More stars show up on ‘Will & Grace’

As “Will & Grace” enters its final season, even its most loyal fans can be heard breathing sighs of relief and waiting for the curtain to come down. The show has been coasting for years, relying on guest stars to maintain flagging interest.

On tonight’s three consecutive episodes (NBC), viewers can look for Lily Tomlin (9:30 p.m.), Jeff Goldblum (10 p.m.), and Chita Rivera and Michelle Lee (10:30 p.m.). With the exception of Abe Vigoda, every working member of the Screen Actors Guild has been a guest star on “Will & Grace.”

But don’t tell Emmy voters about the power outage at this comedy – “Will & Grace” just received 15 nominations. To put that in perspective, the entire PBS network received just 23 nominations.

With 15 nods, “Will & Grace” got as many nods as the network totals for UPN (3), The WB (2), MTV (1), Lifetime (3), Disney (1) and Discovery (5) combined. Just what are they smoking up there in Emmy land?

I haven’t been so confused since Emmy fell in love with “3rd Rock from the Sun.”

On the other hand, the Emmys have to honor some comedy, and with the exception of the now-departed “Everybody Loves Raymond” the pickings aren’t especially lush.

Could that be why they included “Desperate Housewives” in the comedy category? As a campy soap, it could just as easily have been considered drama.

Funny, I don’t remember “Dynasty” being nominated as a comedy. Then again, I don’t remember “Dynasty” being nominated at all.

You probably don’t know who Frank Mundus is, and even if you did you’d probably think he looked just like Robert Shaw. Mundus inspired the tough, taciturn shark-hunter character immortalized by actor Shaw in Steven Spielberg’s 1975 saltwater thriller “Jaws.”

The real life Mundus is profiled and celebrated on “Shark Hunter: Chasing the Great White” (9 p.m., Discovery).

“Hunter” looks back at Mundus’ early career, including his remarkable feat of catching a great white shark weighing 3,427 pounds with only a rod and reel. Don’t try that with your Kmart Zebco!

The catch set a fishing record that has never been broken.

Now 80, Mundus has turned his attention to shark conservation. “Hunter” follows him to African waters for a face-to-face encounter with his former prey.

For those paying close attention, tonight marks a new Thursday-night schedule for the WB network, the same lineup they will carry into the fall. See listings for “Smallville” and “Everwood” below for details.

Other highlights

The documentary “With All Deliberate Speed” on “Screening Room” (4 p.m., Discovery Times) looks at the people behind the 1954 Supreme Court decision that outlawed school segregation. “Screening Room” is hosted by actor John Turturro.

Julie Chen hosts “Big Brother 6” (8 p.m., CBS).

Stephen Baldwin guest-stars on “CSI” (9 p.m., CBS).

A trip to Miami on “The O.C.” (9 p.m., Fox).

The documentary news series “Hooking Up” (9 p.m., ABC) follows the ups and downs of the online dating scene in and around Manhattan. Apparently, one of the cultural developments of the new century is the ability to dump somebody (or get dumped by somebody) via e-mail. Ah, progress.

A single mother deposits her toddler with a caregiver before taking a powder on the first of a two-part episode of “Without a Trace” (10 p.m., CBS) continued next Thursday.

Scheduled on “Primetime” (10 p.m., ABC): how children recover from trauma; an interview with Elizabeth Smart.

Cult choice

Decades before the NASCAR craze, James Garner and Eva Marie Saint heated up the screen in the 1966 Formula One drama “Grand Prix” (7:15 p.m., Turner Classic Movies).

Series notes

On three consecutive episodes of “Joey” (NBC), Kelly Preston, (8 p.m.), Kelly Preston again (8:30 p.m.), and Lucy Liu (9 p.m.) … On back-to-back episodes of “That ‘70s Show” (Fox), Kelso tutors Eric (8 p.m.), and Jackie’s web of deception (8:30 p.m.) … Hope for a cleft palate on “Extreme Makeover” (8 p.m., ABC) … Wrestling on “WWE SmackDown!” (8 p.m., UPN) … To China, in search of Kryptonite, on “Smallville” (8 p.m., WB).

Ephram’s backup school strategy worries Andy on “Everwood” (9 p.m., WB).