In The Hot Seat: What to watch (or not) on TV talk shows this week
Monday, October 8
Watch: Connie Britton will be making the rounds of the chat circuit this week to promote "Nashville," but only on Jimmy Fallon will she appear alongside Cesar "The Dog Whisperer" Millan allon. If you like your guests more uplifting, check out "The Colbert Report" and guest Mark Kelly, Gabrielle Giffords's husband and co-author of "Gabby: A Story of Courage and Hope."
Skip: After yet another set of revelations about how little respect The Governator had for his marriage, Arnold Schwarzenegger surfaces on Leno, who isn't known for asking the tough questions.
Tuesday, October 9
Watch: Chris Elliott returns to his TV "hometown" on Letterman; Tavis Smiley hosts David Pogue, New York Times tech columnist and author of a new manual for Mac's Mountain Lion OS; and Kelly & Michael have Connie Britton, Christopher Walken, and Rick Springfield. Please let there be a karaoke country sing-along of "Jessie's Girl" with Walken on tambourine. Sorry: cowbell.
Skip: Morrissey has probably fueled more high-school sulks, both as part of the Smiths and on his own, than any other recording artist — but may not have enough of a sense of humor about himself to withstand the Colbert treatment.
Wednesday, October 10
Watch: Letterman, if you like KISS and respect the fact that they still dress up; Jimmy Kimmel, if you're hoping Will Arnett will dish the dirt on either the end of his marriage or the "Arrested Development" Netflix season; and Tavis Smiley if you like classical piano (Lang Lang is his guest).
Skip: Katie Couric's addition to the towering pile of "the internet hates your children" programming. The episode is actually called "how to protect your kids online," and it's a worthwhile goal, of course — but sometimes television makes it out like the internet is 90% sexual predators and credit-card thieves. (The other 10% is cats and Etsy.) Make sure you know what your kid is up to instead of watching this hour.
Thursday, October 11
Watch: The Talk welcomes both fantastic actress Allison Janney ("The West Wing") and bubbliest "Top Chef Masters" contestant ever, Chef Susan Feniger, who is adorable but not cutesy. And speaking of adorable, super-fox/"Resident Evil: Retribution" star Boris Kodjoe is the day's co-host.
Skip: The omnipresent Bethenny Frankel joins Ellen to promote her new talk show, set to debut in early 2013.
Friday, October 12
Watch: The seldom-seen Peter Gabriel is on Fallon to promote the 25th-anniversary reissue of the "So" album. This may make you feel old, but the songs are still great.
Skip: Many talk shows go to reruns on Fridays.
Watch the Dog Whisperer deal with a dog's OCD in this clip from the show:
