Gannett News Service

Must-See

Monk, 10 p.m., USA Network.

On it's regular days, Monk is pleasant and interesting. On some days, it's one of the best series on TV.

Here in mid-January, we get a surge of the best. After a long rerun break, Monk has seven new episodes to finish this season. Tonight's episode and next Friday's are wonderful.

Adrian Monk (Tony Shalhoub) was a brilliant police detective before crumbling after his wife's murder. He descended into a compulsive-obsessive fear of anything messy. Now his nurse-turned-colleague Sharona (Bitty Schram) nudges him into solving cases.

Tonight, crime comes to his doorstep - literally. A guy is slain while trying to deliver Monk's newspaper.

Did someone have a reason to censor the news? Monk tries to find out while struggling with the new worry that Sharona is more muscular than he is. This adds up to a smart, funny episode - and next week's is even better.

Other programs worth watching

Joan of Arcadia, 8 p.m., Channels 12, 7. When Joan's parents are away, God - perhaps having never seen Risky Business - tells her to have a party.

The Goodbye Girl, 8 and 10:15 p.m., TNT. The original 1977 film crackled with Neil Simon's wit and had the perfect casting of Richard Dreyfuss (winning an Oscar) and Marsha Mason. The remake is moderately enjoyable. The casting is fine with Patricia Heaton as the often-dumped New Yorker, startled to find that her latest ex has sub-let the apartment to a newly arrived actor (Jeff Daniels). What's missing is the zest of the machine-gun dialogue in the original.

Hope & Faith, 9 p.m., Channels 9, 2. Hope (Faith Ford) fumes when the guy she liked in high school (Clint Black) is now interested in Faith (Kelly Ripa).

Between the Lines, 10 p.m., A&E. One of life's oddest letters was written by Elvis Presley on an airplane. Presley - who simply wasn't a letter-writer, said his former wife, Priscilla - wanted to get a badge and join the war on drugs. That story has been told before - Showtime made a movie out of it - but it provides an offbeat start for this four-week series about letters from the famous and others. This first hour adds various star readers (Hillary Rodham Clinton, Kelsey Grammer, and Jimmy Carter) and some hyperactive visuals.

Dweezil & Lisa debut, 10 p.m., Food Network. Dweezil Zappa and Lisa Loeb are pop musicians and a hip romantic couple. This series, however, focuses on their passion for food. In the opener, they visit Atlanta. One stop is the Watershed Restaurant, which is owned by Emily Saliers of the Indigo Girls.