Gannett News Service

Must-see

American Masters Hank Williams: Honky Tonk Blues, 8 p.m., Channels 48, 16.

This brilliant documentary starts succinctly with Hank Williams III, who never met his grandfather, but offered this summation:

"My granddaddy died in the back seat of his powder-blue Cadillac some time before dawn broke on New Year's Day 1953. He was 29 years old. He was the biggest star in country music but most of the last year had been one long, unanswered phone call."

Some people dismissed Williams as an alcoholic or a pill-popper who sabotaged his life. He was all of that, but he was also a brilliant songwriter and a tattered soul.

"There was nothing smooth and symmetrical and complete about Hank," author Rick Bragg says in this film. "He was all rough edges and ragged pieces."

He was like a perfect country song. People have been trying to understand him for 50 years.

Now comes a consummate effort, written and co-directed by Morgan Neville. It ranges from new interviews to old clips, from Williams' records to the down-home places that filled his life and songs.

Worth watching

T.H.E.M., 8 and 8:30 p.m., Channels 5, 22. That stands for "Totally Hidden Extreme Magic"; these magicians confront strangers in odd ways. Tonight, they range from a nightclub to a museum to the set of the soap opera Passions.

Quintuplets, 8:30 p.m., Channels 19, 45. After last week's awful opener we'll see if this show - about teenage quints - can improve. Tonight, they take turns being quarantined in the basement with the flu.

The Simple Life 2: Road Trip, 9 p.m., Channels 19, 45. Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie are maids at a nudist colony. That's a problem because they have a weak work record - and because they really don't like to see older people naked.

The Drew Carey Show, 9 and 9:30 p.m., Channels 9, 2. These new episodes follow Drew's wobbly steps toward fatherhood. In the first, he misses the sonogram; in the second, he wonders if he'll be a terrible dad.

Method & Red, 9:30 p.m., Channels 19, 45. This bizarre comedy grows on us once we get used to the youthful glee of the two newly rich characters. Tonight, they try to convince a hip-hop reporter that they still have their street credibility - while a rich, white neighbor kid wants them at his birthday party. It's erratic, but there are some dandy moments, especially with a satire of actors from a Power Rangers kind of show.