Top 55 TV Programs for April 5-11, 2009

Sunday’s Oklahoman, which includes TV Week, hits the newsstands in the Oklahoma City area on Saturday afternoon. And it arrives at the doorstep (or hopefully nearby) early Sunday morning.
But for those who can’t wait to begin planning the upcoming week around the best TV has to offer, here is a sneak peek at programs worth watching the week of April 5:

SUNDAY, APRIL 5
◊The 44th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards (7 p.m. on CBS): Reba McEntire returns as host (for a record 11th time) for the event airing live from MGM Grand in Las Vegas. She is also scheduled to perform, along with Toby Keith, Miranda Lambert, Rascal Flatts and Miley Cyrus. Artists with Oklahoma ties up for awards include Carrie Underwood (entertainer of the year, top female vocalist), Brooks & Dunn (top vocal duo, vocal event with McEntire), Miranda Lambert (top female vocalist, single of the year), Toby Keith (top male vocalist), Rascal Flats (top vocal group) and Trish Yearwood (vocal event with Josh Turner).
◊“Explorer: Inside Guantanamo” (8 p.m. on National Geographic): This two-hour special takes viewers inside one of the world’s most famous prisons for a look at day-to-day life. A film crew spent nearly three weeks inside the prison, chronicling the interaction between guards and detainees.
◊“Fast Machines With Funkmaster Flex” (9:30 p.m. on SPIKE): Funkmaster Flex, reknown car customizer in the music and sports world, hosts this new series that will showcase his talents in updating and modifying cars.
◊“Good Buy, Bad Buy?” (11:30 a.m. on HGTV): This new series features housing experts coming to the rescue of overwhelmed house-hunting families. Each episode will profile two different homebuyers as they struggle to determine which of their favorite two potential homes is the better buy.
◊“Hometown Heroes” (8 a.m. on DirecTV): Joan Lunden (“Wickedly Perfect”) returns as host of this special series that focuses on everyday people from across America whose extraordinary work and humanity are transforming the lives of those in their community.
◊“In Treatment” (8 p.m. on HBO): In Season 2 of the half-hour drama, which will premiere new episodes on Sunday and Monday nights, the newly divorced Dr. Paul Weston has relocated from Maryland to Brooklyn, and now runs his therapy practice out of the living room of his brownstone. Among his new patients are Mia (Hope Davis, “Six Degrees”), an attorney; Walter (John Mahoney, “Frasier”), a CEO; and April (Alison Pill, “The Book of Daniel”), an architecture student.
◊“Kings” (7 p.m. on NBC): When King Silas sacrifices Port Prosperity to reach peace with Gath, David Shepherd must decide where his true loyalties lie. Leslie Bibb (”Popular”) guest stars.
◊“Last Cake Standing” (7 p.m. on Food Network): This competition series throws six pastry chefs into a grueling four-round cake competition — from creating one-of-a-kind wedding creations to undergoing a 24-hour cake-making marathon. Each week, judges eliminate one cake artist, and the winner takes home $50,000.
◊“My Mother’s Garden” (9 p.m. on MSNBC): This new documentary offers a daughter’s eyewitness account of her mother’s compulsive disorder and the way in which one family comes together to cope with a mental illness that affects millions.
◊“River Monsters” (9 p.m. on Animal Planet): Extreme angler Jeremy Wade explores the murky waters of the globe to debunk fish tales. His weekly quest catapults him in search of piranha, alligator gar, wels catfish and bullsharks, piraiba/candiru — all supposedly deadly creatures shrouded with mystery.