Last week I criticized “Fringe” for ditching science for emotion. A few of you disagreed in the comments. I understand. It was just going to take more than two old people grieving for each other to sell me on the quantum mechanics of emotions. What would it take to convince me? The best episode of “Fringe” to date?

I probably could have been convinced with a lot less, but if “Fringe” is ready to pull out all the stops, than I’m not complaining.

The big guns are at work here. Show runners J.H. Wyman and Jeff Pinkner wrote “Subject 13” with help from Academy Award winner Akiva Goldsman. And they’re after you right out of the gate. That opening sequence was incredible. We’re back in 1985, a month after Walter snatched Peter from the other universe, and Peter wants to go home -- a home he thinks is at the bottom of Reiden Lake -- and he has the big concrete key to get there. Then, just when Elizabeth Bishop pulls Peter out of the water and you’re breathing heavy, just like they are, cut to the 1980’s “Fringe” intro. (It’s been fun to bounce between the blue and red intros, but the synthesizer intro will always be my favorite).

Click here to download TV listings for the week of Feb. 27 - March 5 in PDF format

TV listings for the week of Feb. 27 - March 5 in PDF format (from latimes.com/entertainment/news/tv)

Weekly TV Listings and more can be found at: www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/tv

This week's TV Movies

THE GAME IS ON: Louise Fletcher and Jack Nicholson star in director Milos Forman's 1975 drama “One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest” at 7 p.m. on TCM. 

SERIES

America's Most Wanted: America Fights Back: Series host John Walsh urges fans of the show to help find and arrest the most wanted fugitive in every part of the country in the new episode “50 States, 50 Fugitives Special Edition” (9 p.m. Fox). 

Secrets From a Stylist: Season 5 “HGTV Design Star” winner Emily Henderson launches a new series in which she helps homeowners pinpoint their personal design passions. In the premiere, she meets a Southern California couple with a 1920s Spanish house that could become a perfect setting for memorable parties (9 p.m. HGTV). 

SPECIALS

2011 Spirit Awards: Joel McHale (“Community”) hosts (10 p.m. IFC). 

MOVIES

Area 51: Trying to polish its public relations image, the Air Force invites a small group of reporters to its most secretive base in Nevada. Unfortunately for the military brass one of the captive aliens leads an escape. Bruce Boxleitner, John Shea and Jason London star in this new thriller (9 p.m. Syfy). 

SPORTS

College basketball: Syracuse at Georgetown (9 a.m. CBS); Missouri at Kansas State (9 a.m. ESPN); BYU at San Diego State (11 a.m. CBS); St. John's at Villanova (11 a.m. ESPN); Texas at Colorado (1 p.m. KDOC); Kansas at Oklahoma (1 p.m. ESPN); Arizona at UCLA (1 p.m. FS Prime); Arizona State at USC (4:30 p.m. FS Prime); UC Santa Barbara at Long Beach State (5 p.m. ESPN2); Pacific at UC Irvine (5:30 p.m. FSN); Duke at Virginia Tech (6 p.m. ESPN).

College baseball: Urban Invitational, Game 1: Bethune-Cookman vs. UC Irvine (1 p.m. MLB). 

Women's College Basketball: Oklahoma State at Texas Tech (3:30 p.m. FSN); UCLA at Arizona State (7:30 p.m. FSN). 

Pro basketball: The Chicago Bulls visit the Milwaukee Bucks (5:30 p.m. WGN A); the Boston Celtics visit the Clippers (7:30 p.m. FS Prime)

Bowling: Lumber Liquidators U.S. Open (7 p.m. ESPN2).

