As if scenes of a dwarf hauling a side of beef through Uruguay weren’t tasteless enough, “The Amazing Race 5” (9 p.m., CBS) has stumbled headlong into Ugly American territory yet again. Now don’t get me wrong — I like watching cranky strangers stampede through airports as much as the next guy, but did the producers of this series ever learn any manners? I’m not talking about the “what spoon do you eat sorbet with” kind of etiquette. I’m more concerned with the basics your mother should have taught you, like “don’t play in cemeteries or desecrate shrines in foreign countries.”

On last week’s race, contestants were asked to scramble through a graveyard in search of Evita Peron’s tomb in order to find their next set of clues. No one ever accused me of being a fan of that Dior-clad dictator’s wife, but I’m a stickler about disrespecting the dead and being a good guest while abroad.

How would Americans react if visitors to our country treated our hallowed spaces with similar disdain? How would we welcome a Belgian volleyball team that set up a net near the Vietnam War memorial? Bill O’Reilly would boycott waffles before the first serve. And with good reason. The “Amazing Race” folks should keep that in mind as they trample across the globe.

• Less than a week after Congress failed to act on a Constitutional amendment to “save” the sanctity of marriage, two television “reality” shows take hammer and chisel to the institution. Fox, the network owned by archconservative Rupert Murdoch, presents “Trading Spouses: Meet Your New Mommy” (7 p.m., Fox). Produced by the makers of “My Big Fat Obnoxious Fiance,” “Spouse” switches wives and husbands and kids. Will the children like their “new mommy” or cry themselves to sleep every night? We get to watch this social experiment, presumably for our amusement.
• Mo Rocca is host of “Things I Hate About You” (8 p.m., Bravo). Couples submit to intrusive surveillance for several days so Mo, the home audience, and several experts can see and assess the obnoxious habits of their better halves. In episode one, a radio personality and her producer-husband carp constantly. He can’t stand her need for backrubs. She has a problem with his habit of amplifying the sounds of his bodily functions. Rocca adds his patented, pointless irony to this needless postmodern take on the “Can this marriage be saved?” column from Ladies’ Home Journal.
• The “P.O.V.” documentary “Last Man Standing: Politics Texas Style” (9 p.m., PBS) looks at the state’s transformation from that of Lyndon Johnson’s liberal policies to the solidly Republican followers of George W. Bush. The film also focuses on a particular 2002 race for state senate between a 31-year-old incumbent facing ethical challenges and an ambitious 24-year-old challenger who engages in a door-to-door campaign. “Last” includes a rare interview with Republican strategist Karl Rove.

Tonight’s other highlights

• Bob Ley interviews President George W. Bush on “ESPN 25: The Headlines” (7 p.m., ESPN).
• The four horsemen flex their muscles on “Big Brother 5” (8 p.m., CBS). What color will Nokomis dye her hair this week?
• An unusual religious ceremony proves fatal for a child on “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” (9 p.m., NBC).
• A young female officer from a police family strives to assert herself on the job without losing her femininity on the documentary series “NYPD 24/7” (9 p.m., ABC).

Late night

Halle Berry and Maria Mena appear on “Late Show with David Letterman” (10:35 p.m., CBS) … Jay Leno greets Bill Maher and The Dead on “The Tonight Show” (10:35 p.m., NBC) … Larry Joe Campbell appears on “Jimmy Kimmel Live” (11:05 p.m., ABC).

Julianna Margulies, Kevin Pollak and Greg FitzSimmons are booked on “Late Night with Conan O’Brien” (11:35 p.m., NBC) … Michael Michele and Ozomatli are booked on “The Late, Late Show with Craig Kilborn” (11:37 p.m., CBS).