“The Sopranos”
Sunday 9pm, HBO
Finally! It’s taken eight years, but the final eight episodes of Season 6—and the series —begin airing tonight, wrapping up the epic tale of Jersey mob boss Tony Soprano, his family and his Family. Spoilers are hard to come by, but it doesn’t look good for Christopher (doing heroin and your mob boss’ girlfriend is not a winning combination), and I will personally be stunned if Tony walks out of all this alive. The entire series has been building toward to his inevitable fall; with some of the crap he’s pulled, he just has to get a brutal karmic comeuppance. I can tell you that the final scene was shot in a New Jersey ice cream shop. Maybe the families all get together and work out their problems over a pint of mint chocolate chip. Or maybe everybody dies. Yeah. Probably that last one.
“Entourage”
Sunday 10pm, HBO
Season 4 of the Hollywood boys’ club comedy begins with Vince working with a hot new agent, Amanda, played by Carla Gugino. Gugino’s one of those likable actresses who keep getting stuck on quick-to-be cancelled shows, like “Threshold,” “Karen Sisco,” etc. She’s also gorgeous, and I suspect she might end up getting more than her 10 percent from Vince, if you get my drift. This all leaves poor, fired Ari pretty much screwed, which of course makes his long-suffering assistant, Lloyd, even more screwed. As far as guest stars, rumor has it that an episode was written especially for Jennifer Lopez (no official word on whether La Lopez said yes), and Pauly Shore will definitely make an appearance as his washed-up self who turns his reality prank show’s lens on Drama. Yes, you read that right. Pauly Shore. Prepare yourselves now.
“Punk’d”
Saturday 1pm, MTV
Producer/creator Ashton Kutcher promises that this eighth season will be the last for this “Candid Camera” for the MTV generation. We’ve heard that before, of course, but this time it’s probably true. He’s a family man now and getting a little long in the tooth to be playing the impish frat boy card. We’ve had some laughs (denying Halle Berry entrance into her own movie premiere was pretty good, and the Justin Timberlake repo man bit remains a classic). But it’s time to put the baby to bed. Celebrities tormented by Kutcher this season include “Lost”’s Evangeline Lilly, Hilary Swank (oh, I’m sure she has a great sense of humor…), Nelly Furtado, and Magic Johnson and Jewel. Magic Johnson and Jewel? Damn, it really is time to call it quits. A sneak peek marathon airs today, before the show moves to its Tuesday night timeslot.