1) “Shifting Gears” debut, 8 p.m., ABC. Tim Allen has been a comedy force forever – nine “Last Man Standing” seasons, eight “Home Improvement” (reaching No. 2 in Nielsen ratings), endless “Santa Clause” and “Toy Story” films. He’s back, at 71, playing a widower with a car shop; then his estranged daughter (Kat Dennings, shown here with Seann William Scott) arrives with her kids.
2) “Abbott Elementary,” 8:30, ABC. For eight episodes, “Abbott” was a comedy orphan, surrounded by reality shows. Now it’s fpaired with Allen’s show. Set in Philly, it has a visit from “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” people – Danny DeVito, Kaitlin Olson (who also stars in ABC’s “High Potential”), Rob McElhenny, Charlie Day and Glenn Howerton.
3) “Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test,” 8-10 p.m., Fox. For five weeks, we’ll see celebrities face brutal ordeals. There are former Super Bowl players (Cam Newton, Golden Tate), Olympians (Marion Jones, Nathan Adrian, Jordyn Wieber), “bachelorettes” (Trista Sutter, Ali Fedotowsky-Manno), actors (Denise Richards, Stephen Baldwin) and more.
4) “Raid the Cage” season-opener, 9 p.m., CBS. A temporary Wednesday line-up has “The Price is Right” at 8 p.m., “Raid” at 9 and (starting Jan. 29) “Hollywood Squares” at 10. Tonight, that last spot goes to a terrific “Elsbeth” rerun; Brittany O’Grady is great as a clueless sort who wakes on Halloween with a haircut, a hangover, a tattoo and police at the door.
5) MORE: After a six-week break, NBC has new episodes of its Chicago shows. Also, ABC has “Celebrity Jeopardy” at 9 p.m., followed by “What Would You Do?” Turner Classic Movies has two of the better Elvis Presley films – “Jailhouse Rock” at 8 p.m. ET, “Viva Las Vegas” at 9:45.
— Mike Hughes, TV America