"House," 9 p.m. KMPH (Channel 26.1): After eight seasons, the misadventures of Dr. Gregory House come to an end. The pill-popping doc will see his last patient with tonight's series finale.

Although the FOX series fell into a pattern of 52 minutes of the team incorrectly guessing what was wrong with the patient of the week and then in the last minutes House hitting upon the solution, the show offered plenty of interesting medical mysteries. I have to admit there were lots of times when the diagnosis made no sense to me but teaching medicine was never the point of the show.

The series was a character study played out against a medical background. Each week's medical malady was never as interesting as watching the way House manipulated people. He occasionally showed his softer side but rapidly hid it from view as if such emotions would be looked at as a sign of weakness.

Laurie's performance has been the kind that should have been showered with Emmy wins. He's been nominated five times but never won the award. Maybe the series finale will be enough to get him the honor he so richly deserves.

There will be a one-hour retrospective starting at 8 p.m.

"The Bachelorette" 9:30 p.m., KFSN (Channel 30.1): The latest lovesick representative from the Central San Joaquin Valley begins his quest to find love on national television with the season debut of "The Bachelorette."

A press release announcing the names of the 25 bachelors who will try to win the heart of single mom Emily Maynard lists "Brent, 41, a technology salesman from Fresno." Brent reveals on the ABC website that his favorite group activity is "pulling out the boat in the summer and loading everyone up spending the day on the lake. Soccer, golf, etc." Brent calls himself a closet romantic whose motto is "never give up."

Brent was born in Midland, Texas.

Maybe he'll have better luck than the past two local contestants on "The Bachelorette" -- Ryan Park and Kasey Kahl.

"Around the World in 80 Plates," 10 p.m., Bravo: The new competition show combines the running and screaming of "Amazing Race" with the chopping and tasting of "Top Chef."

Curtis Stone and Cat Cora host this series that follows 12 chefs competing in a culinary race across 10 countries in 44 days. In each country, the chefs will be tested in some of the finest and most challenging restaurants. Their final challenge will be to reinvent the menus for the world-renowned restaurants.

As with "Amazing Race," each stop will also include a look at local customs, cultures and cuisines.

The journey begins in London where the chefs compete in a pub crawl to win the Exceptional Ingredient. The teams then go to Gastropubs where they must serve authentic dishes to the British diners. Celebrity Chef, Nigella Lawson joins the locals to select a favorite restaurant. Nigella Lawson is the local food expert.

"The Voice," 9 p.m. KSEE (Channel 24.1): The end is finally here as the winner of this round of the music competition show will be named tonight.

The person considered to have the best voice will be selected from the group of last singers standing that includes of Tony Lucca, Chris Mann, Jermaine Paul and Juliet Simms. Each one represents their respective coaches of Adam Levine, Christina Aguilera, Blake Shelton and CeeLo Green.

Each finalists will collaborate with fellow season two competitors who return for special performances. There will also be appearances by Justin Bieber, Flo Rida, Lady Antebellum and Daryl Hall & John Oates. Maybe I should have mentioned the Bieber appearance first.

To help fill the two hours, look for the four coaches to perform a group number.

"Two and a Half Men," 9 p.m. KGPE (Channel 47.1): The departure of Charlie Sheen from the CBS Monday-night comedy was such a nasty affair, the only way he would ever make a return to the show is over his own dead body.

That sort of happens tonight.

After Alan (Jon Cryer) suffers a minor heart attack, he's visited in the hospital by Charlie's ghost. No, Sheen doesn't return to offer words of wisdom from beyond. It is Academy Award winner Kathy Bates, who takes time away from her NBC series "Harry's Law," portraying the departed Charlie Harper.

It would have been nice to see Sheen back on the show. But, the idea of Bates playing Charlie is a far more interesting casting.

"Law & Order: SVU," 10 p.m. KSEE (Channel 24.1): It was only a matter of time before one of the legal dramas got around to using Skype as a key plot point. That happens tonight with a weirdly timed Valentine's Day-themed episode of "Law & Order: SVU."

The high tech connection looks like a way for a loving husband (Rich Sommer) to tell his wife (Chloë Sevigny) face-to-face that's he's cutting his business trip short to join her for Valentine's Day. While they are chatting, a masked man attacks the woman and rapes her as the husband helplessly watches.

