TONIGHT'S MUST-SEE: “Frontline,” 9
p.m., PBS (check local listings; in Lansing, Mich., for instance, this will be replaced by a "Great Performances" opera).
Bleeding from a gun shot, Henry Glover
needed quick aid. The hospital was too far away; his brother and a
passer-by took him to a compound police had set up after Hurricane
Katrina.
Then came fierce after-shocks. Glover's
body was later found in a burned-out car; five years later, five New
Orleans cops face federal indictments.
That's probed here by “Frontline,”
the New Orleans paper (Times-Picayune) and an investigative
journalism group (ProPublica). They trace a post-Katrina time when
false rumors flowed; the mayor and his police chief repeated them and
some people felt (incorrectly) that martial law had been declared.
The result was chilling.
TONIGHT'S MUST-SEE II: “The Middle,”
8 and 8:30 p.m., ABC.
Here's a fresh chance to see the pilot
film that launched this above-average comedy.
Patricia Heaton plays a car salesman
who has never sold a car, a mom who has trouble showing up at school
on the right day. It's a good start for a likable show. In tonight's
second rerun, financial troubles mean she tries a stunt at work and
her son can't get library books … so he reads her steamy novels.
Other choices include:
– “MasterChef,” 8-10 p.m., Fox.
Tonight's challenges are small-scale and large-scale: First, make a
single cupcake; then, cook for truckers.
– “Great Performances,” 8 p.m.,
PBS (check local listings). The Vienna Philharmonic performs in a
gorgeous, outdoor setting – the gardens of Schonbrunn Palace.
– “Big Brother,” 8 p.m., CBS.
Here's the “power of veto” competition, prior to the seventh
person being ousted Thursday.
– “America's Got Talent,” 9 p.m.,
NBC. Tonight, the show will have half of its final 10 acts. They'll
be named from the 12 semi-finalists who performed Tuesday.
– “Modern Family,” 9 p.m., ABC.
In this rerun, Jay is delighted to go to Hawaii. Then he learns that
all his kids, in-laws and grandkids are coming; things get chaotic at
the airport.
– “Ghost Hunters” return, 9 p.m.,
Syfy. The team members stay overnight in the beautiful old Otesaga
Hotel, in Cooperstown, NY, when there are no other guests to confuse
things. They emerge with sights and sounds that get ghost buffs very
excited – but might seem scant to viewers.
– “The Choir,” 10 p.m., BBC
America. Gareth Malone started this year at an all-boys school where
students said singing is for girls. He concludes it by conducting
100-plus voices at Royal Albert Hall. The result is worth catching; a
reunion episode will be next week.
– “She's Got the Look”
season-opener, 10 p.m., TV Land. This modeling contest (for ages 35
and up) has previously chosen winners who were 40 and 45. In this
fairly interesting hour, 10 contestants – including a lawyer, a
bus mechanic and a 54-year-old grandmother of six – pose on the
beach.
– “Anderson Cooper, 360,” 10
p.m., CNN. Cooper was one of the first national reporters to reach
New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, raging at slow government
response. He'll sets up anchor duties here for the next three days;
other networks arrive soon, leading into Sunday's fifth anniversary
of Katrina.