Your weekly guide to TV’s best and worst one-hour shows
Call me the patron saint of lost causes — shows that fly so far under the radar, you may have missed them altogether. Mama’s here to help you catch up:
“Haven” (Thursday, 8 p.m., Syfy)
Haven suffered from bad timing for the third-season capper. The second-to-last episode included a murder at Haven High School, so Syfy bumped it from its original December airdate, in light of recent events. And rather than mix up the order of events, it decided to push back the finale, too, which now airs in this back-to-back installment. Audrey’s (Emily Rose) fate still hangs in the balance as she and Nathan (Lucas Bryant) and Duke (Eric Balfour) face off against the Bolt Gun Killer, who we recently discovered was killing townspeople so he could wear their skin and take on their identities. It’s as gross as it sounds.
“Deception” (Monday, 10 p.m., NBC)
After a lotta hoopla, this show suddenly seems like it dropped off the map. It’s compared to “The Killing” because of the red-herring-filled murder story, and “Revenge” because it’s basically another nighttime soap. But Mama prefers to compare it to “Damages,” because it wastes a talented cast and can inexplicably draw other great TV actors into its web. Exhibit A: John Larroquette guest stars in the upcoming episode.
“Last Resort” (Tonight, 8, ABC)
This show is the poster child for lost causes: After getting the pink slip halfway through its first season, the mysterious island show soldiered on to complete its first season, and even promises an ending for our wayward sub. And it looks like someone forgot to tell series stars Scott Foley and Andre Braugher that their show was canned, as they continue to act their little hearts out to the very bitter end. Tonight is the season’s penultimate episode, which features guest star Ernie Hudson as Speaker of the House.
“Suits” (Tonight, 10, USA)
It’s the second-season winter premiere for this show that takes itself a little too seriously. These guys seem to feel a lot of angst over less-than-earth-shattering matters (Patrick J. Adam’s Mike smoked some weed and slept with an old girlfriend after his grandma died. Mama did worse when her goldfish died, sans the heavy-handed musical montage.) Even counterpart “Necessary Roughness” seems more important than this series’ woes, and that’s a show about a bunch of football-team execs.