TONIGHT'S MUST-SEE: "ONE TREE HILL" SEASON FINALE, 8 P.M., CW (OCEANIC DIGITAL CHANNEL 93)

Tonight is stuffed with the finales of shows that are bigger and more popular. Still, this demonstrates what a finale can be; it's filled with big moments and changed lives.

That starts with Lucas bringing his wife Peyton, pregnant and near death, to the emergency room; it ends with cross-continent romance.
This all becomes excessive after a while, with every character using perfect soap-speak. Still, you have to admire the passion; Chad Michael Murray is particularly good as Lucas and Paul Johansson has great moments as his sorrowful father.

TONIGHT'S MIGHT-SEE: "AMERICAN EXPERIENCE: THE KENNEDYS," 9 P.M., PBS

Starting with a story we already know, "Experience" adds depth and perspective.
The early focus is on a steeply ambitious Joseph Kennedy, facing biases against Irish Catholics. It acknowledges his frequent infidelity (also a flaw in his son John) and his Wall Street deceptions.
It also points out that John was once a lazy congressman and Ted was, at first, wildly unqualified to be senator. Still, politico Andrew Young says, John Kennedy became an ideal -- a privileged person who grew as he learned about the rest of the world. His brothers expanded on that, propelling a sweeping family saga.