Daily Best Bets

1) “Avenue 5” (10 p.m., HBO) and “Miracle Workers: Dark Ages” (10:15 p.m. ET, TBS and TNT) debuts. For fans of droll, dark comedy, it’s a great night. In a new show from the “Veep” creator, HBO has Hugh Laurie as captain of a tourist space ship … or as someone posing as captain of a ship which is now wandering off-course. And TBS has an almost-new comedy (shown here): The stars (Daniel Radcliffe, Steve Buscemi, etc.) and creator of “Miracle Workers” go to Medieval times, with hilarious results. Read more…

1) “Seven Worlds, One Planet,” 9 p.m. ET, BBC America, rerunning at 12:32 a.m. Here’s the start of a gorgeous nature show … but not the start that was expected. Each week, this focuses on one continent; it planned to start with the U.S., then switched to Australia (shown here), now facing rampant wildfire. That’s mentioned, but mostly we get stunning scenes – a rare view of a dingo hunting … the awesome expanse of the Aussie desert … and sharks herding swarms of fish toward shallow-water death. Read more…

1) “Dynasty,” 9 p.m., CW. After a six-week break, the show is back and Blake (Grant Show) resumes his trial. Naturally, his ex-wife Alexis (Elaine Hendrix, shown here) shocks people. She jolts the jury with her testimony and jolts her daughter Fallon with her latest marriage. Read more…

1) “The Good Place,” 8:30 p.m., NBC. One of TV’s best shows – an Emmy-nominee (and Television Critics Association winner) for best comedy series – is almost done now. There are only three episodes left … and its format changes yet again. Today, a half-hour earlier than usual, Michael (Ted Danson) has a new way to see who gets the good afterlife. That gives people access to everyone’s records – even their own. That brings trouble … and a rare burst of wisdom from Jason (third from left). It’s another clever episode, Read more…

1) “68 Whiskey”(shown here) debut, 10 p.m., Paramount. We’re at a field hospital in wartime, where earnest medicine co-exists with loose attitudes. That worked wonderfully in “MASH,” not so well in this blunt and heavy-handed show. It stars with a sex scene (lots of noise, little warmth), then has a brutal fight. Eventually we get to know the central characters – three medics, one black, one white, one Latina. It’s OK, but nowhere near what we expect from its producers, Brian Grazer and Ron Howard. Read more…

1) “New Amsterdam” return, 10 p.m. NBC. Fresh from a two-month break, here’s a high-octane hour. Three prisoners stabbed their guard; now they’re armed and loose in the hospital, stirring panic and extremes: One surgery is done by a wounded doctor, another by a doctor with a broken leg; also, Max and Dr. Sharpe (shown here in a previous episode) are held at gunpoint. Despite the chaos, the best moments are quiet: Some are with Dr. Kapoor and the woman he secretly loves; others bring deep emotion as Dr. Frome and his husband teeter close to a break-up. It’s a terrific episode. Read more…

1) Football, 8:30 p.m. ET, ESPN and ESPN2. By logic, Clemson should be comfy here. It’s in the national championship game for the fourth time in five years. It’s won twice in the past three years and is fresh from a come-from-behind win over powerhouse Ohio State. But this is in the New Orleans Superdome, almost home turf for top-ranked Louisiana State. Facing Oklahoma, Heisman-winner Joe Burrow (show here) tied a bowl record with seven touchdown passes – all in the first half; LSU won, 63-28. Read more…

1) “Masterpiece: Sanditon” debut, 9 and 10 p.m., PBS. Jane Austen had barely started this novel, creating a place (a seaside town, trying to be a resort) and people. Ever since, people have tried to continue it; at least seven versions have been published. Now Andrew Davies has done it perfectly, creating a show with warmth, depth and surprises. Rose Williams is lovable as a smart-and-innocent country kid who meets three brothers – an optimist, a bumbler and a handsome enigma (Theo James, shown here with Williams).. Read more…

1) Football, 4:35 p.m. ET, NBC, and 8:15 p.m., CBS. Fresh from their overtime win (shown here) over the Saints in New Orleans, the Minnesota Vikings face the 49ers in San Francisco. Then the Baltimore Ravens host the Tennessee Titans. There’s more on Sunday, with Houston in Kansas City and Seattle in Green Bay. Read more…

1) “Lincoln Rhyme: Hunt For the Bone Collector” debut, 8 p.m. NBC. This started with Jeffrey Deaver’s novel: A paralyzed police detective hires a cop to do his on-scene work. That became a 1999 movie with two Oscar-winners – Denzel Washington and Angelina Jolie. Now it’s a series with Russell Hornsby (shown here in an early scene, before Rhyme’s injury) and Arielle Kebbel. The opening and closing scenes are way too nasty; in between, however, this is a good start, with understated dialog and a solid story. Read more…