‘Joey’ debuts in wake of ‘Friends’
It’s a big night for NBC.
Tonight at 8, it’s the debut of “Friends” spinoff “Joey,” starring Matt LeBlanc as the dimwitted lothario Joey Tribbiani. Joey, you may recall, is an actor who had a recurring soap opera role, and now he’s headed to Los Angeles to seek his fortune.
Already in the city is his sister Gina, played by Drea de Matteo, fresh from the whacking of her character, Adriana, on “The Sopranos.” Jennifer Coolidge plays Joey’s agent.
Tonight, on his arrival in La-La Land, Joey moves in with Gina’s son, the 20-year-old genius Michael (Paulo Costanzo), who, in direct contrast to what everyone says about Joey, is a rocket scientist. But since he needs a little assistance socially, maybe he and Joey can help each other out.
With the departure of the superpopular “Friends,” NBC has a lot riding on “Joey.” So it’s doing its best to make tonight a success.
At 8:30, the peacock offers up the 90-minute second-season premiere of the huge reality hit “The Apprentice.”
Donald Trump and his minions George Ross and Carolyn Kepcher once again will be winnowing down a field of business hopefuls, with each week’s ejectee getting the signature line, “You’re fired,” from the Donald. The winner gets a six-figure job with the Trump organization.
Tonight the contestants will split into two teams and compete to design a marketable toy for Mattel.
Bonus: One of the 18 hopefuls is named Ivana.
Finally, at 10, NBC debuts a new high-tech procedural show “Medical Investigation” — one of an epidemic that has followed the success of “CSI” on CBS. The twist this time is that the heroes aren’t police forensics experts; they’re medical detectives from the National Institutes of Health.
Neal McDonough (“Boomtown”) stars as Dr. Stephen Connor, a workaholic leading a team of specialists dispatched to solve mysterious outbreaks of illness around the country, battling everything from deadly food contamination to the next great plague.
Tonight’s germ-of-the-week is killing the patrons of a Manhattan diner. Expect weekly high-tech sequences as these experts re-create events to find out the how and why of each outbreak.
Kelli Williams (“The Practice”) co-stars.
This is listed as a preview. The show premieres on its regular night and time tomorrow at 10.
Highlights
NFL night, ABC: For a lot of people, this will be the pick of the night instead of “Joey” and company.
At 6, the “Monday Night Football” team will take the microphones in Foxboro, Mass., to broadcast the New England Patriots game against the Indianapolis Colts, whom they beat in last year’s playoffs.
At 10, it’s the hourlong “NFL Opening Kickoff” special, taped from Gillette Stadium in Foxboro home of the Super Bowl champion Patriots.
Mary J. Blige, Destiny’s Child, Elton John, Toby Keith and Lenny Kravitz will perform, along with the Boston Pops. And the ubiquitous Jessica Simpson will chime in by satellite from Metropolitan Park in Jacksonville, Fla., site of the next Super Bowl.
“Big Brother 5,” CBS at 8: More petty nonsense from the petty contestants.
Video night, Fox at 8: A new “Totally Outrageous Behavior,” followed by a repeat of “World’s Craziest Videos.”
“CSI: Crime Scene Investigation,” CBS at 9: A cheater is murdered after cashing in at one of Sam Braun’s casinos. Repeat.
“Without a Trace,” CBS at 10: An adopted child believes she was kidnapped as an infant. Repeat.
Family Fare
“Gotta Kick It Up,” Disney Channel at 8: A high-tech executive coaches an inner-city dance team to glory.
Cable Cast
“Indian Point: Imagining the Unimaginable,” HBO at 8: A 45-minute documentary on a nightmare what-if scenario — an attack against a nuclear power plant not far from Manhattan. From filmmaker Rory Kennedy.
Followed by “Chernobyl Heart,” a look at a town where they know a little something about fallout.