TODAY'S MUST-SEES

Presidential inauguration, 7 a.m., most broadcast networks and news channels; then "Neighborhood Inauguration Ball," 7 p.m., ABC. History is made at 7 a.m., when Barack Obama is sworn in; his speech follows. Then, after he meets with congressional leaders, the Pennsylvania Avenue parade starts at about 9 a.m. The parties come at night, with ABC piling up the stars. It has Mariah Carey, Beyonce, Stevie Wonder, Faith Hill, Alicia Keys, Jay-Z, Shakira and Mary J. Blige. All of that is subject to change, with more acts being added. Details on daytime coverage and other events are included below.

"Fringe," 8:01 p.m., Fox. For most of the hour, this is classic "Fringe." It's tough, taut, smart and occasionally creepy; also, Olivia (Anna Torv) has two fierce fight scenes. Then — well, the show sort of leaves us with questions, to be answered some other week or year. Good shows do that sometimes. The episode begins with Olivia being kidnapped and undergoing a spinal tap. That's just the start of her troubles, in a compelling hour.

OF NOTE

Inauguration preview. Officially, Fox News Channel starts at 3:30 a.m. and most others — ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, MSNBC — start at 5. Many PBS stations will join at 6 a.m., with Jim Lehrer — who has been covering inaugurations since 1961 — anchoring. The cable channel called Current joins at 5 and has ongoing Twitter comments from viewers; BET joins at 6. Actually, coverage starts much sooner and the morning shows will be in Washington.

Swearing-in ceremony. That starts at 6:30 a.m. with the U.S. Marine Band, San Francisco Boys Choir, San Francisco Girls Choir, Aretha Franklin and Joe Biden's swearing-in as vice president. Then a John Williams chamber piece will be performed by Itzhak Perlman, Yo-Yo Ma, Gabriela Montero and Anthony McGill. After that, Obama is sworn in.

More coverage. That's expected to continue until 10 a.m. on Fox News Channel; 11 a.m. on NBC, CNN and BET; and noon or later on many other channels. Everywhere, it will continue to dominate the news.

Inaugural parties, all night. News channels will visit several parties. Also, BET has its own at 6 and 8 p.m.; MTV has one at 10 and 11:30.

"American Idol," 7 p.m., Fox. After its two-hour efforts last week, the show settles into one-hour audition episodes on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.