‘Ballroom’ offers top dancers
“America’s Ballroom Challenge” (7 p.m., KSPS) presents competitions between some of the best dancers in the world. Think of it as Dancing without Celebrities.
The only boldfaced name present is Marilu Henner. The “Taxi” star was raised in a dancing family, and her mother ran the Henner Dance School out of a three-car garage in a northwest Chicago neighborhood.
Henner provides colorful appreciation of the action, along with Tony Meredith, a former dance champion.
Henry Louis Gates Jr. hosts “African American Lives” (9 p.m., KSPS), a four-hour series airing over the next two Wednesday nights. “Lives” uses oral history, family anecdotes, legal documents, genealogy and finally DNA analysis to trace the roots of several prominent African Americans, including Whoopi Goldberg, Oprah Winfrey and Quincy Jones.
Wayne Brady hosts “That’s What I’m Talking About” (10 p.m., TV Land), a three-part talk show about the place of black Americans in popular culture. Over the course of the show’s three-week run, it will discuss television (tonight), sports, politics and comedy (next Wednesday) and music and fashion (Feb. 15).
TCM celebrates February, the month of the Oscar, by broadcasting 360 films featuring Academy Award winners or nominees. Tonight’s highlights include two Humphrey Bogart favorites, “The African Queen” (5 p.m.) and “Casablanca” (7 p.m.), as well as two from Goldie Hawn: “Cactus Flower (9 p.m.) and “Shampoo” (11 p.m.).
Other highlights
A general held hostage on “E-Ring” (8 p.m., NBC).
Ever more fodder for the toxic water-cooler on “American Idol” (8 p.m., Fox).
Lights out, nobody home on “Criminal Minds” (9 p.m., CBS).
A wilderness of underground tunnels on “Bones” (9 p.m., Fox).
Hurley takes off after the mysterious French woman on “Lost” (9 p.m., ABC).
Death by archer on “CSI: NY” (10 p.m., CBS).
Birth control with a vengeance on “Law & Order” (10 p.m., NBC).
A floating shocker on “Invasion” (10 p.m., ABC).
Series notes
Gymnasium ad nauseum on “Still Standing” (8 p.m., CBS) … School daze on “George Lopez” (8 p.m., ABC) … Emotional cloudbursts on “One Tree Hill” (8 p.m., WB) … Anything but surprised on “Yes, Dear” (8:30 p.m., CBS) … Chaste but never caught on “Freddie” (8:30 p.m., ABC) … Belt-tightening and bellyaching on “The Biggest Loser: Special Edition” (9 p.m., NBC) … Gender wars on “Beauty and the Geek” (9 p.m., WB).