Photo: Fantasy Films

Click here to download TV listings for the week of Feb. 27 - March 5 in PDF format

TV listings for the week of Feb. 27 - March 5 in PDF format (from latimes.com/entertainment/news/tv)

Weekly TV Listings and more can be found at: www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/tv

This week's TV Movies

SATURDAY

Good Morning America (N) 7 a.m. KABC 

The Situation Room 3 p.m. CNN 

The Chris Matthews Show Budget cuts and jobs; the economy: Dan Rather, HDNet; Savannah Guthrie, NBC; John Heilemann, New York Magazine; Trish Regan, CNBC. (N) 5 p.m. KNBC 

McLaughlin Group 6:30 p.m. KCET 

SUNDAY

CBS News Sunday Morning The work of photographer Herb Ritts with Cindy Crawford and k.d. lang. (N) 6 a.m. KCBS 

Today Prince William and Kate Middleton attend a ball. (N) 6 a.m. KNBC 

Good Morning America (N) 6 a.m. KABC 

State of the Union With Candy Crowley Middle East unrest: Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.); Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.). (N) 6 and 9 a.m. CNN 

Fareed Zakaria GPS Obama and Bush administrations' Middle East policies; Iran: Paul Wolfowitz. End of financial crisis: Author Michael Lewis (“The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine”). (N) 7 and 10 a.m. CNN 

Face the Nation Gov. Chris Christie (R-N.J.). (N) 7:30 a.m. KCBS 

Meet the Press Libya; Middle East unrest: Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), from Cairo. Wisconsin budget standoff and protests: Gov. Scott Walker (R-Wis.). Panel: Gov. Haley Barbour (R-Mo.); Rep. Emanuel Cleaver II (D-Mo.); Richard Trumka, AFL-CIO; Lawrence O'Donnell, MSNBC; Kim Strassel, the Wall Street Journal. (N) 8 a.m. KNBC 

This Week With Christiane Amanpour (N) 8 a.m. KABC 

Fox News Sunday With Chris Wallace Gov. Mitch Daniels; Mike Huckabee; Bill Kristol, Mara Liasson, Dana Perino and Juan Williams. (N) 8 a.m. KTTV 

Reliable Sources Coverage of Wisconsin protests: Steve Pearstein, the Washington Post; Jim Warren, the New York Times; Amy Holmes, Talk Radio Network. PolitiFact: Bill Adair, PolitiFact. (N) 8 a.m. CNN 

60 Minutes Medical con artists prey on dying victims; a Department of Defense employee sells secrets to a spy. (N) 7 p.m. KCBS 

Click here to download TV listings for the week of Feb. 27 - March 5 in PDF format

TV listings for the week of Feb. 27 - March 5 in PDF format (from latimes.com/entertainment/news/tv)

Weekly TV Listings and more can be found at: www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/tv

This week's TV Movies

SUNDAY 

It's time for “The 83rd Academy Awards.” Our favorite movie last year was that one about the one-eyed, one-armed boxer from the Ozarks who outgrows his toys, overcomes a speech impediment, and meets a lesbian couple and a ballerina on Facebook, only to discover it was all just a dream — or was it? (ABC, 5:30 p.m.) 

Speaking of the Oscars, some of our nerdier friends are still perturbed that über-nerd Woody Allen's 1977 comedy “Annie Hall” beat out “Star Wars” for best picture, scoring additional trophies for director, original screenplay and lead actress Diane Keaton. (TCM, 7 p.m.)

MONDAY

Who wore what, and how? Supermodel Paulina Porizkova takes part in an “Academy Awards Red Carpet Fashion Wrap,” and Joan Rivers and company lay down the law on an expanded Oscars edition of “Fashion Police.” (TV Guide, 8 p.m.; E!, 10 p.m.)

TUESDAY

Holy frak! Lucy Lawless and Tricia Helfer? Gotta be “Battlestar Galactica,” right? Nope, it's “No Ordinary Family.” But the former costars share the screen once again when they guest on a new episode of the superhero series. (ABC, 8 p.m.) 

WEDNESDAY

He saw fire and he saw rain. She was made to feel like a natural woman. That'd be James Taylor and Carole King, respectively, just two of the leading lights of the 1970s-era singer-songwriter movement profiled on a new “American Masters.” (KOCE, 8 p.m.) 

