TV critic's picks: Friday

March 25, 2010 at 8:29PM

What's cooking Reality TV is rarely noble, unless your favorite cause is cheering up bored, rich housewives, so give a hand to "Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution" (7 & 8 p.m. Friday, KSTP, Ch. 5), in which the celebrated chef dedicates screen time to improving America's diet. After a repeat of last week's premiere, check out a new episode in which Oliver tries to convince an elementary school that pizza does not qualify as a well-balanced breakfast.

Mr. Bill No offense to Jon Stewart and "The Daily Show," but nobody does biting political satire better than the writers for "Real Time With Bill Maher" (9 p.m. Friday, HBO). The host's monologue and "New Rules" segment may make churchgoers and conservatives cringe, but there's no denying that they contain some of the most brilliant material on TV.

Justice for all Those looking for something in between "High School Musical" and "Glee" might check out "Victorious" (8:30 p.m. Saturday, NICK), a new series featuring Victoria Justice ("Zoey 101") as a new student at a performing-arts high school -- which means dancing on the cafeteria table is not only permitted, but encouraged. Creator Dan Schneider previously made stars out of Amanda Bynes, Miranda Cosgrove and Kenan Thompson. In other words, Justice should prepare to be mobbed during her next visit to a mall.

Men behaving badly When Tiger Woods got in marital trouble, he issued a public apology. What does Charlie Sheen do? Appear on "Family Guy" (8 p.m. Sunday, KMSP, Ch. 9). Fellow hothead James Woods also contributes a guest voice on this episode in which Peter becomes a TV mogul.

NEAL JUSTIN

about the writer

about the writer

Neal Justin

Critic / Reporter

Neal Justin is the pop-culture critic, covering how Minnesotans spend their entertainment time. He also reviews stand-up comedy. Justin previously served as TV and music critic for the paper. He is the co-founder of JCamp, a non-profit program for high-school journalists, and works on many fronts to further diversity in newsrooms.

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