1) “Nature,” 8 p.m., PBS. The Big Bend National Park (shown here) sprawls over 800,000 acres of West Texas, including 118 miles alomg the Mexican border. Much of it is desert, which may explain why this is one of our least-visited parks. Filmmakers, however, got great footage – towering bluebonnet flowers … beavers cavorting in the Rio Grande … a bear climbing a tree to steal a woodpecker’s cache … and, especially, bighorn sheep: In 1973, seven of them were brought in; now more than 1,000 roam the park.
2) “Tough as Nails” opener, 8 p.m., CBS. Toughness can come in all sizes, it seems. Scott Henry is a 6-foot-7 construction superintendent; Celi Garcia is a 5-foot-2 traveling nurse. This show – a ratings success this summer – has them competing on blue-collar tasks. There’s another construction worker, plus a welder, a mason and a bricklayer. Others repair tracks, work on a tugboat and drive a UPS truck. There’s also a retired combat pilot, a steelworker named Swifty and a lineman nicknamed Zeus.
3) More non-fiction. At 8 p.m., History has “Tuskegee Airmen: Legacy of Courage.” ABC’s Robin Roberts tells of the Black pilots (including her father) who broke barriers during World War II. And at 9, PBS has an interesting “Nova” hour. It views science’s efforts to make stronger glass and plastic … and the world’s struggle to dispose of it afterward.
4) “Call Your Mother,” 9:30 p.m., ABC. Jackie (Kyra Sedgwick) decided she needs to intervene in her daughter’s dating life, helping her meet a guy she’s drawn to. But it may be her son who needs more help: He decides he’s not nearly as interesting as the guys his girlfriend used to date.
5) “For Life,” 10 p/m., ABC. This reflects current issues: Aaron feels pressure from all sides, while deciding whether to push for charges against the police responsible for killing an unarmed civilian.