THURSDAY

Sing! Sing for your lives! Following Tuesday's boys-only night, and Wednesday's girls-only night, judges Jennifer Lopez, Steven Tyler and Randy Jackson reveal their wild card choices and the field of finalists is set on a new “American Idol.” (Fox, 8 p.m.) 

FRIDAY

Wayne Brady and Holly Robinson Peete co-host the “42nd NAACP Image Awards.” Halle Berry, LL Cool J and Vanessa Williams are scheduled to appear, Michael Franti and gospel music's Mary Mary are scheduled to perform, and Gen. Colin Powell and Surgeon General Regina Benjamin receive special honors. (Fox, 8 p.m.)

SATURDAY

Errol Flynn left some mighty big tights to fill with his 1938 turn as the legendary bandit of Sherwood Forest. Kevin Costner tried — and failed — and unfortunately, Russell Crowe fairs little better in director Ridley Scott's 2010 version of “Robin Hood.” (HBO, 8 p.m.)

KTLA-TV Channel 5 weatherman Mark Kriski, who has been out since November after being stricken with pneumonia and a hospital-borne bacterial infection, is on the mend and is planning to return to the station on Monday.

"I'm doing great, but what a ride it's been," Kriski said Friday during a phone interview from his home. "I''m down a few pounds, and I will have to put on a little weight. But my energy is back and my color is back."

The 20-year veteran, who appears on the "KTLA Morning News," was hospitalized in early November with pneumonia. He later contracted vancomycin-resistant enterococcus (VRE), a "super bug" he caught at the hospital, which was resistent to medication and antibiotics. His lungs became so full of fluid they collapsed, and his heart was also in jeopardy.

"The fluid just exploded, and I  had to be placed in the intensive care unit," said Kriski. "I was on the operating table and had to drain all this fluid."

He said he also had to be intubated for almost two weeks and sedated when doctors feared he might get infected. He had to undergo a second operation to remove more fluid.

"It was like a domino effect," said Jennifer Gould, a reporter at KTLA who is Kriski's girlfriend. "His body was like a war zone."

Kriski called his illness "a life and death experience that has given me a new perspective: On one hand, this was the worst thing that has ever happened to me. On the other hand, it is the best thing that has ever happened. You really do start to appreciate the little things in life."

His return to the station will be gradual: Kriski said he will work on the 7 to 10 a.m. edition of the morning news for two or three days a week  while he gains strength.

Don Corsini, president and general manager of KTLA, said, "We are pleased that Mark's health and strength is improving daily, and we all look forward to his return."

[Corrected at 3:15 p.m.: A previous version of this post incorrectly stated that Kriski had been incubated for four days, rather than intubated.]

[Corrected at 3:34 p.m : A previous version of this post incorrected stated that Kriski was intubated for four days, instead of two weeks.}

--Greg Braxton

Charlie Sheen has a message for the cast and crew who might be losing their jobs on "Two and a Half Men," a show he referred to as a bad-joke-filled "pukefest that everyone worships": "Be patient. Get focused. We are at war. And there are ways to deal with these clowns and take all their money."

On Friday, Charlie Sheen appeared on FOX Sports Radio's "Loose Cannons" program to speak with host Pat O'Brien about the future of his hit show. Asked what happened with "Two and a Half Men" -- the show was suspended after Sheen trashed executive producer Chuck Lorre on multiple radio shows -- he said, “They kept getting up in my grill, kept telling me how to live my personal life, [I’m] saying, 'Back off, back off,' and they wouldn’t.”

Sheen specifically complained about the judgment of Lorre and his collaborator Lee Aronsohn. “These guys are a couple of AA Nazis and just blatant hypocrites," he said. "They just do not practice what they preach. It’s so transparent and so sad." (Lorre has been open about his own battles with substance abuse.)

Sheen insisted that, despite the show's suspension, he'd still fight to get paid. “Defeat is not an option," he said. "They know what they did was wrong; they are in absolute breach [of contract]. I did nothing wrong. I expressed an opinion, I have the First Amendment and I have an army marching behind me, to quote Eminem.”

