Mike Hughes on TV

1) “Maigret” season-opener, 9 p.m., PBS. Spotting a troubled young woman. Maigret (shown here) is propelled into a twisty mystery. There’s one flaw: The show takes to extremes the cliche of officials insisting there’s no case here. Still, this is a smart, intense story; it has a final jolt tonight, then concludes next week. Read more…

1) Sports overload. The baseball playoffs have Game Five (if needed) of the best-of-seven series with Tampa Bay and Cleveland. That’s 8 p.m. ET on TBS and TruTV, during football’s day. At noon, Fox has a rematch of last year’s Big Ten championship (shown here), with Ohio State and Indiana. ABC has Alabama-Tennessee at 3:30 and Notre Dame-Brigham Young at 7:30. Read more…

1) “Rainmaker” season-opener, 10 p.m., USA Network. The first season (shown here) had quick appeal, with Rudy jumping from law school to a ragged little firm, battling the giants. Now that he’s won a big case? The firm is still an underdog, Rudy isn’t and his ex-girlfriend is floundering. A new case is coming, but it doesn’t quite gel in this first hour. Read more…

1) “Cupertino,” 10 p.m., CBS. Last week’s debut was terrific, but this episode adds the show’s best (and most enigmatic) character. His name is Bo and we won’t spoil any surprises about him. He’ll pop up a lot in future episodes, which each have a separate story to tell. This one, a dandy, starts with a tech guy (shown here) overwhelmed by a scowling suitcoat row. Read more…

1) “The Lowdown” season-openers, 9 p,m, and 10:11-11:21 p.m, FX. Lee (Ethan Hawke, shown here) isn’t really geared for success. He makes a mess of his award-acceptance speech … and a bigger problem looms. Stumbling toward town is a guy (Tommy Lee Jones) who can disrupt his world. Great actors collide, in a show that’s sometimes overwrought, but mostly compelling. Read more…

1) “NCIS: Origins,” 10 p.m.. CBS. Fans have been waiting for Gibbs (Mark Harmon) to return to civilization.; now he does, briefly: In present day, he asks a favor of Woody (Bobby Moynihan, shown here with Harmon). Then we’re in the “Origins” era, 34 years ago, as people try to save Woody. Playing Casey Bloom is Sean Harmon, who has also played younger versions of his dad. Read more…