This wouldn't be an episode of "SVU" if that attack didn't come with some surprises. As Benson (Mariska Hargitay) digs into the case, she discovers the loving wife may be just a little too loving.

The episode is one of the show's best because of the performance by Sevigny. The actress brings an innocent look to the role but she plays a woman who will do anything to clear her name. Even when the evidence stacks up against her, she's good enough to create some doubts.

Just when it looked like "SVU" was running out of steam, a first-rate episode like this comes along.

"Smash," 10 p.m. KSEE (Channel 24.1): After settling into a funk over the past few weeks, the musical drama gets a kick tonight with the addition of Uma Thurman in a guest star role as part of a five-episode arc. She plays a famous and somewhat difficult movie star who joins the cast of the potential Broadway show to possibly play Marilyn Monroe.

This obviously doesn't sit well with Ivy (Megan Hilty), who had the role, and Karen (Katharine McPhee), who looked to be in line to take over the role. This could be the episode where someone finally does get smashed.

NBC has already ordered a second season of the Monday night series despite ratings numbers that show it has been anything but a smash with viewers. Maybe the guest appearance by Thurman will give the show a numbers boost to prove it worthy of the second season when it comes to the ratings.

"Scandal," 10 p.m. KFSN (Channel 30.1): It's a little hard to categorize this new ABC drama. It deals with the law but there won't be a lot of courtroom scenes. There's politics but the action will deal more with what goes on behind the scenes. There's even a little romance.

The fact this show can't be easily pigeonholed is just one of the many reasons "Scandal" is the best new drama on the network in years.

The series follows Olivia Pope (Kerry Washington), a woman who may be the best crisis manager in Washington, D.C. Her firm's main job is to fix other people's lives and they do that well. About the only thing they can't fix are their own messed up lives.

Washington is perfect as she brings both power and sizzle to the role. All you have to do is listen to her speak for 10 seconds and you know this woman is in control. It's another strong female character from series creator Shonda Rhimes, the mastermind behind such shows as "Grey's Anatomy" and "Private Practice."

Toss in a strong supporting cast, compelling stories and just the right touch of humor and this is one "Scandal" with which you'll want to be a part.

"œBest Friends Forever," 8:30 p.m. KSEE (Channel 24.1): Now I get it. NBC is TRYING to find the worst comedies to be on the network schedule. Knowing that'€™s the task, then NBC has hit a home run with this so-called comedy that has all the laughs of a favorite pet's funeral.

Lennon Parham and Jessica St. Clair, creators of the train wreck, star as two best friends (thus the title). Some stupid situation forces the pair to live together again with a boyfriend. It's a little hard to explain the plot since there really isn'™t one. And Parham and St. Clair would have to magically turn into marionettes to be any more wooden in their acting.

Basically, this program is a series of disjointed ideas that never come together to make a clear comedic thought. Parham and St. Clair seem to be having a good time. They are the only ones.

The only good that can come out of TV's answer to waterboarding is that it's hard to imagine NBC could find a show that's worse. This is not just the bottom of the barrel in TV programming but is the slime that you find under the barrel.

In this case "€œBFF" stands for "best forgotten fast."

"Breaking In," 9:30 p.m. KMPH (Channel 26.1): If you haven't taken a look at the comedy since it returned to the FOX lineup, consider yourself among the lucky. The addition of Megan Mullally to the cast has turned this once fun and quirky series about a security company into a miserable and bland workplace comedy. Her character was added to be the new boss for the company making it the worst hire since Bernie Madoff.

In the first season, humor came out of smart situations involving the company's mysterious boss (Christian Slater) and his oddball group of specialists. It was fun to watch them work together. This year, Mullally's banshee-like acting skills have landed on the show like a gift from a bird passing overhead. Smart humor has been replaced by Mullally recycling her old "Will & Grace" work.

Gone are the fun missions. Now, the group just stands around the office and waits for Mullally to say something stupid. The wait isn't that long.

"Breaking In" started out as a very good comedy. Now, there aren't enough jokes to justify calling it a comedy. About the only thing good that can be said about the show is that with the changes, "Parks and Recreation" is no longer the worst workplace comedy on network TV.