We watch a bunch of late night chat shows every night, but it's not often that we make it all the way to Carson Daly. We're not suggesting you set an alarm for 1:35 AM, but if you make it past the Craig Ferguson/Jimmy Fallon slot or have some room in that DVR, it's worth the thirty minutes to watch one of the more self-assured but still self-deprecating hosts working today.
Last Call with Carson Daly [1:35 AM, NBC]
Now that Carson is allowed to occasionally leave that cold little studio and really put music in the forefront, this feels like his show. Tonight's guest, Lily Allen, is more established than some of the music acts that have been given an entire show (Adele, Lykke Li), but at 1:35 AM who really cares about indie cred. Someday there will be three hours of talk before this slot, so NBC has some thinking to do. No M*A*S*H reruns, por favor.
The Real Housewives of New York City [10 PM, Bravo]
Bravo celebrates tonight's season finale with a virtual viewing party, where fans can communicate with the Real Housewives via Twitter, mobile chat, Facebook Connect, carrier pigeon and Exxon Qwip. Just once, we'd like an episode free from conflict, where the women sit around and go shopping and discuss the ridiculous price of lobster salad at Loaves and Fishes in Sagaponack. That would be a groundbreaking moment in the reality genre, but instead the women will fight while preparing for Jill's charity event. Party girl Bethenny learns how to model from LuAnn. Sure, Jill and Ramona work towards peace, but given the state of the industry and their lack of individual talent, these housewives are working towards a third season pick-up.
Better Off Ted [8:30 PM, ABC]
In tonight's season finale, Veronica (Portia de Rossi) discovers that staff morale is low after an office survey and Ted (Jay Harrington) tries to appeal to older Veridian employees. After ABC bumped BOT for the Obama press conference (How rude!), creator Victor Fresco put together this middling-funny fake commercial. It's not as passionate as Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young's "Ohio" but his protest is noted.
NCIS [8 PM, CBS]
If your child has been bugging you with the question: "Mommy, where do spin-offs come from?" then you can point the little one to tonight's NCIS. Chris O'Donnell and LL Cool J - the potential stars of an NCIS spin-off (if green-lit by CBS) - appear in the second part of a mini-arc. Tony (Michael Weatherly) doubts Ziva's (Cote de Pablo) allegiance to the unit after the appearance of Mossad agent Michael Rivkin (Merik Tadros). Special Agent Callen (O'Donnell) goes after a terrorist while undercover. This show is super popular, probably with the viewers who kept JAG on the air for a decade.