Tonight in HD: December 22

SoHo Highlight: Treme (Sky 10, 8.30, 5.1) A judge’s ultimatum gives hope to LaDonna and Toni; Albert makes a stand and pays the price; Antoine gets an airport gig but loses a mentor. “Seven episodes into Treme, the Daymo case is the closest thing we’ve had to Wire-like procedural thread, and I’m not sure whether its strong conclusion—to the mystery at least; there’s more fallout to come—is evidence of this show’s strength or that David Simon and company are better at handling crime procedural than the slice of life Treme normally traffics,” the AV Club observed. According to New Orleans’ Times-Picayune, the episode title, Smoke My Peace Pipe, is from a song on a self-titled 1974 LP by The Wild Magnolias. “The teleplay is by David Mills and Davis Rogan, a musician, DJ and educator who served as one of Treme co-creator David Simon’s early research muses for Treme, and is the model for the Davis McAlary character. Rogan is also a consultant and writer for the series, and has appeared in several scenes, including as pianist in McAlary’s recording of Shame, Shame, Shame.” ✭✭✭✭✭

Special: Merry Madagascar (TV2, 7.00, R) When Santa crash lands on an island, it falls to Alex, Marty, Melman and Gloria, along with the ever inventive penguins, to deliver the presents and save Christmas. ✭✭✭

Modern Family (TV3, 7.00, 5.1, R) Claire and Mitchell enlist each other’s help in trying to spare their significant others from embarrassment. ✭✭✭✭

The X Factor USA (TV3, 7.30, 5.1) Season finale: part one. Earlier this week, creator/judge Simon Cowell acknowledged mistakes were made on the inaugural season: “Namely, being too British, letting too many votes go uncast and allowing too many deadlocks to decide outcomes that could have been decidedly different.” ✭✭

Family Guy (TV3, 10.00, R) When Bonnie goes out of town, Meg offers to check in on Joe, but she soon becomes a little too involved and starts freaking everyone out – especially Joe. ✭✭✭

Lie to Me (TV3, 11.15, 5.1, R) When a commanding officer of an important military unit is accused of a sexual assault, Cal and Torres are called in to determine if the accusation is true before he is shipped back to Afghanistan. ✭✭

Diplomatic Immunity (TV One, 11.35, R) Comedy about the misadventures at the consulate of The Most Royal Kingdom of Feausi, and the fallen New Zealand Foreign Affairs high-flier who’s been sent in to straighten out the consulate staff. ✭✭✭

Criminal Minds (TV One, 12.05, R) ✭✭

Series premiere: Mental (TV3, 12.10, 5.1) Dr Jack Gallagher (Prison Break’s Chris Vance) arrives at his new job and uses unorthodox methods to gain a patient’s trust in the series premiere of this 2009 medical-mystery drama that lasted only 13 episodes. The New Yorker echoed the views of most critics when it dubbed this House wannabe “solidly mediocre: it’s not good, it’s not terrible, and there’s no reason for it to exist”. Quipped The Washington Post: “The parts of the show that don’t seem recycled from previous medical dramas seem recycled from previous crime dramas, with just a few changes of vernacular and gadgetry.” ✭✭

The Vampire Diaries (TV2, 2.30, R) ✭✭✭