Tonight’s TV Spotlight…Tuesday, January 13, 2009

TV is plentiful tonight, but can anything stand up to the force that is IDOL?  AMERICAN IDOL showed some vulnerability last season.  Will it remain on top?  Sound off below! And tell me…what will YOU be watching?

American Idol | 8pm on Fox | Season Premiere
The audition process begins, as hopefuls around the country line up for the chance to perform for the judges and advance to the Hollywood Round. [GMMR: This one kind of snuck up on me. I knew IDOL was premiering soon, but I didn’t realize it was tonight.  Woo to the Hoo!! I’ll watch over the next few weeks, but I prefer the good singers rather than the freak shows that show up every year.]

Privileged | 9pm on The CW
“All About What Lies Beneath”
Megan tries to find out why Lily is in jail; Shelby secretly meets with Will; Rose and Sage pick out an expensive gift for Luis. [GMMR: I’m sad that of all the shows out there, this one has to go up against IDOL.  Don’t take it personally Megan, no one can resist The Cowell.]

Scrubs | 9pm on ABC
“My Saving Grace”
Dr. Kelso and Dr. Cox try to oust Dr. Maddox (Courteney Cox) from Sacred Heart; Carla decides to take a self-centered, incompetent intern down a notch. [GMMR: It kind of feels like ABC is just trying to burn off SCRUBS.  Two episodes every Tuesday?  Seems a little sketch to me.]

The Mentalist | 9pm on CBS
“Red Rum”
Patrick Jane sets a mentalist trap to find out who is responsible for the murder of a high-school boy who antagonized the local self-proclaimed witch.

Nip/Tuck | 10m on FX
“Gene Shelly”
Christian and Liz grow closer when she cares for him after his chemotherapy makes him ill; Sean reconnects with his broken family.

Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | 10pm on NBC
“Hothouse”
When the body of a 14-year-old girl is found in the Hudson River, Benson and Stabler think she was smuggled into the country by sex traffickers; in an attempt to identify her, Benson poses as a madam.[GMMR:Best wishes to Mariska Hargitay who is in the hospital with a collapsed lung. Get well soon.]

Primetime: What Would You Do? | 10pm on ABC
Hidden cameras capture people’s reactions to a man slipping a suspicious powder into his date’s drink, a man stealing gas, and customers in a supermarket’s express check-out line with an overflowing shopping cart. [GMMR: Wait, didn’t they do the suspicious powder last week?]

Also playing…

• 90210 | 8pm on The CW: Tabitha surprises Dixon and Annie with a new car; Ethan and Annie sneak off to Tabitha’s house in Palm Springs for some time alone; Adrianna tells Naomi about her secret.

• The Biggest Loser | 8pm on NBC: The contestants face a challenge that forces them to question the real reason they’ve come to the ranch; an outdoor challenge has the contestants racing by sea kayak, and then on foot to the top of a mountain.

• Homeland Security USA | 8pm on ABC: Officers question a man in Tennessee who has a human skull and two undeclared handguns in his van; a highly intoxicated woman in Detroit poses a dilemma for officers.

• NCIS | 8pm on CBS: After Ducky is stabbed at a crime scene, the team uncovers disturbing secrets from the doctor’s past. [GMMR: Wait, there is a character named Ducky?!  Love it!]

• Scrubs | 9:30pm on ABC: New sparks of an old romance are ignited between Elliot and J.D. when they work together to encourage Dr. Kelso to find a new happy place

• Without a Trace | 10pm on CBS: The team searches for a bar owner who has a religious statue that is believed to create miracles.

• Leverage | 10pm on TNT: The team pose as wedding planners to get close to a Mafia boss and must pull off a wedding while pulling off the heist.

GMMR’s Useless Tidbit of the Day…

“Einstein’s last words were in German.  Because the attending nurse did not understand German, his last words will never be known.”