TONIGHT'S MUST-SEE

"Kim Possible," 8 p.m., Disney Channel. For three seasons, "Kim Possible" offered a frothy kind of fun. It's the story of an average (albeit foxy-looking) teen who worries about friends, classes and a date for the prom while occasionally saving the world from villains. She's aided (sort of) by her geeky pal, Ron Stoppable. The show has mixed zesty action with occasional moments of sly wit. That peaked with Kim and Ron actually kissing at the prom. And now — more than a year later, the series returns with four new episodes. The first one begins the morning after that kiss with Ron in a state of giddy disbelief. He's about to take drastic measures to make himself seem worthy. The third episode (at 9 p.m.) has the friends looking forward to their senior year — until they learn that Kim's twin brothers have jumped ahead to high school. These are reasonably fun episodes, skillfully balancing action, humor, fantasy with everyday life.

"Time Machine," 6 p.m., History Channel. For decades, the U.S. tried to maintain a wobbly moral line. Slavery was still legal in half the states. Transporting slaves across the seas was not. So the U.S. sent a fleet of ships to Africa trying — usually unsuccessfully — to stop the ships, free the slaves and arrest the captain for piracy. This documentary re-enacts one such chase. That part is so-so, but it keeps pausing for insights into the wretched extremes of slavery. We see the horror of village-against-village raids in Africa, sending neighbors to slavery. We see the wretched details of life inside the slave ships. And we learn that even the freed slaves faced an iffy life in the new colony of Liberia. This is a gruesome story on many levels offering some horrid moments.

OF LOCAL NOTE

"Pro Bowl," 1 p.m., CBS. The real season is done now, so the players — and fans — can relax and have fun. This is the Pro Bowl in Honolulu. Don't expect the Super Bowl's nasty weather or nasty defenses. Instead, expect some wide-open fun with lots of scoring.

OF NOTE

"NASCAR Racing," 3 p.m., Fox. The NASCAR season starts with the 175-mile Budweiser Shootout in Daytona, Fla.

"A Charlie Brown Valentine" and "Winnie the Pooh, a Valentine for You," 7 and 7:30 p.m., ABC. Two lightweight cartoon reruns offer adequate pre-holiday entertainment.

"Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde" (2003), 8 p.m., ABC. The original "Legally Blonde" was a happy surprise with Reese Witherspoon breathing humanity and likability into the cartoonish character of a rich beauty. This sequel, which sends her to Congress, mostly drew shrugs and criticism.

"Cold Case," 8 p.m., CBS. This rerun involves re-examining the murder, a half-century ago, of a woman who had just gotten out of an asylum.

"Law & Order: Special Victims Unit," 8 p.m., NBC. In a rerun, police try to straighten out the conflicting stories of a husband and wife in a rape case.

"Saturday Night Live," 10:30 p.m., NBC. Oscar nominee Forest Whitaker, who hasn't been doing a lot of humor lately, hosts.