Rueben's Ramblings

Here is a list of the programming options to expect on TV this week:

On September 17, the season finale of the Halle Barry CBS drama Extant will air at 10 PM.

That same night, September 17, a sneak peek of the new drama The Mysteries of Laura will air on NBC at 10 PM.  Debra Messing (Will & Grace) stars as Laura Diamond, a brilliant NYPD homicide detective who balances her day job with a crazy family life that includes two unruly twin boys and a soon-to-be ex-husband (Josh Lucas) – also a cop – who just can’t seem to sign the divorce papers. Between cleaning up after her boys and cleaning up the streets, she’d be the first to admit she has her “hot mess” moments.

Also on September 17, the new FOX drama Red Band Society will debut at 9 PM.  Based on the award-winning Spanish series Polseres Vermelles, this new series takes a provocative, unconventional and, at times, comic look at the lives of patients in the pediatric ward of Ocean Park Hospital in Los Angeles.

The new Hallmark Channel movie Perfect on Paper will debut on September 20 at 9 PM.  An idealistic, young book editor reluctantly moves to Los Angeles to edit a famous author’s latest romance novel. As she struggles to maintain her integrity while battling the best-selling diva’s demands, she meets two very different men and learns that the best romantic choice is not always the one who looks best “on paper”.

On September 21, the new drama Madam Secretary will debut on CBS at 8 PM followed by a new season of The Good Wife at 9PM.  For Madam Secretary, Téa Leoni stars as Elizabeth McCord, the shrewd, determined, newly appointed Secretary of State who drives international diplomacy, battles office politics and circumvents protocol as she negotiates global and domestic issues, both at the White House and at home. A college professor and a brilliant former CIA analyst who left for ethical reasons, Elizabeth returns to public life at the request of the President following the suspicious death of her predecessor. The President values her apolitical leanings, her deep knowledge of the Middle East, her flair for languages and her ability to not just think outside the box, but to not even acknowledge there is a box.

NOTE: CBS will air a “doubleheader” of Madam Secretary at 8 PM and then again at 10 PM. East Coast viewers should check their local listings for exact airtimes though.

That same night over on PBS will feature two episodes of season 7 of Miss Marple, starting with the movie A Caribbean Mystery and Greenshaw’s Folly.  The first episode will feature acclaimed British actress Julia McKenzie (Cranford) as spinster sleuth Miss Marple. While staying at a lavish tropical island hotel, Miss Marple investigates the sudden death of a fellow guest. With the help of a curmudgeonly business tycoon, Miss Marple unravels a web of deceit, murder and “dark magic,” leaving her to consider every one of the hotel’s guests as a suspect.  The second episode will be about what happens when an old family friend and her young son turn to Miss Marple for assistance, she places them at nearby Greenshaw’s Folly, the family home of an eccentric botanist. But it becomes clear that the labyrinthine Folly isn’t quite the safe house that Miss Marple had hoped, when death casts its dark and sinister shadow on the residents.  Check your local listing for airtime for both airings.

Mark your calendars!