TONIGHT'S MUST-SEE

"American Idol" season opener, 7 p.m., Fox. While the rest of TV scrambles and stumbles, "Idol" is expected to have a huge year in the ratings. That starts today and tomorrow with the auditions, which tend to bring an odd-lot mixture of optimism, absurdity and talent. First comes Philadelphia, which has always shown — from the early "American Bandstand" to the recent "Clash of the Choirs" — that it has lots of strong singers.

"Comanche Moon," 8 p.m., CBS; concludes tomorrow. Here's the midsection of this miniseries, which juggles opposite emotions.

On the one hand, it has the romances for the two young Texas Rangers. Gus frets that Clara (Linda Cardellini) will take the safe route and marry a local businessman; Woodrow won't acknowledge to Maggie (Elizabeth Banks) that he's the father of her son. On the other, it's a fierce action story in which both the soldiers and the Comanches are brutal and treacherous. The miniseries opened with soldiers committing a massacre; tonight, the Comanches attack Austin, the struggling Texas capital. Meanwhile, the Comanches also have Captain Scall (Val Kilmer) in a snake pit (literally). Gus and Woodrow are assigned to a rescue mission, in a film that is sprawling and inconsistent, but interesting.

OF NOTE

"Batman Begins" (2005), 5-8 p.m., FX. Christopher Nolan ("Memento") directed this film, taking the Batman tale back to its beginning. Christian Bale stars, with a supporting cast that includes Liam Neeson, Katie Holmes, Morgan Freeman, Michael Caine and more.

"NCIS," 7 p.m., CBS. Here's an hour that was scheduled earlier, then delayed. Out of respect to a family's Muslim beliefs, Ducky refuses to do an autopsy.

"Nova: The Race for Absolute Zero," 8 p.m., PBS. Last week's film was easy for laymen to enjoy, tracing the efforts to use cold for refrigeration, air conditioning and more. Tonight's hour is far more technical, as we see scientists get close to reaching the coldest point possible.

"Reaper," 7 p.m., CW/KHON digital 93. This show went unnoticed in its previous slot, but now it gets a new time. It starts over with the fun pilot film, in which an ordinary chap learns that his parents have sold his soul to Satan.

"Independent Lens: Mapping Stem Cell Research: Terra Incognita," 10 p.m., PBS. Allison Kessler was 15 when a skiing accident left her half-paralyzed. Her father, Jack Kessler, soon changed his research to focus on the possible use of embryonic stem cells to cure spinal injuries. This documentary focuses on both daughter (now a Harvard student) and dad (now head of Northwestern University's neurology department), centerpieces in an ongoing fight.