Tube Notes

"NYPD Blue" season-opener, 9 p.m., ABC. Writer-producer David Milch, a master of blue-collar subtlety, has left the show. That means producer Steven Bochco ("Hill Street Blues") is more involved. His touch is obvious here in an hour stuffed with powder kegs. One story centers on Andy (Dennis Franz). In the waiting period before his son is re-tested for cancer, his impatience boils over. Another has the entire squad desperately trying to disprove corruption allegations by Kirkendall’s ex-husband. The third — well, that’s the final surprise. Stick around; tonight’s opener has less subtlety than usual but more searing emotion.

"The Mole" premiere, 7 p.m., ABC. In the aftermath of "Survivor," networks scrambled to get more such shows on the air. Coming next are "Temptation Island" (8 p.m. tomorrow on Fox) and "Survivor II" (after the Super Bowl, Jan. 28 on CBS); first, however, ABC has this variation. The gimmick is that one of the 10 people is working for the show and is trying to sabotage the efforts of the others (they’re competing for $1 million in prize money). One person is ousted during each of nine weeks.

"Three Sisters" premiere, 8:30 p.m., NBC. Katherine LaNasa, a former ballerina married to French Stewart of "3rd Rock," plays the relatively normal sister. One of her sisters (A.J. Langer of "My So-Called Life") is clueless and naive; the other (Vicki Lewis of "NewsRadio") is all-knowing and cynical. Their parents (Dyan Cannon and Peter Bonerz) wisely stay out of the way.

"Jazz," 9 p.m., PBS. Louis Armstrong’s early years are profiled during this second piece of a superb 10-part documentary.

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