Neal Justin's TV picks for Jan. 30-Feb. 1 -- Mel Brooks, Fall Out Boy, "Shakespeare Uncovered," "The Blacklist"

Fall Out Boy, Charli XCX and Nick Lachey are the first-string team for "Super Bowl Blitz: A Concert for the Troops." A decent lineup, but I wouldn't want any of them playing defense for my football team. Well, maybe Charli. She looks tough. 8 p.m. Friday, VH1

"Shakespeare Uncovered," the wonderful series in which top actors help make classic plays accessible to the masses, returns with "Downton Abbey" patriarch Hugh Bonneville breaking down "A Midsummer Night's Dream" and Christopher Plummer dissecting "King Lear" — a play he knows well, having given "the performance of a lifetime" in a New York staging a decade ago, according to the New York Times. Future tour guides include Morgan Freeman and Kim Cattrall. 8 & 9 p.m. Friday, TPT, Ch. 2

At the age of 88, Mel Brooks is still hamming it up, especially in his new one-man show "Mel Brooks Live at the Geffen." I didn't necessarily need to hear him warble the theme song from "High Anxiety," but his anecdotes about Sid Caesar, Gene Wilder, Alfred Hitchcock and his late wife Anne Bancroft are priceless. Look for a surprise cameo from one of Brooks' longtime pals. 8 p.m. Saturday, HBO

In TV land, snagging the post-Super Bowl spot is almost as valuable as winning the Lombardi Trophy. The prize this year goes to "The Blacklist," a series that continues to endure and amuse, despite having to lean so heavily on James Spader's natural smugness. He gets competition in the show's return to the airwaves in the form of Ron Perlman, who has a few tricks of his own mixing charm and cruelness. Approximately 9:15 p.m. Sunday, KARE, Ch. 11

Neal Justin