Ready for Plan B
Mike (Billy Gardell) decides he needs to live everyday like it’s his last after being shot during a robbery. As a result, he tells Carl (Reno Wilson) it’s time for him to quit the police force. Melissa McCarthy, Swoosie Kurtz and Katy Mixon co-star in this episode.
Mike & Molly, Monday, 9 p.m., CBS
Contagion ward
After a mysterious illness strikes children from military families, Gibbs (Mark Harmon, left) and the team investigate the cause. Meanwhile, Abby (Pauley Perrette) and Jimmy (Brian Dietzen) partner with the Naval Medical Research Center to determine the strain of illness, all in hopes of delivering a cure before the holidays. Also, Director Vance (Rocky Carroll) struggles with forgiveness as his estranged father-in-law (Ben Vereen) makes a surprise visit to his home, on another ratings-topping episode of “NCIS.”
NCIS, Tuesday, 8 p.m., CBS
A very shrill Christmas
He’s smooth as silk, that Michael Bublé (right). But this year on his Christmas special, he’s invited two loud women — Mariah Carey and Mary J. Blige — to blow the roof off the studio. Songs include “The Christmas Song,” “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer,” “I’ll Be Home for Christmas” and “Let It Snow.” For some reason, Cookie Monster (left) is a guest.
Michael Bublé’s 3rd Annual Christmas Special, Wednesday, 10 p.m., NBC
A gift from ‘Lucy’
Retro Christmas is all the rage. Didn’t a broadcast of “Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer” beat its competition? In that vein, CBS went into the vault and pulled out two vintage “I Love Lucy” episodes for the holiday season. We have, back-to-back, “The Christmas Episode,” which finds Ethel, Lucy, Ricky and Fred (from left, Vivian Vance, Lucille Ball, Desi Arnaz and William Frawley) reminiscing about how times have changed since the arrival of Little Ricky, and the classic grape-stomping episode, otherwise known as “Lucy’s Italian Movie.” After watching, everyone will feel young agai — or too damn old.
The I Love Lucy Christmas Special, Friday, 8 p.m., CBS
Brody, my Brody
For advice on pre-natal care, one should not ask Carrie Mathison (Claire Danes, above right, with Rupert Friend). While still in her first trimester, she put herself in harm’s way, taking a bullet only a few weeks after voluntarily going into a mental hospital to help smoke out another terrorist with a hyphenated name. Will she reveal the identity of the baby’s father by the season finale or keep it a secret, like January Jones? Will Saul (Mandy Patinkin) keep his job at the CIA, or go back to singing on Broadway? Will Brody (Damian Lewis) appear in more episodes in Season 4? It’s been a very uneven season on the Showtime drama, but fans of “Homeland” will keep hope alive.
Homeland, Sunday, 9 p.m., Showtime
Too much information
Masters’ (Michael Sheen) work on human sexuality culminates with a hospital-wide presentation of his and Johnson’s research findings. But when Masters attempts to push the envelope by showing risque footage, the doctors’ response to the film is not what he had hoped. Meanwhile, Haas (Nicholas D’Agosto) entertains a job offer at UCLA Hospital and considers what a move would mean for his relationship with Virginia (Lizzy Caplan, left). Meanwhile, Scully (Beau Bridges) pursues shock treatment with the hope of curing his homosexuality, but Margaret (Allison Janney) has second thoughts about the risks involved.
Masters of Sex, Sunday, 10 p.m., Showtime