Series
On Deadline (9 p.m., NBC), Oliver Platt is in the early stages of creating what could be a great quirky TV character, a Columbo for the zeroes. His pudgy, brash, hard-drinking New York tabloid newspaperman plays into, yet somehow rises above, every TV and movie clichi about journalism in the book. And ya gotta love Platt's Elvis sideburns. Marie backs her car through Ray and Debra's living room wall on Everybody Loves Raymond (9 p.m., CBS). Let's all pretend that last week's gooey, huggy "let's go to Italy" season opener was a bad dream. Frontline (9 p.m., PBS, check local times) presents "Drug Wars," Lowell Bergman's two-part report on the government's failure to stem the flow of illegal narcotics into the U.S. Concludes Tuesday.
Specials
The drug war also figures into Hooked: Illegal Drugs and How They Got That Way (9 p.m., History Channel), a chronicle of drug use through history and changing attitudes toward certain narcotics. Peter Jennings Reporting: The Gun Fight (8 p.m. ET/10 PT, ABC) examines the political power of the National Rifle Association.
Sports
Football:
Buccaneers at Vikings (9 p.m., ABC)
Baseball:
National League Division Playoffs:
Mets at Giants, Game 5, if necessary (8 p.m., Fox; if there is no Game 5, Fox will air a rerun of the "Dark Angel" premiere at 8.)
Talk
Rosie O'Donnell (syndicated) Bette Midler, Ben Stiller
David Letterman (CBS) Ben Stiller, Merle Haggard
Jay Leno (NBC) Debra Messing, Christina Aguilera
Politically Incorrect (ABC) Darva Conger, Ramona Gray (rerun)
Craig Kilborn (CBS) Mimi Rogers
All times Eastern unless noted.
Shares