Vh1

After years of frittering away his talent in Hollywood and Las Vegas, Elvis had something to prove in 1968. And boy, did he.His throne threatened by the Beatles, his relevance barely registering, Elvis came back with a television special that rock and roll writers are still rhapsodizing over. You can see that special Friday night at 9 on VH1 (some of the best moments come during an unforced, bare-bones sit-down session -- Elvis knew about going "unplugged" decades before it became fashionable)

The first thing you have to do if you watched all 18 hours of "The Monkees" marathon on VH1 yesterday is examine your life.Am I eating right? Am I getting enough exercise? Is it finally time to put down the remote, get out of these Doritos-stained silk pajamas and find a job? These are all questions you want to ask yourself.You might also want to fax a question to VH1 executives, namely: Why now? Was a Monkees marathon something the country was clamoring for? Were there people at cocktail parties sipping Amstel Lights and raking a celery stick through the onion dip and wondering: "Whatever happened to Mickey Dolenz?

The competitive November ratings sweeps are history, so many shows are taking a breather and serving up repeats. Not ABC, though: It's got a fresh "NYPD Blue," which is good news, and a fresh "Roseanne," which may not be."Roseanne" (8 p.m.-8: 30 p.m., WMAR, Channel 2) -- The promos for tonight's episode have to do with Roseanne waiting very nervously for the arrival of her long-distant husband, Dan (John Goodman). It's surely no coincidence that the recent shows without Goodman on board have been among the series' all-time worst -- and the sight, in promos, of Roseanne filling the TV screen with cleavage in anticipation of a sexy reunion may not indicate the best road to recovery.

Why so many repeats tonight? Because the November ratings sweeps, the competitive period in which audience levels are used to set advertising rates for the next few months, just ended. The stakes are lower now; accordingly, so is the level of programming."Melrose Place" (8 p.m.-9 p.m., WBFF, Channel 45 ) -- Here's one show offering a first-run episode tonight, though -- one that continues the story line about Amanda's quest to reclaim something she's lost recently: her backbone. Fox."Oops!

Were the '70s really a huge waste of time best left forgotten? Don't jump to any conclusions before watching VH1 tonight."The Nanny" (8 p.m.-8: 30 p.m., WJZ, Channel 13) -- In a repeat from two years back, the Woman With the Most Irritating Voice in the World runs into Corbin Bernsen, once the World's Sleaziest Lawyer. Only this time he's not Arnie Becker, but rather hot-dog hawker mistaken for a stockbroker. CBS."Dr. Laura Schlessinger on Character, Courage and Conscience" (8 p.m.-9: 30 p.m., MPT, Channels 22 and 67)

LOS ANGELES -- Talk about strange evenings."VH1 Honors" on Sunday night at the Universal Amphitheatre was such an odd mixture of pure magic and disheartening mess that you wondered the next morning if it wasn't all just a dream.In key moments, the "VH1 Honors" concert showed the potential to touch us with an almost spiritual grace. The 2 1/2 -hour program, televised live on VH1, saluted Witness, a watchdog organization co-founded in 1992 by rock singer Peter Gabriel that encourages people around the world to document human rights violations with video cameras and other means.

If you want to do music live on TV, you hire a guy who knows how to do it. And Ken Ehrlich, producer of "VH1 Honors," knows how. He's the man who has tried for the past 15 years to tame the beast called Grammy."

At 9 o'clock, Eastern time, on a recent Friday night, the cable-television music channel VH1 pre-empted its regular programming to sell concert tickets. By arrangement with the rock star Tom Petty, VH1 offered its viewers first crack at 19,200 prime seats -- 400 tickets, at $25 to $45 apiece, for concerts in each of the 48 cities on Mr. Petty's coming tour.In the first 15 minutes of this experiment, viewers tried more than 500,000 times to call an "800" number that the channel flashed on the screen.

An old "Frasier" and a new "NYPD Blue" brighten the evening, and most other offerings deaden it.* "Something Wilder" (8:30-9 p.m., Channel 2) -- New night! New time! Same show! However, this week's episode, in its quest to lure additional viewers, is playing a Trump card: The guest star is Marla Maples Trump, playing a woman with a reputation as a home-wrecker. Supply your own punch line. NBC.* "Frasier" (9-9:30 p.m., Channel 2) -- After reading a romantic best-seller about unrequited love, Frasier realizes the story is about him as a youth, written by his former piano teacher, and he sets out to renew old acquaintances.

Like platform shoes and bellbottoms, Tom Jones has come full circle.The pelvis-thrusting, 53-year-old Welsh soulster, who was red hot in the '60s and early '70s before fading into a decade or so of obscurity, is the current high priest of hip.Don't believe it? Check out his still steamy, high-energy act at the Merriweather Post Pavilion tomorrow night.Mr. Jones has shed his skin-tight, lounge-lizard get-ups in favor of stylish turtlenecks and Italian suits. His hair is cut short and looks natural.