Tube Notes
By Mike Hughes
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TODAY'S MUST-SEES
Football, 10 a.m., Fox and 1:30 p.m., CBS. By the end of the night, we'll know who will be in the Super Bowl. First, the NFC has the Philadelphia Eagles and Arizona Cardinals; then the AFC has the Baltimore Ravens and Pittsburgh Steelers. The winners collide Feb. 1.
"Flight of the Conchords" season-opener, 8 p.m., HBO. This droll, dry comedy manages to be hilarious without seeming to try. We meet two New Zealand guys who want to be music stars in New York. They have no money, no success, no clue. They also have a truly inept manager who works at the New Zealand consulate. Now that he's had success with another group, he and the Conchords try to shed each other; that isn't easy.
OF NOTE
"Human Trafficking" (2005), 6 p.m., Ion. Mira Sorvino stars in a well-crafted mini-series — shown in one gulp tonight — about women being tricked and forced into international prostitution.
"Another Cinderella Story," 8 and 10 p.m., ABC Family. Selena Gomez plays out the classic story — except she's a modern teen and the princely guy found her MP3 player.
"Desperate Housewives," 8 p.m., ABC. On its 100th episode, the show pauses for flashbacks, reflecting on the impact of a handyman who died.
"Masterpiece Classic: Wuthering Heights," 8 p.m., concluding next week. People keep filming new versions of this Emily Bronte story, despite its flaw — the men are so obsessed and unrelenting that everything seems pre-ordained. The stars (Tom Hardy, Charlotte Riley) and photographry are superb, but this is still a rough ride for viewers.
"Big Love" season-opener, 7 p.m., HBO. The third season begins for the story of a guy and his three wives in Salt Lake City suburbia. In an OK episode, crises build and Bill may add Ana as his fourth wife.
"The L Word" season opener, 7 p.m., Showtime. This show, set among affluent lesbians in Los Angeles, starts with the news that Jenny has been killed. Over six flashback episodes, we'll learn what happened. That starts with Jenny raging over the brief tryst between her lover Nikki and the incendiary Shane; there are some fiercely emotional moments.
"The United States of Tara" debut, 8 p.m., Showtime. This Steven Spielberg production has Toni Collete as a woman with multiple personalities.