TONIGHT'S PICK: Country Music Association awards, 7-10 p.m., ABC.
Most of Nashville will be there, plus a few visitors from the rock world. Kid Rock does a duet with Jamey Johnson, Dave Matthews does one with Kenny Chesney; also, Chris Daughtry does “Tennessee Line,” with Vince Gill singing back-up.
Carrie Underwood and Brad Paisley host. She's up for her fourth straight female vocalist award, but wasn't nominated for entertainer of the year; that category has Taylor Swift and four guys – Paisley, Chesney, George Strait and Keith Urban.
TONIGHT'S PICK II: “Glee,” 8 p.m., Fox.
After missing two weeks for baseball, “Glee” starts and ends tonight with high-octane music numbers. The opener has jump ropes; the closer has wheelchairs.
In between, the show has far more warmth than usual – including a moving moment with the usually surly Sue Sylvester. This isn't what “Glee” is best at, but you'll enjoy the change of pace.
TONIGHT'S ALTERNATIVE: “Coca-Cola: The Real Story Behind the Real Thing,” 4, 5 and 7 p.m., CNBC.
This is an exceptional night for non-fiction, including Veteran's Day films (listed separately) and this one. It views how even a giant – $67 billion, in 206 countries – must keep scrambling.
Coke goes high-tech, with a machine that mixes endless combinations. It remains low-tech, with Africans who have electricity setting up tiny Coke stores in their homes.
It buys up competitors – sports drinks and such – while trying to create new products. And it still has many independents who make and bottle Coke; we visit a big one in Springfield, Mo.
Other choices:
– “America's Next Top Model,” 7 p.m., CW, Oceanic digital channel 93. In Hawaii, it's time to trim the field from four to two, for next week's finale.
– “Mercy,” 7 p.m., NBC. Last week, Mike told Veronica to move out, after he learned of her affair in Iraq. Now a family crisis brings them together; meanwhile, Dr. Sands (her lover in Iraq) starts a new romance in the hospital.
– “Secrets of the Dead: The Airmen and the Headhunters,” 8 p.m., PBS . On Veteran's Day, here's one of the great World War II stories: Crewmen of a U.S. bomber landed in the Borneo jungle, convinced they were in danger from the native headhunters. Not to worry: Tribesmen hated the Japanese who ruled the island; they hit and cared for the Americans, even building a bamboo airstrip (really) for the rescue plane to repeatedly land.
– “POV: The Way We Get By,” 9-10:30 p.m., PBS. More than 900,000 soldiers have passed through the airport in Bangor, Maine, to and from war. Most have been greeted by locals who catchy every flight. Filmmaker Aron Gaudet focuses on his mother Joan, 76, Jerry Mundy, 74 and Bill Knight, 87. They face personal pain, with the death of Jerry's dog and the departure to Iraq of two of Joan's grandchildren. The film is a half-hour too long, but beautifully done and richly involving.
– “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit,” 8 p.m., NBC. Benson must take a tough case alone, when Stabler finds a higher priority: After an intervention gone bad, his son's life may be in danger.
– “CSI:NY,” 9 p.m., CBS. Here's the mid-section of this week's three-show crossover. A highway accident reveals a human-trafficking ring. Ray Langston (Laurence Fishburne), who had been following a clue in Miami, heads there; the conclusion (9 p.m. Thursday) takes him back to Las Vegas.