'NCIS,' 'The Biggest Loser,' 'Sons of Anarchy': What to watch, record and ignore on Tuesdays

On an otherwise incredibly crowded fall TV schedule, Tuesday is a bit of an oddball.

Most of the shows airing on Tuesdays have pretty clearly defined audiences -- I suspect there's not a lot of crossover between, say, "NCIS" and "The Biggest Loser." Consequently the need to fire up multiple DVRs in the house is a little bit lighter. But there are still a few potential logjams here and there, and as we're doing with the other nights of the week, we want to help you navigate through them. (As always, you're free to ignore any or all of my suggestions. I'm just trying to help here, folks.)

Here, then, are our recommendations on what to watch live, what to record for later and what to save until you're goofing off at work later in the week. The "What's on" listings reflect the regular schedules that click into place next week; tonight ABC has a special two-hour "Dancing with the Stars" and FOX is showing two episodes of "Hell's Kitchen."

8 o'clock

What's on: "90210" (The CW), "The Biggest Loser" (NBC), "Hell's Kitchen" (thru mid-October)/"So You Think You Can Dance" (FOX), "NCIS" (CBS), "Shark Tank" (ABC)

Watch: "NCIS," for now. Fifteen million of your fellow Americans already watch and love this well-made and easy-to-take crime show; you might as well check it out too. Caveats: "SYTYCD" begins two-hour performance shows in late October, which will be more worthy of live viewing. And when "V" starts on ABC in November, that's what I'll have on. If you're not into Mark Harmon and Co., this might also be a good hour to clean out the DVR a little.

Record: "90210." I keep waiting for "90210" to get better, but until it does it's good to have a fast-forward button at the ready.

Ignore: "The Biggest Loser," "Hell's Kitchen" and "Shark Tank." The first hour of "Biggest Loser" is a lot of padding and not a lot of show. I think Gordon Ramsay's a great chef, but I've long since tired of his tyrannical shtick. "Shark Tank" didn't grab my attention during the summer lull, and it's sure not going to now that I have more options.

9 o'clock

What's on: "The Biggest Loser" (NBC), "Dancing with the Stars" results (ABC), "Melrose Place" (The CW), "NCIS: Los Angeles" (CBS), "So You Think You Can Dance" (FOX)

Watch: "So You Think You Can Dance." The show is in the less essential audition phase now but will kick into high gear in a few weeks.

Record: "NCIS: LA" and "Melrose Place." I'm not completely sold on the Chris O'Donnell-LL Cool J pairing in "NCIS: LA" yet, but they could turn out to be pretty good together. "Melrose" is better than its low ratings, at least in a guilty-pleasure sort of way, so it's worth keeping up to date till Heather Locklear comes around.

Ignore: "The Biggest Loser" and "Dancing with the Stars." The money shot on "The Biggest Loser" is the weigh-in and the elimination, which you can easily take in online. The "Dancing" results show has a ton of filler; you can whip through the elimination and any performance clip you want to see in a flash online.

10 o'clock

What's on: "The Forgotten" (ABC), "The Good Wife" (CBS), "The Jay Leno Show" (NBC), "Sons of Anarchy" (FX)

Watch: "Sons of Anarchy." I like "The Good Wife" quite a bit, but "Sons of Anarchy" has taken a big leap forward in its second season and has become incredibly compelling.

Record: "The Good Wife" and "The Jay Leno Show." Julianna Margulies is excellent in CBS' new drama about the wife of a scandal-ridden politician who's restarting her career. You can bump Leno down to the "ignore" slot if you don't care for his guest.

Ignore: "The Forgotten." Just another crime show from the Jerry Bruckheimer assembly line.

How are you attacking Tuesday nights this fall?

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