Timeslot face-off: 'DWTS,' 'Lie to Me,' 'Gossip Girl' and more

Last week I bemoaned the too-packed programming of the 8 p.m. slot on Mondays. Turns out 9 p.m.’s not much easier. Teen soaps and dramedies, procedurals, gripping — and not gripping so much as gyrating — reality; I don’t know whether to laugh or cry. (If I settle on Greek and Intervention, I’ll probs do both. Heyo!) Anyway, let’s run down the options:

‘Dancing with the Stars,’ 8–10 p.m., ABC

Reasons to watch: Baz Luhrman is tonight’s guest judge.

Reasons to skip: Jive, quickstep, and tango? Bo-ring. Plus, kind of a bummer they already cut Macy Gray.

‘Gossip Girl,’ The CW

Reasons to watch: Blair Waldorf.

Reasons to skip: There are still other characters on this show. Ah, well.

‘Greek,’ ABC Family

Reasons to watch: Attack of the Show‘s Olivia Munn guest-stars tonight, plus Evan and Kappie’s bromance continues to evolve.

Reasons to skip: Greek isn’t quite a watercooler show, so you can catch up later and not have missed out on all the fun chitchat.

‘Intervention,’A&E

Reasons to watch: Tonight’s a departure episode (and season finale) about “one-man rehab” programs called sober companions.

Reasons to skip: If you’re not a fan of the show, tonight’s episode isn’t going to convert you; if you are, you still might not go for the format shift.

‘Lie To Me,’ Fox

Reasons to watch: The Shield‘s genius producer Shawn Ryan is now steering the fun (if mostly predictable) procedural, which could mean subtle but substantive changes. Plus Erika Christensen guests tonight.

Reasons to skip: Christensen is playing someone with multiple personalities, which has got to be one of the most played-out tropes in all the world, right after “rookie and veteran cop have different taste in healthy/unhealthy foods.”

‘Trauma,’ NBC

Reasons to watch: Someone’s gotta fill ER‘s shoes, so why not this? A high-energy medical drama that’s not a hospital-set series could be just what the doctor ordered. (Cheesy! But I could not resist.)

Reasons to skip: Perhaps ER left us for a reason — and how many explosions to paramedics really deal with on a regular basis? I like a special effect, but sometimes actual emotions need to do a show’s heavy lifting.

‘Two and a Half Men,’ CBS

Reasons to watch It’s the most popular comedy on TV, and maybe the Emmy voters were onto something (maybe?) with Jon Cryer.

Reasons to skip: Because you’re saving all your chuckles for the vastly superior Big Bang Theory at 9:30 p.m.

Photo credit: Isabella Vosmikova/Fox