CBS better off without ‘Rock Star’

As a TV critic you learn to be philosophical about shows good, bad and ugly.

Good shows offer entertainment. Bad shows give you something to think about.

What can we learn from the misbegotten talent showcase “Rock Star: INXS” (9:30 p.m., CBS)? At least three things come to mind.

First, “Survivor” producer Mark Burnett may have lost his golden touch.

Second, that when it comes to “rock” and “reality,” all life imitates “Spinal Tap.”

And third and perhaps most profound, having built ratings dominance with comedy and drama, CBS should not chase away its audience with drivel like “Rock Star,” “Fire Me … Please” and “The Cut.”

Fans of the series “Into the West” should not miss “Taming the Wild West: The Legend of Jedediah Smith” (8 p.m., History).

Smith’s character looms large in the early going of “Into the West.” In this nonfiction account, animated by costumed re-enactments and plenty of archival imagery, Smith emerges as the very definition of the rugged individual who explored the frontier.

In a society of rough mountain men, Smith stood out as someone who read the classics in their original Latin. But he could also prevail in a bear attack and negotiate with Indian tribes.

After earning a fortune as a fur trader in the 1820s, he made his mark leading the first band of American settlers over the Sierra Nevada Mountains to the Spanish territory of California.

“History Detectives” (9 p.m., KSPS) examines four drawings that may have been made by political cartoonist Arthur Szyk, whose wartime anti-Nazi illustrations were considered so provocative that first lady Eleanor Roosevelt called him “a one-man army against Hitler.”

Also under the microscope are a fragment that may be part of a Civil War-era hot-air balloon, and a military map from the staff of Gen. Pershing, America’s supreme military commander during World War I.

Fans of “Everybody Loves Raymond” have no reason to panic. Repeats of the show will be on for a long, long time.

Last week, TBS announced a deal for the cable rights to “Raymond” through the year 2016. No, that’s not a typo. Fans will have at least 11 more years to love “Raymond.”

But will they? Comedy trends change, and some sitcoms date very quickly. Sure, “The Honeymooners” and “I Love Lucy” seem evergreen, but for every classic there are dozens of shows that seem tied to a very particular era.

Did you catch the “Ned and Stacey” reruns that used to run on the Romance Channel before it was WE? I rest my case.

Turn the clock back 11 years and look at the most popular sitcoms of 1994. Sure, millions still like “Seinfeld.” But do they crave “Home Improvement”? “Grace Under Fire”? “Mad About You”? “Madman of the People”? It remains to be seen if people will be watching “Raymond” (or television as we now know it) in the year 2016.

Other highlights

Parents subcontract their duties to a foreigner on “Nanny 911” (8 p.m., Fox).

Teens sharpen their No. 2 pencils on “The Scholar” (8 p.m., ABC).

Sandra Bullock stars in the 2000 alcoholism recovery drama “28 Days” (9 p.m., ABC).

Ed is held hostage on “Las Vegas” (9 p.m., NBC).

Only four contestants are left for chef Gordon Ramsey to abuse on “Hell’s Kitchen” (9 p.m., Fox).

A politician’s daughter is kidnapped on “The Closer” (9 p.m., TNT). This series, starring Kyra Sedgwick, already has been picked up for a second season.

Drinking minors, major crimes on “CSI: Miami” (10 p.m., CBS).

A train dream derails Allison’s concentration on “Medium” (10 p.m., NBC).

Cult choice

A brash Harvard preppy (Ryan O’Neal) woos a fetching coed (Ali MacGraw) from the working class with a flair for the harpsichord in the 1970 weepy “Love Story” (5 p.m., WE).

Series notes

Moonlighting on “King of Queens” (8 p.m., CBS) … Joe Rogan hosts “Fear Factor” (8 p.m., NBC) … Exercising the franchise on “One on One” (8 p.m., UPN) … Wayne Newton cameos on “7th Heaven” (8 p.m., WB).

Ray’s role reversal on “Everybody Loves Raymond” (8:30 p.m., CBS) … Xzibit cameos on “All of Us” (8:30 p.m., UPN).

Exclusivity on “Two and a Half Men” (9 p.m., CBS) … A meddlesome mother on “Girlfriends” (9 p.m., UPN) … Ava and Johnny on the brink on “Summerland” (9 p.m., WB) … A talent for trouble on “Half & Half” (9:30 p.m., UPN).