1) “Doc” debut, 9 p.m. Tuesday, Fox. Surviving a car crash, a doctor (Molly Parker, shown here) has lost eight years of memory. Now she’ll re-learn modern medicine – and adjust to the tragedies and mistakes in her personal life. This sounds like a soap opera, but it’s one of the year’s best new broadcast-network shows, written smartly and acted with subtle perfection.
2) “Shifting Gears” debut, 8 p.m. Wednesday, ABC. There’s finally another comedy to pair with “Abbott Elementary.” Tim Allen (a car-repair guy in real life) plays a widower with a car shop. Then his estranged daughter (Kat Dennings of “2 Broke Girls”) moves in with her kids. That’s followed by “Abbott” and the season-opener of “Celebrity Jeopardy.”
3) “Miss Scarlet” season-opener, 8 p.m. Sunday, PBS. During its four seasons as “Miss Scarlet and the Duke,” this was a lightly entertaining mystery. Now “The Duke” has left and a new detective inspector (well-played by Tom Pritchard) is here. He’s smart, honest, earnest … and opposed to using private detectives. That sets up some crisp exchanges with Eliza.
4) “Brilliant Minds,” 10 p.m. today, NBC; after reruns at 8 and 9. The previous episode (rerunning at 9) was fierce; it introduced a key character (Mandy Patinkin) and saw a fire endanger Erica. Now come aftershocks and a huge jolt for Dr. Wolf. It’s an involving hour, including a case based on the non-fiction “The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat.”
5) “Will Trent” and “The Rookie” season-openers, 8 and 10 p.m. Tuesday, ABC. With “High Potential” at 9, ABC has a strong crime night. At 8, Will has left town; colleagues track him down after two off-duty cops are shot. At 10, two inmates with personal vendetta have escaped; John – feeling the effects of his age and a wound – welcomes two rookies.
6) “Kitchen Nightmares” opener, 8 p.m. Tuesday, Fox. On Feb. 9, Fox will have the Super Bowl, in New Orleans. With that in mind, it has a couple of five-week series, pointing toward the game. In this one, Gordon Ramsay helps the town’s restaurants get ready for the crowds. First is a two-parter at the Iberville Cuisine & Oyster Bar in the French Quarter.
7) “Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test,” 8-10 p.m. Wednesday, Fox. Here’s another five-week quickie, with celebrities facing ordeals. It has former Super Bowl players (Cam Newton, Golden Tate) and Olympians (Marion Jones, Nathan Adrian, Jordyn Wieber), plus “bachelorettes,” actors (Denise Richards, Stephen Baldwin) and reality-show folks.
8) “Hollywood Squares” opener, 8 p.m. Thursday, CBS. It’s a new edition of a show that began 58 years ago. Drew Barrymore is in the center square, alongside comedians. The manic vibe brings occasional fun and/or chaos. Reruns of “Georgie & Mandy,” “Ghosts” and “Matlock” are delayed an hour. Three weeks later, “Squares” will move to Wednesdays.
9) Football, 7:30 p.m. ET Thursday and Friday, ESPN. The college playoffs have been bizarre: The four top-ranked teams drew a bye in
the first round … and promptly lost in the second. Now we have the semi-finals – Penn State faces Notre Dame on Thursday, Ohio State faces Texas on Friday. On Jan. 20, the winners collide for the national championship. In between are the pros, with six playoff games Saturday and Sunday.
10) “All Creatures Great and Small” opener, 9 p.m. Sunday, PBS. As World War II continues, the veterinarians are scattered. James is in pilot training, unable to get back to his wife and baby; Tristan is overseas. Siegfried (Tristan’s older brother), a World War I veteran, continues his rural practice. All of this will change quickly, in a warmly emotional season.