Blue Bloods

SERIES Flea Man: A flea-market guru helps everyday folk get top dollar for their formerly prized possessions in this new docu-series (5, 6, 8 and 9 p.m. National Geographic). Flashpoint: Team members are put through rigorous psychological tests in this new episode of the imported cop drama (8 p.m. CBS). Friday Night Lights: Coach (Kyle Chandler) considers suspending Vince (Michael B. Jordan) from the team in this new episode of the high school football-themed drama (8 p.m. NBC)

I do not envy those who desire to break in to writing fiction about cops. Although private-eye novels are enough on the commercial downswing that it's high time for a proper revival of the subgenre, police procedurals are in the midst of a mass media glut. Think I'm exaggerating? The television series "Law & Order" got canceled just as a new spinoff, "Law & Order: Los Angeles," debuted on the airwaves last fall. Michael Connelly's new book, "The Fifth Witness," brings back his legal-eagle hero Mickey Haller (recently portrayed by Matthew McConaughey in the film version of "The Lincoln Lawyer")

Showtime's new comedy "Episodes," which recently concluded its first season, follows the adventures of a married couple in Hollywood as they adapt their British hit show to American TV. This being television, they are assailed by all manner of sexual and social silliness, but the show is still a rare example of art imitating life. Currently, at least a half-dozen successful shows, including "Big Love," "The Good Wife" and "Blue Bloods," are being run by writers who not only work but also sleep together.

Forest Whitaker has built a career on channeling the souls of troubled characters. From his guest-star turns on "ER" and "The Shield," where he played obsessive and violent men, to his 2006 Oscar-winning performance in "The Last King of Scotland" as the ruthless Ugandan dictator Idi Amin, the 49-year-old actor has distinguished himself as a fearsome, shape-shifting force on the big and small screen. Now he has taken what appears to be an odd fit: a network TV drama where he plays the good guy. In this "against type" role, Whitaker is the lead in "Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior," a spinoff of the successful CBS drama that focuses on a team of FBI profilers who travel the country investigating horrific crimes.

Tom Selleck says he's scared. He has spent so much of the winter holidays working on the script for the next "Jesse Stone" that he's afraid he's lost touch with Frank Reagan, the character he plays in the CBS hit police drama "Blue Bloods. " So he's flying back to New York, where "Blue Bloods" is set and filmed, a few days early to immerse himself in Frank's world. FOR THE RECORD: Tom Selleck: An article in the Feb. 13 Calendar section about Tom Selleck and his work on the CBS police drama "Blue Bloods" described the actor as "a true baby boomer.

A cool water droplet hit my forehead as I descended narrow stairs into the caves. An overwhelming smell — ammonia meets dirty feet — assaulted my nostrils. Chilly, stinky, damp. It was heaven. I had entered the caves of Roquefort ( rohk-FOR ), a village in the south of France and home to the world's most famous blue cheese. My love affair with Roquefort possibly began in the womb. My mother loved all things French, especially pungent cheeses. So I panicked last year when I saw a newspaper headline declaring: "U.S.

Every now and then a number leaps out. Friday morning it was the size of NBC's Thursday night audience. On a night that NBC owned for decades, the network averaged fewer than 5 million viewers. To put it into some context, more people watched the season finale of MTV's "Jersey Shore" than what NBC averaged for the evening. The CW was only 1.5 million viewers behind NBC. It's not like the network was in rerun mode. It had new episodes of its critical darlings "Community," "30 Rock" and "The Office.