Watch it
49ers vs. Chargers (5 p.m., NFL Network and KPIX Ch. 5). The Niners are suddenly worth watching, if for no other reason than to see the spectacle of a potential 7-9 playoff team. They’ll probably lose tonight and still somehow win the division.
“Burn Notice” (9 and 10 p.m., USA). Ohhh, back-to-back episodes. First, part-time spy/full-time sociopath Brennen (Jay Karnes) is back, and he’s trying to blackmail Michael into killing some government agents. Then, in the season finale, a heavily armed assault team descends on Miami, intent on taking out Michael. Who, in turn, has to take some drastic action to protect his friends and family.
The week of really good late-night guests continues: “Conan” (11 p.m., TBS) has Jenny & Johnny (which is Rilo Kiley’s Jenny Lewis and her boyfriend, Jonathan Rice); “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon” (12:30 a.m., NBC) has Paul Rudd, Jon Lovitz and soulful rapper Aloe Blacc; “Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson” (12:35 a.m., CBS) has Seth Green, pimping his upcoming “Robot Chicken Star Wars.”
Record it
1960 World Series, Yankees vs. Pirates, Game 7 (5 p.m., MLB Network). This is the Bill Mazeroski game, possibly the most dramatic home run in baseball history. And interspersed into the vintage broadcast are recent interviews from Bob Costas with the Yankees’ Bobby Richardson and the Pirates’ Bill Virdon, as they share their memories of that game. Sounds pretty cool. And it’s always fun to watch the Yankees lose.
“Brew Masters” (8 p.m., Discovery). Sam attempts to make a couple of ancient beers, one from Egypt, the other a 9,000-year-old recipe from China.
“It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” (10 p.m., FX). It’s the hourlong season finale, as the gang sets out to discover the joy of Christmas. Actually, this standalone episode was released on DVD last Christmas, and they’re just airing it now and calling it the season finale. Kinda lame, but since I never saw it on DVD, it’ll still be new to me.
Skip it
“Funniest Commercials of the Year” (10 p.m., TBS). Anyone who’d watch an hour’s worth of commercials really is a sucker.
“Tonight Show with Jay Leno” (11:35 p.m., NBC). Actually, it’s a potentially awkward situation: Leno had been approached years ago to adapt a U.S. version of “Top Gear,” but it never happened. He appeared on the British series last year, and turned their awesome “Star in a Small Car” segment into a laughably stupid low-speed race on his prime-time show last year. And tonight, the hosts of the new History Channel “Top Gear” — Adam Ferrara, Tanner Foust and Rutledge Wood — appear on his show. They’ll probably be all chummy, but there’s gotta be a little “what coulda been” undercurrent going on.
