Fans who can’t wait for the season opener of “Lost” would do well to sample “Mysterious Island” (7 p.m. today, Hallmark), the latest adaptation of Jules Verne’s novel, a work that surely influenced hundreds of monster movies since its publication in 1876.

Kyle MacLachlan stars as a Union officer who leads a daring escape from a Confederate prisoner-of-war camp involving a newfangled hot-air balloon. His airborne party, including a slave (Omar Gooding, “Barbershop”), an unrepentant Rebel and several fetching females, gets blown way, way off course. And you thought that plot twist started with “The Wizard of Oz.”

Produced by Robert Halmi Jr. and Larry Levinson, “Island” is stuffed to the gills with special effects involving giant critters with an appetite for uninvited guests. Patrick Stewart stars as the secretive Capt. Nemo, a mad scientist who creates an underground lair to survive the ravages of mosquitoes on steroids, towering mantises and rats the size of Buicks. Of course, Buicks weren’t invented back then, but you can be assured that Capt. Nemo was working on it.

¢ “King of the Hill” (6:30 p.m. Sunday, Fox) enters its 10th season. One of the small treasures of primetime television, “King” was the very first show to find comedy in the so-called “red state vs. blue state” cultural divide. It was also the first, and perhaps only, comedy to show the effects of a Wal-Mart economy on a small town, and it features Peggy Hill, one of the feistiest female characters on episodic television. And she’s a Boggle champ to boot. In tonight’s season opener, Hank realizes that his friends consider him “uptight.” Tom Petty guest stars as Lucky, a gentleman with an eye for Luanne.

¢ Ellen DeGeneres is host on “The 57th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards” (7 p.m., CBS). News anchors Tom Brokaw, Dan Rather and the late Peter Jennings will receive a special salute. Look for “Desperate Housewives” to dominate post-Emmy conversations – either for winning too many statuettes or too few.

Today’s highlights

¢ Florida plays host to Tennessee in college football action (7 p.m., CBS).

¢ Clips on “Most Outrageous TV Moments” (7 p.m., NBC), and more clips on “Unforgettable Moments in Television Entertainment” (7:30 p.m., NBC).

¢ “Cooking Clubs” (9 p.m., Food Network) documents a new trend in culinary discovery and social networking.

Sunday’s highlights

¢ Scheduled on “60 Minutes” (6 p.m., CBS): Rickey Williams returns to the NFL; chaste teens; bringing order to Baghdad.