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Next Week in TV 12/31: Starting 2018 with a Bang!!

By Mario Wario, DRWHO42 & Alyssa

Great Scott! 2018 is here!?

Yep, it’s true. It’s time to say good-bye and say hello to a brand new year. Now will we finally get our flying cars and legit hover boards in 2018? Maybe, hopefully (probably not), but this week in television is filled with a lot of content. The blog can safely say that with absolute certainty. So, let’s take a look.

With December 31 being the very last day of 2017, your annual New Year’s Eve specials will be dominating the airwaves. Trust us, like a giant buffet, your selection will be quite good in this category, so have fun! Onward to 2018, Monday is all about the 129th Rose Parade taking place in Pasadena, California. Not only you’ll be seeing amazing floats left and right on TV, but most likely you will be sick of seeing the gorgeous weather on-screen when comparing it to your super cold location. (So let the hate flow through you; we understand here at the blog.) Coverage of the parade can be found on ABC and on Amazon at 11 a.m. Eastern. But do check your local listings to see what other network is covering the event.

Also dominating that day will be college football. For instance, the 104th Rose Bowl Game presented by Northwestern Mutual will be getting the spotlight on ESPN, with No. 3 Georgia taking on No. 2 Oklahoma. It should be noted that this is a College Football Playoff semifinal game. But you’re still hungry for some more foos-ball? Then try the Allstate Sugar Bowl on ESPN later that night. In this second semifinal matchup, No. 4 Alabama will be meeting their favorite buddy No. 1 Clemson for another year. The winners of these two major bowls will be going to the championship game next Monday.

Now to the shows highlighted in red!

On January 3, get ready because The Blacklist (on NBC) and The X-Files (on Fox) will be back in action with a vengeance! No, not like Die Hard just it’s good to know that James Spader is returning from his short winter vacation. As for The X-Files, it’s also good to have the series back after that super long break.

As for January 4, The Big Bang Theory and Young Sheldon, both CBS shows will be having their winter premiere parties. Meanwhile, SYFY’s Van Helsing will be doing the season finale dance with the conclusion of its second season. Likewise, for Ghost Wars (which is another SYFY series) but for its first season.

Moving on to the very next day, the ever popular Marvel’s Agents of Shield will be waking up from its brief Odinsleep. As always, the series is on the ABC network.

Saturday night will feature a return of the dreamscape sci-fi drama Falling Water. Our writer, Miclpea, got an advance look at the premiere an was very impressed. His article will be released later today so be sure to check this site later today for his article.

A new show not to be missed is, Will Ferrell’s LA to Vegas staring Dylan McDermott. The first reviews are very good for this half hr sitcom. Unfortunately early impressions are not so favorable to FOX’s other freshman drama 9-1-1 on Wednesday.  Three other new sciency series  include Tesla, inventor of the 20th century (radio, cell phone, and a death ray(?)). Building Giants, takes us into the innovative new super structures like Atlanta’s new stadium with its eight-petal retractable roof. Mega Machines looks at high tech hovercrafts and search & rescue helicopters.

For the Winter Olympic enthusiasts Friday and Saturday will be right up your alley with the Women and Men World Figure Skating Championships.  As for everything else not highlighted in red or not mentioned, check out the list down below to see what the heck is going on. (wink) So many shows to watch.

Lastly, as always, if you want to talk about your favorite television show, just visit the FoCC forum by clicking here. Until next time, we will see you in 2018. Happy New Year!

Editor’s note: Nerd/geek interest are highlighted in RED. 

Mario Wario’s picks:
New: New Year’s Day College Football bowl games and The X-Files.
On-going: Agents of Shield, The Blacklist, Vikings, Shameless, and Dragon Ball Super (subtitled and English dub).
Binge / Stack: [Nothing at the moment.]

