“No Reservations” (7 p.m., Travel Channel). A special, with Tony talking to chefs and food writers about their culinary obsessions.

“Chuck” (8 p.m., NBC). After a couple inconsistent seasons, this series really seems to be hitting its groove now. It’s becoming one of my favorites, and it looks like a pretty solid bet to be renewed for a fourth season. Tonight, Chuck loses the ability to flash, so he gets left behind while the gang go out on a mission.

“Gossip Girl” (9 p.m., The CW). New episodes are back. It’s all about couple tonight: Nate and Serena think about getting back together, Dan and Vanessa try not to get together, Blair is wary of Chuck’s obsession with the woman (his mother?) at his father’s grave, and Jenny takes bad-boy Damien to a state dinner. (Which, whaaaat? How would Jenny get an invite to a state dinner?!?)

“Damages” (10 p.m., FX). Tom follows the money trail to the Caribbean, and Ellen must choose between Patty and her D.A. boss. (Um, Patty, of course. She’s way scarier.))

“Colbert Report” (11:30 p.m., Comedy Central). Tom Hanks is the guest, talking about the upcoming WWII miniseries “The Pacific.”

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“How I Met Your Mother” (8 p.m., CBS). Robin gets revenge on Barney by setting him up with a player-taming self-help author, played by Jennifer Lopez.

“Top Gear” (8 p.m., BBC America). The guys try to make a VW commercial, and Jay Leno takes a spin around the test track. And hopefully realizes how utterly lame his Green Car Challenge was in comparison.

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“Life Unexpected” (8 p.m., The CW). Unhappy couple Cate and Ryan pose as a happy couple, and Baze tries to cheer up a sad Lux. Meh, the whole thing’s gotten a little too cliched and cutesy for me.

Skip it

“The Bachelor: Jason and Molly’s Wedding” (8 p.m., ABC). It’ll be 90 minutes of filler, and you know it. If you’re that desperate to watch, just tune in for the last half hour. Besides, what’s the point of watching a whole wedding when you don’t even get the benefit of free food and an open bar?

“Trauma” (9 p.m., NBC). This is still on? Really?

But for a handful of shows, it’s potentially good news. NBC is going to have an extra five hours a week of programming to fill once the Winter Olympics are over. And five nights of “Dateline” probably won’t cut it. So here’s a look at what might fill the gaps (hint: Get ready for lots of “Law & Order”):

“Law & Order: SVU.” This is a given. The 11th season is about ready to go, and it’ll be a perfect fit at 10 p.m.

“Law & Order.” There are a bunch of regularly scheduled episodes in the can and ready to go.

“Law & Order: Criminal Intent.” NBC can use a handful of epiodes that aired on USA last season to plug a few holes.

“Friday Night Lights.” Here’s where it gets interesting. NBC was saving the fourth season (currently seen on DirecTV) for the summer. But the network has the right to air it starting March 1. Nice timing, eh? The one problem is, “FNL” got awful ratings on NBC last spring, so the network might be wary of putting it in a prime timeslot.

“Trauma.” The series that just won’t die. It still has six episodes yet to air, and shooting is still going on in San Francisco. So don’t be surprised if it gets a few more episodes added to pad out the season.

“Mercy.” A similar situation — no one’s watching it, but it’s still being made so it’d be an easy solution to just add some more episodes.

“Chuck.” It just barely survived renewal last season, but last night’s season premiere drew big ratings. And now that there’s more breathing room for hourlong series, it’s suddenly looking pretty good for a fourth season.

“Heroes.” Thought was, this would be the last season (the season finale apparently will work as a series finale). But like “Chuck,” that extra hour of programming might give it another chance. Though in this case it’s less deserved.

“Parenthood.” The upcoming drama starring Peter Krause and Lauren Graham already has good buzz and now has some room to breathe.

Meanwhile, “Southland,” which would have been perfect for  NBC at 10 p.m. but got canceled because of the Leno logjam, kicks off on TNT starting Tuesday. Big fat “D’oh!” on that one. And remember “Day One,” about the survivors of a mysterious catastrophe that was first going to be an NBC series, then got downgraded to a miniseries? Well now it’s a two-hour movie. Whups.

Of course, there’s always Plan C, which would be more crappy reality shows. Knowing the brain trust at NBC, I wouldn’t put it past them.

Take a sneak peek at the new season:

“Chuck’s” return will push “Heroes” back to 9 p.m. on Mondays, where still, no one will watch.

Speaking of no one watching, “Trauma” apparently isn’t dead yet. NBC won’t pull the plug on the expensive, ratings-starved series after its run of 13 episodes after all. Another three have been ordered, leaving six episodes to be aired sometime in the new year. Of course, with “Chuck” and “Heroes” taking over Mondays and the Olympics coming in February, you have to wonder when NBC will find time to air them.