“I put a billion dollars in the studio’s pockets and I put half a billion dollars in Chuck’s pocket," he added. "So this is the ... thanks I get?" But he also seemed relieved that the show might be dead. "It's been a toxic environment for eight years," he said. "I feel like an unwelcome relative being given cold coffee at 8:00 every night.”

O'Brien told Sheen that many people want him to succeed and go back to acting normal. “I’m not normal," Sheen replied. "And they’ve never gotten their mind around that… If people want me to succeed, they should find the most comfortable chair in their ... house and lean back, open a beer and watch the show, because it’s about to get really gnarly."

Sheen reaffirmed that he was "100%" sober during the interview, though he also acknowledged that it would be hard for people to test him, as he’s out in the Bahamas on a boat, surrounded by water.

-- Melissa Maerz

Photo: Charlie Sheen. Credit: Chris Pizzello / Associated Press

Casey Abrams, the "American Idol" Top 24 semifinalist who was rushed to the hospital Wednesday after complaining of severe stomach pains, is expected to perform at tonight's taping featuring the Top 12 male contenders.

Earlier reports had indicated that Abrams was too ill to perform, a requirement if he is to stay in the competion. He has already been positioned as a frontrunner in the competition because of his singing and stand-up bass playing.

The episode featuring Abrams and the other male semifinalists is expected to air Tuesday, followed by Wednesday's episode featuring the top 12 females. The first live results show of the season to determine the season's finalists will air Thursday.

 -- Greg Braxton

Photo: Casey Abrams

Credit: Fox

In Tweeter's Digest, we look at the events of the week as seen through the eyes -- or, rather, the Twitter feeds -- of TV personalities.

Some stars  -- Danny DeVito, Ian Somerhalder of "Vampire Diaries," Bear Grylls of "Man vs Wild," SNL's Seth Myers -- are worrying about the news of the world (earthquakes in New Zealand, revolution in the Arab world). Others tweet about appearing at the White House ("Glee" kids Amber Riley and Mark Salling) or issue Charlie Sheen-related tweets. They better hope Sheen doesn't check in to Twitter, or those "fire-breathing fists" might fly.

After only four months, Kathleen Parker is leaving her post as the co-anchor of "Parker Spitzer,"CNN announced on Friday.

Starting Monday, the show will take on an ensemble format featuring "several newsmakers, guests and contributors" joining the sole remaining host, Eliot Spitzer, each night. It will operate under a new title, "In the Arena."

"Simply put, the new program will look beyond the headlines to analyze and discuss the most important stories of the day," said CNN executive vice president Ken Jautz in a statement. "The program will provide context and analysis through balanced and thoughtful discussions and interviews with a wide range of guests and newsmakers who cumulatively represent various points of view."

CNN said that Parker will continue to appear on CNN "occasionally to provide her insights and commentary."

"We thank Kathleen for her hard work and all that she has done to help us launch our new 8pm program," said Jautz. "We respect her as a colleague and appreciate her perspective and contributions."

"Parker Spitzer" was the first big step in CNN's plan to revitalize its prime time ratings. But after premiering in October, it struggled with low ratings, reportedly creating tension between the two co-hosts. In December, the New York Post reported that Parker had threatened to quit the show because she was frustrated with Spitzer's controlling personality. One month later, the Washington Post reported that CNN was considering replacing Parker.

In a statement, Parker claimed that juggling a show while writing columns proved too much: "While I am extremely proud of the show we created, and the subject matter and level of discourse Parker Spitzer promoted every night, it was a difficult decision to scale back my column a few months ago and, with the show going in a new direction, it is a good time to move on."

Spitzer wished Parker the best in "continuing on with her spectacular career."

"It has been a joy working with her as a teammate," he said in a statement, "and I continue to be a huge fan of the wisdom that jumps from her written work and the wit, charm and insight she brings to all that she does."

--Melissa Maerz

Credit: Kathleen Parker and Eliott Spitzer of "Parker Spitzer." Credit: Lorenzo Bevilaqua / CNN.

