Gannett News Service

Must see

The Shield, 10 p.m., FX.

Sharp jolts ripple through this hour. It's The Shield at its best - violent, brutal, yet gripping us with human passion. The crisis began when Capt. David Aceveda (Benito Martinez) was ambushed and sodomized at gunpoint. Now he is a vigilante seeking revenge. Meanwhile, Dutch has a breakthrough in his search for a rapist. And Vic and other cops scramble to cover up their $4 million robbery.

Worth watching

American Idol, 8 p.m., Channels 19, 45. All the guys have been eliminated now, leaving an all-female final four. They face disco night tonight with Donna Summer as guest.

Gilmore Girls, 8 p.m., Channels 64, 26. Accompanying Luke to his sister's wedding, Lorelai gets new insights into the guy. Rory finds herself once again in a situation involving both Dean and Jess.

NYPD Blue, 10 p.m., Channels 9, 2. The season finale arrives with Connie (Charlotte Ross) having her baby and Clark (Mark-Paul Gosselaar) having more personal and professional crises.

Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, 10 p.m., Channels 5, 22. Tom Skerritt plays a strong-minded judge who provides complications in attempts to prosecute a child-abuse case.

- "Independent Lens: Refugee," 10 p.m., PBS (check local listings). Mike Siv grew up in San Francisco after he and his mother fled Cambodia 20 years ago. The 24-year-old college student says he wanted to meet the father and brother he left behind. This documentary watches Siv and two friends make an emotional trip to meet his kin.

Sweeps spotlight

Dick Van Dyke Revisited, 9 p.m., CBS.

The Dick Van Dyke Show left the air 38 years ago, but its stars remain nimble in body and soul. Carl Reiner, the show's creator, has written a reunion hour. His character, Alan Brady, wants his old writers to create a eulogy. The result is amusing.

Frasier, 8 and 8:30 p.m., and Dateline, 9 p.m., NBC. One of the most clever comedies in recent years prepares to say farewell. First, we get the two episodes that set up the finale (now set for 8:54 p.m. Thursday). Frasier Crane obsesses over a matchmaker (Laura Linney) who is dating a handsome guy (Aaron Eckhart). Then Dateline offers a one-hour view of the show.