David Letterman

In a year of record viewing for political coverage, the biggest night of all could be tonight's vice presidential debate in St. Louis between Republican candidate Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin and her Democratic opponent, Sen. Joe Biden. Friday's debate between Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama and his opponent, Sen. John McCain, drew 52 million viewers, I would expect this one to be seen by more than 60 million. PBS anchorwoman Gwen Ifill will moderate the debate being held at Washington University.

The second season of Pushing Daisies starts on ABC tonight, and that's an event worth getting a little excited about. No other new series last fall reached as high as this one. It had an offbeat, post-modern fairy-tale sensibility and superb acting. Chuck (Anna Friel) goes undercover tonight to solve a murder in a world so weird it could only be a setting for this series. (8 p.m. ABC) *** Private Practice and Dirty Sexy Money also return tonight, on ABC at 9 and 10, respectively. But I did not miss them when they left the airwaves last year, and I am not going to act like I could care that they are back tonight.

Even though it is the second week of a new fall network season, you have to go hunting for something special to watch tonight. But shows are out there - they're just not on network TV. A CRITICAL LOOK: In this era of celebrity worship and reality TV, television with a social conscience is not always easy to find. But in Critical Care, the acclaimed P.O.V. series shows viewers what it is like to be sick in America and not have adequate health insurance. Documentary filmmaker Roger Weisberg chronicles the journey of four Americans who become critically ill. Health care is a major topic in the presidential election, and you can't say PBS didn't try to help you understand and feel the pain connected to this issue with this moving cinema verite exploration.

Finally, a night that feels like a regular fall evening of network TV. It's not that there is anything great and new that makes TV more inviting, but in keeping with a theme of the season, it's the returning series that offer hope. EASY AS ABC ABC has the most to offer tonight with the return of Ugly Betty (8 p.m.) and Grey's Anatomy (9 p.m.) Since the network does not need the publicity, no screening DVDs for critics - which means no stars from me. But fans of these two outstanding series don't need a critic to tell them there is almost always three stars' worth of viewing pleasure to be had with these series.

If the sitcom genre isn't dead, this is the kind of comedy that will kill it. That is what I was feeling 10 minutes into the new CBS comedy Gary Unmarried, which premieres tonight. Jay Mohr stars as a recently divorced dad who is having a hard time adjusting to his former wife's new relationship with another man. So, what does he do? He acts like an adolescent, which is the way all husbands and dads behave in network sitcoms. As for the last 10 minutes of the pilot, believe me, I would not have hung around had someone not been paying me to do so. (8:30 p.m., CBS)

Nobody on TV does biography like PBS' American Masters - and that goes for the life history of institutions as well as individuals. Tonight, the series looks at one of Hollywood's founding motion picture studios in You Must Remember This: The Warner Bros. Story. This three-night exploration of the film kingdom of Harry, Albert, Sam and Jack L. Warner is directed by historian Richard Schickel, and it is not to be missed. Beyond telling backstage stories about memorable films ranging from The Jazz Singer (1927)

This first weeknight of the Fall TV Season has a decent cross-section of reality, action-adventure and comedy. STARS DANCING Of all the reality TV shows, this is one of the most fascinating in the way that it plays off notions we have of celebrity, gender, race and romance. Along with American Idol, I think Dancing with the Stars is one of the most intelligent shows on TV in the way that it speaks to who we are as a nation.

It is always a special moment when people in love with their looks are told they have to change them - dramatically. That's the deal tonight on America's Next Top Model when supermodel and over-the-top diva Tyra Banks orders up makeovers for her wannabes. Isis, the contestant from Prince George's County who self-identifies as a woman in a man's body, got decent camera time last week. It looks as if she is going to be around for a while. (8 p.m., CW) ** 1/2 PAINT IT BLACK Tonight on Comedy Central's The Root of All Evil, the great Lewis Black asks the burning question: "Which is more vile, baby boomers or Gen X?"

Fringe, the dark new drama from celebrated producer J.J. Abrams, got off to slow start last week in both ratings and reviews from critics like me (I gave it a mixed review in the belief that it had great potential). Fox made a smart move in sending out tonight's episode so that critics could preview. The hope is that we would urge viewers to give it a second look. So, give it a second look. I still think it might be too freaky, gory and demanding insofar as the suspension of disbelief it asks viewers to make.

Preppy, sexy and petty - that's Gossip Girl. And the prime-time teen soap opera is off to a very fast start in its second season on CW. After generating a lot of buzz, but only about 2.4 million viewers an episode in its freshman year, the glam saga of upscale teens in the upper reaches of Manhattan life has increased its audience by one-third so far, bringing in about 3.4 million viewers a week. That's a nice gain, especially when it consists primarily of women 18 to 34 years of age, one of the demographic groups that advertisers most want to reach.