TV on Tap: "It Gets Better" Becomes a TV Special, The Fonz Stays "Up All Night" and the Outrageously Insane Adventures of Jem and the Holograms

How often does an actor play two different gay characters on the same night?

Remember how there was almost nothing on last night? Today's the first day of sweeps, so I hope you've got enough space on your DVR.

News

As if the leads of TNT's legal drama Franklin & Bash weren't crush-inspiring enough, Chris Klien has signed up for an appearance as a charismatic politician who was a high school pal of Mark-Paul Gosselaar's Peter Bash.

Dan Savage will host a special on MTV and Logo (our parent company). It's Get Better will follow three teens dealing with sexuality issues and have messages from Zachary Quinto, Margaret Cho, Chaz Bono, Jake Shears and more.

I totally adored Hal on Malcolm in the Middle, so I was pretty excited to hear that Bryan Cranston would be working on an episode of Modern Family. Then I read further and found out that Cranston would be directing an episode.

Up All Night is looking for someone to play Ava's dad and the show is talking with Henry Winkler about taking the role.

If you're going to the Super Bowl, you could win a walk-on role in a future episode of Cougar Town. You just have to be spotted on camera with a sign announcing the comedy's return. It's so simple.

ABC has ordered two more comedy pilots, one starring Reba McEntire as a singer who dumps her rock star husband after he burns through her money. Isn't that how we got The Doris Day Show? The other comedy about a victim of identity theft who realizes the life created by the thief is more interesting than the his reality.

I forgot how crazy Jem and the Holograms could get. Thankfully, there's a list of the 10 Most Outrageously Insane Episodes. Why isn't anyone talking about a live-action Jem remake? (By the way, The Hub is airing "The Fan" on Sunday.)

Tori Spelling and Tia Mowry will appear in an ABC Family movie about rival singing groups. Unfortunately, there's no mention of secret identities or hologram-generating supercomputers.

Saturday's Syfy movie about offshore oil drilling, Swamp Volcano drew 2.2 million viewers. I hope that means there will be more Syfy original films that take a topical issue and mixes it with a monster or natural disaster.

The season premiere of RuPaul's Drag Race was Logo's most-watched premiere ever, improving last season's premiere by 50%.

Comedy Central also got good news from the ratings as the premiere of Key & Peele was the channel's highest-rated debut since 2009.

Listings

Anderson (syndicated) Check local listings
Madonna visits to talk with Anderson about preparing for a Super Bowl performance, filming W.E., her workout schedule, her feelings about Anderson's mom and more.

Days of Our Lives (NBC) Check local listings
I don't know about you, but I'm still recovering from Sonny being all wise, sensitive and emotionally strong with Will yesterday. (When will we see that one of Sonny has flaws?) Unfortunately, today Will is going to get shocked out of it as he has to deal with E.J. and Nicole.

The View (ABC) Check local listings
With a new season of Who Do You Think You Are? debuting tomorrow, Lisa Kudrow will be visiting the View couch.

The Rosie Show (OWN) 6:00 PM ET
Kristin Chenoweth is making her first visit to Rosie's show tonight and I wouldn't mind hearing her discuss her religious views and her embrace of her gay fans one more time.

Independent Lens (PBS) Check local listings
PBS takes a look at the life of Daisy Bates, who led the Arkansas NAACP during the struggle over school integration. I've only just recently become acquainted with the story of Elizabeth Eckford, Hazel Bryan and their iconic photograph, so I'm in the mood to learn more about that particular era in history.

The Big Bang Theory (CBS) 8:00 PM ET
It finally happens, Leonard asks himself if he can stay friends with someone as demanding as Sheldon. I'm surprised this took longer than the length of a breakup/reconcile cycle for Leonard and Penny.

The Vampire Diaries (CW) 8:00 PM ET
Klaus plans a dinner party ending with the arrival of a surprise guest. Now, with Elijah making a surprise appearance last week, he's the obvious guess for that surprise guest, but since this is The Vampire Diaries it could be anybody — a zombie Pearl? a "but we wrote you out last week" appearance by Jeremy? another return by Rebekah?

