Eureka! We've Found it!

Even though Sci Fi has transitioned to Syfy, many things about the network remain the same, most importantly the second best riff on nerds currently in production, Eureka (The Big Bang Theory takes first prize). Besides having some of the better visual effects in all of television, this show isn't afraid to be smart. While we would like to see more shows like Eureka on major networks, they would be canceled much too quickly.

Eureka [9 PM, Syfy]

Friday is a terrible place to put any show, but throw it on the DVR and watch it instead of golf or bowling or whatever is on Saturday afternoons. To refresh or create a memory for you, Eureka is about a town full of geniuses doing secret work that often goes haywire, requiring (former) Sheriff Carter (Colin Ferguson) to step in with his more conventional outlook on life. In this episode entitled "Welcome Back, Carter", Carter looks for a job at the Department of Homeland Security. Meanwhile, Deputy Lupo (Erica Cerra) resigns after realizing that a robot has taken over Carter's former position. No word on whether robots have taken over the pole-dancing joint two towns over.

Surviving Suburbia [8 PM, ABC]

It's a new episode, but with an A-plot so old that Moses would probably recognize it. Anne (Cynthia Stevenson) gets a job, so Steve (Bob Saget) takes over her chores and is surprised to see how much she actually did at home. Meanwhile, Henry (Jared Kusnitz) thinks that Jenna (Lyndsey Jolly) has been stealing. When will people start copying Seinfeld? I'd like to see someone take a crack at "The Label Maker" or "The Andrea Doria".

Welcome Back, Kotter [9 PM, VH1]

While we wish this was a strangely cast Gabe Kaplan biopic (Eugene Levy as Kaplan, John Travolta playing his younger self, Samm Levine as Horshack), this is just another way VH1 tries to frustrate its longtime fans. Instead of music programming, VH1 is showing these reruns this summer. We haven't read which episodes are coming up tonight, but it's safe to say that the Sweathogs will do benignly crass things and Kotter will teach them a lesson about sharing or caring.

On the Waterfront [8 PM, TCM]

You can't bring up any Elia Kazan film without someone mentioning that he named names to HUAC, but that doesn't make this showcase for Marlon Brando's ability to torture himself through acting any less relevant to film history. Based on true stories of mob informants, Kazan directs around Brando to ensure that the supporting characters played by Karl Malden and Eva Marie Saint never interfere with his near-constant emoting. If you attended film school, it's a foregone conclusion that you watched this during the Intro to Film Studies unit on acting. For those who majored in English Lit or Chemical Engineering, here's a chance to catch up.