Finalists face test on ‘Apprentice’

Season 3 of “The Apprentice” (9 p.m., NBC) will wrap up with a one-hour boardroom showdown between finalists Tana Goertz and Kendra Todd. For the life of me, I can’t remember who won Season 2.

I do recall that last season’s finale was a brutal endurance test, a half-hour of suspense padded out to what seemed like six hours. At some point Regis Philbin showed up, and then I fell asleep.

So NBC is wise to limit this season-ender to one hour. I do remember Bill Rancic won the first “Apprentice.” He’ll be back tonight and will participate in the boardroom next season.

Next September, NBC will air two different versions of “The Apprentice.” Donald Trump will host the fourth season of his show on Thursday nights. In addition, Martha Stewart will get an “Apprentice” spinoff on Wednesday nights.

It remains to be seen if viewers will warm to Stewart in the boardroom. But more important: Is NBC simply overexposing “The Apprentice”?

The first season of the business reality show was a bona fide hit. It revived Trump’s icon status; coined its own stock phrase, yada, yada, yada.

But ratings and buzz have been slipping ever since. In cloning and frequently airing “The Apprentice,” NBC appears to be following the failed strategy of ABC back when t it overscheduled “Who Wants to Be A Millionaire.” That was a hit, too. But then people got tired of seeing Regis Philbin every hour on the hour, and they fell asleep.

Quentin Tarantino directs the two-hour season finale of “CSI” (8 p.m., CBS) in which the teams discovers that one of its own has been kidnapped and buried alive. A film buff to the core, Tarantino puts a horror movie fan at the center of the story.

We know the character is a real aficionado by the copy of “Psychotronic Video” on his night table.

Tarantino (“Kill Bill,” “Pulp Fiction”) is no stranger to prime time. He has appeared on “Alias” and was a guest judge on “American Idol” last season.

Speaking of “American Idol” (9 p.m., Fox), the musical showcase appears on a special night to recap some of its most amusing and appalling auditions.

If “CSI” isn’t morbid enough for you, don’t miss “Secrets of the Body Farm” (8 p.m., National Geographic). The “Farm” is a forensics research facility at the University of Tennessee. It is “home” to more than 400 cadavers.

Some were willed by the deceased or donated by families; others were simply unclaimed by county morgues. “Farm” follows a body from the time of its arrival until it departs as a skeleton, as well as the scientists who have made death and its many causes their life’s work.

Next season will be the last for “Will & Grace” (8 p.m., NBC). The comedy ends this, its eighth season with a one-hour episode containing three celebrity guest stars.

Eric Stoltz appears as a romantic blast from Grace’s past.

Alec Baldwin turns in a creepy, funny turn as a stranger Will meets in the park. He appears to be a fan of Will’s writing but turns out to be a shady businessman with a very ulterior motive.

Seth Green (“Robot Chicken”) portrays an angry child star cast to host the talk show Jack is producing on Out TV.

Other highlights

Sandy feels his marriage slipping away on “The O.C.” (8 p.m., Fox).

An hour of “Blue Collar TV” (8 p.m.).

A missing woman may be linked to an identity theft ring with terror connections on the season finale of “Without a Trace” (10 p.m., CBS).

A flood cripples the ER during Carter’s going-away party on “ER” (10 p.m., NBC).

The soap opera antics of “ER” have nothing on “Green Wing” (7 p.m., BBC America) an over-the-top parody of hospital dramas.

Cult choice

A tycoon (Yves Montand) woos the star (Marilyn Monroe) of an off-Broadway show designed to lampoon him in the 1960 comedy “Let’s Make Love” (5 p.m., Fox Movie Channel), directed by George Cukor.

Series notes

Wrestling on “WWE Smackdown” (8 p.m., UPN) … A “redneck” comic looks back at his roots on “Jeff Foxworthy: The Early Daze” (9 p.m., WB).