Watch it

“Friday Night Lights” (8 p.m., NBC). No Giants tonight, so this’ll air on time. And it’ll likely be a tearjerker, as Matt copes with his father’s death.

“National Spelling Bee” (8 p.m., ABC). You want tension and drama? Look no further. It’s oddly addictive, watching these kids live and die over words I’ve never even heard of, much less know how to spell.

“Party Down” (10 p.m., Starz). The gang gets a day off for the company picnic. Uh oh, looks like their arch rivals, Uda Bengt and the Valhalla crew, are catering the picnic. Kristen Bell guest stars.

Record it

“Flashpoint” (9 p.m., CBS). This Canadian show is back for another summer run. It’s kinda “24”-lite. Tonight the team has to dismantle a series of bomb hidden around the city.

“Six Versus the World” (8 p.m., Discovery). Series premiere. Six athletes travel the world competing in tribal sports. Tonight they’re in Ethiopia for stick fighting. Sounds like “Fight Quest”  meets “Dhani Tackles the Globe.”

“Live from Abbey Road” (8 p.m., Sundance). A few cool live acts: Fleet Foxes, PJ Harvey and Manchester Orchestra.

“Neistat Brothers” (9 p.m., HBO). Series premiere. An interesting-sounding series comprised of short, slice-of-life films make by a couple of mixed-media filmmakers.

“Whale Wars” (10 p.m., Animal Planet). Season premiere. The anti-whaling crews head out to annoy the Japanese fishing fleet. It’s usually a pretty anticlimactic show, but at some point this season, their new, super sleek Batman-type boat will get rammed and sunk. That should be good TV.

Skip it

“Food Feuds” (10:30 p.m., Food Network). Good lord, do we really need another show about who makes the best whatever?