Alyssa’s picks:
New & Watching Live: Happy!, Tesla, LA to Vegas, Building Giants & Mega Machines

DRWHO42’s picks:
New: The X-Files, 9-1-1, Falling Water
On-going: Agents of Shield, The Walking Dead, Blindspot, Supergirl, The Flash, Legends of Tomorrow, Mr. Robot, The Gifted, Fresh of the Boat, Black-ish, Ghost Wars, Gotham, Big Bang Theory, Designated Survivor, The Exorcist, White Famous, SMILF, The Punisher, and Superstition.
Binge / Stack: Hawaii 5-0, Westworld, Glitch, Elementary, Voltron, The Magicians, Supernatural, iZombie

Sunday – December 31, 2017
3:01 am
NETFLIX Stand-up Special: Dave Chappelle: Equanimit [Special Presentation]
CBSAA No Activity: [1st Season Finale]
8:00 pm
ABC Special: Dick Clark’s Primetime New Year’s Rockin’ Eve With Ryan Seacrest 2018
FOX Special: New Year’s Eve With Steve Harvey: Live From Times Square [Two-hour Special Presentation]
8:20 pm
SHOWTIME SMILF: Mark’s Lunch & Two Cups Of Coffee. [1st Season Finale]
11:00 pm
FOX  Special: New Year’s Eve With Steve Harvey: Live From Times Square [90-minute Special Presentation]
11:30 pm
ABC Special: Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve With Ryan Seacrest 2018 – “Part 1” [Special Presentation]
11:59 pm
BBCA The Graham Norton Show: Hugh Jackman, Zac Efron, Zendaya, Suranne Jones, Gary Oldman, And Leading Ladies [One-hour Special Presentation]

Note: This day is filled with NFL action throughout the day, so don’t forget to check your local listings. By the way, no Sunday Night Football for this week.

Monday – January 01, 2018
1:09 am
ABC Special: Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve With Ryan Seacrest 2018 – “Part 2” [Special Presentation]
6:00 am
CARTOON Unikitty!: Action Forest (#04) [Series Premiere – Special Night & Time]
11:00 am
ABC Special: The 2018 Rose Parade [Special Presentation]
AMAZON Special: The 2018 Rose Parade Hosted By Cord Tis [Special Presentation]
12:00 pm
ESPN 2 Outback Bowl: Michigan vs. South Carolina [Special Presentation]
12:30 pm
ESPN Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl: No. 12 UCF vs. No. 7 Auburn
1:00 pm
ABC Citrus Bowl Presented by Overton’s: No. 14 Notre Dame vs. No. 17 LSU
5:00 pm
ESPN College Football Playoff Semifinal – Rose Bowl Game Presented by Northwestern Mutual: No. 3 Georgia vs. No. 2 Oklahoma [Special Presentation]
8:00 pm
NBC The Wall: Niko And Kassie [2nd Season Winter Premiere]
8:45 pm
ESPN College Football Playoff Semifinal – Allstate Sugar Bowl: No. 4 Alabama vs. No. 1 Clemson [Special Presentation]
9:00 pm
NBC Better Late Than Never: Sweden [2nd Season Premiere]
THE CW Valor: Winter Premiere [1st Season Winter Premiere]
10:00 pm
NBC Better Late Than Never: Lithuania [New Episode – Special Time]

Tuesday – January 02, 2018
8:00 pm
FOX Lethal Weapon: [2nd Season Winter Premiere]
CBS NCIS: High Tide [15th Season Winter Premiere]
9:00 pm
CBS Bull: Survival Instincts [2nd Season Winter Premiere]
NBC Ellen’s Game Of Games: [New Episode – Special Time]
FOX LA To Vegas: Pilot [Series Premiere]

From executive producers Will Ferrell (“Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy,” “Elf”), Adam McKay (“The Big Short”), Lon Zimmet (“Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt”), Chris Henchy (“Entourage,” “The Other Guys”), Owen Burke (“Drunk History”) and executive producer/director Steve Levitan (“Modern Family”), LA TO VEGAS is a workplace comedy about an airline crew and the eccentric passengers who, every weekend, take a no-frills roundtrip flight from Los Angeles to Las Vegas with one goal in mind – to come back a winner. The series stars Kim Matula (“UnREAL”), Ed Weeks (“The Mindy Project”), Nathan Lee Graham (“The Comeback,” “Hitch”) and Olivia Macklin (“The Young Pope”) with Peter Stormare (“The Big Lebowski”) and Emmy Award nominee and Golden Globe winner Dylan McDermott (“The Practice,” “American Horror Story”). Levitan directed the premiere episode. Josh Bycel, Jonathan Fener and Jeff Morton also serve as executive producers. Click for more information

