"Prison Break" debut, 7 p.m., Fox. Plenty of TV shows have started with great ideas and fallen apart. Now comes the opposite — an awful idea, a terrific show. A tough guy (Dominic Purcell of "John Doe") is on death row. His brother (Wentworth Miller of "Dinotopia") is a smart engineer who figures he'll get himself thrown into the prison then lead an escape. That worked fine in a Kirk Douglas film, set in the cowboy days of flimsy jails. In modern times, it's wildly unlikely. As bad as the idea is, the execution is stunning. Paul Scheuring has written a tough script, as smart as HBO's "Oz"; Brett Ratner ("X-Men") directed the first hour beautifully.

OF NOTE

"King of Queens," 7 p.m., CBS. This rerun has a snowstorm stranding Doug, his wife and her dad in separate places.

"Everybody Loves Raymond," 7:30 p.m., CBS. Ray made a joke that might have offended his sons' friend, whose dad is a janitor. As he bumbles along, Ray-style, the mistake grows.

"Wildfire," 8 p.m., ABC Family. Amy Jo Johnson, who was Julie on the "Felicity" series, plays a jockey who brings troubles for Kris.

"Two and a Half Men," 8 and 8:30 p.m., CBS. The first rerun has Charlie flirting with the widow at a funeral. The second is an especially funny one, as Charlie and Alan plan to go to Las Vegas —with Alan's pre-teen son.

"Las Vegas," 8 p.m., NBC. When technology fails, human ingenuity is used to catch a cheater.

"Beautiful People," 9 p.m., ABC Family. Lynn (Daphne Zuniga) finally decides she should be dating again, so she asks out her handsome neighbor (Cameron Bancroft). Meanwhile, both of her daughters have social setbacks. The beautiful Karen even gets stood up.

"CSI: Miami," 9 p.m., CBS. A teenager who wants to be a cop becomes enmeshed in a crisis. During a routine traffic stop, a policeman is killed and the teen is taken hostage.