Weekly Best Bets

Thursday

7:30 p.m. on NBC

The Office: You should've gone to Vegas, Mikey. What happens there ... well, you know. Michael (Steve Carell) returns from a vacation in Jamaica all mellowed out. Nothing at work is going to get to him. That changes when the staff gets its hands on an e-mail containing a racy picture taken during his trip. John and Karen (Jim Krasinski, Rashida Jones) get into an argument, and Pam (Jenna Fischer) is caught in the middle.

8 p.m. on FOX

The O.C.: Some guys are actually immune to feminine manipulation. Kaitlin (Willa Holland) learns that lesson when she's paired with a brainy band geek (Chris Brown) for a school project. She tries to get him to do her homework, but he's not biting. Summer and Seth (Rachel Bilson, Adam Brody) ignore their feelings to put their plans in motion. Julie tells Kirsten the truth about Frank.

Friday

8 p.m. on NBC Las Vegas: Oh, no, they didn't! In the new episode "Wines and Misdemeanors," a rare bottle of wine is found in the Montecito's cellar, and Ed (James Caan) decides to auction it off - great exposure for the casino. There's just one problem: It's counterfeit.

Saturday

3:30 p.m. on NBC

NFLFootball: The road to Miami and Super Bowl XLI begins this afternoon with the first of two back-to-back wildcard playoff games on NBC. A half-hour prior to kickoff, Bob Costas and the rest of the "Football Night in America" crew - Cris Collinsworth, Jerome Bettis and Sterling Sharpe - preview the key matchups and give their predictions. Two more wild-card games air Sunday, on CBS and Fox.

Sunday

7 p.m. on NBC

Grease: You're the One That I Want: Hang on, "American Idol" fans. Your addiction - er, show - will be back soon. Meanwhile, you can get a similar fix from this new series, which is also a talent search with viewer voting. The difference: Instead of a record contract, the winners get cast as Sandy and Danny in a Broadway revival of "Grease." Billy Bush ("Access Hollywood") hosts.

9 p.m. on CBS

Without a Trace: Did he crash and burn, or is there something bigger and badder than one man's meltdown going

on? In the new episode "Tail Spin," an air traffic controller vanishes. Jack (Anthony LaPaglia) and the team learn that he had a troubled personal life, having recently lost his wife and become estranged from his son. But in the past few days, he'd also reported a Middle Eastern pilot for suspicious activity, so possibly someone had a grudge.

Monday

8 p.m. on CBS

Two and a Half Men: Beware Berta the mama bear! Sara Rue ("Less Than Perfect") is back, playing Berta's (Conchata Ferrell) daughter, Naomi. You may recall that Alan (Jon Cryer) had a thing for her. Well, they're getting along famously but have kept their relationship a secret from Berta. Alan knows it's not going to be pretty when she finds out, but it gets uglier than expected in the new episode "Castrating Sheep in Montana."

Tuesday

8 p.m. on FOX

House: Finally! The Detective Tritter story arc, which was billed as edgy and groundbreaking but left many fans going, "Huh?" - is ending. House (Hugh Laurie) is under pressure to apologize to Tritter (David Morse) and avoid going to jail on the drug charges, and he ends up spilling a secret. Speaking of secrets, the team's patient has one, too - one he's willing to risk his brain to protect in the new episode "Words and Deeds."

8 p.m. on NBC

Law & Order: Criminal Intent: Wow, Marie Barone is moving up in the world. Fan favorite Doris Roberts ("Everybody Loves Raymond") guest stars in the new episode "Privilege" as Lady Virginia Harrington, a wellknown socialite whose granddaughter is killed. Goren and Eames' (Vincent D'Onofrio, Kathryn Erbe) investigation leads them to a married man who fathered the victim's child ... and a whole lot more dirty little secrets.

Wednesday

8 p.m. on CBS

Criminal Minds: Keith Carradine won an Oscar for the song "I'm Easy" from the movie "Nashville," but if his character here had a theme song, it would be "I'm Sleazy." He plays a serial killer who's reputedly tortured and murdered more than 100 people. The BAU has tracked him down, and the cops want to haul him in, but Gideon (Mandy Patinkin) urges them to hold off; there's something the man's not telling them.

9 p.m. on NBC

Medium: What does a kid trapped in a well have to do with a dead congressman? That's not a riddle; that's the situation Allison (Patricia Arquette) finds herself dealing with in the new episode "The Whole Truth." She's working with Devalos (Miguel Sandoval) on solving the mystery surrounding the politician's death, but she keeps having these visions of a little boy in a well. Are they connected? And if so, how?