Mike Hughes on TV

TODAY'S MUST-SEE: Football, 4:30 and 8
p.m. ET, NBC.

This is the one time each year when pro
football steps into Saturday's prime time. It's a double-header for
NBC, which wraps up the season for John Madden, Al Michaels and
others.

The first game has the division-winning
Cincinnati Bengals (10-6) hosting the wild-card New York Jets (9-7).
The second has the Philadelphia Eagles and Dallas Cowboys, each 11-5,
playing for the second straight week in Dallas.

TONIGHT'S MUST-SEE II: “Demons,” 8
and 9 p.m., BBC America.

If you missed last week's opener, catch
it at 8. That's when Luke, an ordinary (albeit attractive) teen,
meets his American godfather. He learns he's the descendant of Van
Helsing, the famed vampire-hunter. Luke inherits an ancient library,
some weapons and a lot of enemies.

Then comes the new hour, with an angel
kidnapping children. Luke needs help from a blind pianist; and from
his friend (she'd prefer “girlfriend”) Ruby; and from an ancient
soul who dismisses Luke's godfather as a “colonist.” The result
has an appealing mix of drama, whimsy and throw-away humor.

Other choices include:

– “The Bachelor,” 8-10 p.m., ABC.
If you missed Monday's season-opener, here's a second chance. The
good news: Jake Pavelka would seem to be a good catch, a pilot with a
fine physique (displayed often in the first half-hour) and pleasant
face. The bad: His conversation, while polite, leans toward
blandness. Fortunately, several of the 25 women are interesting.

– “Ghost Whisperer,” 8 p.m., CBS.
This rerun goes back to when Melinda was dating Sam, because he
contained her husband's soul. (Hey, life is complicated.) Tonight, he
catches her in lies.

– Movies, 8 p.m., cable. It's a great
movie night everywhere. Sprawling epics? Families have “Harry
Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban” (2004) on ABC Family; grown-ups
have the Oscar-winning “Gladiator” (2000) on TNT. Clever
comedies? Try “Sleepless in Seattle” (1999) on E or “Bruce
Almighty” (2003) on Oxygen. Great drama filmmaking? Catch “The
Fugitive” (1993) on AMC.

– “Numb3rs,” 9 p.m., CBS. In this
rerun, Charlie is trying to stop a new drug from hitting the streets.
His plan may put Liz (Aya Sumika) in danger.

– “The Wishing Well,” 9-11 p.m.,
Hallmark. TV loves transporting unhappy city people to sweet, little
towns. This film adds what may or may not be a magical twist: A
celebrity reporter (Jordan Ladd) writes about a wishing well in Slow
Creek, Ill.; then the twist begins. Ladd (Cheryl's daughter) is
likable enough to get us through the early, awful minutes. The story
gets much better in Slow Creek.

– “Castle,” 10 p.m., ABC. We
always knew that being a bike messenger was dangerous. Now a
messenger is killed to prevent the delivery of evidence; that forces
Kate and Castle to re-open the case.

– “Saturday Night Live,” times
vary, NBC. Charles Barkley hosts, with music from Alicia Keys. You'll
need patience, though: The football game is likely to put this a
half-hour or more behind its usual starting time in the Eastern
(11:29 p.m.) and Central (10:29 p.m.) zones.

TONIGHT'S MUST-SEE: “Shark Tank”
return, 9 p.m., ABC.

After doing fairly well on two other
nights, “Shark” finally has its own timeslot.

The concept is basic: People bring in
existing products or businesses and pitch them to five investors.
Some emerge with new money for expansion; others get nothing.

Some of tonight's ideas have already
hit bumps. A Chinese salad dressing was reworked, when its creator
learned the package had a picture of a Japanese prostitute.

And some are already prospering. “Romp
n' Roll,” a kids' fun spot, already has eight franchises.

There are pitches for a portable
golf-ball-washer and a mail-order printer-ink business. And a biker
has a system for creating elaborate – and sort of menacing – 3-D
designs on helmets.

TONIGHT'S MIGHT-SEE: “Ghost
Whisperer” (8 p.m.) and “Medium” (9 p.m.), CBS.

The holiday lull is over now and CBS'
shows, which dominate Fridays, have new episodes.

