fifth and final season of Showtime's gay drama begins, Brian contemplates buying Babylon, Michael and Ben contemplate buying a house, Melanie and Lindsay continue maneuvering through their increasingly messy breakup and Justin enjoys the good life in L.A. while the movie adaptation of his comic book Rage is in pre-production. Oh, and poor Ted is on an eating binge and packing on the pounds. (Check out Ed Martin's recent interview with "Queer as Folk" executive producer Daniel Lipman at www.mediavillage.com archive.)