1) Football season-opener, 8:20 p.m ET., NBC. This is just what we need now – the full-scale fun and fury of pro football. It starts with Patrick Mahomes and the champion Kansas City Chiefs hosting the Houston Texans, which almost stopped them en route to last year’s Super Bowl. All of the other teams play Sunday (including the Rams and Cowboys at night on NBC) or in an ESPN doubleheader Monday. And on Saturday, we have the first full – well, semi-full – day of college football.
2) “Holey Moley” finale, 8 p.m., ABC. Here’s David vs. Goliath: Facing the might of pro football is … well, miniature golf. Tonight, the 12 weekly winners go for the $250,000 championship. This has been a ratings hit, so ABC will follow at 9 p.m. with “Holey Moley II: The Sequel: The Special: Unhinged, Part One.” That concludes next week; a week after that, ABC starts a Thursday game-show line-up.
3) “Savage Kingdom,” 8-10 p.m ET., Nat Geo Wild, repeating at 11. This concludes the three-day documentary mini-series. The five-day “Big Cat Week” continues through Friday; today, it’s from 3 p.m. to 3 a.m.ET, including a rerun of Monday’s gorgeous “Jade Eyed Leopard” at 4 p.m. ET.
4) “Bin Laden’s Hard Drive,” 9 p.m. and midnight, National Geographic. Here’s a new documentary, looking at the declassified contents of the computers in Osama bin Laden’s compound. That’s surrounded by reruns about the Sept. 11 attack, from 7 p.m. to 5 a.m. On Friday (the 19th anniversary of the attacks), History and National Geographic will both have 9/ll films all day.
5) “Last Man Standing,” 9 and 9:30 p.m., Fox. Tim Allen’s comedy has been missing (except for early-evening Sundays) for four-and-a-half months. Now it re-appears with a couple reruns: Mandy overprepares for the arrival of her sister’s baby; Vanessa learns a secret that could scuttle Ed’s wedding. Sometime in January or so, the show will start its ninth season.