TONIGHT'S MUST-SEE

"Torchwood" debut, 6 p.m., BBC America (digital cable channel 341). This show was neatly crafted in the "Doctor Who" style. Again, we have a cocky chap who lives forever and shrugs off the bizarre. Again, a woman — in this case an attractive cop — is pulled into his world, wide-eyed and disbelieving. And again, straight-faced humor blends with fantasy visuals. The only difference is that now there's a whole team to bounce the stories off. This is a smart show from Russell Davies, who wrote the recent "Who" shows. John Barrowman and Eve Myles are perfect in the leads.

"Cops" season opener, 7 and 7:30 p.m., Fox. The 20th season begins. Tonight's first half-hour includes the shenanigans of suspects in Kansas City, Mo., and Lee County, Fla.; the second includes Pittsburgh and Brevard County, Fla.

OF NOTE

"NASCAR Racing: Nextel Cup," 1:30 p.m., ABC. After spending the afternoon on football, ABC shows the final NASCAR race to determine who is eligible for the Nextel Cup.

"iCarly" debut, 5 and 5:30 p.m., Nickelodeon. At 4:30 p.m. tomorrow, this show will take its regular slot. Here are the first two episodes, however, a day early. Miranda Cosgrove ("Drake & Josh") plays a teen whose Web cast has a following. She and her friends want to give it a boost. In a unique step, viewers can also send short videos.

"Custody," 6 p.m., Lifetime. A sweet, father-daughter relationship (Rob Morrow, Kay Panabaker) is disrupted by the arrival of someone from the past (James Denton). From there, the movie goes terribly wrong. Dialogue is cutesy and unrealistic, characters are extreme cliches and some performances are so bad that the director might be blamed. The abrupt ending worked well in "Kramer vs. Kramer"; here, it seems empty and arbitrary.

"NBC Primetime Preview Show," 7:30 p.m., NBC. When the new season opens Sept. 24, NBC will have one terrific new show ("Chuck"), one good one ("Life") and some so-so ones. Here's a preview.

"Law & Order: Criminal Intent," 8 p.m., NBC. Doris Roberts (the mother on "Everybody's Love Raymond") plays a matriarch whose granddaughter has been killed.

"Medium," 9 p.m., NBC. After helping convict a man, Alison continues her dreams. Did she get it wrong?

"Saturday Night Live," 10:30 p.m., NBC. Peyton Manning hosts this rerun with music from Carrie Underwood.