TONIGHT'S MUST-SEE: Emmy awards, 8-11
p.m. ET, NBC.
Jimmy Fallon hosts, bringing quirky
humor and a real passion for TV and award shows.
There are plenty of key newcomers this
year. “The Good Wife” is up for best drama, “Glee” and
“Modern Family” are up for best comedy and all three have lots of
acting nominations.
For extra drama, there's the question
of whether Conan O'Brien can win for his short-lived “Tonight”
stay at NBC. To do it, he'd have to end a seven-year “Daily Show”
streak.
TONIGHT'S MIGHT-SEE: “Masterpiece
Mystery,” 9-10:30 p.m., PBS (check local listings).
Inspector Robert Lewis seems to have
undergone a remarkable transformation. Once the quiet assistant to
Inspector Morse, he became a hesitant police inspector.
Not any more,. Tonight he shows powers
of Sherlock/Poirot proportions. He's proclaimed a genius.
And rightly so: This is a colorful tale
of old rock-and-rollers, with Joanna Lumley giving a bravura
performance. Death and misbehavior pile up; somehow, Lewis penetrates
it all quite cleverly.
Other choices include:
– “Washington Watch,” 11 a.m., TV
One. This special edition was taped in New Orleans. Elsewhere, the
fifth anniversary of Hurricanbe Katrina will be the subject on
“Sanjay Gupta, M.D.” (7:30 a.m., CNN), plus morning shows, the
Weather Channel and NBC's “Meet the Press” and nightly news.
– “Casino Royale” (2006), 8-11
p.m., ABC. The action is exciting, the dialog is clever and Daniel
Craig is a first-rate James Bond. The plot, alas, is a general mess.
– Football, 8 p.m. ET, Fox. With NBC
otherwise occupied, Fox gets the football spotlight. It has the
Pittsburgh Steelers at the Denver Broncos.
– “The Cove” (2008), 9-11 p.m.,
Animal Planet. Here is an unrelenting look at the industry that
captures and (mostly) slaughters dolphins. Ric O'Barry and colleagues
used stealth, technology and sheer nerve to get chilling footage; the
result won an Academy Award for best documentary feature.
– “Border Wars” season-opener, 9
p.m., National Geographic. Last year's episodes (rerunning from 4-9
p.m. and 11 p.m. to midnight) were based in Arizona. Now things move
to Texas, with no let-up. The opening hour finds a body in the Rio
Grande, a huge drug stash in the woods and a house filled with
would-be immigrants. One says he's lived in New York for a dozen
years, then returned home to see his ailing mother. Now he can't get
back to his wife, children and job.
– “Rubicon,” 9 p.m., AMC. Tonight
brings peeks at the personal lives of Will's enigmatic boss Kale and
his vulnerable assistant Maggie. All of that is intriguing, but
doesn't get him (or us) closer to answers.
– “True Blood,” 9 p.m., HBO. Bill
tries, unsuccessfully, to win back Sookie's trust.
– “Hung” and “Entourage,” 10
and 10:30 p.m., HBO. This is a night for supporting characters to
crumble. Tanya falls apart in “Hung,” after failing to return
money. Ari has a spectacular failure in “Entourage,” in the
middle of a classy restaurant.
– “Secrets From a Stylist,” 10
p.m., HGTV. Fresh from her “Design Star” win, Emily Henderson
decorates the new home of “Glee” co-creator Ian Brennan.
– “Mad Men,” 10 p.m., AMC.
Peggy's unhappy with her new creative partner.