Inside the Idiot Box: What to watch on TV this week

We're rooting for 'Slumdog' at the Golden Globes

Wondering what's worth watching on the boob tube this week? That's what I'm here for - so, here's the first installment of what will be a weekly Examination (get it?) of the most noteworthy shows of the week. Check back every Monday for a new weekly rundown (Yeah, we know it's Tuesday, but we're off to a bit of a late post-New Year's start.) Here we go...

Definite DVR - Scrubs (ABC, Tuesday, 9 p.m.)

Scrubs is the series that won't die. NBC, where it aired (in frustratingly random time slots) for the past 7 seasons, tried to kill it last year when they pulled the plug. But the patient...wouldn't...die. Actually, ABC, which has always produced the show via its ABC Studios, decided that NBC's garbage would be its treasure, so they resuscitated the patient. OK, enough with the medical metaphors. We do know this - star Zach Braff and creator Bill Lawrence have vowed that this is the final season, as each is ready to move on. But there are whispers that ABC will bring it back again, in some form. See, we told you - it just won't die. On Tuesday's 8th season premiere, Courtney Cox guest stars as the new boss.

Definite DVR - Damages (FX, Wednesday, 9 p.m.)

Glenn Close was a surprise Emmy winner last year for her portrayal of high-powered lawyer Patty Hewes, and she and the show are back for season two. Close is a fine actress, but am we the only ones who always thinks of 'Fatal Attraction' every time we see her? Hmm, maybe we are. Anyway, she's always worth watching, and Damages is her best work in ages.

Get out your hankies - The Biggest Loser: Couples (NBC, Tuesday, 8 p.m.)

The latest season of NBC's heart-tugging weight loss show features teams of two competing to lose the most weight and take the top prize of a quarter of a million bucks. This season also features the heaviest and oldest competitors in the show's history - let's hope they're not the same person.

Big Game Alert - BCS Championship Game, Florida vs. Oklahoma (Fox, Thursday, 8 p.m.)

The Gators and Sooners go at it with the national title on the line. The game features two Heisman Trophy winners: Florida quarterback Tim Tebow, who won the Heisman last year and whose name sounds like a superhero, and Oklahoma's Sam Bradford, who took the trophy this year and whose name sounds like an accountant. If you're a betting type, go with the super hero.

Not a frigging chance, my friend - Howie Do It (NBC, Friday, 8 p.m.)

Howie Mandel apparently isn't satisfied with annoying the crap out of America on those seemingly endless airings of Deal or No Deal. Now the comic is doing the Alan Funt/Ashton Kutcher thing, pranking innocent victims and getting it all on video via hidden camera. The ads that aired over the holidays didn't paint a pretty picture - one prank apparently features a guy in a bunny suit delivering a singing telegram to a funeral (laughing yet?). But even if some of the pranks work, we just can't forgive that title. Seriously - Howie Do It? Howie, Please Don't Do It. 

Only if you're really bored - True Beauty (ABC, Saturday, 10 p.m.)

This is one of those reality shows where the joke is on the contestants - in this case, a gaggle of good-looking people, male and female, are thrust into what they think is a glorified beauty pageant. But what they're really being judged on is their - get this - inner beauty. This is a repeat - new episodes air Mondays at 10 after The Bachelor - but if you're bored at home with nothing to do on Saturday night, you probably deserve to watch this. 

Gotta see it live - The Golden Globe Awards (NBC, Sunday 8 p.m.)

The Oscars are always an event, but the Golden Globes always seem like a lot more fun. The reason: Alcohol. The stars booze it up at their tables throughout the night, so that by evening's end there's always the chance that viewers wlll be rewarded with something like Jack Nicholson channeling Jim Carrey and talking out of his butt, as he did while presenting at the Globes a few years back. Even though they're decided by the mysterious Hollywood Foreign Press Association, the Globes do influence public perception of the year's best movies - and in a wide open Oscar year, they could be more important than ever. We're rooting for Slumdog Millionaire and Milk.

Definite DVR - 24 (Fox, Sunday, 8 p.m.):

If it seems like it's been forever since the last season of 24, well, it kind of has been. The last time a regular episode of 24 aired was back in late May of 2007, when the finale of the highly disappointing sixth season aired. But November's crackerjack TV movie "24: Redemption" restored a little bit of faith in Jack Bauer and his sturdy real-time franchise. This season is set in D.C., which should give an added dose of freshness - it was getting a little repetitive running around L.A. every season, wasn't it? What exactly did all those terrorists have against Hollywood, anyway? The world has undergone almost unfathomable changes since 24 premiered back in 2001 just after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, and it will be fascinating to see how Keifer Sutherland's character deals with the new world order this year. We've tried to stay away from spoilers, but we learned in "Redemption" that there's a new President (venerable stage actress Cherry Jones) and that Jack will be forced to testify before Congress about his, ahem, out-of-the-box efforts to stop terrorists lo these many years. But no Senate hearing room can contain Agent Bauer - so get your "Damnit!" drinking games ready - it says here that Jack is back.

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