LITTLE ROCK — The big event on TV today is the premiere of Ken Burns' latest epic, The National Parks: America's Best Idea. It unfolds on PBS and AETN at 7 p.m. You can read all about it in today's TV Week.
If documentaries aren't your thing, then the Emmy-winning CBS series The Amazing Race returns at 7 p.m. for a 15th trek around the world. It'll be a special two-hour premiere, and there's an Arkansan in the competition this season.
Harlem Globetrotters guard Herbert "Flight Time" Lang is on a team with fellow Globetrotter Nathaniel "The Big Easy" Lofton. Lang, 32, is from Brinkley and played his college ball at Centenary College in Shreveport.
The 6-foot-3 Lang graduated in 1998 with a degree in health/physical education and is known as the team's "ballhandling wizard."
It'll be easy to spot New Orleans native Lofton. He's 6-foot-9 and sort of stands out in a crowd.
The duo will need to keep on their toes. The 12 teams, each with two members in some sort of relationship, will hit eight countries in only 21 days.
The slowest pokes will gradually be culled from the crowd, with the first team to arrive at the final destination winning a cool $1 million.
Fair warning - one team will be eliminated even before leaving the starting line. It could be the Globetrotters teammates. I have no insider info.
The other teams include professional female poker players, the first-ever contestant with Asperger's syndrome, married yoga teachers, and Miss America 2004 and her husband.
Also on board are an engaged couple, four dating couples, married vegans and a father-son team.
NEW SERIES
Two brand-new series debut today and Monday.
The Cleveland Show, 7:30 p.m. today (Fox). This animated series is a spinoff of Family Guy, so expect rude, crude and raunchy adult humor.
The series follows Cleveland Brown back to his hometown of Stoolbend, Va., where he connects with his old highschool flame.
Trauma, 8 p.m. Monday (NBC). Yet another unremarkable medical show. How many do we need? This one follows the adventures of paramedics in San Francisco.
Fair warning: Do not invest a great deal of emotion in this series. It's not likely to last long.
RETURNING SHOWS
These series all return withnew episodes today:
60 Minutes, 6 p.m. (CBS). The granddaddy of all newsmagazines has been ticking away since 1968.
Extreme Makeover Home Edition, 6 p.m. (ABC). The new season begins with building a new house for the Huber family in Wisconsin. He's a firefighter. Surprise! Actress Patricia Heaton drops in to help. Heaton, by the way, just happens to star inthe new ABC sitcom The Middle on Wednesday nights.
The Simpsons, 7 p.m. (Fox). You know what to expect. The half-hour animated series debuted 20 years ago.
Family Guy, 8 p.m. (Fox). This is an adult animated series and not for the kiddies. Young adults find the show a hoot, but the fact that it was nominated last year for a Best Comedy Emmy shocked some parental watchdog outfits that keep the series at the top of their blacklist.
Desperate Housewives, 8 p.m. (ABC). Which one is the bride of Mike Delfino - Katherine or Susan? The cliffhanger will be revealed.
American Dad, 8:30 p.m. (Fox). It's Season 5 for the wacky animated Smith family. Who's your favorite, Roger the alien or Klaus the talking goldfish?
Cold Case, 9 p.m. (CBS). The popular veteran series will not be mistaken for ABC's The Forgotten, a similar new show airing Tuesdays on ABC.
Brothers & Sisters, 9 p.m. (ABC). More adventures of the Walker family. I'd watch if only to see the magic of Sally Field.
Dexter, 9 p.m. (Showtime). Adult drama about our favorite serial killer. Lots of changes in Dexter's life this season.
Returning Monday:
Lie to Me, 9 p.m. (Fox). A surprise hit from last season, this series about a firm that uses interpreting facial expressions and body language to solve crimes stars Tim Roth and Kelli Williams. I'm hooked. Never miss an episode.
Mekhi Phifer joins the cast and creator Shawn Ryan says to expect more action.
The TV Column appears Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday. E-mail:
Style, Pages 56 on 09/27/2009