First, “Ghost Whisperer” finds Ned
working at a radio station that has a problem: It broadcast secrets
that led to someone's death; now his ghost wants revenge.

Then “Medium” follows the death of
a murder suspect. His ghost wants Allison to clear his name.

Other choices include:

– “Dog Whisperer,” 7-10 p.m.,
National Geographic. First are reruns of the 100^th episode
(revisiting past dogs) and of an hour based on Cesar Millan's book,
“A Member of the Family.” Then comes an amiable new hour with an
international feel: Millan, a Mexican-American guy from California,
goes to Australia, where a transplanted Irish family has a dog that
isn't adjusting to the move.

– “Dateline,” 8-10 p.m., NBC. In
a change, NBC plans a two-hour “Dateline.” It views David
Goldman's successful, five-year international fight to gain custody
of his son.

– Bones,” 8 p.m., Fox. Who says
suburbia is too quiet? After human remains are discovered at a block
party, there are plenty of neighborhood suspects.

– “48 Hrs.” (1982), 8-10 p.m.,
BET. A weary cop gets a young convict free for two days, to help on a
case. This film was beautifully plotted and perfectly cast. Nick
Nolte is great as the cop; Eddie Murphy instantly became a movie
star.

– “Dollhouse,” 9 p.m., Fox. As
Echo leaps between personalities, people forget her original
personality. Now that must be re-created, to avert disaster.
Meanwhile, we learn the mysterious owner of the Rossum Corporation;
we also learn the past link between Bennett (Summer Glau) and Echo.

– “Numb3rs,” 10 p.m., CBS.
Scratch-off lottery tickets have been stolen. Nicole Sullivan plays
an eccentric lottery agent; Allison Smith (“Kate and Allie”)
plays someone who advises winners.

– “The Jay Leno Show,” 10 p.m.,
NBC. Newsman Brian Williams is the in-studio guest.

– “DogTown,” 10 p.m., National
Geographic. After being rescued from the dog-fighting operation on
Michael Vick's property, a dog has become too passive. Now people
help him, while seeking a new home. The Vick dogs have become so
popular that it took six months for the adoptive family to qualify.

TONIGHT'S MUST-SEE: Football, 8:30 p.m.
ET, ABC, with preview at 8.

This is the big one, for the college
football championship. It has two undefeated teams, each with a
lively offense, playing in the Rose Bowl stadium.

Alabama has Mark Ingram, the running
back and Heisman Trophy winner. Texas has quarterback Colt McCoy,
possibly the best-named football player since Bronko Nagurski.

TONIGHT'S MIGHT-SEE: “CSI: Crime
Scene Investigation,” 8 and 9 p.m., CBS.

With a big football game, networks are
retreating to reruns. Here are two shows that aired from last season,
shortly after Laurence Fishburne arrived as Ray Langston.

In the first one, three murder cases
seem unrelated, until a common thread appears. In the second, the two
newest investigators – Langston and Riley (Lauren Lee Smith) are
held hostage, when a neighborhood erupts after a shooting.

TONIGHT'S ALTERNATIVE: Jennifer Jones
movies, 6:45 p.m. to 3:30 a.m., Turner Classic Movies.

Jennifer Jones, who died three weeks
ago at 90, had a huge role in Hollywood history. The ex-wife of actor
Robert Walker and the widow of movie mogul David Selznick and
business mogul Norton Simon, she won an Academy Award (for “Song of
Bernadette”) and was nominated for four more.

One of her nominated roles – the 1946
western, “Duel in the Sun” – airs at 8 p.m. today. It's a
sprawling epic, more than twice as long as the 63-minute,
black-and-white “Indiscretion of an American Wife” (1954), at
6:45 p.m. and 2:15 a.m. Other Jones films – John Huston's “Beat
the Devil” (1954) at 10:30 p.m. and Vincene Minnelli's 1949 “Madame
Bovary” at 12:15 a.m.

Other choices include:

– “What a Girl Wants” (2003),
7:30 p.m., ABC Family. Amanda Bynes plas an American teen who learns
her father (Colin Firth) is an English lord. The result is pleasant,
but forgettable.

