Weekly Best Bets

Thursday

8 p.m. on FOX

The O.C.: The guilty pleasure aisle just got a little less crowded, as this teen soap leaves the airwaves for good tonight. Maybe it was Marissa's death; maybe the show's young fans got bored with the adult story lines; or maybe those young fans just got too old for the show. In any event, it's time to go, and props to the producers and the network for the classy, gracious exit. If all goes well, you can catch Seth (Adam Brody) and the gang in reruns.

9:01 p.m. on ABC

The Oprah Winfrey Oscar Special: If Barbara Walters can do an Oscar special, why not Oprah? The daytime talk queen doesn't do the interviewing in this new venture, however. Instead, she has Oscar winners interview one another. Nicole Kidman sits down with fellow Aussie Russell Crowe, while Jamie Foxx grills Sidney Poitier on the very stage where he accepted his Oscar for "Lilies of the Field." And when Julia Roberts chats up George Clooney - is it getting hot in here?

Friday

8 p.m. on NBC Las Vegas: The games must go on. The death of an employee rocks the Montecito, but Ed (James Caan) insists on having the company picnic and games as planned, complete with entertainment by Los Lonely Boys. Mike (James Lesure) is a team captain and takes the role very seriously. Mary (Nikki Cox) doesn't feel like celebrating; she has to testify against her own father in court in the new episode "Bare Chested in the Park."

Saturday

8 p.m. on NBC

Law & Order: Special Victims Unit: Cupid is in the house - can you feel the love? Former wrestler Goldberg guest stars in "Loophole" as a cherubically named but violently inclined tough guy who trashes the SVU headquarters. As if there weren't enough complications in the detectives' current case, which involves kiddie porn, a medical mystery and a corporate conspiracy. Mariska Hargitay and Ice-T star.

9 p.m. on NBC

Law & Order: Criminal Intent: Keep the leftovers warm for Goren and Eames (Vincent D'Onofrio, Kathryn Erbe). They're called away from their Thanksgiving celebrations by the disappearance of a highranking police official's daughter, a soldier who was home on leave. Being required to work is especially hard on Goren, whose mother (guest star Rita Moreno) is in failing health. Michael Biehn and Fran Drescher also guest star in "The War at Home."

Sunday

7:30 p.m. on ABC

The 79th Annual Academy Awards: Even if you don't like awards shows, you need to at least have the TV tuned to this one if you don't want to be left out of the loop tomorrow at the water cooler. You know Oscar is bound to give us, to borrow from Bonnie Raitt, "something to talk about," whether it's an unexpected win, a memorable acceptance speech, a quotable quote from host Ellen De- Generes or an unusual wardrobe choice. Come on, you know you want to.

9 p.m. on CBS Without a Trace: When dealing with a traumatized kid, wear kid gloves. That's good advice for Sam (Poppy Montgomery) as she tries to get information out of a 12-year-old boy (guest star Darian Weiss) whose father (Brian Kerwin) has abducted a 5-year-old. While she works on the youngster, her colleagues try to track down his dad and the little boy - whoever he is. Anthony LaPaglia also stars in "Stolen."

Monday

8 p.m. on NBC Heroes: "Save the cheerleader" was never as critical as it is right now. In the new episode "Company Man," Matt and Ted (Greg Grunberg, Matthew John Armstrong) show up in Texas in search of answers about H.R.G.'s (Jack Coleman) hidden past and take him and his family - including Claire (Hayden Panettiere) - hostage. Things are about to get ugly.

Tuesday

8 p.m. on NBC

Law & Order: Criminal Intent: Imagine solving your own murder before it happens. That's the position that Jules Lemle, a friend of Logan's (Chris Noth), is in. He's been poisoned with the radioactive substance Polonium-210, and he's not long for this world. A journalist, he's convinced the poisoning is related to a story he's pursuing, but it could have all been a deadly mistake. Julianne Nicholson also stars in the new episode "30" - which is newspaper jargon for "the end."

Wednesday

9 p.m. on NBC

Medium: Remember the S.O.S. killer? Allison (Patricia Arquette) helped put him away almost a year ago. Now he's escaped from prison, and guess who's in his vengeful sights. This guy is not only psycho; he's psychic ... and so is Allison, of course; talk about a meeting of the minds. Eric Stoltz guest stars as the killer in the new episode "We Had a Dream."