Television critic Mike Hughes offers these as TV's best bets through Sunday:

TONIGHT'S MUST SEES

"Friday Night Lights," 8 p.m., NBC.

This show's first episode ended with a fierce injury to Jason Street, the star high school quarterback. Now, in the third "Lights" season, Street's story reaches a key point.

Paralyzed from the waist down, Street crumbled emotionally, then came back. Last week, he and three friends succeeded in their risky effort to buy and fix up a house, then sell it quickly.

Each emerged with $14,000. For Street, that's enough to try a distant dream -- going to New York, landing a job in a sports agency, then getting back together with his ex-girlfriend and their son. There are great moments here from Scott Porter as Street.

Two other stories are so-so: Tyra is torn between college applications and her rodeo-star boyfriend; Tami Taylor (the principal) tries to talk her husband (the football coach) into buying an expensive house.

The Taylors, however, are involved in another story that clicks. Their daughter is dating the team's back-up quarterback; there are fun moments, when she confronts her dad at the dinner table.

"Breaking Bad," 6 p.m. to 1 a.m., AMC.

After a terrific start, this show's first season was cut short by the writers' strike. These seven episodes, the only ones that were finished, are rerun here, setting up Sunday's season-opener.

Bryan Cranston stars as a chemistry teacher who hasn't told anyone he's dying of cancer. Running out of money and hope, he takes a desperate step.

Then things build. There are strong moments, as a mild-mannered teacher inserts himself into a violent world.

SATURDAY'S MUST SEE

"Ashes to Ashes" debut, 4 p.m., BBC America. Repeats at 7 and 10 p.m.

The original "Life on Mars" had modern British cop Sam Tyler whisked to 1973, where his boss had no political correctness. The series deliberately ran only 16 episodes; now a sequel has been brilliantly conceived.

This time, the time-trekking cop is a female. She's whisked to 1981, in a time and place where women aren't taken seriously.

She's working with those same cops Tyler did -- Gene Hunt, Ray Carling, Chris Skelton. Trained in psychology, she's studied the Tyler case; it's a mental trick, she assumes -- but can she get out of it?

"Ashes to Ashes" is full of smart twists, but the best part is the casting. The old "Life on Mars" actors are back, led by Philip Glenister as Hunt. And best of all, Keeley Hawes is the star.

Hawes starred in five top-rate films that reached PBS, plus the early years of the "MI-5" series. American viewers haven't seen her in the last two years, but now she's back, leaping through emotions in a terrific opener.

SATURDAY'S MIGHT-SEES

"CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" (7 p.m.) and "Without a Trace" (8 p.m.), CBS.

Here's a rerun of the episodes that linked these two shows.

A murder victim in Las Vegas matches the description of someone who disappeared in New York six years ago. Now Gil Grissom (William Petersen) and Jack Malone (Anthony LaPaglia) combine on the case.

SUNDAY'S MUST-SEE

"Desperate Housewives," 8 p.m., ABC.

After being gone for a week, this show is back and toying with its characters' new economic troubles.

Bree promises to help Tom get a job, then stirs new trouble. Gabrielle finds herself helping Carlos' cheating boss deceive his wife.

Also, Edie starts digging deeper into Dave's troubled past.

SUNDAY'S MIGHT-TRY

"Russell Brand in New York City," 9 p.m., Comedy Central.

Brand is the British comedian who drew raves in "Forgetting Sarah Marshall" and complaints when hosting the MTV awards. You may feel both extremes here, but stick with it; the hour keeps getting better.

Early portions -- dealing with the MTV experience -- are merely OK. At times, the humor gets jumbled in Brand's broad accent.

Then Brand gets to the part -- relating his misadventures at learning to ride a horse ... and at learning to surf ... and at having a gleeful sex life. Some of that is very R-rated (even with the constant bleeps); much of it is quite funny.