And finally, in former NBC-show news, “Southland” will start its second season on TNT, airing at 10 p.m. Tuesdays starting Jan. 12. Thirteen episodes are on tap, with possibly more if the ratings are good.

And now that he’s on cable, Ben MacKenzie promises to drop a few f-bombs in the new season:

“How I Met Your Mother” (8 p.m., CBS). Barney tries to convince Robin to become a U.S. citizen (how could Canad lose Robin Sparkle?!?) and Kenny Rogers narrates as Lily crashes Ted and Marshall’s toad trip.

“Gossip Girl” (9 p.m., The CW). We finally meet Vanessa’s mom (it’s Gina Torres) and Blair schemes for the honor of delivering the prestigious freshman toast. Um, my college didn’t have that.

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“Madventures” (8 p.m., Travel Channel). The guys search for clues of cannibalism in New Guinea. Mmmm, tastes like chicken . . .

Catch a score

NLCS: Dodgers at Phillies (5 p.m., TBS). Game 4 from Philadelphia.

Broncos at Chargers (5:30 p.m., ESPN). Are the Broncos for real? This should be a tough division test.

Skip it

“Trauma” (9 p.m., NBC). There’s an explosion at a Chinese restaurant. I knew those dumplings were over-stuffed.

“How I Met Your Mother” (8 p.m., CBS).  Barney & Robin break up with Marshall & Lily as double-date friends because they’re too annoying. Heh.

“Gossip Girl” (9 p.m., The CW). Surprise! It’s a very special wedding episode! Rufus and Lily tie the knot and Georgina tries to ruin everything. But you know what? Sonic Youth guest star and perform, so everything will turn out super cool.

“Durham County” (10 p.m., Ion). The first-season finale, as things between cop Mike and murderer Ray jump off the rails.

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“Gone Too Far” (10 p.m., MTV) Series premiere. This is that documentary drug intervention series by DJ AM, who died of a drug overdose a couple of months ago. Sounds a little morbid, but it you want to be scared straight . . .

Skip it

“Trauma” (9 p.m., NBC). The crew responds to a gunman who shoots up an office in a downtown high-rise. Awesome — one of the most tragic events in San Francisco history (the 101 California massacre) is now fodder for lame primetime entertainment. I’m going to invoke a smidgen of good taste and stay away from this.

Monday Night Football: Packers vs. Vikings (5:30 p.m., ESPN). It’s revenge time, Brett Favre vs. the Packers. The game later in the season in Green Bay should be more fun — more boos, more bitterness.

“How I Met Your Mother” (8 p.m., CBS). I’m gradually becoming a fan. Tonight Robin thinks Barney’s cheating on him because, well, he’s Barney.

“Gossip Girl” (9 p.m., The CW). Hilary Duff guest stars as Vanessa’s new roommate. Good lord, can one room handle that much annoying? Meanwhile, Tyra Banks plays an actress who befriends Serena. Back at high school (remember that?) Jenny begins her reign as queen bee. And oh year, Georgina’s off somewhere trying to ruin some lives.

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“Durham County” (10 p.m., Ion). With only two episodes left in Season 1, it’s starting to get interesting. I’ve been kinda disappointed by the slow pace ever since the terrific first episode. Tonight, Ray tries to frame Mike for the teacher’s murder. Mike’s gonna have a lot of explaining to do.

Skip it

“Trauma” (9 p.m., NBC). It’s embarrassingly bad. But pretty. If you watch it, just click “mute” and you’ll enjoy it more. And if you make up your own dialogue, it’ll probably be better than what’s on the air.

“Madventures” (11 p.m., Travel Channel). The guys go to the Philippines during Easter week and participate in a ritual crucifixion. God, that just sounds horrible. I’m Catholic and even I wouldn’t want to watch that.

Highlights

1. “The Amazing Race” (CBS). My favorite show lived up to expectations.  The season 15 premiere was satisfying in pretty much every way: Cool locations, hugely entertaining challenges (with ducks, to boot!), a handful of teams who are easy to root for, and two of the least likable teams got sent home.

2. Kristin Chenoweth on “Glee” (Fox). I’m still not sold on this show (there’s just too much sappiness and generic high-school storylines), but the guest appearance by the newly crowned Emmy winner was awesome. Sure, she can sing, but Chenoweth stole every scene she was in, as the loser/boozer/ floozie (ehh, it almost rhymed) who touched everyone she came in contact with. Often inappropriately.

3. “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” (FX). Where to begin? Charlie’s illiteracy? Mac and Dennis’ flawed Dave & Buster’s-inspired economic theory? The RV shantytown? Scene after scene, the laughs kept coming. My only complaint was that Charlie’s crab-people storyline only got about two minutes of airtime at the end. I wanted to see him go all “Deadliest Catch.”

