Watch it

“Amazing Race” (8 p.m., CBS). Whew, it’s back after a week off. The final four teams head for Shanghai, and some bad cabbies may decide who gets the boot.

“The Pacific” (9 p.m., HBO). The harrowing battle for Peleliu continues and Sledge’s unit takes heavy casualties. Yikes.

“Breaking Bad” (10 p.m., AMC). Walt’s back in business (woo hoo!) and moves out; ironically it’s just when Skyler is having second thoughts about dumping him. Meanwhile, Hank starts digging a little too close for comfort in his effort to track down the blue meth.

Record it

“Into the Universe with Stephen Hawking” (9 and 10 p.m., Discovery). Series premiere. A new documentary series about space kicks off with a look at the search for alien life. The 10:00 episode is about time travel. But dude, Stephen Freaking Hawking is behind it, so you know it won’t be hokey.

“Treme” (10 p.m., HBO). I’m really liking this new series from David Simon. It’s slow, but it’s got great characters and it’s fun to watch the storylines slowly unfold. Much like “The Wire,” it’s more like a great book than a typical TV show, if that makes any sense. So do you think Lester (sorry for using his “Wire” name, I’m forgetting his name on this series) killed that kid last week?

Skip it

“Chefs vs. City” (9 p.m., Food Network). I don’t like the new format, it’s like a battle of Food Network chefs now. Case in point: They’re in Atlanta tonight, which has a ton of cool chefs, but instead we get “Dinner Impossible’s” Robert Irvine. What, no Richard Blais?!? Besides, the clues and tasks are too spoon-fed and boring. Don’t bother, you won’t miss much.

“America: The Story of Us” (9 p.m., History). Series premiere. A new 12-hour, 6-part documentary miniseries chronicling U.S. history. Liev Schreiber narrates. Too bad it looks like one tired cliche after another. American history is pretty fascinating, it deserves better.