“The Alzheimer’s Project”
Tuesday 9pm, HBO
Tonight sees the debut of the final part in this series, but you can catch all four segments on replay throughout the month on HBO and its various subsidiary channels. These documentaries explore Alzheimer’s from several different perspectives: what it’s like to actually have the disease, the changing medical treatments, the effect the disease can have on families, and the people who take care of Alzheimer’s patients. A study says that 54 percent of Americans know someone with Alzheimer’s. I have a friend whose mom is currently living with it, and she says it’s the hardest thing she’s ever had to go through—and it just keeps getting worse. Maybe these documentaries will help her, and others in her situation.
“Real Housewives of New Jersey”
Tuesday 11pm, Bravo
I held off as long as I could, but I finally succumbed to the guilty pleasures of Bravo’s “Housewives” franchise, and this new entry promises to be the trashiest of them all. The five women that make up the cast are as Jersey as it gets. Teresa and her husband are in the process of building their own outrageously tacky home because the idea of living in a house formerly owned by other people squigs her out. Danielle is allegedly a former model and proudly owns up to being engaged 19 times. Dina is a bitch-on-wheels event planner. And her sister Caroline is just straight-up terrifying, the type of woman you do not cross. Baby-crazy Jacqueline seems to be the least obnoxious of the bunch, and she’s from Vegas. That says something.
“Bones”
Thursday 8pm, Fox
Kudos to you, David Boreanaz. While watching you on “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” I figured you’d eventually fade into obscurity once the show ended. But then you got your own spin-off, “Angel,” which was arguably even better than “Buffy” by the end, and you grew into a surprisingly good actor along the way. Now you’ve landed yourself your third hit series in “Bones,” a police procedural that has only gotten more popular in this, its fourth season. And in tonight’s season finale your character allegedly gets to bag the gal the series is named after (Dr. “Bones” Brennan, played by Emily Deschanel), the Cybill Shepherd to your Bruce Willis. So let’s see how that works out in Season 5, if it actually goes down at all.
