“Tyler Perry’s House of Payne” (8 p.m., TBS) stars LaVan Davis as fire chief Curtis “Pops” Payne. He’s the cranky father and title character, a sweet man who never lets down his crusty guard, particularly when his nephew and his children are in the house, which is practically all of the time.

Producer and writer Tyler Perry, creator of popular films “Diary of a Mad Black Woman” and “Madea’s Family Reunion,” guest stars in drag/Madea mode. Madea is a large, elderly woman full of attitude and a curious way of pronouncing “hello” as “hel-err.”

While Perry promises that “Payne” will reflect his own family experiences, it seems drawn from decades of sitcoms. For the most part, Perry’s characters avoid cruelty, vulgarity and profanity, and the dialogue is not always driven by punch lines. But sitcom archetypes prevail, from the lovable if put-upon patriarch right down to the precocious child Jazmine (China Anne McClain), who makes wisecracks about cable and the Internet as the source of her worldly wise attitude.

“House of Payne” has an old-fashioned feel about it that some may see as a refuge from contemporary comedy. I just kept waiting for it to be funny.

¢ The new series “Destination Truth” (9 p.m., Sci Fi) combines travelogue with paranormal exploration. Host Josh Gates takes his small camera crew around the globe to hunt down rumors of Big Foot and rogue wolfmen. Tonight’s debut finds Gates and crew in Papua New Guinea in search of dinosaurs and mermaids.

¢ Natalie Cole and Quincy Jones co-host the “Great Performances” (8 p.m., PBS, check local listings) presentation of “We Love Ella: A Tribute to the First Lady of Song!” The special includes clips from a concert celebrating Ella Fitzgerald’s 90th birthday and rare footage of never-before-released recordings by Fitzgerald, who died in 1996. Look for performances by Cole, as well as Stevie Wonder, Patti Austin, Ruben Studdard, Nancy Wilson and Wynonna Judd.

¢ Forensics and acoustic experts examine a long-archived recording of Sen. Robert Kennedy’s murder on “Conspiracy Test: The RFK Assassination” (8 p.m., Discovery Times).

¢ A promise of greatness and an early demise are the stuff of sports legend, and the film “Barbaro” (9 p.m., HBO), about the winner of the 2006 Kentucky Derby who suffered a devastating injury just two weeks later, makes the most of both aspects of the thoroughbred’s story.

Tonight’s other highlights

¢ Anaheim hosts Ottawa in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup playoffs (7 p.m., NBC).

¢ Two hours of auditions and surprises on “So You Think You Can Dance” (7 p.m., Fox).