(Part 4 of four in ShowTracker's "The 'Shameless' kids" series.)

Cameron Monaghan is quite the TV boy. He's appeared on Fox's "Fringe," FX's "Terriers" (may it rest in peace), CBS' "The Mentalist" and USA's Monk ... to name just a few. And he's adding to the list. In the coming weeks, Monaghan can be seen on CBS' "NCIS." But for a steady fix of the red-haired actor, one need only look to his role on Showtime's "Shameless." 

The 17-year-old  (who will also appear in the upcoming Disney feature film "Prom") plays Ian, the third eldest kid in the rambunctious Gallagher clan. He's in Army ROTC at school and spends his nights stocking shelves at a local grocery store -- oh, and he's having a secret affair with the store owner. Only it doesn't stay secret for long. 

Here's what Monaghan has to say about his initial thoughts on the show, what sets Ian apart from other gay characters on TV and which character he sympathizes with. ...

What did you think of the show from reading the script?

When I first read the script, it was definitely a little shocking. It’s something that you don’t get handed on a normal basis. It’s raw; it can be crude. As I kept reading more and more of it, I realized what the show was trying to do: It’s being very truthful and to never hold back, to never hide anything.

What do you think is preventing Ian from coming out to his family? 

I think that Frank could definitely have a problem with it. He’s very close-minded and set in his ways. And it’s the neighborhood too — it's not really something you want known. And I think he thinks the family kind of has an idea of who he is and if he comes out to them, they’ll feel different about him. 

What sets Ian apart from other gay characters on television right now?

Apparently all is not totally lost without Simon Cowell.

"American Idol's" two-hour show, which revealed its top 24, was a hit for Fox on Thursday night.  

The 8 p.m. hour drew 21.3 million viewers, while the second hour garnered 21.8 million viewers, according to the Nielsen Co. That was up 19% compared with the comparable "Idol" airing last year, which was slightly depressed due to competition from NBC's Winter Olympics coverage.

It should be noted that neither hour of "Idol" reached the ratings for the previous Thursday's one-hour telecast, which brought in 22.2 million viewers. But the show has typically plateaued mid-season before rising again toward the finale. Overall, "Idol" is performing much better with new judges Steven Tyler and Jennifer Lopez than many skeptics predicted.

Overall, Fox was king of the night with an average of 21.6 million viewers, easily cruising past CBS (12.7 million). ABC was third with 7.6 million viewers while NBC managed 4.3 million. Rounding it all out was the CW with 2.5 million, down from last week.

"Idol" is airing on Thursdays for the first time this year, which is enabling Fox to dominate a key night for advertising.

-- Yvonne Villarreal
twitter.com/villarrealy

Photo: The top 24 contestants on Fox's "American Idol." Credit: Michael Becker / Fox

It may appear to the viewer that the stars of "Jersey Shore" are quite content bumbling through their days of Gym, Tanning and Laundry. But apparently they would also like to make a little money writing books about it on the side.

JWoww (a.k.a. Jenni Farley) is the third cast-mate to write a book: "The Rules According to JWoww: Shore-Tested Secrets on Landing a Mint Guy, Staying Fresh to Death, and Kicking the Competition to the Curb" currently sits at No. 6 on the L.A. Times bestseller list for nonfiction, just one slot above Barack Obama's "Of Thee I Sing."

The problem for JWoww, though, is that "Shore" fans might not turn out to be quite as bookwormish as the show's stars. Snooki (a.k.a. Nicole Polizzi) and the Situation (Mike Sorrentino) both penned books recently that haven't sold so well. 

Snooki wrote a novel on a subject she knows all too well: a summer on the now-infamous Jersey Shore. According to Amazon, "A Shore Thing" is the story of Giovanna "Gia" Spumanti and her cousin Isabella "Bella" Rizzoli, who are "going to have the sexiest summer ever." The two girls are "ready to pouf up their hair, put on their stilettos, and soak up all that Seaside Heights, New Jersey, has to offer: hot guidos, cool clubs, fried Oreos, and lots of tequila."