TONIGHT'S MUST-SEE

"American Masters: Willa Cather: The Road is All," 9 p.m., PBS. Willa Cather was 10 when her family moved from the comfort of Virginia to a dugout on the Nebraska prairie. That setting, she later wrote, "has been the happiness and curse of my life." She seemed eager to flee it. Cather dominated campus life at the University of Nebraska, then edited magazines in Pittsburgh and New York City. She visited Europe and the Southwest often, but she lived in Greenwich Village for 35 years. Still, it was the prairie that dominated her literary life. Several novels — "O, Pioneers," "My Antonia," "Song of the Lark" — are considered classics. This documentary is flawed when it offers up contemporary experts. Some are, simply, bad communicators. Everything else is splendidly done, including excerpts and warm footage of the landscape. We begin to feel Cather's world.

OF NOTE

"Julius Caesar's Greatest Battle," 6 and 10 p.m., History Channel. HBO's "Rome" series begins with Caesar finally conquering Gaul in 52 B.C., solidifying his reputation as a great general. This documentary focuses on the pivotal event that year, the Battle of Alesia.

"So You Think You Can Dance," 7 p.m., Fox. Ten contestants will dance in this 90-minute episode.

"Meet Mister Mom," 7 p.m., NBC. Two Southern California dads with a total of 10 athletic kids compete. They go on a mountain trip but find a far more challenging task when they have a baking contest.

"CSI: NY," 9 p.m., CBS. Maybe games are getting too serious. In one story, a sports agent is killed; in another, a Red Sox fan is found dead near Yankee Stadium.

TONIGHT ON KHNL NEWS 8

Feeling hungry but sick of the same restaurant? Join KHNL News 8’s Lyle Galdeira and Russell Yamanoha for tasty cuisine on “Cheap Eats.” Tonight they head for Kapahulu and Mi Casa Taqueria. That’s tonight on KHNL News 8 at 5 and 10.