– “Best of the World Music Awards,”
8-10 p.m., MyNetwork. Some 23 performances, over a 25-year stretch,
are packed into this special. That includes Beyonce, Prince, Britney
Spears, Bon Jovi, Mariah Carey, Rihanna and one of the last televised
appearances by Michael Jackson.

– “Community,” 8 p.m, NBC. John
Oliver, who appears occasionally on the show, has a psychology
research project; Annie rounds up her colleagues as subjects. Also,
Jeff gossips about Britta's boyfriend.

– “Unforgiven,” 8 p.m., AMC. This
beautifully crafted western won Oscars for best picture, Clint
Eastwood's direction, the editing and Gene Hackman's work in support.

, – “The Office,” 9 p.m., NBC.
Andy bumbles attempts to connect with Erin. Also, Michael tries odd
diversions, after hearing a disconcerting rumor about the company.

– “The Jay Leno Show,” 10 p.m.,
NBC. Denzel Washington is the in-studio guest.

– “The Mentalist,” 10 p.m., CBS.
The murder victim, a lawyer, had only one client – a biker gang.

AND A LANSING NOTE:

The national version of the TV column is included above. In addition, here's one more item for people in the Lansing, Mich., area:

TONIGHT'S MIGHT-SEE: “BackStage
Pass,” 10 p.m., WKAR (Channel 23).

For the next two months, WKAR will
offer a local band each Thursday.

That starts with a good one. Big Willy
is a bluesy rock group, propelled by singer-songwriter-guitarist C.W.
Rideoutt. It gets dynamic work from William “Supersize” Metz on
saxophone and Andy Wilson on harmonica, with others (including
keyboardist Mike Lynch, a The Lash founder) in the background.

Don't expect much from the non-music
moments. Many comments (“It is worth doing well, because doing it
well is worth doing”) would be better left on the editing-room
floor.

The music is worth catching, though,
and the show – directed by Joe Barnhart, producer Timothy Zeko and
Tim Elkins – is skillfully shot.

TONIGHT'S MUST-SEE: “Ugly Betty”
return, 10:01 p.m., ABC.

After suffering in Friday obscurity,
“Betty” finally gets a logical timeslot. This drama-comedy-soap
joins a laugh-fueled night for ABC; it arrives there with a key
episode.

The first part is merely OK, as Betty
faces too much of a good thing. She's spending all her time with
Matt, the rich and likable guy who adores her; now she feels he needs
a no-Betty distraction.

Then come some great scenes at an art
exhibit. There are surprises there, plus a pivotal moment for Betty's
sister. And back at the magazine office, the power struggle finally
peaks between Cal Hartley (Matt's dad), Claire Meade and Wilhelmina
Slater.

TONIGHT'S MUST-SEE II: “The Middle,”
8 and 8:30 p.m., ABC.

Here are two new episodes, starting
with a funny one that shows Frankie and Mike (Patricia Heaton and
Neil Flynn) floundering with each of their children.

Their daughter wants expensive jeans.
Their older son, dating a beautiful girl, wants a car. Their younger
son, against all prior evidence, feels he can take care of a dog.

The second episode has a tough family
moving into the neighborhood, led by someone Frankie calls “that
Amazon woman.” That pits the 5-foot-2 Heaton against the 6-foot
Brooke Shields.

Other choices include:

– “I Get That a Lot,” 8 p.m.,
CBS. Imagine meeting workers who looks suspiciously like Paris
Hilton,Tony Hawk or Rachael Ray. The second edition of this special
slips celebrities into odd places.

– “The Human Spark” opener, 8
p.m., PBS. Much of evolution seems gradual, except for the leap to
the complexities of humans. This richly detailed, three-week series
examines that. Alan Alda visits scientists, holds ancient skulls,
stands amid cave paintings and tries to re-create long-ago weapons.

– “This Emotional Life,” 9-11
p.m., PBS. This excellent, three-night series concludes with the
elusive matter of finding happiness. We meet people who find it
despite huge odds – a Vietnam prisoner-of-war who survived eight
brutal years, a renowned surgeon who overcame childhood agony. We
meet others, including comedy actor Chevy Chase, who have had trouble
finding it, despite immense privilege.

– People's Choice awards, 9-11 p.m.,
CBS. The good news is that Queen Latifah hosts and opens the show
with a music number; Mary J. Blige also performs. Beyond that, there
are lots of fairly meaningless awards.

