Fridays devoted to sci-fi anthology

I interrupt this summer of escapist fluff, network bingo tournaments and competing karaoke contests to announce an anthology series in which some of the best actors in the business sink their teeth into scripts based on speculative science fiction stories by some of the most acclaimed writers of the genre.

Of course, it speaks volumes that “Masters of Science Fiction” (9 p.m. today, ABC) is consigned to the slowest hour of the deadest night of the prime-time week during the slowest month of the TV year. But who’s complaining?

In tonight’s opener, “A Clean Escape,” the remarkable Judy Davis plays a psychiatrist with a short time to live who embarks on a session with a particularly difficult patient (Sam Waterston), a powerful man whose subconscious has blotted out the past 25 years. For reasons we only slowly discover, he believes it is still 2007 and he is still 41 years old and on his way back to his wife and children. The therapist hopes to peel away his layers of denial and expose her patient to his place in their grim new world. Like the best and the worst of the “Twilight Zone” series, “A Clean Escape” is a talky affair, closer in feel to a one-act play than standard TV dramas.

Over the course of August, “Masters” will bring additional stories, written by Robert Heinlein and Harlan Ellison, among others, and starring John Hurt, Malcolm McDowell and Terry O’Quinn. Physicist and best-selling author Stephen Hawking hosts the series.

¢ The ambitious, smart and lavishly produced miniseries “The Company” (7 p.m. Sunday, TNT) tackles more than 40 years of Cold War espionage, exploring the personalities behind the tactics of the “great game” between the Soviet KGB and the CIA. Airing over the next three Sunday nights, “The Company” can be enjoyed as three minimovies, each with a distinct tone and story.

In the opening hours, young spies Jack (Chris O’Donnell) and his colleague Leo (Alessandro Nivola) join the CIA after their Yale crew-team coach recruits them. A fellow oarsman also gets a call, but he joins the KGB.

Jack and Leo get their feet wet by intercepting intelligence in East Berlin. Their tutor, known as “The Sorcerer” (Alfred Molina in a memorable performance), becomes obsessed with a mole in their ranks after an important defector is murdered. When the traitor turns out to be a close friend of CIA honcho James Jesus Angleton (Michael Keaton), a crisis ensues.

Saddled with the burden of setting up an elaborate plot and introducing a sizable cast, the first night is the slowest. The pace picks up considerably in week two, when Jack becomes embroiled in the 1956 Hungarian uprising and the failed 1961 Bay of Pigs invasion. Week three features a great performance by Keaton as Angleton in his declining years, after a decadeslong obsession with moles and betrayals has blossomed into full-blown paranoia.

Tonight’s highlights

¢ Lyrics matter on “The Singing Bee” (7 p.m., NBC).

¢ More finalists emerge on “America’s Got Talent” (7:30 p.m., NBC).

¢ Singer Sara Evans hosts music auditions on “Big Break” (8:30 p.m., CMT).

¢ Frozen food looms large on “Top Chef” (9 p.m., NBC).

Sunday’s highlights

¢ Scheduled on “60 Minutes” (6 p.m., CBS): the relative stability of Kurdistan; a Sicilian mobster cornered; Helen Mirren.

¢ Scheduled on “Dateline” (6 p.m., NBC): a controversial case goes to retrial.

¢ Pranks and auditions on “Schooled” (7 p.m., CW).

¢ An ice storm postpones a key delivery on “Ice Road Truckers” (9 p.m., History).

¢ Joan’s early return makes waves on “Army Wives” (9 p.m., Lifetime).