Dick Clark back for another New Year

As he has since at least the Cenozoic Era, Dick Clark will be hosting “Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve 2006” (10 p.m., ABC). Look for Ryan Seacrest of “American Idol” fame, too.

Correspondent Marysol Castor will provide updates on the throngs of people milling about Times Square.

Singer Mariah Carey will cap off a memorable year by performing from Times Square during Clark’s show. This marks the first time in “Rockin’ Eve” history that a musician has performed live in New York.

Carey has much to celebrate. Her recent album “The Emancipation of Mimi” has been certified quintuple platinum, it has spawned three No. 1 singles, and Carey has been nominated for eight Grammy awards.

Later in the evening, singer and actress Hilary Duff will preside over segments of the “Rockin’ Eve” emanating from the West Coast.

Clark isn’t the only showbiz evergreen with his own year-end extravaganza. Regis Philbin hosts “New Year’s Eve Live” (11 p.m., Fox). Jillian Barberie, Nick Cannon, Tyler Hilton and “Dancing with the Stars” favorite John O’Hurley also appear.

Carson Daly hosts his own eponymous special (11:30 p.m., NBC). Comic Wanda Sykes, the musical entrepreneur currently calling himself “Diddy,” singer Mary J. Blige and correspondent Brian Williams join him.

Neal McCoy hosts the “New Year’s Eve Party” (6 p.m., GAC) live from Nashville.

Of course, some of us like to spend New Year’s Eve in another dimension of time and space. The Sci Fi network kicks off its weekend-long “Twilight Zone” marathon beginning 9 a.m. Saturday. This year the channel has chosen episodes of the Rod Serling series featuring now-famous performers before they were stars.

Look for Jack Klugman (6 p.m. today), Robert Redford (6:30 p.m.), and William Shatner’s (8 p.m.) unforgettable meltdown at 30,000 feet. Sunday’s episodes showcase Cloris Leachman (1 p.m.), Burt Reynolds (1 p.m.), Carol Burnett (5 p.m.) and Dick York (7 p.m.).

Now that’s bewitching programming.

Since New Year’s Day falls on a Sunday, viewers will have to wait for Monday for the traditional Tournament of Roses Parade and several key bowl games. ABC has seized the opportunity to broadcast a brand-new show directly after a glance back at the season’s action on “Desperate Housewives” (9 p.m. Sunday, ABC).

After Sunday’s‘s premiere, “In Justice” (10 p.m. Sunday, ABC) will air at 9 p.m. Fridays. Based on the real-life stories of the National Justice Project, “In Justice” offers tales of vigilant attorneys fighting to free the wrongly accused, and convicted. Kyle MacLachlan stars as David Swain, a high-powered lawyer bored to tears by his $650 per-hour work as a corporate counsel, who can’t wait to get his hands dirty again with some criminal investigations.

The premiere episode involves a former drug addict imprisoned for life for killing her father in a botched robbery. Not to give too much away, but Swain’s team eventually turns up evidence that changes the mind of her estranged brother, who had hardened his heart against her, and reveals a few dark secrets from their father’s past.

Tonight’s highlights

Fans of Japanese anime can ring out the old with a 16-episode marathon of the popular cartoon “Naruto” (2:30 p.m., Cartoon Network).

Colin Farrell has the title role in director Oliver Stone’s 2004 Macedonian mess-terpiece “Alexander” (8 p.m., HBO). Great, it’s not.

Heath Ledger stars in the 2001 medieval romance “A Knight’s Tale” (8 p.m., NBC).

Cuba Gooding Jr. stars in the 2002 comedy “Snow Dogs” (8 p.m., ABC).

Scheduled on “48 Hours Mystery” (10 p.m., CBS): a hospital whodunnit.

Six episodes unfold on the “South Park New Year’s Rock-A-Thon” (10 p.m., Comedy Central).

Sunday’s highlights

The Military Channel repeats Bob Hope’s Christmas specials from 1957 (2 p.m.), 1968 (3 p.m.), 1971 (5 p.m.) and 1990 (6:30 p.m.). Scheduled on “60 Minutes” (7 p.m., CBS): the private space race; AIDS in China; intimations of immortality.

Scheduled on “Dateline” (7 p.m., NBC): death at a camp for troubled teens

Chris O’Donnell and Robin Tunney star in the 2000 adventure “Vertical Limit” (7:30 p.m., Fox).

A farmhouse becomes a home for six children on “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” (8 p.m., ABC).

A grieving mother (Diane Keaton) tries to understand her late daughter’s life in the 2005 TV drama “Surrender Dorothy” (9 p.m., CBS).

On two episodes of “Law & Order: Criminal Intent” (NBC), murder in church (8 p.m.), and a “kidnapped” woman’s double life (9 p.m.).

A boot hill for made men on “Crossing Jordan” (10 p.m., NBC).