1 Just when you think that "Inside Amy Schumer" couldn't get more fearlessly funny, its star raises the bar again — in good company. Charmingly raunchy and endlessly imaginative about skewering pop culture and gender wars, Schumer's weekly combo of sketches, sound-bite interviews and even music videos has become a magnet for impressive cameos by the likes of Tina Fey, Paul Giamatti and Julia-Louis Dreyfus. 9:30 p.m. Tuesdays, Comedy Central.

2 Minneapolis-bred music journalist Jessica Hopper's new book, "The First Collection of Criticism by a Living Female Rock Critic," is a greatest-hits collection that's as varied as a five-disc outtakes anthology. She predictably charges through gender issues with poignant grace and refreshing humor, be it the lack of female voices in mid-'00s mainstream rock ("Emo: Where the Girls Aren't") or such observations as "Being sexy and serious about your art needn't be mutually exclusive" ("Deconstructing Lana del Rey"). Her book is also just as enjoyable and insightful on non-gender subjects such as popping the Nirvana reissue bubble.

3 Once again, the a cappella Bellas hit the right note in the likable sequel "Pitch Perfect 2." It doesn't produce glory, but it definitely supplies glee. The champions get banned from competition after a wardrobe malfunction at Kennedy Center with the Obamas in the audience. The only way the troupe can return to the stage is by winning the upcoming global contest, where no U.S. team has ever triumphed. That means they must top the Panzer-like German vocal group Das Sound Machine. Comedy and harmony ensue.

4 Staged rivetingly in minimalist style by director Michelle Hensley at Open Book, "Forget Me Not When Far Away" brims with Kafka-esque wit, arresting writing and thrilling performances. It's the story of a soldier returning to a town that has been without men for 10 years because they've all gone to war. He must adjust not only to the changed town, but also prove that he's alive (the town crier listed him among the dead) and make amends with the woman he mistreated. www.tenthousandthings.org

5 The statistics behind Edward Burtynsky's photos are as alarming as the photos are beautiful. For several years the internationally known Canadian photographer has turned his attention to water, a profoundly endangered resource too often taken for granted. Sixteen of his mural-sized color images are on view at Weinstein Gallery in south Minneapolis. With their grand scale, rich colors and almost abstract compositions, they are mesmerizingly beautiful accounts of humanity's uses and abuses of water. www.weinstein-gallery.com