Disney’s ‘Hannah’ very familiar
Viewers afraid that they just don’t make sitcoms like they used to should check out “Hannah Montana” (9:30 p.m., Disney).
Of course, that advice is a double-edged sword.
Miley Cyrus stars in the title role. She’s a young, famous pop star and the idol of her junior high school set. But her peers and even her best friend, Lilly (Emily Osment), don’t know that. To them, she’s just Miley Stewart, a perfectly normal girl. And Miley/Hannah wants to keep it that way so her classmates don’t treat her like a big star. he’s level-headed enough to want friends, not groupies.
Miley’s real-life dad, Billy Ray Cyrus, stars as Robby Stewart, her TV father. The singer is at the outer limits of his acting range here, providing wise, warm one-liners with Miley and “comic” barbs with son Jackson (Jason Earles).
A headache of a comedy, “Hannah” will remind parents why they stopped watching sitcoms. It also follows in Disney’s long, strange tradition of manufacturing young idols resembling earlier models.
Remember Kelly Perdew? Hint: He was the winner of the second-season “The Apprentice.”
Tonight he hosts “GI Factory” (8 p.m., Military Channel), the first of a three-part series touring industrial facilities manufacturing military hardware, from body armor to helicopters.
Peter Falk, Peter Sellers and Truman Capote lead an all-star cast in the 1976 detective spoof “Murder by Death” (5 p.m., TCM). Not to be confused with “Murder by Numbers” (8 p.m., AMC), the 2002 mystery starring Sandra Bullock, Ryan Gosling and Michael Pitt.
Other highlights
The NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament continues (4 p.m., CBS); a second game (6 p.m., time approximate) follows.
Howie Mandel hosts “Deal or No Deal” (8 p.m., NBC), airing for the third time in prime time this week.
A family in crisis on “Nanny 911” (8 p.m., Fox).
Thieves plot an elaborate “Heist” (9 p.m., NBC) on Rodeo Drive.
Scheduled on “20/20” (10 p.m., ABC): fast-food chains and healthy menus; people without interest in sex; people who take the law into their own hands.