The seasons, it seems, are all out of whack. Christmas season starts too soon, and TV seasons end too quickly.

Tonight’s “Heroes” (8 p.m., NBC) marks the “finale” of the first half of the second season. And that’s if the writers’ strike ends on a timely basis. If not, it may be all she wrote, at least for the time being.

Cable seasons are even more confusing. Now in repeats, “The Closer” (7 p.m., TNT) returns for a new two-hour Christmas-themed episode. We’ve come a long way since cop shows tried to keep holiday episodes on the lighter side. I seem to remember a whimsical old “Dragnet” about a church and a Christmas miracle. Tonight’s “Closer” kicks off with a bank robbery gone wrong, two bloody bodies and a suspect on the lam.

This development allows Brenda to travel to Atlanta in hot pursuit and mix police business with a visit to her Georgia parents, who have decked out their home “like a Bing Crosby Christmas special.”

I won’t give away too much here, but this extended episode has everything, including several classic Brenda Johnson interrogations and a major fabrication or two to trick a suspect into confessing. There’s a Christmas ruined and a Christmas redeemed and even a cross-country ride in an overdecorated RV.

Somebody even steals Brenda’s dad’s Perry Como records! But I’ll never tell who did it.

¢ We’re often told about the violent undercurrent of hip-hop culture, the drug-fueled excess of rock stars and the boozy self-destruction of honky-tonk heroes. But who knew polka had a dark side? The documentary “Mystery of the Polka King” (10 p.m., Court TV) examines the sordid saga of polka star Jan Lewan.

An exile from communist Poland, Lewan would go on to earn a Grammy nomination and accolades from labor leader Lech Walesa and even Pope John Paul II. But as his fame grew, Lewan bamboozled trusting fans into investing in his polka-related schemes. In the end, he swindled up to $10 million and eventually plead guilty to charges of racketeering, theft and securities fraud.

“Mystery of the Polka King” lays out the case against Lewan against a soundtrack of polka music and scenes of innocent Saturday-night gatherings. In the end, his wicked accordion accounting earned Lewan a five-year dance card in the slammer.

Tonight’s other highlights

¢ Faking it among the yacht set on “Chuck” (7 p.m., NBC).

¢ A depressed little bald kid with cruel friends and an indifferent dog gets uplift from a blanket-clutching child on the season’s second broadcast of the 1965 special “A Charlie Brown Christmas” (7 p.m., ABC).

¢ Chris Rock guest stars on “Everybody Hates Chris” (7 p.m., CW).

¢ John Cusack appears on “Inside the Actors Studio” (7 p.m., Bravo).

¢ A 10-year-old suffers a cardiac on “House” (7 p.m., Fox).

¢ A gridiron star has a dark side on “K-Ville” (8 p.m., Fox).

¢ The rehab reality series “Intervention” (8 p.m., A&E) enters its third season.

¢ A motivational speaker addresses Watersmeet on the documentary series “Nimrod Nation” (8 p.m., Sundance).

¢ Lauren and Andrew fret on “Notes From the Underbelly” (8:30 p.m., ABC).

¢ Blood on the catwalk on “CSI: Miami” (9 p.m., CBS).

¢ Charlie finds the mummified remains of a wise man on “Life” (9 p.m., NBC). “Journeyman” returns next week.

¢ Grace becomes trapped at a disaster site on “Saving Grace” (9 p.m., TNT).

¢ Isabella Rossellini narrates the documentary “The Last Jews of Libya” (9 p.m., Sundance).

Cult choice

The incomparable Judy Holliday shines in the 1950 comedy “Born Yesterday” (7 p.m., TCM), a snappy mid-century variation on George Bernard Shaw’s “Pygmalion.”