Tube Notes

By Mike Hughes
Gannett News Service

Tonight's Must-See

"American Idol" (7 p.m.) and "24" (8 p.m.), both Fox. On the season's most overstuffed night, two terrific shows have their big nights. First is "Idol," as the final two contestants — Ruben Studdard and Clay Aiken — get their last chance to impress us. Then viewers vote, with the results set Wednesday. Second is "24," finally wrapping up its second wild ride. Jack Bauer rushes to expose a hoax, before it leads to a four-nation war. Yes, much of "24" is wildly unlikely. Still, the show is also brilliantly written, acted and filmed.

Of Note

"JAG," 7 p.m., CBS. Mac (Catherine Bell) has been kidnapped during a secret mission. That means Harm (David James Elliott) must rush to a solo rescue.

"Hitler: The Rise of Evil" conclusion, 8 p.m., CBS. By all logic, Adolf Hitler's career should have crumbled in 1924 when tonight's story begins. He'd led a botched overthrow attempt and was thrown into prison. Instead, fate and hate kept giving him new chances. This miniseries offers a fairly good portrait of Hitler (Robert Carlyle) and an excellent one of others in his era. Liev Schreiber and Julianna Margulies play a prosperous couple who overlook their misgivings about him; Matthew Modine offers the most moving moments as a journalist who dared to criticize him.

"Frasier," 8 p.m., NBC. Roz ponders whether or not she should take a job offer at another radio station because Frasier is getting a little too close with Julia.

"NYPD Blue," 9 p.m., ABC. In the season finale, two detectives — Andy Sipowicz (Dennis Franz) and Connie McDowell (Charlotte Ross) — try to marry without their colleagues finding out.