9:30 pm
FOX The Mick: [2nd Season Winter Premiere – New Time Slot]
10:00 pm
NBC Chicago Med: Mountains And Molehills [3rd Season Winter Premiere]
CBS NCIS: New Orleans: Monster [4th Season Winter Premiere]
DISCOVERY Tesla: (#101) [Series Premiere]

Did Nikola Tesla conceive one of the first weapons of mass destruction and was he murdered for it? The radio, cell phone, and alternating current electricity have all revolutionized the way humans live and they all have one very important person in common: Nikola Tesla. Tesla, often called the Man Who Invented the 20th Century, was the most famous and perhaps most dangerous mind of his time. In 1943, he was found dead in a hotel room, his safe cracked open, and his research missing. In 2016, the FBI declassified 250 documents that give fresh insight into Tesla’s final work and final days. These files reveal new information about a weapon Tesla conceived called the Death Ray and show world superpowers including the US, Soviet Union and Axis powers were all interested in the weapon. The declassified FBI files lead many experts to believe a full investigation is needed to determine what happened to Nikola Tesla. Click for more information

Wednesday – January 03, 2018
8:00 pm
CBS The Amazing Race: You’re A Champion, Prove It (Iceland) [30th Season Premiere]
NBC The Blacklist: Ruin [5th Season Winter Premiere]
ABC Goldbergs: [5th Season Winter Premiere]
FREEFORM Grown-ish: Late Registration (#1001) [Series Premiere]

Follow Zoey Johnson as she heads to college and begins her hilarious journey to adulthood in this new comedy. Click for more information

FOX The X-Files: [11th Season Premiere]
8:30 pm
ABC Speechless: [2nd Season Winter Premiere]
8:31 pm
FREEFORM Grown-ish: B***h, Don’t Kill My Vibe [New Episode – Special Time]
9:00 pm
FOX 9-1-1: [Series Premiere]

From prolific creators Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk, new procedural drama 9-1-1 is a fast-paced exploration into the lives and careers of first responders – cops, paramedics, firefighters – the people who put their lives on the line to save others. 9-1-1 will premiere following the debut of the next thrilling chapter of THE X-FILES, Wednesday, Jan. 3 (9:00-10:00 PM ET/PT) on FOX. Starring Academy and Emmy Award nominee and Golden Globe winner Angela Bassett (“American Horror Story,” “What’s Love Got to Do with It”), the series is based on the real-life, high-pressure experiences of emergency response providers who are thrust into heart-stopping situations that are equal parts unpredictable, intense and uplifting. These emergency responders must try to balance saving those who are at their most vulnerable with solving the problems in their own lives. Emmy Award- and Golden Globe-nominated actor Peter Krause (“The Catch,” “Six Feet Under”) and Emmy Award-nominated actress Connie Britton (“Nashville,” “Friday Night Lights,” “American Horror Story”) have been cast in lead roles. Oliver Stark (“Into The Badlands”), Aisha Hinds (“Shots Fired,” “Underground”), Kenneth Choi (“The People v. OJ Simpson: American Crime Story”) and Rockmond Dunbar (“Prison Break,” “The Path”) have been cast in series regular roles. The series will premiere in 2018. Click for more information

NBC Law & Order: Special Victims Unit: Gone Baby Gone [19th Season Winter Premiere]
ABC Modern Family: [9th Season Winter Premiere]
CBS Seal Team: Pattern Of Life [1st Season Winter Premiere]
9:31 pm
ABC American Housewife: [2nd Season Winter Premiere]
10:00 pm
NBC Chicago Pd: Rabbit Hole [5th Season Winter Premiere]
CBS Criminal Minds: Submerged [13th Season Winter Premiere]

Thursday – January 04, 2018
7:00 pm
TBS Brooklyn Nine-nine: Off-network Premiere On TBS [Cable Run Series Premiere]
8:00 pm
CBS The Big Bang Theory: The Matrimonial Metric [11th Season Winter Premiere]
NBC Superstore: Viral Video [3rd Season Winter Premiere]
8:30 pm
NBC The Good Place: Leap To Faith [2nd Season Winter Premiere]
8:31 pm
CBS Young Sheldon: An Eagle Feather, A String Bean, And An Eskimo [1st Season Winter Premiere]
9:00 pm
DISCOVERY Killing Fields: [3rd Season Premiere]
SYFY Van Helsing: Black Days [2nd Season Finale]
NBC Will & Grace: Friends And Lover [9th Season Winter Premiere]
9:30 pm
CBS Life In Pieces: The Chicken And The Egg [3rd Season Winter Premiere]
10:00 pm
SCIENCE Building Giants: (#101) [Series Premiere]