30 Rock (NBC) 8:00 PM ET
So. Last week, I told you Kristen Schall and Suze Orman would be appearing on 30 Rock and it turned out that someone at NBC publicity was thrown off by the double-feature. They should be showing up tonight as Kenneth gets a new page assignment and Liz battles with Jack at contract renewal time.

Love, Etc. (OWN) 8:00 PM ET
OWN's latest documentary follows five couples as they deal with the challenges of a relationship in a year-long period, including Scott, a single gay man getting ready to have a baby with a surrogate.

Parks & Recreation (NBC) 8:30 PM ET
Like everything else, Leslie takes her love for Valentine's Day to extremes, which means that Ben has to go through an elaborate scavenger hunt (one of the many bat-guano crazy ways Leslie expresses affection) and Ann has to deal with Leslie's attempts to make sure she has a date Valentine's Day (which, of course is named "Operation Ann" — see what I said above about Leslie and bat byproducts).

The Finder (Fox) 9:00 PM ET
Walter gets pulled into the world of baseball memorabilia when Isabel's all-star boyfriend gets robbed, including something Isabel's boyfriend is trying to keep a secret.

The Union (HBO) 9:00 PM ET
In the 70s, Leon Russell was a mentor to Elton John. The two went their own separate ways, but 35 years later Elton contacted Leon about reuniting for an album, The Union. a collaboration that got music journalists to rediscover Russell. Cameron Crowe captured the two as they worked on the album together, using vintage concert footage of Russell and John.

The Office (NBC) 9:00 PM ET
Angela finally gives birth, which brings The Senator back to Dundler-Mifflin. I hope that also means plenty of snickering from Oscar. Meanwhile, Jim returns from jury duty and decides to torture Dwight by withholding information about his trial.

Project Runway All Stars (Lifetime) 9:00 PM ET
Project Runway has created some great TV when they asked designers to give up their own clothes for their next catwalk creation. We learned that Chloe had the skill to turn a casual dress made for a petite woman into something a glamazon could wear and we saw Casanova lose his designer jeans. This time, we're getting a twist on that concept as the designers have to ask strangers on the street for their clothes. I'm sure the designers are hoping that Jack Mackenroth will happen to pass by, since he seemed pretty willing to lose his clothes.

The Secret Circle (CW) 9:00 PM ET
Cassie gets a warning that the witchhunters are about to return which means I'm probably going to need some extra coffee unless that story about Ethan and Diana planning a birthday party has the parental intrigue I hope it does. I guess I can focus on Adam Harrington's sexiness.

Up All Night (NBC) 9:30 PM ET
I guess you can't keep Dean Winters out of NBC's Thursday night 9:30 PM time slot. Take 30 Rock away from the time slot and you find him appearing on Up All Night as Chris' competitive older brother. Meanwhile, Ragan plays out the latest sitcom plot about a parent obsessively working to get her child into an exclusive, private preschool. We just saw that storyline on last week's 30 Rock with Will Arnett. Does Hollywood think this is some kind of universal experience?

Archer (FX) 10:00 PM ET
The ISIS agents finally get around to having big chase scenes on a train with all the rooftop running, the ducking and cabooses disconnecting that must happen in a train chase.

Inside Comedy (Showtime) 11:00 PM ET
It's Chris Rock's turn to discuss comedy.

Watch What Happens Live (Bravo) 11:00 PM ET
Andy's guests tonight are Snooki and Jwoww from Jersey Shore. I'll wait while you cancel your recording for tonight.

Chelsea Lately (E!) 11:00 PM ET
Ross Mathews is on tonight's panel as Chelsea talks with Kristen Bell. I hope Chelsea asks her to explain this apparent superpower Bell has where she can sense the presence of a sloth.

What will you be watching tonight? Please share in the comments!

Tomorrow's Preview

The Ellen DeGeneres Show (syndicated) Check local listings
Ellen's welcoming the judges of The Voice tomorrow.

Days of Our Lives (NBC) Check local listings
Will drops a bombshell that will have a major effect on the lives of Salem's residents. He's still closeted, but in some ways he's living the gay dream.