As a TV critic, you learn to be philosophical about shows good, bad and ugly. Good shows offer entertainment. Bad shows give you something to think about. What can we learn from the misbegotten talent showcase “Rock Star: INXS” (8:30 p.m., CBS)? At least three things come to mind. First, “Survivor” producer Mark Burnett may have lost his golden touch. Second, that when it comes to “rock” and “reality,” all life imitates “Spinal Tap.” And third and perhaps most profound, having built ratings dominance with comedy and drama, CBS should not chase away its audience with drivel like “Rock Star,” “Fire Me … Please” and “The Cut.”

¢ Fans of the series “Into the West” should not miss “Taming the Wild West: The Legend of Jedediah Smith” (7 p.m., History). Smith’s character looms large in the early going of “Into the West.” In this nonfiction account, animated by costumed re-enactments and plenty of archival imagery, Smith emerges as the very definition of the rugged individual who explored the frontier. In a society of rough mountain men, Smith stood out as someone who read the classics in their original Latin. But he could also prevail in a bear attack and negotiate with Indian tribes. After earning a fortune as a fur trader in the 1820s, he made his mark leading the first band of American settlers over the Sierra Nevada Mountains to the Spanish territory of California.

¢ “History Detectives” (8 p.m., PBS) examines four drawings that may have been made by political cartoonist Arthur Szyk, whose wartime anti-Nazi illustrations were considered so provocative that first lady Eleanor Roosevelt called him “a one-man army against Hitler.” Also under the microscope are a fragment that may be part of a Civil War-era hot-air balloon, and a military map from the staff of Gen. Pershing, America’s supreme military commander during World War II.

Tonight’s other highlights

¢ Parents subcontract their duties to a foreigner on “Nanny 911” (7 p.m., Fox).

¢ Teens sharpen their No. 2 pencils on “The Scholar” (7 p.m., ABC).

¢ Ed is held hostage on “Las Vegas” (8 p.m., NBC).

¢ Four contestants remain on “Hell’s Kitchen” (8 p.m., Fox).

¢ A politician’s daughter is kidnapped on “The Closer” (8 p.m., TNT).

¢ Drinking minors, major crimes on “CSI: Miami” (9 p.m., CBS).

¢ A train dream derails Allison’s concentration on “Medium” (9 p.m., NBC).