Lowlights

1. “Trauma” (NBC). Laughably bad. Unless you’re a paramedic — then it’s just insulting. Pretty scenes of San Francisco though, and great explosions.

2. “Cougar Town” (ABC). With a cast this talented, there’s no reason to have a sitcom this generic and cliched.

3. “Community” (NBC). You know you have a problem when the guest-star professor-of-the-week (John Oliver, Ken Leong and John Michael Higgins) have been the funniest characters in each of the first three episodes.

Looking forward to . . .

1. “Curb Your Enthusiasm” (9 p.m. Sunday, HBO). The “Seinfeld” cast not-a-reunion storyline starts. And yes, they’re going to address the Michael Richards issue. This should be good.

2. “The Office” (9 p.m. Thursday, NBC). It’s Jim and Pam’s wedding at Niagara Falls. Pam’s pregnancy is supposed to be kept a secret from their families, but it’s not taking a wild leap to guess that the news will be blurted out in the most embarrassing way possible. Meanwhile, Michael and Dwight go all “Wedding Crashers” and try to hook up with some hotties. Oh, and Dwight sits at the kiddie table.

3. “South Park” (10 p.m. Wednesday, Comedy Central). Part 2 of Season 13 kicks off. Can you believe it’s been 13 seasons?!? I’m betting Kanye West will make an appearance somewhere.

Hotties to the rescue. (NBC photo)

So I finally got around to watching Monday night’s debut of “Trauma” on NBC (ooooh, get it? They’re trauma workers, and they’re traumatized!). And I might not get many more chances to see it, since its ratings were awful. But I was curious to see what the paramedic drama did with my hometown (it’s the first series shot in San Francisco since “Nash Bridges). The verdict? It’s awesome . . . . as long as you watch in HD and hit “mute.”

The cinematography is beautiful, with fantastically scenic shots of the city. The explosions are exquisite, and very pretty fireballs always make up for lousy CGI crashes (I’m convinced Michael Bay was somehow involved). And the cast is easy on the eyes. All in all, it looks great. But then you hear them talking and . . . . yikes.

Real-life paramedics are already howling in outrage and disgust over the cartoonish and unprofessional portrayals of their kind. And while I have no clue about how badly it distorts paramedics’ jobs (I’m guessing: A lot), there were a few other things that bugged me. And I’m not even talking about the ridiculously overdramatic slow-mo shots and soapy melodrama. Here’s what I’m talking about:

– Sex in the back of an ambulance, in broad daylight on a busy street? Yeah, that’s professional. And sanitary.

– An ambulance crew argues over whether to take Market or Polk to get to the hospital faster. Ummm, Market goes east-west, Polk goes north-south. Pick a direction. And Polk’s slow anyway, take Van Ness.

– That guy from “Friday Night Lights” who plays the paramedic (I have no idea of their names, I don’t even think the mentioned names for half the cast) has the worst sideburns – more like side-patches – I’ve ever seen on TV. Just hideous.

– I don’t think I’ve ever seen more than one helicopter at a time flying around downtown San Francisco. And certainly not low enough to buzz skyscrapers. Aren’t post-9/11 flight restrictions still in effect? There’s no way a helicopter would come around the corner of a building and crash into another helicopter. This isn’t L.A. Or even Phoenix.

– Anastasia Griffith was about as annoying as she was in her role as the whiney almost-sister-in-law in “Damages.” Whine, whine, whine. And have you ever seen a working paramedic with such perfectly applied makeup, long flowing hair and cleavage? (If so, please let me know where.)

– Speaking of whiney, this was the most mopey bunch of emergency workers ever assembled. We get it, it’s a tough job. It affects you. But anyone who knows a cop, or a firefighter, or a paramedic, or a nurse or doctor knows that they’re pretty good about compartmentalizing things, and not taking time out to pout during an emergency. That’s what the bars are for after work.

– The big tanker crash was on I-280, South of Market. So why did they keep saying they were on the Bay Bridge? There were overhead shots that made it quite clear there was no bridge anywhere nearby. That’s a whole different freeway, guys.

– Speaking of location, I loved how the helicopter taking off from the crash scene said it’d be at the hospital in “one minute” (about right, since SF General is about a mile away), then proceeded to fly north, loop around Coit Tower, head out over the Bay, and cruise to the hospital’s roof about 10 minutes later.

– I was super bugged by that one paramedic (Derek Luke) getting the hot chick with the broken arm on the medevac helicopter (she was Jennifer Siebel – Mrs. Gavin Newsom – by the way). No. 1, you’re wasting a precious medical resource on someone who doesn’t need it, thus putting someone else’s life at risk. No. 2, that’s a complete waste of taxpayer money. No. 3, that’s a complete waste of medical insurance costs. Don’t be taking money out of my pockets!

