Monday on TV: 'Mom' ends its first season on a high note

Mom (8:30 p.m., CBS/Ch. 2) comes to the end of its first season tonight, and there definitely have been ups and downs.

The first few episodes of this sitcom about Christy (Anna Faris), a recovering alcoholic; her mother, Bonnie (Allison Janney), a recovering alcoholic; and Christy's daughter, Violet (Sadie Calvano), a pregnant teenager, were sharp and funny. Then the series sort of lost its way as it became more about Christy's series of boyfriends.

But the show got back on track as it became more about Christy's interactions with a recovering alcoholic diagnosed with cancer (Mimi Kennedy); a recovering alcoholic headed for prison (Octavia Spencer).

And, somewhat surprisingly, it struck comedy gold when Christy met her father, Alvin (Kevin Pollak), who abandoned Bonnie when Christy was born.

In tonight's excellent season finale, Violet goes into labor. And Bonnie discovers she has feeling for Alvin after he has a heart attack - much to the amusement of Christy.

(She's amused by her mother's feelings, not her father's heart attack.)

The good news is that "Mom" has already been renewed for next season. Can't wait to see where this goes next.

Elsewhere on TV ...

Two Broke Girls (7 p.m., CBS/Ch. 2): Max and Caroline agree to make a wedding cake for a bride (Lindsay Lohan) who can't decide on what style of cake she wants. (New timeslot)

Dancing with the Stars (7 p.m., ABC/Ch. 4): The remaining contestants perform; dancers face elimination.

The Voice (7 p.m., NBC/Ch. 5): The playoffs continue.

Bones (7 p.m., Fox/Ch. 13): A murder victim found in a swamp was cryogenically frozen.

Star Crossed (7 p.m., CW/Ch. 30): Emery tells Roman not to trust his uncle.

Friends with Better Lives (7:30 p.m., CBS/Ch. 2): Kate takes Will to a bar and acts as his wingman. (Regular time slot)

Mike & Molly (8 p.m., CBS/Ch. 2): Carl, Mike and Samuel take a road trip to Memphis to meet Carl's mother.

The Following (8 p.m., Fox/Ch. 13): Ryan hopes to infiltrate the cult and capture Joe Carroll.

The Tomorrow People (8 p.m., CW/Ch. 30): Can there be a truce between the Tomorrow People and Ultra?

The Blacklist (9 p.m., NBC/Ch. 5): Liz finally confronts her phony husband.