– “Modern Family,” 9 p.m., ABC.
People are in overnight chaos – Claire because her husband has a
kidney stone, Mitchell because his daughter is crying, Jay (their
dad) because his stepson's handsome and unreliable dad has just
arrived. That last one is a flashy role for Benjamin Bratt.

– “Cougar Town,” 9:30 p.m., ABC.
Two former “Friends” stars re-unite, when Lisa Kudrow guests on
Courteney Cox's shows. This time, Kudrow isn't playing anyone even
remotely like the ditzy Phoebe; she's a steel-willed dermatologist
who reduces patients to submissiveness.

– “Nip/Tuck” season-opener, 10
p.m., FX. It's hard to believe that Ryan Murphy produces the buoyant
“Glee” (which has reruns at 8 and 9 p.m. today on Fox) and this
fiercely cynical show. The final season opens as dark as ever,
including a self-mutilating patient. The only redeeming moments offer
a glimpse of why the main characters – opposites, in many ways –
have been together since med school.

TONIGHT'S MUST-SEE: “The Biggest
Loser” season-opener, 8-10 p.m., NBC.

This show has been one of NBC's lone
successes. The network has planned to trim to 90 minutes for this
edition, but now is going to the full two hours.

This time, the contestants are in their
home towns, surrounded by family and friends, when they do their
first weigh-in. They results are jolting: Identical twins combine at
almost a half-ton; one man totals 526 pounds, the highest ever for
the show.

Their first challenge has each team
going 26.2 miles on a stationary bike – the distance they'll go in
a marathon run at the end of the season.

TONIGHT'S MUST-SEE II: “This
Emotional Life,” 9-11 p.m., PBS (check local listings).

Our emotions are there for
self-preservation, says this mid-section of a richly detailed,
three-night series. Fear and rage are helpful; sadness is human.

Often, however, the depression is out
of control. Chevy Chase, the comic actor, lost years before doctors
found the right combination of medicine. We meet teen twin girls, one
cheerful and one (an A student) so paralyzed by depression that she's
not ready for college; electric shock may be tried.

Fear is helpful for a soldier, but some
can't shake it afterward. We meet a Vietnam vet who lost 30 years, a
Persian Gulf vet who can't duck the memory of an enemy soldier dying
in his arm; he lost sleep, focus, his job (as a TV news director in
Reno) and his home.

Other choices include:

– Orange Bowl preview (7:30 p.m. ET)
and game (8:15), Fox. This could be a hard-grinding game, with a
strong running team (Georgia Tech) facing a fierce running defense
(Iowa).

– “Nova,” 8 p.m., PBS (check
local listings). Alongside its air power, Japan also used a few
two-man mini-submarines at Pearl Harbor. Most never got close, but
it's possible that one was responsible for sinking the U.S.S.
Arizona. This fairly interesting hour searches for ruins and traces
the subs' history.

– “NCIS,” 8 p.m., CBS. When a
Navy pilot is killed under bizarre circumstances, the team battles an
intense lawyer (Rena Sofer) who has a grudge against Gibbs.

– “Scrubs,” 8 and 9 p.m., ABC.
Elliot is key to both episodes. In the first, she counsels Lucy, who
must say why she wants to be a doctor. In the second, she and J.D.
adjust to the idea of having a baby.

– “Better Off Ted,” 8:30 and 9:30
p.m., ABC. In the first episode, Veronica wants people to work even
harder, after someone dies at work. In the second, the scientists are
terrified to work with her.

– “NCIS: Los Angeles,” 9 p.m.,
CBS. The work load seems to be overwhelming the team. Meanwhile, a
case has Sam meet a teenager from his life.

– “Wild Recon” debut, 9 p.m.,
Animal Planet. A tiny toad is leading to the extinction of
Australia's deadliest animals. First, scientists want to study venom
and DNA and such, to find medical uses. That leads to this fairly
involving action reality show, which involves catching and releasing
fierce creatures.

– “The Good Wife,” 10 p.m., CBS.
Representing the wife of the state's attorney general in a divorce
case, Alicia learns more about her the complex case of her own
disgraced husband.

– “The Forgotten,” 10 p.m., ABC.
Police have been unable to identify the bodies of a man and woman
found outside a motel.