Back in the 1970s, Americans were not afraid to try new things. We embraced reggae, funk and punk music; disco dances like the Hustle; fads, including Pet Rocks. And during our bicentennial daze, we even invited a virtual stranger named Jimmy Carter to live in the White House. This unusual story unfolds tonight and Tuesday night on “Jimmy Carter” on “American Experience” (8 p.m., PBS, check local listings).

By 1976, after more than a decade of assassinations, Vietnam and Watergate, Americans were ready for uncomplicated honesty. Carter, a former one-term Georgia governor whose resume included the U.S. Naval Academy and a successful stint as a peanut farmer, seemed to fit the bill. “He offered us a biography we wanted to hear,” recalls historian Douglas Brinkley. “It was the right message at the right time.”

“American Experience” recalls Carter’s upbringing in the still-segregated South and his early disgust with the political cronyism of Georgia Democrats. While it touches on his personal conversion to “born again” Christianity, this biography fails to deeply examine the political implications of his faith, or the religious and regional political shifts that were transforming American society in the 1970s.

Part 1, “Jimmy Who,” looks at Carter’s rise from obscurity and the factors that made his presidency so unique. Part 2, “Hostage,” reflects on Carter’s political downfall, electoral defeat and his two-decade stint as an international diplomat. “Few stories better illustrate the intersections of character and leadership,” observes “Experience” writer, producer and director Adriana Bosch. “The very qualities that got Carter elected – tenacity, religious certitude and an absolute confidence in his abilities – made it nearly impossible for him to govern.”

• People who like to throw things at their televisions owe it to themselves to watch “100 Greatest Love Songs” (9 p.m., VH1). Over the next five nights, “Songs” will count down romantic ballads, 20 at a time.

The folks who compiled this list have a perverse sense of humor. How else do you explain two songs from Meat Loaf? There’s not one Beatles song, but Styx, Boston, Dido, Cheap Trick and REO Speedwagon make the cut. Have the folks at VH1 ever listened to the lyrics of Led Zeppelin’s “Whole Lotta Love” (no. 71)? It’s not exactly romantic. And for reasons unknown, “You Don’t Bring Me Flowers” by Neil Diamond and Barbara Streisand is included, but Bette Midler’s “Wind Beneath My Wings,” a song that wrecked a million wedding receptions, does not appear. And don’t get me started about the lame song that makes it to No. 1! Jennifer Love Hewitt is your host.

• Marty Stuart is host of “Kindred Spirits: A Tribute to Johnny Cash” (7 p.m., CMT), a star-studded hourlong celebration of the song-writing talents of the Man in Black.

Tonight’s other highlights

• Willie Nelson (as himself) is the chief suspect in a fatal shooting on “Monk” (7 p.m., ABC).
• “Antiques Roadshow” (7 p.m., PBS, check local listings) decamps for New Orleans.
• Ray and Debra can’t stand their new friends’ bratty child on “Everybody Loves Raymond” (8 p.m., CBS).
• Denver meets Oakland on “Monday Night Football” (8 p.m., ABC).
• Only a toddler escapes a family slaying on “CSI: Miami” (9 p.m., CBS).
• Terrorists torch a big building on “Crossing Jordan” (9 p.m., NBC).

Series notes

Doug feels overexposed on “King of Queens” (7 p.m., CBS) … Joe Rogan is host of “Fear Factor” (7 p.m., NBC) … Guber cracks down on study hall hanky panky on “Boston Public” (7 p.m., Fox).