1) Earth Day fun. This is the day when TV shows us the Earth at its best. That’s led by the National Geographic Channel, with epic mini-series. There’s “Secrets of the Elephant” (shown here) at 9:50 a.m., “Queens” at 12:50 p.m. and the superb “Secrets of the Octopus” (which debuted Sunday) from 7:08 to 10 p.m. Disney+ has the NatGeo shows, debuts “Tiger” and has 15 previous nature epics.
2) Earth Day serious. This day also offers sobering looks at eco-problems. “American Experience” (9-11 p.m., PBS) looks back at the 1970s, when residents near the Love Canal in New York reported miscarriages, birth defects, cancer and more. Others view the struggle to save coral reefs. That’s featured at 8 a.m. on Discovery, at 10 p.m. on National Geographic and then 8 p.m. Wednesday on PBS.
3) “The Voice” (NBC) and “American Idol” (ABC), 8-10 p.m. The “Voice” playoffs begin, with two teams (John Legend and Dan + Shay) trimming from five singers to three. Next week, Reba McEntire and Chance the Rapper do the same. Meanwhile, “Idol” contestants do songs that have reached No. 1 and learn who’s in the top 10.
4) “Bob (Hearts) Abishola,” 8:30 p.m., CBS. One of TV’s best shows is rushing way too quickly toward its May 6 finale. With the future of his company now intact (being sold to Goodwiu, a Nigerian native who has worked his way up), Bob can relax and go with Abishola to New York, where her son has a dance audition at Juilliard.
5) “So You Think You Can Dance,” 9 p.m., Fox. The show has its top eight dancers now – seven of them ages 18-21 and Roman Nevinchanyl, 27. He’s a Uktraine native and a ballroom specialist; four dancers prefer contemporary, with the others doing jazz, jazz fusion and hip hop. Tonight, however, they all tackle Broadway.
— Mike Hughes, TV America