A look at this week’s top TV draws

MONDAY, JANUARY 8

Time

Network

Program

Description

8 p.m.

CBS

"How I Met Your Mother" (C)

Robin wants to tell Ted how she feels, but she can't seem to pull the trigger.

8 p.m.

ESPN

"College Basketball" (S)

An old-school Big East matchup between Villanova and Georgetown.

8 p.m.

Lifetime

"Gay, Straight or Taken?" (R)

Series premiere. Single women try to win dates by figuring out which of three men is single and straight.

8:15 p.m.

Fox

"College Football" (S)

The BCS Championship game between Ohio State and Florida.

9 p.m.

CBS

"Two and a Half Men" (C)

Charlie finds out Alan's been dating Berta's daughter, and both are surprised at Berta's reaction.

9 p.m.

VH1

"I Love New York" (R)

Series premiere. The “Flavor of Love” loser winsher own reality show.

10 p.m.

CBS

"CSI: Miami" (D)

Natalia is a suspect in Nick's murder, but Horatio tries to save the day.

TUESDAY, JANUARY 9

Time

Network

Program

Description

8 p.m.

Discovery

"Really Big Things" (N)

Series premiere. New show outlines how large engineering problems are solved.

9 p.m.

Fox

"House" (D)

House treats a firefighter who's strangely shivering after a fire.

9 p.m.

CBS

"People's Choice Awards" (A)

Queen Latifah hosts the 33rd annual event, live from Los Angeles.

9 p.m.

ESPN

"College Basketball" (S)

Huge early-season Big Ten matchup between Ohio State and Wisconsin.

10 p.m.

NBC

"Law & Order: SVU" (D)

Stabler and Benson find themselves taking sides while investigating a rape case.

10 p.m.

FX

"Dirt" (D)

Willa does all she can to cover the latest Hollywood couple of the moment.

10 p.m.

Oxygen

"Bad Girls Club" (R)

The house welcomes a new roommate, who becomes friends with everyone except Aimee.

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 10

Time

Network

Program

Description

7 a.m.

NBC

"Today" (N)

Stuart R. Levine guests and the crew revisits “Today” in the 1970s.

8 p.m.

CBS

"Armed and Famous" (R)

Series premiere. Fading (or never-lit) celebrities try to become cops in Muncie, Ind.

9 p.m.

PBS

"Science Investigators" (N)

Series premiere. Modern technology takes care of some of science's biggest mysteries.

9 p.m.

ESPN

"NBA Basketball" (S)

Tim Duncan and the Spurs face the Nuggets and new guard Allen Iverson.

10 p.m.

NBC

"Medium" (D)

Shades of Jessica McClure as Allison starts to see images of a child trapped at the bottom of a well.

10 p.m.

CBS

"CSI: NY" (D)

A man is found dead in an apartment, but it's revealed he might be a kidnapper.

10 p.m.

MTV

"The Real World" (R)

The housemates learn a little about themselves during a mountain-climbing trip.

THURSDAY, JANUARY 11

Time

Network

Program

Description

8 p.m.

NBC

"My Name is Earl" (C)

Earl's treasure is gone, and Joy, Darnell and Randy all have different stories about what happened.

8 p.m.

ABC

"Ugly Betty" (D)

Betty finds some dirt that puts Daniel's relationship with Sofia in jeopardy.

8 p.m.

CW

"Smallville" (D)

Tori Spelling guests as a gossip columnist working for the Daily Planet.

9 p.m.

ABC

"Grey's Anatomy" (D)

George's dad is forced to endure heart surgery followed by surgery for his cancer.

9 p.m.

NBC

"Scrubs" (C)

Dr. Cox and the janitor move in together, and Turk thinks Carla should get some help for her depression.

10 p.m.

MTV

"Real World/Road Rules Challenge" (R)

After a challenge involving swimming, the final two male and females are identified.

10 p.m.

NBC

"ER" (D)

Abby gives a patient some extra attention, which irks Luka.

FRIDAY, JANUARY 12

Time

Network

Program

Description

7 a.m.

NBC

"Today" (N)

Author Ann Brashares guests, as does Jill Hennessey.

8 p.m.

CBS

"Ghost Whisperer" (D)

A ghost who doesn't want to be reincarnated threatens the health of Melinda's friend's unborn baby.

8 p.m.

NBC

"1 vs. 100" (G)

Fabio and a host of child geniuses take part in tonight's panel.

9 p.m.

CBS

"Close to Home"  (D)

A woman dies during routine plastic surgery. Her husband suspects murder, not malpractice.

9 p.m.

G4

"G4 Presents the Adult Entertainment Expo 2007" (A)

A two-hour celebration of the adult entertainment industry's annual love-fest.

10 p.m.

NBC

"Law & Order" (D)

The husband of a daytime soap star turns up dead.

SATURDAY, JANUARY 13

Time

Network

Program

Description

1 p.m.

CBS

"College Basketball" (S)

Nice matchup between Tennessee and Ohio State.

2 p.m.

NBC

"NHL Hockey" (S)

Regional action as the NHL comes back to NBC.

4:30 p.m.

CBS

"NFL Football" (S)

An AFC divisional playoff game.

8 p.m.

Fox

"NFL Football" (S)

No “Cops” tonight, but Fox should do better with an NFC divisional playoff game.

9 p.m.

Sci Fi Channel

"Grendel" (M)

A made-for-cable version of the classic epic “Beowulf.”

10 p.m.

HBO

"Louis C.K.: Shameless" (A, C)

A taped performance of the comic at Henry Fonda Theater.

SUNDAY, JANUARY 14

Time

Network

Program

Description

1 p.m.

Fox

"NFL Football" (S)

Another divisional playoff game in the NFC.

4:30 p.m.

CBS

"NFL Football" (S)

More AFC divisional playoff action.

7 p.m.

ESPN2

"Tennis" (S)

Early-round coverage of the year's first major, the Australian Open.

8 p.m.

Fox

"24" (D)

Season premiere. Picks up 20 months after last season ended, with Wayne Palmer now president and terrorists still wreaking havoc in the U.S.

8 p.m.

Univision

"Bailando por la Boda de Mis Suenos" (R)

A new incarnation of Univision's highly rated Sunday night show.

9 p.m.

ABC

"Desperate Housewives" (D)

Gaby's secret admirer comes to light and Tom's pizza business is in trouble.

9 p.m.

HBO

"Rome" (D)

Season premiere. The new season begins right after Caesar was murdered.

A = awards show or special, C = comedy, D = drama, DD = daytime drama, G = game show, K = kids, M = movie, N = news/documentary, R = reality, S = sports, T = talk/variety show.