TV Junkie: Tony Bennett on 'Idol'; Vic Mackey's Back on 'The Shield'

A Word or 73:
LA, get ready for your dirty underbelly to be nauseatingly exploited as the sixth season of The Shield gets underway tonight. There's a bit more room on the dial after, thank god, the following shows got the ax last week: The Wedding Bells (Fox) which was truly awful, Six Degrees (ABC) another bad one, 7th Heaven (the CW) which I don't even know about and The Black Donnellys which was cheap and cheesy.

NCIS/The Unit (CBS, 8-10:00 p.m.) New even more suspensful and action filled episodes.

Nova (PBS, 8:00 p.m.) Thank god for cuttlefish.

Dateline NBC (NBC, 8:00 p.m.) Chris Hensen, supermensch

American Idol (Fox, 8:00 p.m.) Tony Bennett shows up to mentor.

Pussycat Dolls Present: The Search for the Next Doll (the CW, 9:00 p.m.) 6 contestants left perform in Vegas.

Law & Order: Criminal Intent/Law & Order: SVU (NBC, 9-11:00 p.m.) Somebody please voice-of-reason this shit.

Larry King Live (CNN, 9:00 p.m.) Angry frump Lou Dobbs

Frontline (PBS, 9:00 p.m.) A look at a man suffering from ALS/Lou Gehrig's

House (Fox, 9:00 p.m.) Tyson Ritter, some twit from the All American Rejects, guest stars.

The Shield (FX, 10:00 p.m.) Vic's back for a sixth season!

The Tonight Show With Jay Leno (NBC, 11:35 p.m.) Gerard Butler, Tim McGraw performs

Jimmy Kimmel LIVE (ABC, 12:05 a.m.) Hilary Swank, the latest "Dancing With the Stars" castoff, Hilary Duff [too many effing Hilllaries]

Late Night With Conan O'Brien (NBC, 12:35 a.m.) Hot chica Rosario Dawson pushing the Tarantino thing, Martina McBride performs

The Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson (CBS, 12:35 a.m.) Naughty girl Rose McGowan pushing the Tarantino thing, chef Wolfgang Puck, Billy D. Washington performs

Tony Bennett on Idol via AP