TONIGHT'S MUST-SEE

"American Idol" season-opener, 7 p.m., Fox. Despite all the clones and competitors, "Idol" remains TV's best reality show. It has smart judges, wide-eyed contestants and a title that's really worth something. Barring a late change, tonight's opener will catch the auditions in Minneapolis. Jewel, who also hosts cable's "Nashville Star," is the guest judge.

"The Real Housewives of Orange County" season-opener, 8 p.m., Bravo. In an area where the typical home runs $1.6 million, we find pretty people with hectic lives. This reality show (preceded by first-season reruns at 6 and 7 p.m.) views several of them. Tonight, some of the focus is on Jeana Keough, who has sampled several worlds. A former Playboy playmate, she now has a booming real-estate business. She's also married to a former major-league baseball player (Matt Keough). They live in California comfort, with three kids. Jeana is in her 40s, as are several others here — Kimberly Bryant, who married money; Vicki Gunvalson, who has a prosperous insurance business; Lauri Waring, one of Gunvalson's assistants. Tonight, we also meet Jo De La Rosa, in her 20s and dating one of the neighborhood's divorced dads. None of this matches the scripted pleasures of "Desperate Housewives" or "The O.C.," but it has occasional moments of interest.

OF NOTE

"13 Going on 30" (2004), 6 p.m., FX. Struggling with the start of her teens, a girl wishes she could just be a grown-up. The next morning, she is one (Jennifer Garner) and her old childhood pal (Mark Ruffalo) is attracted to her. Grown-up life, she finds, is complicated.

"America's Funniest Home Videos: No Business Like Show Business," 7 p.m., ABC. You really didn't think anyone would throw big-budget stuff against "Idol," did you? This re-assembles odd moments from plays, concerts, talent shows and more.

"Dirt," 8 p.m., FX. Last week, Lucy (Courteney Cox) persuaded her boss to merge two magazines into one called Dirt Now, mixing gossip stories with classier ones. She wants a strong start, so she dispatches her ace photographer (Ian Hart) to get the dirt on a Christian-music star. She doesn't know the photographer is still seeing images of the late starlet they ruined. Meanwhile, her brother (Will McCormack) is hired by an action star (Grant Show).

"Frontline: Hand of God," 9 p.m., PBS. This documentary looks back at a man's alleged sexual abuse by a priest in Salem, Mass., and the impact that this continues to have, decades later.

"Boston Legal," 9 p.m., ABC. Now that "Idol" has finished for the night, other shows can go back to new episodes. Here, Denny (William Shatner), a patriotic sort, is furious to learn that the government has put him on a no-fly list.

"Law & Order: Special Victim's Unit," 9 p.m., NBC. Fin's son asks him to help find a campus rapist. Soon, Fin is working with a Brooklyn cop (Adam Beach) who may be after the same man.