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A Utah man's real life is fictionalized — sort of — in this week's episode of "The Big Bang Theory" (7 p.m., CBS/Ch. 2).
Ken Sullivan of Farmington is a finalist to participate in the privately-funded Mars One mission. Which would take him to the red planet and away from his wife and children. For good.
Which didn't make his daughter, Kaitlyn, happy. She told The Salt Lake Tribune, "I don't like it, not at all. When he leaves, I'd have a way to talk to him, but I can't ever see him in person again. It makes me sad because I'm going to miss him."
In tonight's episode of "Big Bang," Sheldon (Jim Parsons) signs up for a one-way mission to colonize Mars. And that doesn't make his girlfriend, Amy (Mayim Bialik) sad, it makes her mad. And the pair get into a big fight at the pet store, where they're buying a turtle.
Elsewhere on TV …
"Grey's Anatomy" (7 p.m., ABC/Ch. 4): Amelia begins operating on Dr. Herman, but quickly realizes it's far more difficult than she anticipated.
"The Slap" (7 p.m., NBC/Ch. 5): Manolis tries to convince Aisha to forgive Harry.
"American Idol" (7 p.m., Fox/Ch. 13): The top eight female singers perform.
"The Odd Couple" (7:30 p.m., CBS/Ch. 2): When Oscar realizes he's forgotten Felix's birthday, he pulls together a last-minute surprise party.
"The Blacklist" (8 p.m., NBC/Ch. 5): Tom undertakes a new mission.
"Backstrom" (8 p.m., Fox/Ch. 13): An oil-pipeline explosion in Backstrom's childhood hometown may be the work of ecoterrorists,
"Portlandia" (8 p.m., IFC): Dave and Kath try to squeeze in rehearsals for a karaoke party.
"Mom" (8:30 p.m., CBS/Ch. 2): Christy and Bonnie are shocked when they discover how prison has changed their friend Regina (Octavia Spencer).
"Elementary" (9 p.m., CBS/Ch. 2): When Holmes is implicated in the murder of a woman who was killed during the height of his addiction, he investigates himself.
"American Crime" (9 p.m., ABC/Ch.4): Premiere of this excellent new crime drama that's about those touched by the violent crime — not so much about the investigation into it.
"Allegiance" (9 p.m., NBC/Ch. 5): The FBI is looking for a mole.
Men's college basketball (9 p.m., ESPNU): Utah at Washington State
"Archer" (11 p.m., FX): The gang swindles a royal family.
"Dig" (11 p.m., USA): In the premiere of this miniseries, FBI agent Peter Connelly unearths an international mystery while investigating the murder of a young American in Jerusalem.