Eight-part series BUILDING GIANTS showcases how key technological innovations enable giant superstructures to be built. Footage filmed during construction along with CGI reveal the building process with astonishing detail. The premiere episode charts the creation of the new 71,000 seat Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. The 1.4-billion-dollar stadium is being hailed as an architectural wonder because of its eight-petal retractable roof. Other episodes include a look at a massive new cruise ship that can hold more than 7,000 passengers and crew members; a new flood barrier in Venice designed to prevent the precarious ancient city from sinking into the ocean; an ambitious circular subway system that will run directly underneath the historic city center of Copenhagen; and the world’s longest suspension bridge ever built in the Arctic Circle.

NBC Chicago Fire: A Man’s Legacy [6th Season Winter Premiere]
SYFY Ghost Wars: [1st Season Finale]
SCIENCE Mega Machines: (#101) [Series Premiere]

Mega Machines takes a close look at the world’s most extreme machines, including the Airfish 8, a futuristic flying ship that can skim over water at 120 miles per hour, and the Sikorsky S-92, the toughest and best-equipped search and rescue helicopter in the world. The 10-part Mega Machines explains how iconic machines like roller coasters, bullet trains and cargo planes were built, how they work, how they fail and how they have evolved. Episodes will look at the Griffon 12000TD hovercraft that skims across water, concrete and even rocks at over 50 mph, making it the ultimate all-terrain passenger vehicle; the Airfish 8, a unique breed of passenger vehicle, which is longer and heavier than a bus and can skim over water at 120 miles per hour; the Sikorsky built S-92 Helicopter, an evolution of the legendary Blackhawk military chopper; and the Aprilia RSV4, an Italian creation that is the most advanced superbike in the world. Click for more information

CBS S.W.A.T.: Blindspots [1st Season Winter Premiere]

Friday – January 05, 2018
6:30 pm
CARTOON Unikitty!: [Time Slot Premiere]
8:00 pm
ABC Child Support: [Series Premiere]

The series premiere of Child Support, a one-hour studio-based series from Golden Globe®- and Emmy® Award-winning Ricky Gervais and Banijay Studios North America, will make its debut on FRIDAY, JAN. 5 at 8:00 p.m. EST. Produced by Banijay Studios North America, the primetime series will feature adult contestants and priceless interactions between funnyman Ricky Gervais and a group of five kids who say the most unpredictable things. Hosted by Fred Savage, contestants are asked to answer 10 questions correctly to earn the top prize. If they answer incorrectly, the contestants have a chance to be saved by the five kids who have been asked the same question by Gervais. Ricky Gervais, David Goldberg, Caroline Baumgard and Jeff Krask are executive producers. Click for more information

THE CW Crazy Ex-girlfriend: Winter Premiere [3rd Season Winter Premiere]
CBS Macgyver: Mac + Jack [2nd Season Winter Premiere]
NBC Sports Special: U.S. Figure Skating Championships (Ladies Prime) [3-hour Special Presentation]
9:00 pm
CBS Hawaii Five-0: Ka Hopu Nui ‘ana (The Round Up) [8th Season Winter Premiere]
ABC Marvel’s Agents Of Shield: Fun & Games [5th Season Winter Premiere]
10:00 pm
CBS Blue Bloods: Second Chances [8th Season Winter Premiere]

Saturday – January 06, 2018
8:00 pm
NBC Sports Special: U.S. Figure Skating Championships (Men’s Prime) [3-hour Special Presentation]
Lifetime A Tale Of Two Coreys [Original Telefilm]
10:00 pm
USA Falling Water: Shadowman [2nd Season Premiere]
ABC Ten Days In The Valley: Day 10: Fade Out [1st Season Finale]

 

Mario Wario

Scott is a Spidey/Funko/video game fanatic, yet going to a pop culture convention is always his goal. Yes, he is also a fan of Mario and Wario. You can follow him on Twitter @ScottyTheWise.