TONIGHT'S MUST-SEES

"Kath & Kim" debut, 7:30 p.m., NBC. Kath (Molly Shannon) is delighted to be an empty-nester. Her daughter, Kim (Selma Blair), has married; it's time to party. Except Kim returns, enraged at her husband's demands (cooking, for instance). This is a show that grows on you. It doesn't have a lot of laughs, but it has a bright look and well-crafted characters. It was a mistake to cast Blair, 36, in a role that would be funnier for late teens. Still, she does it well, and Mikey Day is fun as her perplexed husband.

"CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" season opener, 8 p.m., CBS. As last season ended, Warrick was shot point-blank. Now come the aftershocks, including the search for the shooter. This is an extremely dark episode, visually and emotionally. But it's also well played, as the team focuses intensely.

OF NOTE

"Grey's Anatomy," 8 p.m., ABC. When a pipe breaks, docs find themselves working in flood conditions.

"Saturday Night Live Weekend Update Thursday," 8:31 p.m., NBC. The "SNL" crew moves to prime time for three Thursday half-hours. It will use its fake-newscast setting for political humor, one of the things it does best.

"Eleventh Hour" debut, 9 p.m., CBS. A brilliant scientist (Rufus Sewell) solves tough cases with a young FBI agent (Marley Shelton) as backup. That sounds fine, but this story of 11-year-olds dying of heart attacks manages to be disturbing without being interesting. Also, the central character lacks the odd charm found in "House," "Life" or "The Mentalist."

"ER," 9 p.m., NBC. Oscar nominee Angela Bassett arrives as the tough new doctor.

"Life on Mars," 9:01 p.m., ABC. Sam Tyler (Jason O'Mara) is a modern cop who wakes up in 1973. He continues catching crooks, but now he's working without computer or DNA or much political correctness. Michael Imperioli and Harvey Keitel co-star.

"The Sarah Silverman Program," 9:30 p.m., Comedy Central. In a brash, bizarre and sometimes very funny episode, Sarah sues all of Mongolia for long-ago rape.