Watch it

“Caprica” (9 p.m., Syfy). Series premiere. The long-awaited prequel to “Battlestar Galactica” finally airs, months after this 2-hour pilot episode was released on DVD. (Check out my review here.) It’s good but not great, and very different from “BSG.” The series is set on the Earth-like planet of Caprica, and deals with the boundaries of technological achievement (like, should you build super intelligent robots that will eventually rebel and destroy your civilization?), religious fanaticism and soapy family drama. I’m still unsure if I’m adding this to my regular schedule, but it’s worth checking out.

“Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien” (11:35 p.m., NBC). This is it, Conan’s last show on NBC. Watch him go out in a blaze of glory with guests Tom Hanks and Will Ferrell.

Record it

“Spartacus: Blood and Sand” (10 p.m., Starz). Series premiere. Think “Rome,” but with a fraction of the production values, more gratuitous violence and more explicit sex. You care about plot? Blah blah blah, gory swordfights and full-frontal nudity, blah blah. That’s your plot. Folks, this is why you pay for premium cable.

You can hardly avoid it . . .

“Hope for Haiti Now” (8 p.m., pretty much every channel you’ve heard of). This George Clooney-inspired telethon to raise money for Haiti earthquake relief will feature performances by Bono, Sting, Bruce Springsteen, Coldplay, Taylor Swift, Justin Timberlake, Christina Aguilera, Jay-Z and more. In other words, nobody I particularly care to watch. Don’t get me wrong, it’s for a great cause, but I won’t be guilted into watching. But that doesn’t mean you should ignore the plight in Haiti. Visit the Red Cross web site or Ben Stiller’s Stillerstrong.org or track down another charity of your choice and give something. (See, I’m not totally heartless. I just hate telethons.)

By the way, the telethon is pre-empting the series finale of “Dollhouse” on Fox. It’ll air next Friday instead.