TV picks: Exit 'Mentalist' & 'Men,' enter 'Odd Couple'

*  THE BOOK OF NEGROES. 8 tonight, tomorrow, Wednesday, BET.

Aunjanue Ellis ("NCIS: LA") stars in the epic story of a slave whose journey to freedom highlights a little-known chapter of U.S. (and Canadian) history. Story, Page 23.

*  THE MENTALIST. 8 and 9 p.m. Wednesday, CBS3.

Maybe Patrick Jane (Simon Baker) and his fake-psychic-detective act ran a season (or two) too long, but who doesn't want to see him find happiness with Agent Teresa Lisbon (Robin Tunney) in the series'

final two episodes? A serial killer, that's who. They're such spoilsports.

*  TWO AND A HALF MEN. 9 p.m. Thursday, CBS3.

After 12 seasons, TV's hardest-to-kill comedy ends in a one-hour episode titled, "Of Course He's Dead." Will former star Charlie Sheen - whose character's body was never found - show up with Jon Cryer and Sheen replacement Ashton Kutcher in the Malibu Beach house? Everyone involved has been coy in a way that suggests they'd like us to tune in to find out.

*  THE ODD COUPLE. 8:30 p.m. Thursday, CBS3.

You're asking why CBS would go to this well again? Me, too. The pilot establishes Thomas Lennon ("Reno 911!") as a Felix Unger for the 21st century, and his yoga skills are impressive. Matthew Perry brings his rumpled best to Oscar Madison, now a sports-radio host working out of the apartment he'll be sharing with the newly single

Felix. We'll just have to see if that's enough.

*  VIKINGS. 10 p.m. Thursdays, History.

I've lost the thread to some extent, but the visuals in this show are so stunning I mostly don't care. In the Season 3 opener, "Mercenary," King Ecbert (Linus Roache) pulls a bait-and-switch on Ragnar (Travis Fimmel), which leads, as most things do on "Vikings," to war. Oh, and Lagertha (Katheryn Winnick), who is easily my favorite character, acquires a new admirer.

- Ellen Gray