Watch it

Jets vs. Patriots (5:30 p.m., ESPN). It’s a really good Monday night matchup, for a change. At stake is supremacy in the AFC East as well as the title of league’s best pretty-boy quarterback.

“How I Met Your Mother” (8 p.m., CBS). Ted befriends Zoey’s husband, “The Captain.” Oh yeah, she’s supposed to be married. To a cereal character, apparently.

“ILM: Creating the Impossible” (9 p.m., Encore). Encore is one of those channels that I’m not even sure I get, but this looks super cool: a new documentary on the history if Industrial Light & Magic, George Lucas’ special-effects studio. UPDATE: Maybe not. This was listed last week, but now I can’t find an airtime. Oh well. Looks cool though, if it’s ever aired again.

“Men of a Certain Age” (10 p.m., TNT). Season premiere. This highly underrated coming-of-middle-age drama is back. Trust me, it’s much better than that cheesy commercial with them pushing a Sisyphusian boulder up a hill. Tonight Joe (Ray Romano) sets his sights on joining the Senior PGA Tour, while Owen (Andre Braugher) finally becomes manager of the family auto dealership.

UPDATE: “No Reservations” (10 p.m., Travel). Oooh, didn’t notice this was on until just now. It’s a special Tony Bourdain Christmas special, and you can be sure it’s loaded with an extra helping of snark.

Record it

“Gossip Girl” (9 p.m., The CW). Blair and Dan hunt down the evil Juliet, while Chuck begins to suspect Lily isn’t being honest with him. That Chuck’s a bright guy.

“The Closer” (9 p.m., TNT). The first of five new episodes for a brief winter run. Tonight Brenda is hot on the case when a colleague is ambushed.

“Brew Masters” (10 p.m., Discovery). I’m really liking this show. It’s cool watching the creative process behind a specialty beer, and how it gets to the bottle. Tonight Sam debuts a cedar beer, and 9,000 gallons of 120 Minute IPA get flagged by authorities. UPDATE: So apparently this got moved to 8 p.m. Thursday. So to recap: Its first four episodes have aired on three different nights. And networks wonder why no one watches their shows . . . .

Skip it

American Country Awards (8 p.m., Fox). Because America demands yet another country music awards show.

“The Sing-Off” (8 p.m., NBC). Season premiere. Ten a cappella groups face off. In related news, everyone who didn’t attend a private East Coast college realizes a cappella is really annoying.

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