Spring Break entertainment

It’s time for spring break, which means you’re probably not thinking about what TV you need to watch. However, there is always the chance that your glorious trip to Cancun or Acapulco could be rained out – and then there you are, stuck in a hotel room. But it’s still spring break, and you’ll just want to have fun. These four shows might not be the best, but they’ll surely entertain.

What to watch
SHOW: Kings
EPISODE: “Goliath”
WHEN: 8 p.m. Sunday on NBC
This modern-day King David tale is spring’s most intriguing new show, and NBC is hoping the show brings the network some good buzz. Starring Ian McShane as the king and Christopher Egan as the country’s newest hero after his character saves the king’s son in an military situation, the two-hour “Kings” premiere is a definite must-watch. C’mon, if the critics actually love an NBC show, doesn’t that say something?

SHOW: Castle
EPISODE: “Nanny McDead”
WHEN 10 p.m. Monday on ABC
“Castle” is another new spring show that looks surprisingly solid. Nathan Fillion of “Firefly” fame stars as playboy mystery novelist Nick Castle, who joins a police department to do research on a “tough as nails” female detective character he’s creating. His inspiration – detective Kate Beckett – doesn’t quite approve, and shenanigans occur. The this week’s pilot was enjoyable but rough, and I expect the show to pick up a bit more as it goes along. It is always nice to see a spin on the procedural format.

What to TiVO
SHOW: Private Practice
EPISODE: “What Women Want”
WHEN: 10 p.m. Thursday on ABC
As a TV viewer who quickly got bored of the terrible writing on “Grey’s Anatomy” from season three on, its spin-off program “Private Practice” is actually an enjoyable viewing experience each week. The cast on “Practice” is much better, and the lack of behind-the-scenes drama keeps the attention on the show’s stories, not who wants to leave that week. This episode, which features a disturbed pregnant patient who doesn’t realize her baby died, looks to be yet another instance of a crazy case fueled by emotion – something “Grey’s” lacks these days.

SHOW: Lie to Me
EPISODE: “The Best Policy”
WHEN: 8 p.m Wednesday on FOX
Though the rest of the cast isn’t as good as Tim Roth and FOX’s desire to turn Roth’s Lightman character into another Gregory House will never happen, “Lie to Me” is still a fun show. The technology used in the show is very cool, and as this episode will show, “Lie” is much better when Lightman and his crew work for private citizens solving sketchy issues instead of for the government solving murders.

Rant of the week  
The “24” team deserves some major props for making season seven extremely entertaining after the trainwreck sixth season and more than 18 months off the air. While the new day of “24” isn’t groundbreaking – or overtly intelligent, for that matter – it’s completely enthralling, something the last one was not.
At this point, “24” has a certain formula, and as long as the creative staff can add small tweaks here and there to keep the show from becoming a bigger parody of itself, it can deliver week in and week out.
The audience has resigned itself to the fact that the show won’t be as awesome as the first few years, but there is still nothing else quite like “24” on broadcast television.