TV Barn's TV Picks for Oct. 11

OZ WELL THAT ENDS WELL
Christopher Meloni appeared semi-regularly on which ABC series?

A) "Coach"
B) "The Critic"
C) "Dinosaurs"
D) "Grace Under Fire"
E) "Roseanne"

= = = = =

TV Barn's TV Picks for Wednesday, October 11, 2006
by Tom Heald with Jon Delfin
All times Eastern
For PBS programs, check local listings

7:30 p.m.
"Access Granted" (BET; see also 10): Bow Wow featuring Chris Brown

8 p.m.
Who will take the final dip on "Dancing With the Stars" (ABC)? The numbers are bad.

"America's Next Top Model" (CW) turns the girls into circus freaks. REALITY CHECK: Granted, the entire Ringling Brothers Barnum & Bailey clown school uses less makeup than these wacky chicks.

TELE-GEBRA
"Saturday Night Live" x "Love and War" = "30 Rock" (NBC), with Alec Baldwin as Jay Thomas and Tina Fey as Susan Dey and/or Annie Potts. Baldwin is his usual smarmy dumb character in charge of making Tina Fey miserable while she writes "The Girlie Show" for her cast of fellow "SNL" refugees Rachael Dratch and Tracy Morgan and the wicked secretary from "Ally McBeal," Jane Krakowski. Whether it succeeds or sinks, it will keep three people from "SNL" from doing awful movies for a year.

Radiation poisoning hits "Jericho" (CBS), unless it's just a batch of bad spinach.

You won't care if you ever get back (Fox).

"Extreme Engineering" (Discovery) offers its tokens of gratitude to NYC's South Ferry Terminal subway station.

"Emeril Live" (Food): "College Cookin' "
"Most Shocking" (Court)

8:30 p.m.
NEW-SENSE
"20 Good Years" (NBC) stars Jeffrey Tambor and John Lithgow as an odd couple of friends in the midst of an AARP-age crisis. It's got the feel of a wacky Britcom with the leads facing every day with a sense of Carpe Diem.

"Masterchef Goes Large" (BBC America)

9 p.m.
Jack is tempted, Locke dreams a little dream, Sun and Jin face unknown danger, and Kate and Sawyer work out their frustrations on "Lost" (ABC).

"Moyers on America" (PBS) debates the environment with conservative evangelicals asking, "Is God Green?"

Tensions elevate with a $10,000 escalator challenge and a free pass on the line on "The Biggest Loser" (NBC).

A bank robber makes all his hostages strip before he takes the money and runs from "Criminal Minds" (CBS). Boy, that multimillion dollar deal at Sirius must not be working out for Howard Stern.

Things get tense on "MythBusters" (Discovery) as Jamie and Adam try to slice and dice Buster the test dummy in two with a snapped cable.

As game day approaches, the hunky actor who's paid more than the others feels tense on "One Tree Hill" (CW).

"Beef: The Series" (BET)
"Fake Ghost Hunters" (Sci Fi): "Tombstone"
"Coming Out Stories" (Logo)
"Forensics Files" (Court)
"Fastest Foods" (Food)
"Untold Stories of the E.R." (TLC): "Deadly Impact"

9:30 p.m.
"Missing Persons Unit" (Court)
"Next Level: Vince Young" (BET)

10 p.m.
New York Fashion Week arrives on "Project Runway" (Bravo). Sew, what?

"CSI: NY" (CBS) has to decipher the clues found on the t-shirts worn by the Italian cheerleading squad known as the DaVinci Co-eds.

"Great Performances" (PBS) celebrates Carnegie Hall Opening Night 2006 with a little Mozart from pianist Leif Ove Andsnes and bass-baritone Thomas Quasthoff.

"Kidnapped" is being held hostage on Saturdays. In the meantime, enjoy "Dateline: Special Victims Unit" (NBC).

Unexpected heroes emerge from the ranks of "The Nine" (ABC).

The world's greatest conspiracy -- what really set the events in motion on 9/11 -- has been solved by Cartman?!? "South Park" (Comedy Central) is back to its old tricks with ... "The Mystery of the Urinal Deuce." Be very afraid.

TELE-GEBRA
Dr. Laura x Mr. T = "I Pity the Fool" (TV Land)

"Conjoined Twins: A New Life Apart" (TLC)
"Sci Fi Investigates" (Sci Fi; premiere): "Voodoo"
"Good Eats" (Food): "Pop Culture"
"What Not to Wear: Have They Remembered?" (BBC America)
"Access Granted" (BET): "Scarface: The World Is Yours"
"Modern Marvels" (History): "Distilleries 2"
"Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County" (MTV)
"Inside the NFL" (HBO)
"The Final Report: Jonestown Tragedy" (National Geographic)

10:30 p.m.
"Freak Show" (Comedy Central)
"Two-A-Days" (MTV)
"Parco P.I." (Court)