Weekend TV: 'Constantine,' 'Simpsons,' 'Newsroom'

Constantine
NBC, Friday, 10 ET/PT

Let's look on the bright side. Yes, Constantine's second episode was disappointing, bordering on terrible — but it was, in effect, a second, unplanned pilot designed to reboot the show by introducing Angelica Celaya's Zed. Now she's here. Let's see if the writers can give her and Matt Ryan something more exciting to do.

The Simpsons
Fox, Sunday, 8 ET/PT

It's the crossover Simpsons fans have either longed for or dreaded: a visit from Matt Groening's other cartoon, Futurama. Pretty much all the vocal stars are on hand for this special visit, which finds the Planet Express crew time traveling to prevent the Simpsons from destroying the future.

The Newsroom
HBO, Sunday, 9 ET/PT

Aaron Sorkin's series kicks off a six-episode final run with an outing that once again finds the show's virtues overwhelmed by its flaws, from its easy-target sanctimony to its monotone banter. (The opening moments alone, a name-dropping, nonsensical argument over wedding attendants, seems built to warn viewers off.) HBO is promoting this third season with the tagline, "Every Story Needs a Final Word" — but the truth for Newsroom is that the last word we heard last year was really enough. What this show needed was to end, so that the very talented people involved, led by Sorkin himself, could move on to new and possibly better work.