– By the way, SF General doesn’t have a helipad, and it’s been a controversial issue for years.  I don’t know if any hospital in the city has one. The noise hurts property values, you know. Besides, San Francisco is a small enough city that you really don’t need helicopters very often.

– Wooooo, after-party at a parking lot in the Presidio! OK, but. . . . with your ambulances? That was ridiculous, and would have probably gotten them all fired. Gotta separate work and play.

– And how did “I-play-by-my-own-rules” helicopter jock Rabbit leave the Presidio and suddenly be on westbound Geary, down in the Tenderloin, on the complete opposite end of town? That really was “Bullitt”-esque.

– How do all these paramedics afford to live in San Francisco? In pretty nice places, too. In reality, they’d live in either San Mateo or Novato. Or maybe a house out in the Sunset.

– That last scene, with Derek Luke taking the F-Market streetcar home? Bzzzzzzz, wrong! If he was a local, he’d be on the Muni Metro, underground. It’s waaaay faster. The F is for tourists.

It’s too bad. The show is basically an update of the ’70s classic “Emergency!” which I loved as a kid. But this is a little too grown-up for kids, and a lot too stupid for grown-ups. I sure hope the City of San Francisco isn’t counting on this show for tax revenue, because I don’t think it’ll be around long.

“How I Met Your Mother” (8 p.m., CBS). Marshall joins Barney on a dude’s night out (sadly, it’s not Tuxedo Night). And something boring happens with Ted.

“Gossip Girl” (9 p.m., The CW). Blair’s a loser, Vanessa starts to realize her creepy stalker boyfriend is a creepy stalker, and Georgina and Dan, together again. Ruh-roh.

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“The National Parks” (8 p.m., PBS). It’s boring but good for you. Tonight’s focus: Yellowstone.

“Trauma” (9 p.m., NBC). Series premiere. Not because it’s good, because it’s gonna be awful and wholly unoriginal. But it’s shot in San Francisco, so you can play a game where you point out all the locations you recognize in the background. And howl in outrage for all the things they’ll get wrong that only a local would know. (”They’re taking Market at rush hour? No way!”)

“Durham County” (10 p.m., Ion). Mike starts to suspect Ray in the serial killings. ‘Bout time.

Skip it

“Top Gear” (8 p.m., BBC America). Ehhh, it’s a clip show. I hate clip shows. Of course, if you haven’t seen any of Season 7, it’d probably be a nice overview.

“County Jail” (9 p.m., Discovery). Series premiere. Do we really need another docu-series about prisons? Seriously?

To sum things up, “Southland” and “Parks and Recreation” are coming back, “Life” got canceled and the fates of “Chuck,” “Medium,” “My Name Is Earl” and “Law & Order” will be announced May 19, or thereabouts.

Here’s a quick look at the new shows on NBC’s fall lineup and my gut impressions:

“Parenthood.” When I first head they were going to turn a 20-year-old comedy movie into a TV dramedy, I rolled my eyes. BUT. . . . it’s got a great cast (Peter Krause, Maura Tierney, Craig T. Nelson, Erika Christenson, Monica Potter, Dax Shepard) that could elevate this to one of the top new shows on any network. Bonus points: It’s set (and being shot, at least partially) in the Bay Area. ABC’s “Brothers and Sisters” suddenly has some major competition.

“Trauma.” With “ER” gone, you’ve gotta have a hospital drama, right? This one’s about paramedics in San Francisco, starring Derek Luke (”Antwone Fisher”), Anastasia Griffith (annoying Katie on “Damages”) and Kevin Rankin (wheelchair-bound Herc in “Friday Night Lights). It’ll be shot in SF, so bonus points for that, but otherwise it sounds like a rehash of a dozen other medical emergency shows. Nice explosions, but otherwise . . . yawn.

“Mercy.” Another hospital show, this time about nurses and their traumas, both workplace and social. The biggest star is Michell Trachenberg (”Buffy the Vampire Slayer” and “Gossip Girl”). Sounds like a twist on “Grey’s Anatomy” and I can almost guarantee you I will never, ever watch it.

“Day One.” About a band of survivors in the fallout of a global catastrophe, as they try to piece together their lives and find out what happened. Sounds like a laugh riot. And a lot like “Jericho.” It might actually be decent, but it sounds way too depressing to be a network TV hit. Look for a quick cancelation.

“100 Questions.” A single woman joins a dating site that asks her 100 questions, and she of course has a poignant and amusing story to go along with each one. Gahhhhh. Kill me now. This looks 17 types of awful.

“Community.” A sitcom set at a community college among post-high school losers (their term not mine!), bored middle-aged folks and other misfits. It’s got Joel McHale (”The Soup”) which is good, and Chevy Chase, which is not (has he done anything remotely funny since 1985 or so?). But I laughed at the clip, so who knows, it might be decent.